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Old May 5, 2004 | 08:41 AM
  #1  
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Question Rough idle

I have a 2004 Excursion with the 6.0 engine built 2003, the truck ran beautifully for the first 10,000 since then it has been in the dealer four times, finally the last time I took it in the mechanic was waiting for me and the truck was iddling very rough and surging. They had the truck for 8 days and replaced one injector, the number 2 cylinder. Driving the truck home I had the rough idle again but not as bad as before however after a week it is as bad as it was the last time. The mechanic does not know what to do and he is calling Ford again. Thew rough iddle happens mainly after expressway driving for 15-20 minutes and when exiting the truck will begin iddling very rough at the first full stop. Sometimes is does not do it right away but if you sit there for a while like at a railroad crossing it will start doing it again. Any body has an idea or experience whith this problem, I love my truck but I can not have an ureliable truck. (they have flashed the truck twice in November and last time at the shop)
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 08:37 AM
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My truck did this as well from day 1. Problem never did get resolved. I ended up getting my truck replaced by Ford through the DSB process.

Drake
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 09:02 AM
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Originally Posted by juang
I have a 2004 Excursion with the 6.0 engine built 2003, the truck ran beautifully for the first 10,000 since then it has been in the dealer four times, finally the last time I took it in the mechanic was waiting for me and the truck was iddling very rough and surging. They had the truck for 8 days and replaced one injector, the number 2 cylinder. Driving the truck home I had the rough idle again but not as bad as before however after a week it is as bad as it was the last time. The mechanic does not know what to do and he is calling Ford again. Thew rough iddle happens mainly after expressway driving for 15-20 minutes and when exiting the truck will begin iddling very rough at the first full stop. Sometimes is does not do it right away but if you sit there for a while like at a railroad crossing it will start doing it again. Any body has an idea or experience whith this problem, I love my truck but I can not have an ureliable truck. (they have flashed the truck twice in November and last time at the shop)

First............WELCOME to FTE the best Family Ford site there is.
Have you ever turned the truck off and then re-started it when the rough idle starts?
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 10:18 AM
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My truck did the same thing and they tried again and again to flash it. In the end the flashes has never taken and they determined that it was because of a bad cam sensor. They replaced it and the flash was then done and the surging went away. The turbo lag was still there but it is better now that I disconnected the egr valve!
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 10:37 AM
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Describe rough idle. As I understand it, if you have an injector failure, you will have a very distinct very rough idle. I have come off the highway and stopped. Frequently, not all the time, the engine will seem a little rough. I can see it in the mirrors and feel it in the steering wheel.
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by 03f350crew
My truck did the same thing and they tried again and again to flash it. In the end the flashes has never taken and they determined that it was because of a bad cam sensor. They replaced it and the flash was then done and the surging went away. The turbo lag was still there but it is better now that I disconnected the egr valve!
Please explain more about this.
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 01:19 PM
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Yes I have turned off the truck when the rough idle begins and it goes away for a while and then comes back. Also if I place the transmission in neutral when I go back to drive most time the iddle goes away until the next stop They have flashed the computer at least three times that I know and no change. Any help?. By rough idle I mean the trck begins to shake, mainly the steering wheel but sometimes the whole trck vibrates the the engine surges and the vibration goes away. According with the mechanic at Ford, injector number 2 was going out at idle.
 

Last edited by juang; May 6, 2004 at 01:22 PM.
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Old May 6, 2004 | 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by juang
Yes I have turned off the truck when the rough idle begins and it goes away for a while and then comes back. Also if I place the transmission in neutral when I go back to drive most time the iddle goes away until the next stop They have flashed the computer at least three times that I know and no change. Any help?. By rough idle I mean the trck begins to shake, mainly the steering wheel but sometimes the whole trck vibrates the the engine surges and the vibration goes away. According with the mechanic at Ford, injector number 2 was going out at idle.

That can and will cause some of the rough idle..
Flashing three times........did they flash it correctly
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 03:49 PM
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Unhappy

Hopefully they did, the engineer from Ford was at the dealership and he looked at my truck and ordered the repairs, that is assuming he knew what he was doing. The first flash was the October flash to take away the pilot ignition because my truck was smoking on cold starts the second and third were done to try to correct the rough iddle both time did not have any improvements, then they changed the injector and now....... the truck is at the dealer for 3 days already and I have not heard a word. I understand they were talking to Ford for assistance.
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 04:48 PM
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Rough Idle too

