Looking for a little help. I have a 2000 Exc. when sitting idling you can hear the exhaust is popping a little. But nothing regular like a miss just some da ti da off and on. Also when you floor it, it seems as if the timing goes in and out advance. Seeing as how parts are and arm & leg these days I thought some more opinions would be a good idea before throwing money at it. My ideas are cop starting to go or cam sensor. What do you think?

 

I'm assuming a gas engine (but which one...?) How many miles do you have on it? Has the check engine light come on at all? May want to check for codes even if you haven't noticed it coming on.

Here's a few things to look for:
- vacuum leak - you can spray intake cleaner around the various hoses and connectors to see if the idle changes at all - will help isolate where the leak is if you have one.
- idle air control valve is dirty or sticking - I'd recommend taking it off and cleaning it with intake cleaner. 2 bolts and one hose and it's off.
- plugs need changing. May want to pull them and check them anyway - cheap enough to just replace while you are at it. If any are fouled you may have a possible misfire which may be a COP. Typically you'll get a cylinder misfire code when a COP goes though unless it's very minor.

I'd recommend a fuel injector cleaner in your next tank - I use Seafoam in the tank and only fill up about 1/2 tank due to the sizes of our tanks. I also do an intake cleaning with Seaform by sucking some through the intake via a vacuum hose (I use the brake booster line) - be careful that you don't suck too much in at a time. Turn the engine off and let the truck sit for 10-15 mins and then take it for a drive - a LOT of smoke will be produced and then burn off. If the intake has never been cleaned I'd recommend a cleaning of the throttle body - I use Amsoil Power Foam which does a great job. This needs to be injected and let it sit according to the directions and then again take it for a drive. LOTS of smoke will again be produced but will go away after a short drive.

Power foam link: http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/apf.aspx
Seafoam link: http://www.seafoamsales.com/motor-treatment/index.html

 

working with v10 , 150,000 heads are new as of 3 weeks ago, bores looked good ,still crosshatched, top of pistons only minimal carbon. Also gas mileage suffered 1.5 mpg over last week.