2008 2.3 w/automatic idles rough

[press 1 for english]

I have a 2 week old 09 2.3 Supercab and it doesn't idle rough but it will not idle perfectly smooth like my 2002 2.3 work truck. When the A/C cycles on it smooths out perfectly.
The engine rpm seems to decrease very very slowly after pushing the clutch in......annoying but not an issue. I wonder if that is an emission type deal or something just needs reprogramming.
Nevertheless a loaded 09 XLT supercab for $14,700 plus tax/tag/title was too much to pass up. $21,000 for a comparably equipped Toyota Tacoma made it a no brainer.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

My 04 2.3 5 speed idles just fine. Its the exhaust vibration during accelleration that bothers me.

 

[hmiwb]

My 09 has had the same vibration since new. Just as part of routine maintenance, I put a bottle of Chevron fuel system cleaner in it a couple of tanks ago. Whether that did it or not, I don't know, but I happened to notice last week that the brain buzzing vibration at idle is gone! No, I don't sell the stuff but if it works I'm all for it.

 

[press 1 for english]

As expected I have learned to live with it. I am running royal purple synthetic oil and that did seem to help a little with the vibration. I just hope it doesn't get much worse with age. Right now its tollerable but a little more vibration would get really annoying.

Royal purple helped with the vibration??????????.........sorry but that doesn't pass the laugh test.

 

[12345ranger12345]

my 08 2.3 has no problems with idle at all. i have about 12000 miles on it now

 

[SMTGREG]

Some 2007-2009 Ranger vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine and automatic transmission may exhibit an engine droan/moan/vibration at idle in the cab. There is a TSB 09-18-5 . Install Exhaust Damper, Reprogram The PCM And Neutralize Engine And Exhaust.

 

[zolar1]

Some 2007-2009 Ranger vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine and automatic transmission may exhibit an engine droan/moan/vibration at idle in the cab. There is a TSB 09-18-5 . Install Exhaust Damper, Reprogram The PCM And Neutralize Engine And Exhaust.

I too have a rough idle. You can easily feel it in the seats, the gas pedal, and the steering wheel. Sometime worse than others. Almost feels like a grinding in the gas pedal.

When stopped at a light, the whole truck vibrates.
More so when very cold, but to a lesser degree when warm.

I cleaned (properly) the MAF sensor (5 times in a row) and it got worse.

No codes.
Drinks gas like a thirsty camel on a hot summer day when temps are below 40F. Colder it is the faster it drinks gas. I can actually see the gas gauge move a needle width when only driving 3 miles. That is about 3 to 6 mpg. I start it, wait for rpm's to drop to about 1050, put in gear and drive slowly till it warms on it's own.
Thermostat was replaced by Ford last year. It refuses to warm up unless driven. Acts exactly like a diesel in that respect.

Trans is shifting a little funny too.

Mine is a 2008 ranger xlt (styleside, reg cab, short bed), 2.3L, automatic, 2WD. 42,000 miles.

Dealer last winter says nothing wrong. Another repair shop this winter can't find anything wrong either.

I tried seafoam and B12 chemtool. Slight improvement.
This time I tried BG 44K cleaner ($28 a can) and things seemed noticeably improve. But still drinks gas and runs rough.

Once I get above 2000rpm it doesn't seem to run rough.

I do on occasion hear a snapping noise from underneath the truck.

No soot in the tail pipe.

Before I had this problem I could get 35MPG on the highway (48 mpg max speed, not the 65+ speed limit)

One says it might be a intake manifold o-ring leaking vacuum. I sprayed ether around everything and no change in condition or increase in rpm.
Internet sources indicate bad EGR.
Other internet sources say bad/clogged IAC or bad MAF.
Another says it might be sticking valves - possible because I hear valve rattle when cold but it has always done that since new.
Others say might be bad spark plugs, wire(s) or coil pack.
I didn't see an IMRC valve on it but that doesn't mean it doesn't have one.
Another says it might be a coil in the transmission?
Another says it might be a cam sensor.
Another says it might be the computer (possible but doubtful).

I used to run a K & N air filter but when the problem arose I put in a new paper filter. Still no improvement. I removed the air box baffle to see if that might help. Nope.

Muffler getting loud too, but no rust through yet.

I don't want to throw parts at it nor pay for hours and hours of diagnostics.

I fear that it might be the egr valve, which from what I read it is a VERY expensive job to do. Supposedly it requires pulling the transmission to get to it. 5-8 hours of labor plus the part....
And that doesn't include decarbonizing the passage if needed.

I thought about cleaning the IAC thinking that it is sticking.
I also thought about replacing the MAF sensor since the problem got worse after cleaning it.

Should I replace the MAF sensor? It costs $120 aftermarket plus core.