Originally Posted by juang
I have a 2004 Excursion with the 6.0 engine built 2003, the truck ran beautifully for the first 10,000 since then it has been in the dealer four times, finally the last time I took it in the mechanic was waiting for me and the truck was iddling very rough and surging. They had the truck for 8 days and replaced one injector, the number 2 cylinder. Driving the truck home I had the rough idle again but not as bad as before however after a week it is as bad as it was the last time. The mechanic does not know what to do and he is calling Ford again. Thew rough iddle happens mainly after expressway driving for 15-20 minutes and when exiting the truck will begin iddling very rough at the first full stop. Sometimes is does not do it right away but if you sit there for a while like at a railroad crossing it will start doing it again. Any body has an idea or experience whith this problem, I love my truck but I can not have an ureliable truck. (they have flashed the truck twice in November and last time at the shop)

My truck is an 04 with 11/3/03 build on engine and at 6K mi., doing the exact same thing. It has been at the dealers for 8 days now. They keep saying that they are talking to Ford, but no solution yet. I ran into a curb the other day, as the engine quit while I was turning at an intersection. It always does it on the restart after I have driven about 10-15 min. and let it sit for an hour or so. I go up to a crosswalk while waiting for the light to change and it starts lurching forward with a tach. increase of 400-500 rpms. Talk about dangerous! Of course I can't let my wife drive it, and I wouldn't dare go more than a short distance around town. This whole thing went on for a week or so before I took it to the dealer. Come back at me and let me know if they ever found a fix for your truck
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by juang
Hopefully they did, the engineer from Ford was at the dealership and he looked at my truck and ordered the repairs, that is assuming he knew what he was doing. The first flash was the October flash to take away the pilot ignition because my truck was smoking on cold starts the second and third were done to try to correct the rough iddle both time did not have any improvements, then they changed the injector and now....... the truck is at the dealer for 3 days already and I have not heard a word. I understand they were talking to Ford for assistance.
On the second and third flashes, did they do any diagnostics or just go straight to the flash.
 
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Old May 6, 2004 | 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Tim Lamkin
Please explain more about this.
Well I had the same complaint as everyone else with the surging at idle and bad turbo lag to the point of a dead pedal at times if you hammered it from a dead stop. Three times the said that they updated the software and three times it still did not get any better. Then they said the cam sensor was bad and that caused the flash not to take. after replacing the cam sensor and doing the flash again the surging went away but the turbo lag was still there, not as bad but still annoying. After someone here on FTE suggested disconnecting the EGR valve and it seemed to help with the turbo lag some. I did notice today and yesterday after driving in the 90 degree temperatures that the turbo lag is now bad again! I think I might reconnect the EGR and take the truck back to Brad Francis! It is very frustrating as the truck only runs good if the air temp is cool out, so I can only enjoy my truck to its full potential in the winter? If they could fix the horrible turbo lag I would be absolutely giddy abou this truck, because once the turbo kicks in the truck is almost on the edge of feeling like your in a drag car!
 
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Old May 7, 2004 | 07:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Tim Lamkin
On the second and third flashes, did they do any diagnostics or just go straight to the flash.
They said they did a diagnostic on it and could not come up with any codes, the third time I took it in is that they replaced the injector. I have taken the truck to two different dealers just to make sure they knew what they were doing to no avail.
Juan
 
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Old May 7, 2004 | 07:43 AM
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Originally Posted by juang
They said they did a diagnostic on it and could not come up with any codes, the third time I took it in is that they replaced the injector. I have taken the truck to two different dealers just to make sure they knew what they were doing to no avail.
Juan
Good call on the tow different dealerships.
 
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Old May 7, 2004 | 07:45 AM
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Originally Posted by 03f350crew
Well I had the same complaint as everyone else with the surging at idle and bad turbo lag to the point of a dead pedal at times if you hammered it from a dead stop. Three times the said that they updated the software and three times it still did not get any better. Then they said the cam sensor was bad and that caused the flash not to take. after replacing the cam sensor and doing the flash again the surging went away but the turbo lag was still there, not as bad but still annoying. After someone here on FTE suggested disconnecting the EGR valve and it seemed to help with the turbo lag some. I did notice today and yesterday after driving in the 90 degree temperatures that the turbo lag is now bad again! I think I might reconnect the EGR and take the truck back to Brad Francis! It is very frustrating as the truck only runs good if the air temp is cool out, so I can only enjoy my truck to its full potential in the winter? If they could fix the horrible turbo lag I would be absolutely giddy abou this truck, because once the turbo kicks in the truck is almost on the edge of feeling like your in a drag car!

I bought mine from Brad, turn on your email and send me a message.
Brad is good folk.
Lets talk on the phone.
 
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