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BA I6 Rough Idle

43K views 21 replies 18 participants last post by  Aussiblue 
#1 ·
Problem: BA Falcon I6 Vehicles experiencing rough idle and occasional stalling

Models: All BA Falcon I6 vehicles from Job 1

Cause: In some BA vehicles, oil pulled through the PCV system can stick to the throttle bore & plate and harden. This results in less air flow through the throttle at closed position.

Remedy: Thoroughly clean throttle bore and plate.

Will be fixed under warranty.

Russ
 
#2 ·
Thanks for that Info russellw. Our BA definitely suffers from that. I've had it stall on me a few times in traffic and had the really rough start up a few times as well.
 
#3 ·
This seems a reasonably theory, but I'm not sure about this being the primary cause of the intermittent rough startup.

When I get this problem it goes away as soon as I open the throttle.
A build up of hardened oil would need to magically soften and be sucked into the airstream.

Maybe magic really does happen? :wnc:
 
#4 ·
supermono said:
This seems a reasonably theory, but I'm not sure about this being the primary cause of the intermittent rough startup.

When I get this problem it goes away as soon as I open the throttle.
A build up of hardened oil would need to magically soften and be sucked into the airstream.

Maybe magic really does happen? :wnc:
the hardened oil results in the slight gap around the butterfly reducing in size, hence not enough intake charge = car stalls or wont fire.. no intake charge no combustion :) ..When you open the throttle its about volume, the butterfly tilts and the volume of intake charge(air) that can pass increases,, Under open throttle conditions it is not as effected by the slightly reduced diameter of the throttle housing from the hardened oil
 
#5 ·
What I was trying to highlight was that if the only cause is hardened oil reducing airflow, then you would continue to have idle problems each time you returned to the throttle closed position.

I only get the rough idle on initial start up after 2+ days of the car being unused, it will continue to run poorly as long as you don't touch the throttle. As soon as you do everything clears up and all is well.
 
#8 ·
I've had the same problem with my BA XLS ute. It started off just idling rough, then stalled on me a few times and eventually it just wouldn't start anymore.

Ford are telling me that it is a problem with bad fuel but I'm not so sure (they want me to pay $2400 to fix it, as fuel is not covered under Ford's warranty).

They pulled the head off the car and said that there were carbon deposits on the valves not allowing them to close properly and causing low compression. They also said that the computer had reprogrammed itself to provide more fuel resulting in excess fuel that wasn't burnt properly thus compounding the issue.

Does this sound right to anyone or is Ford just trying to get away with not having to pay to fix this? Any suggestions?
 
#10 ·
Mate you gotta be joking bad fuel my ass,do you go to the same servo everytime or use the same brand of petrol? theres no way they can put it down to bad fuel tell them u will be going to small claims tribunal and see them in court or if you can take it to a dealer that cares.If you have to pay a specialist to validate the claim. How do you know if the petrol station you buy fuel from is bad why isnt everybody else having the problem that uses that petrol.
my 2 cents
Stang



baxlsute said:
I've had the same problem with my BA XLS ute. It started off just idling rough, then stalled on me a few times and eventually it just wouldn't start anymore.

Ford are telling me that it is a problem with bad fuel but I'm not so sure (they want me to pay $2400 to fix it, as fuel is not covered under Ford's warranty).

They pulled the head off the car and said that there were carbon deposits on the valves not allowing them to close properly and causing low compression. They also said that the computer had reprogrammed itself to provide more fuel resulting in excess fuel that wasn't burnt properly thus compounding the issue.

Does this sound right to anyone or is Ford just trying to get away with not having to pay to fix this? Any suggestions?
 
#13 ·
hey this is very interesting, and I dont think just confined to the 6 cylinder. My BA XR8 has been having this stupid starting problems now for about 8 months, but not every day, drive it for a few days , leave it and then it plays up. When it does start, it misfires, no power, feels like only 4 cylinders are working, sucks fuel in like it has its own personal Optimax tanker, cant pull the skin off a rice pudding!! Barinas are faster, How embarrasing!!!!! It has had the throttle body cleaned, ECU reflashed so many times its not funny, purge valve replaced. I believe there is another reflash coming. May be they should just go back to the original flash in the ECU. It was running just perfectly!!, no miss, no rough auto change, great response to the right foot, and fuel economy for an 8, damn fantastic.. WHY oh Why!!! are we guinea pigs???
 
#14 ·
Well ive just had prob as all of above took it to ford today only took them 20min to figure out what it was.........burnt out coil
They replaced coil all is good
thanks Sinclair ford Penrith
 
#15 ·
Update on this nagging problem.
30K service yesterday and I got a pleasant surprise from my 'new' dealer.
(I got sick of hearing "they all do that" from the old one)

Reported the problem, dealer paid some attention to the throttle body connection/wiring. "we see this often and it's easy to fix"
Time will tell.



supermono said:
What I was trying to highlight was that if the only cause is hardened oil reducing airflow, then you would continue to have idle problems each time you returned to the throttle closed position.

I only get the rough idle on initial start up after 2+ days of the car being unused, it will continue to run poorly as long as you don't touch the throttle. As soon as you do everything clears up and all is well.
 
#16 ·
russellw said:
Problem: BA Falcon I6 Vehicles experiencing rough idle and occasional stalling

Models: All BA Falcon I6 vehicles from Job 1

Cause: In some BA vehicles, oil pulled through the PCV system can stick to the throttle bore & plate and harden. This results in less air flow through the throttle at closed position.

Remedy: Thoroughly clean throttle bore and plate.

Will be fixed under warranty.

Russ
Funnily when i mentioned my I6 rough idle to the service manger at Garlick ford, he said "it needs a ($120) injector clean, then"

he also mentioned a problem where the solenoid that actuates the variable inlets sticks and leaves the engine on "hi rev" position. resulting in failing to start, sattling, bad idle, lack of lowdown power. He said mine didnt have this.

he didnt mention this pcv gunking tho...
 
#18 ·
That Explains alot my Ba is exactly the same and after may trips to ford about the problem they couldn't find it so i beared with it mmmmmmmmm im taking this thread with me to ford and letting them see.

Thank you russellw
 
#19 ·
Forget all the complicated stuff.
The problem is a leaking intake manifold gasket. Just beside cyl 1.
Easy to check with a plastic tube.
$250 will get it fixed by good mechanic, or take it to Ford if you would rather spend a few grand replacing everything else.
 
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