Idle

probably wouldn't hurt to pull the IAC off the front of your plenum and spray it out with some brake cleaner and let it dry...

banditmwp said:

probably wouldn't hurt to pull the IAC off the front of your plenum and spray it out with some brake cleaner and let it dry...

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Probably would hurt, the IAC is extremely fickle. Mine didn't work at all after I cleaned, let it dry, and put it back on.

JonJon said:

Probably would hurt, the IAC is extremely fickle. Mine didn't work at all after I cleaned, let it dry, and put it back on.

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HMM....

didn't hurt our '96 when I did it a few weeks ago...but it didn't solve the problem I was having then, either, it was kind of a shot in the dark

mustang70 said:

I was just wondering how smooth everyone esle's motor idles? My motor has a slight shake to it and feels like a shudder runs through it now and then. Nothing to major. Am I just used to the 5.0 in my Mountaineer that idles super smooth?

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Mine does that same exact thing....

banditmwp said:

HMM....

didn't hurt our '96 when I did it a few weeks ago...but it didn't solve the problem I was having then, either, it was kind of a shot in the dark

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More like a shot in the IAC!

banditmwp said:

HMM....

didn't hurt our '96 when I did it a few weeks ago...but it didn't solve the problem I was having then, either, it was kind of a shot in the dark

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Yeah, the IACs are really picky... Some people have success, some people have no change, some get worse


Now that I think about it, my car does the same thing.. the slight shudder once in a while. It's always done that.

My car idles weird too. It acts like something isn't running smoothly. It's done that ever since I've had it. Sometimes when I'm going down the road in overdrive, it will act like it's missing slightly, or something. I'll get a 'bump' feel, and then another one, and another, probably about 3-6 seconds apart. If I give it some gas, it'll go away. Does yours do that too? My car definitlely doesn't seem as smooth as i should.

mustang70 said:

Above idle it's fine. Runs smooth as silk. Something else I have noticed is that if I rev it while in neutral or if I'm in traffic and push the clutch in real quick the motor doesn't come down right away. It's a second or so to return to idle.

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Same exact thing happens on my '04. I think it's normal. I was thinking maybe copper plugs will help smooth out the idle a little bit??

Red03Mustang said:

My car idles weird too. It acts like something isn't running smoothly. It's done that ever since I've had it. Sometimes when I'm going down the road in overdrive, it will act like it's missing slightly, or something. I'll get a 'bump' feel, and then another one, and another, probably about 3-6 seconds apart. If I give it some gas, it'll go away. Does yours do that too? My car definitlely doesn't seem as smooth as i should.

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My 04 GT did the same thing. Put it in fifth at around 45-50mph and it felt like the engine hickup'd or something a few times. Mine only seemed to do it when cold tho...
Don't have the 04 anymore tho...

I hope it isn't normal.

I would hate to think that's normal. I mean, it's not a bad problem or anything, and don't get me wrong, I love my car. But I wish it would idle smooth, and sound like it's running smooth as silk all the time. It doesn't though. The RPMs fluctuate. Every other car I've driven has has a smoother idle than my GT.

A smooth idleing car I had was a 2001 Honda Prelude. Now that sucker was responsive. It was an auto also. If it was in neutral, I could push the gas and that tach needle would jump and fall really responsively. I mean, you let off the gas and that needle would drop like a rock. The GT in comparison is a slug, and I really hate that. I want that same responsiveness and smooth idle. I know it was a 4 cylinder and maybe that has something to do with it. I don't know a lot about cars, just what I pick up here and there.

What could be done to make my car more responsive? I heard doing stuff with the air flow helps that sort of thing. I've got a K&N FIPK and a MAC catback, so my airflow should be at least a little better. What kind of other stuff should I check out?

I'm wondering about the O2 sensors. I hear a lot of people mentioning these GT's having to have those things replaced constantly. Could that be an issue with these weird idles people are having? Like I say, I don't know much about cars, so what I'm saying could be totally unrelated. But I'd at least like to know, and I gotta learn somehow.

Would turning off O2 sensors with a programmer be beneficial, or are they really needed?

It's a lot of questions, but I need answers. Can someone answer these for me?

Thanks all!