I do have a slight hesitation when stepping on the gas pedal from a stop. Ever so slight.

I rarely go above 2000 rpms to save gas. I will once a week go on the highway at highway speeds and 'blow out' the carbon (never see any).

At my wits end here.

At $80/hr for diagnostics I could very easily get ripped off.
And I would have to pay that even if they couldn't find or fix the problem.

About the damper. Why would it be needed now when it wasn't ever needed before???

Isn't that treating the symptoms and not fixing the problem?

 

[stmitch]

Zolar, what mpg are you currently seeing and how are you calculating it? Please don't take this personally, but 30mpg hwy in an auto trans truck is basically unheard of. Between the clunky trans, and the 4.10 gearing that came with every auto trans Duratec, the trucks usually average 23-25 mpg in good weather. Less wouldn't surprise me this time of year. The manual trans trucks can eclipse 30, but they came with 3.73s that keep the rpms down at speed, and have the added benefit of being a more economical manual trans. They also have a bit less weight to haul around than the autos.

FYI, the IMRC flaps stopped in 03, so any 04 or newer duratec shouldn't have them.

 

[zolar1]

Zolar, what mpg are you currently seeing and how are you calculating it? Please don't take this personally, but 30mpg hwy in an auto trans truck is basically unheard of. Between the clunky trans, and the 4.10 gearing that came with every auto trans Duratec, the trucks usually average 23-25 mpg in good weather. Less wouldn't surprise me this time of year. The manual trans trucks can eclipse 30, but they came with 3.73s that keep the rpms down at speed, and have the added benefit of being a more economical manual trans. They also have a bit less weight to haul around than the autos.

FYI, the IMRC flaps stopped in 03, so any 04 or newer duratec shouldn't have them.

Lately, it has been really cold. My mpg was 12mpg. On the few warm days recently, I got 14 mpg.

Yes, I can get 30MPG on the highway. It takes warm weather (60 to 75), flat level road, not many curves, and little or no traffic. I gradually get up to 48 and set the cruise.

When comparing that to when I am doing city driving (about 12MPG), I can average even 17.9 mpg!

I try to hypermile as much as possible, anticipating turns, stops, etc.

EPA rating for mine is 18 city, 21 avg and 24 hwy.

Long before I was doing hypermiling and nothing wrong with the truck, I easiy got 28+ MPG on the highway (only 'mod' was a K & N air filter I tossed in at the time but since removed).

My last tank got me 17 MPG with 90% city driving (only one trip 35 miles each way).

No mods. Everything original except battery, air filter, tires, brakes, tail light bulbs (LED variety), oil & filter, fuel filter, and washer fluid. I did have the passenger air bag computer replaced under warranty and something in the steering column a couple of times - all by the dealer. I also had an explosion under the hood a long time ago. According to the dealer, some valve got stuck and since spark advance is quite early, it ignited the gas and blew apart the intake manifold. Those problems fixed under warranty too. I don't know what valve they were talking about.

I am beginning to suspect a defective MAF sensor because the truck acts like it has a bad EGR valve. The problem with vibration worsened after cleaning the MAF sensor 5 times (correctly too). But never a code for some reason.

I did read somewhere that the MAF sensor somehow controls the EGR circuit.

I was going to have a cat conv backpressure check but I may change my mind.

In this tank I am running BG 44K cleaner. And boy does that seem to give the truck a bit more power. So, injectors might not be the issue. No other cleaner give that much of a difference. Not seafoam not B12 chemtool.

I took ether and checked for vacuum leaks and didn't discover any.

I am beginning to narrow down the proximate cause of the poor MOG when cold and rough running. Seems no rough running above 2000 RPM. I found that a little strange.

I suspect dirty/sticking IAC or out of calibration MAF sensor.

I do have a bad muffler. It is loud! But no rust through yet.

I didn't think that would cause poor MPG since a rust gutted muffler won't give back pressure above 3 psi but should be near zero. I will be getting that replaced soon after I get the truck fixed.

I do get a very random start issue. Every once in a blue moon when starting, it will run very roughly at 500rpm until I give it a little gas.

And only once did it have the opposite problem. It went to cold idle 1500 rpm, then struggled up and down to 2000 rpm before settling out. I suspect this was perhaps some water in the gas and it was clearing itself.


If I do replace the MAF sensor, I was looking into this one:
http://www.jegs.com/i/JET-Performance/561/69190/10002/-1
It claims 12+HP increase. If I am going to live with BAD mpg at least I might as well get some added HP out of it it I can.

But the biggest worry is sequential damage caused by a defective part.
A relatively inexpensive part can cause thousands in repairs if not caught early enough.

