hard starting cold


  #1  
Old 09-23-03, 03:15 PM
S
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hard starting cold

I have a '97 F-250 w/ 5.8 ltr efi engine,auto, 2wd, the problem I'm having is when it gets down to 40 degrees or lower it wont start without holding my foot on the gas pedel as i turn the key and then I have to hold my foot on the gas till it warms up whitch varies in time depending on how cold it is. I dont have this problem during the summer months for the obvious resons, but now that its starting to get cold its starting to act up again. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm prety handy, would this be a DIYS'er?
 
  #2  
Old 09-23-03, 07:04 PM
Joe_F
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When's the last time the car saw any maintenance?
 
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Old 09-27-03, 06:46 AM
S
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Thanks for your help Joe, and what exactly do you mean by maintinance? I filled the tires and vacuumed it last week, should that have fixed it? Also, I took it to the Ford dealer, paid $500+ and received an oil change, hole in my dashboard, rip in my vinyl seat, big long computer generated receipt of which the only thing I was able to decipher was the amount owed, and the problem is still there, guess where I'll never go again. Besides, I do all my own routine maintinance, and repairs, but cant seem to figure out where to start on this problem.
 
  #4  
Old 09-27-03, 09:28 AM
eas
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sounds like engine is flooding possible cause computer coolant temp sending unit.its telling computer its - 30 degrees out and wants to dump lots of fuel into engine to get going. another possibility is idle air control motor is faulty.hope this shed some light on problem eas
 
  #5  
Old 09-27-03, 10:48 AM
Joe_F
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Go to any Autozone and have them scan for codes. In turn, tell us what they find. Let's start here.
 
  #6  
Old 09-29-03, 11:12 PM
mike from nj
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on a completely different kind of car, i had the same problem. long story short, it was the ignition coil. it always had spark when it wouldn't start(cold days), it just was never strong enough to light the engine off. one day it wouldn't start period (hot day) and it had no spark, replaced the bad coil and every winter after that, it started with the first turn of the key and idled without my 'right foot' assistance.


maybe check for spark next time it won't start, maybe compare it to a 'warm day' spark, see if it has the same intensity and see how big a gap it can jump (warm vs. cold day) and compare the two. maybe even pull a plug and look for wet fuel on the tip.

that's where i'd start

just my 2 cents
 
  #7  
Old 09-30-03, 02:42 PM
Y Vlad
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Make sure throtle body is clean(ford tend to be very sensetive), i would not blame coolant temp sensor (if it think it is cold and dump lot of fuel it would not start in a summer), but idle air control worth chacking. Hope that'll help.
 
  #8  
Old 10-01-03, 05:58 AM
Joe_F
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Original poster:

Have you found anything?
 
 

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