3.8 L Cougar idling problem July 23, 2017, 03:57:31 PM My 86 Cougar GS (that I bought new in 86) starts right up but immediately stalls unless I keep my foot on the gas pedal. This started about a month ago with the engine surging for a while at start up but then it leveled out after a few minutes of running. Now it just starts right up & stalls. Clogged fuel injector? Any ideas on how to fix this would be appreciated! Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #1 – July 23, 2017, 11:21:26 PM Is it throwing any codes? Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #2 – July 24, 2017, 12:44:22 PM Quote from: thunderjet302;461922Is it throwing any codes?I don't know and need to find out. The car has 135,000 miles on it. Do you think it could have a timing chain issue? Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #3 – July 24, 2017, 01:39:45 PM Quote from: midnight cat;461925I don't know and need to find out. The car has 135,000 miles on it. Do you think it could have a timing chain issue?Highly doubtful. TPS or ISC are my first thoughts, but get the KOEO and KOER codes to give you some better direction. Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #4 – July 25, 2017, 01:22:18 AM Quote from: JeremyB;461926Highly doubtful. TPS or ISC are my first thoughts, but get the KOEO and KOER codes to give you some better direction. Unfortunately I don't have any diagnostic tools. If the problem is something to do with the throttle body will that be expensive to fix? Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #5 – July 25, 2017, 02:47:46 AM You only need a paper clip. Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #6 – July 25, 2017, 10:31:39 AM Quote from: Haystack;461937You only need a paper clip.Probably a test light or multimeter too. http://www.thorssell.net/hbook/eectest.htmlLet us know what you get for codes. Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #7 – July 25, 2017, 12:45:33 PM Quote from: JeremyB;461940Probably a test light or multimeter too. http://www.thorssell.net/hbook/eectest.htmlLet us know what you get for codes.Will do. Thanks all for the great advice! Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #8 – July 25, 2017, 01:28:01 PM I used to use a 12v computer speaker, made the same beep as the cheap code readers back in the day. Ive also soldered a tail light bulb to wires before, just about anything will work. Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #9 – July 25, 2017, 02:22:08 PM Quote from: Haystack;461946I used to use a 12v computer speaker, made the same beep as the cheap code readers back in the day. Ive also soldered a tail light bulb to wires before, just about anything will work.Thanks! BTW, people have told me the stock 3.8L V6 in my 86 Cougar is the worst engine Ford ever made. Even worse than the Chevy 305 V8. However, according to Wikipedia the Ford Esshag 3.8 L V6 is a pretty good engine. Do you think the Esshag was a bad design from the beginning? Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #10 – July 26, 2017, 02:13:11 PM 83-87 3.8 V6 = slow turd88+ 3.8 V6 = slow, head gasket blowing, turd Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #11 – September 02, 2017, 09:31:58 PM Quote from: JeremyB;461926Highly doubtful. TPS or ISC are my first thoughts, but get the KOEO and KOER codes to give you some better direction.What is the ISC? I've replaced the TPS, the fuel filter, the fuel regulator and the fuel injectors. There are no vacuum leaks and the car does retain fuel pressure after being shut off (35 lbs). However, the fuel injectors aren't always firing at idle so the car always stalls unless I pour gas down into the TBI or spray some carburetor cleaner down there (car runs great for a few seconds if I manually feed the TBI gas). Could it be the pick up coil? Or maybe the module on the distributor? Also, we used a paper clip to get engine codes and it indicated the TPS was the problem - but the the new TPS hasn't made any difference. Any advice would be appreciated! Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #12 – September 03, 2017, 01:04:20 AM My guess is that was a typo for iac, idle air controler.If you are loosing spark, it will stop firing the injectors.Try unplugging the spout connector. If that makes no difference, then it is time to replace either the pip in the distributor, or the tfi module. I usually swap both, if one fails it seems like the other follows shortly after.EditThe pip is what tells the computer that the engine is turning over. This signal fires the injectors after being modified by the tfi module. Unplugging the spout might rule out a computer problem, it will put the computer in "limp mode", bypassing all but the necessary sensors to limp the car to a dealership. The tps should sit around 1v at idle and reach 3.5v higher then idle voltage to initiate a full sweep. Everytime the computer is powered on, it checks for idle voltage. Anything between about .67-1.19 volts whould be in range, optimally closer to the middle of those numbers. Check for a constant raised signal until it pegs or reaches at least 3.5v higher then idle voltage. Any dead spots or higher then 5v indicates a bad sensor or possible ground wire. Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #13 – September 03, 2017, 09:32:47 AM Quote from: midnight cat;461950Thanks! BTW, people have told me the stock 3.8L V6 in my 86 Cougar is the worst engine Ford ever made. Even worse than the Chevy 305 V8. However, according to Wikipedia the Ford Esshag 3.8 L V6 is a pretty good engine. Do you think the Esshag was a bad design from the beginning?Compared to Ford's 3.8, the 305 was a Crown Jewell... Other than being a turd(mostly due to emission control/tuning), really no different than any other small block Chevy... Ford's 302/5.0 in same era didn't run much if any better...The only real problem with Ford's 3.8 were the heads... Aluminum heads were still in their early stages and Ford didn't allow enough material between the fire rings and some of the oil & coolant passages... So unless one flushed cooling system almost yearly they blew gaskets with regularity(I honestly dunno if that would have saved them)... The sharp 90* transition machined from lower head bolt surface to vertical was pr0ne to cracking in the early heads... To put it this way, in the last 50+ years I've owned close to 200 cars, not one had a Ford 3.8... Yes I've owned a 305 or two even some Chevy & Buick 3.8... Quote Selected
3.8 L Cougar idling problem Reply #14 – September 03, 2017, 01:44:27 PM Quote from: Haystack;462521My guess is that was a typo for iac, idle air controler.If you are loosing spark, it will stop firing the injectors.Try unplugging the spout connector. If that makes no difference, then it is time to replace either the pip in the distributor, or the tfi module. I usually swap both, if one fails it seems like the other follows shortly after.EditThe pip is what tells the computer that the engine is turning over. This signal fires the injectors after being modified by the tfi module. Unplugging the spout might rule out a computer problem, it will put the computer in "limp mode", bypassing all but the necessary sensors to limp the car to a dealership. The tps should sit around 1v at idle and reach 3.5v higher then idle voltage to initiate a full sweep. Everytime the computer is powered on, it checks for idle voltage. Anything between about .67-1.19 volts whould be in range, optimally closer to the middle of those numbers. Check for a constant raised signal until it pegs or reaches at least 3.5v higher then idle voltage. Any dead spots or higher then 5v indicates a bad sensor or possible ground wire.Haystack, Thanks for the detailed advice. It's greatly appreciated! BTW, what is the PIP? Quote Selected
Topic: 3.8 L Cougar idling problem (Read 3977 times)
previous topic - next topic