Edit: PS I always start the truck this way: start it, wait till rpm's go from 1500 down to about 1050 ish, put in gear and drive slowly for the first few miles. And heater is on HEAT or off, no other gas gobbling setting (due to A/C running in all but 3 positions).

edit #2 dealer did replace the t-stat last winter.

 

[zolar1]

Continuation:

The truck does not want to warm up if you simply let it idle. It only wants to warm up by being driven. It acts like a diesel - cold at idle, noisy lifters....

 

[zolar1]

I bought a can of MAF cleaner and cleaned my MAF again as well as the IAC.

Still the rough idle persists.

Shouldn't there is a GOOD exhaust flow at 2500 RPM coming out of the tailpipe?

I suspect a partially clogged CAT or partially collapsed baffle in the muffler. The muffler is LOUD but no rust through.

Also this morning I started up.

I could SMELL the alcohol coming out of the exhaust. I have tired other gas stations and that problem too persists.

Maybe I have a stuck injector?

I am afraid I will be forced to take it to the dealer and get raped with a huge repair bill of some kind.

Unless I can find and perhaps fix the problem easily myself.

I have no codes.

Also, when stopped and at idle, I turn on the defrost (a/c kicks on) and the truck severely vibrates throughout. I did notice the electric fan was running even though the a/c was cycled off (for a few min anyway).

Temp today was around 50.

I am getting desperate here. I don't want some small problem to turn into sequential damage with a gigantic repair bill.

From what I understand the egr valve is on the back of the head and required pulling the transmission?

Oh, I did have a VERY hard shift when going from 1st to 2nd (automatic). This is a rare occurance as it did it a couple of times before. Sometimes when stopping it seems the front of the truck stops and the back of the truck catches up so to speak. Quite puzzling. Everything under there is solid from what I can tell.

Could it be a TPS giving me all these problems??

I really could use some help here. I am at my wits end.

 

[zolar1]

PS about the 30 mpg.

Look up hypermiling. I try to do most of the safe stuff. And 30mpg is only 20-25%% increase in MPG over rated. Some get far better than that but they do it dangerously. I value my truck, life, and insurance premiums.

 

[stmitch]

I misunderstood your original post. If you keep your speed at 48mph on the highway, and use some hyper mailing techniques, I can see getting almost 30. In the warmer months, I typically see 31-32 mpg in my duratec (5spd with 3.73 gears), but my highway speeds are 60-65mph, so I see more aero drag than you see going so slow.

As for your problems, I'm not sure. I don't know why the trans would have to be removed to replace the egr valve, but the duratec is still kind of new to me (I've had mine for just a few months). A clogged cat would definitely hurt your fuel economy and cause the engine to run pretty rough. If it's a cat, the question becomes why is it clogged? A stuck injector or valve issue could cause raw fuel to be dumped into the exhaust, which would melt the cat. You'd probably be able to see the converter glowing if it were bad though.

The fact that it won't heat up means the truck is staying in open loop, which is also really bad for fuel economy. Maybe the thermostat is faulty? I've read some threads about Duratec thermostat issues in the past. They can be problematic.

It definitely sounds like multiple problems, or one fairly serious issue to me though.

 

[zolar1]

It could be an exhaust issue. But I am going to look at the cheap reasons first.

I recleaned my MAF and a very small part of the TB. It is really dirty in there too.

I cleaned my IAC but it wasn't dirty.

I did run across an article about the MAP sensor' If it is dirty it can give delayed readings to the computer and the computer will go off O2 sensor readings. It won't trip a code unless it is really bad.

So I am going to try and clean that sensor.

I would really hate to pay the deler for diagnostics. And pay again for overprices parts and labor rates or be told there is nothing wrong.

I noticed that when defrost is on and the A/C kicks in, the whole truck shakes BAD.

The EGR valve is on the back of the engine head at the firewall.

Follow the tube from the TB back and you will locate it.

The procedure for relacement is to remove the driveshaft, crossmember, and pull the tranny to get to it.

If you go that far, then go a little farther and replace the front tranny seal and if feasible the rear engine seal. Don't forget the extension housing seal (where the driveshaft enters the transmission).


Gotta go. Going to see about cleaning that MAP sensor and PRAY that is all it needs.

 

[zolar1]

Ok, I cleaned my MAP sensor. It was dirty but not completely clogged.
There is a *noticeable* improvement.
The vibration is a lot less, but still there.

I do have cleaner in the gas (BG 44K) which may be causing some of it.

After cleaning, there was a LOT of vapor from the tailpipe. Not like when new but a whole lot more!

I will know more as time goes on. Computer might have to relearn - dunno yet.

But at least I made some progress.

I used CRC MAF sensor cleaner because it is 'plastic safe'.

Afraid to use the regular TB cleaner on a plastic manifold.