walter czerwio

Hi Guys, My taurus 3.8 liter has 150,000 miles on it . My oil and filter were changed every 3000 miles. Motor head gaskets were changed at 55,000 miles at a Ford dealer. What is causing the rough idle? Is it possible that head gaskets blew again or is this a gas delivery problem. Thank you, for your advice. Walter

jwko

It could be a vacuum leak, EGR problem, Air/Fuel problem or may just need a tune up. It could be a number of different things. Is check engine light on?

walter czerwio

jwko thank you. also I have a hard time starting when car is hot. I put gas pedal to floor hold it there, then car starts. could this additional information , narrow down what the problem is. thanks walter

walter czerwio

also, check engine light is not on.

jwko

Try cleaning or replacing the MAF sensor

tbird100636

And the throttle body and IAC motor.

dac122

Does the exhaust smell like the car was flooded (very rich with unburned fuel)? How long does it take before car starts normally?

The possibility I'm thinking of is one (or more) leaky fuel injectors. I had this once on a '89 Ranger and the symptoms were, hard to start when hot with, rich unburned fuel when it did; just fine when cold after several hours; rough idle. When they leak even slightly they flood the car the next time you try to start. After many hours of fuel pressure leak-down, drying of cylinders, and cooler engine she'll start just fine.

Unfortunately this is one heck of a problem to diagnose, I don't know what the history of leaky injectors is on this engine, and I'd explore everything else before you look into this.

Good luck

dschlei

I have the identical problem with my Taurus, 3.8 , 1993 and 81 000 miles. Did you find a solution?