It's sad that major engine components are failing this bad at pretty low miles. It's not helping Ford's case to show they make good quality stuff. The car runs excellent now with all of it's new timing stuff!
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P0171 and idle problems, engine loud
- Thread starter Matt R
- Start date
Frosty
Hard-core CEG'er
Well, thats what happens when you make idlers out of cheap plastic. :blackeye: My idler had broken into several pieces and was down to the metal center. That is what caused my belt to be shredded into 1/3rds and my lower cover had a huge chunk busted out of it, so I ordered a new one. My car also runs much better now, but I changed plugs because they were in need of a change.
TourDeForce
Hard-core CEG'er
It's sad that major engine components are failing this bad at pretty low miles. It's not helping Ford's case to show they make good quality stuff. The car runs excellent now with all of it's new timing stuff!
Well, for wear items, especially rubber & plastic, time and/or mileage have a role in their replacement schedule. Your car is now 8 years old. Most vehicles would have well over 100K miles on them & likely have had the belt changed by now.
Yeah, but I've had plenty of cars with much more miles that didn't have any problems. My '89 Tempo, which had around 125,000 miles on it- I checked the timing components and everything looked pretty good. It would probably be safe to change them, but at least they aren't falling apart...
harmonic balance
harmonic balance
Hello,
I'm a newbee to this forum. Lots of helpful troubleshooting information appears to be available here. So, here's my question to you enthusiasts:
Has anyone ever heard of a harmonic balance slippage problem?
I have a 96 GL and I have had the issues with poor idle at cold temps and have the P0171 code. It has been warm so I chose to live with the poor idle until now (it's getting cold outside).
I also recently had a timing belt idler pulley come apart on the way to work. Took the car to a shop and, after a few days, I got a call that there were problems that the mechanic was having much difficulty with.
Seems the simple replacement of the parts along with a new timing belt wasn't the quick fix the mechanic expected. He set the timing after the new belt was installed and the car just wouldn't start.
After about another week of effort (and much research, I presume) he discovered that the harmonic balance used on, at least, my Contour is prone to slippage. This, essentially, moves the timing mark away from TDC. You can see why this would immensely complicate setting the timing. As I am still researching this I haven't had the repair made yet. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this problem.
As for the P0171 code, I disassembled the MAF and one of the tiny wires appeared to be covered with a blob of oil. I swished the MAF around in a small pool of trichloroetheleyne (not available anymore due to carcinogens) and realized an immediate improvement in performance. I believe there may be some engine oil blow-by into the air filter housing that may have contributed to this.
I still believe that there may be a vacuum issue. Give me time to change the PCV valve and do further inspection and I will report my results.
Great site!! Keep up the info exchange.
Bruce
harmonic balance
Hello,
I'm a newbee to this forum. Lots of helpful troubleshooting information appears to be available here. So, here's my question to you enthusiasts:
Has anyone ever heard of a harmonic balance slippage problem?
I have a 96 GL and I have had the issues with poor idle at cold temps and have the P0171 code. It has been warm so I chose to live with the poor idle until now (it's getting cold outside).
I also recently had a timing belt idler pulley come apart on the way to work. Took the car to a shop and, after a few days, I got a call that there were problems that the mechanic was having much difficulty with.
Seems the simple replacement of the parts along with a new timing belt wasn't the quick fix the mechanic expected. He set the timing after the new belt was installed and the car just wouldn't start.
After about another week of effort (and much research, I presume) he discovered that the harmonic balance used on, at least, my Contour is prone to slippage. This, essentially, moves the timing mark away from TDC. You can see why this would immensely complicate setting the timing. As I am still researching this I haven't had the repair made yet. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this problem.
As for the P0171 code, I disassembled the MAF and one of the tiny wires appeared to be covered with a blob of oil. I swished the MAF around in a small pool of trichloroetheleyne (not available anymore due to carcinogens) and realized an immediate improvement in performance. I believe there may be some engine oil blow-by into the air filter housing that may have contributed to this.
I still believe that there may be a vacuum issue. Give me time to change the PCV valve and do further inspection and I will report my results.
Great site!! Keep up the info exchange.
Bruce
harmonic balance
harmonic balance
Hello,
I'm a newbee to this forum. Lots of helpful troubleshooting information appears to be available here. So, here's my question to you enthusiasts:
Has anyone ever heard of a harmonic balance slippage problem?
I have a 96 GL and I have had the issues with poor idle at cold temps and have the P0171 code. It has been warm so I chose to live with the poor idle until now (it's getting cold outside).
I also recently had a timing belt idler pulley come apart on the way to work. Took the car to a shop and, after a few days, I got a call that there were problems that the mechanic was having much difficulty with.
Seems the simple replacement of the parts along with a new timing belt wasn't the quick fix the mechanic expected. He set the timing after the new belt was installed and the car just wouldn't start.
After about another week of effort (and much research, I presume) he discovered that the harmonic balance used on, at least, my Contour is prone to slippage. This, essentially, moves the timing mark away from TDC. You can see why this would immensely complicate setting the timing. As I am still researching this I haven't had the repair made yet. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this problem.
As for the P0171 code, I disassembled the MAF and one of the tiny wires appeared to be covered with a blob of oil. I swished the MAF around in a small pool of trichloroetheleyne (not available anymore due to carcinogens) and realized an immediate improvement in performance. I believe there may be some engine oil blow-by into the air filter housing that may have contributed to this.
I still believe that there may be a vacuum issue. Give me time to change the PCV valve and do further inspection and I will report my results.
Great site!! Keep up the info exchange.
Bruce
harmonic balance
Hello,
I'm a newbee to this forum. Lots of helpful troubleshooting information appears to be available here. So, here's my question to you enthusiasts:
Has anyone ever heard of a harmonic balance slippage problem?
I have a 96 GL and I have had the issues with poor idle at cold temps and have the P0171 code. It has been warm so I chose to live with the poor idle until now (it's getting cold outside).
I also recently had a timing belt idler pulley come apart on the way to work. Took the car to a shop and, after a few days, I got a call that there were problems that the mechanic was having much difficulty with.
Seems the simple replacement of the parts along with a new timing belt wasn't the quick fix the mechanic expected. He set the timing after the new belt was installed and the car just wouldn't start.
After about another week of effort (and much research, I presume) he discovered that the harmonic balance used on, at least, my Contour is prone to slippage. This, essentially, moves the timing mark away from TDC. You can see why this would immensely complicate setting the timing. As I am still researching this I haven't had the repair made yet. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this problem.
As for the P0171 code, I disassembled the MAF and one of the tiny wires appeared to be covered with a blob of oil. I swished the MAF around in a small pool of trichloroetheleyne (not available anymore due to carcinogens) and realized an immediate improvement in performance. I believe there may be some engine oil blow-by into the air filter housing that may have contributed to this.
I still believe that there may be a vacuum issue. Give me time to change the PCV valve and do further inspection and I will report my results.
Great site!! Keep up the info exchange.
Bruce
Update
Update
I had the harmonic balancer replaced and the timing reset. The car runs very nicely now. Other contributers may have been the PCV valve that I replaced, the new gas cap, or the new plug wires.
The harmonic balancer had slipped a full 90° from the TDC mark. So apparently this is a definite possibility to look at if you are having trouble pinpointing a rough idle and surging at lower speeds.
Update
I had the harmonic balancer replaced and the timing reset. The car runs very nicely now. Other contributers may have been the PCV valve that I replaced, the new gas cap, or the new plug wires.
The harmonic balancer had slipped a full 90° from the TDC mark. So apparently this is a definite possibility to look at if you are having trouble pinpointing a rough idle and surging at lower speeds.