ford 2.3 turbo surge at idle

dave89iroc

dave89iroc

Club Member
1987 Merkur Xr4ti, 2.3 turbo, c3 trans

it surges at idle, not immediately on start, but seconds after is is running

doesn't seem to be affected by temp much

i did notice that the temp gauge didn't seem to move

no codes, not capable of data

it sat for many years, had very little gas in the tank, I dumped in 5 gallons of premium

any ideas?

new parts(not related to surge, did it before)
alt
p/s pump
timing belt
coolant hoses
 
Check the timing makrs on the belt. the teeth tend to allow belt slippage and with the engine sitting for so long it may have slacked out and jumped. Thats how they run when they get out of time. Fixed about 5 2.3L fords in the last 2 years and they all had issue with the belt jumping.
 
Sean said:
Check the timing makrs on the belt. the teeth tend to allow belt slippage and with the engine sitting for so long it may have slacked out and jumped. Thats how they run when they get out of time. Fixed about 5 2.3L fords in the last 2 years and they all had issue with the belt jumping.
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new belt, marks are dead on, I'll check again tonight when I get home though
 
Replace the PCV valve. Sounds wierd, but I've seen them do some really strange things on XRs and TCs . . . get the OE Ford one if you can, because a lot of the aftermarket ones don't deal with the boost very well.
 
Rara said:
Replace the PCV valve. Sounds wierd, but I've seen them do some really strange things on XRs and TCs . . . get the OE Ford one if you can, because a lot of the aftermarket ones don't deal with the boost very well.
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ok, I;ll get one



ok, there is a moderate vacuum leak past the throttle shaft, any options other than replacing the throttle body?

i will try the unplugging the ECT, but it decided to run fine just now, I will start it again in a little bit
 
Last edited:
dave89iroc said:
ok, I;ll get one



ok, there is a moderate vacuum leak past the throttle shaft, any options other than replacing the throttle body?

i will try the unplugging the ECT, but it decided to run fine just now, I will start it again in a little bit
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Throttle shaft leak is unmetered air. Engine will idle lean and surge.
 
dave89iroc said:
looks fine to me

any fix for the throttle shaft leak, other then replacement?
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Try to find re-man or another good one. My 85 XR4TI and my 87 turbo coupe both had the same problem with t-body. Just got lucky on ebay. But the XR did it bad when the fan kicked on. The surging. I replaced the vane air meter, had a open in potentiometer circut at only an idle. Vane air load sensing sucks!!!!!! Put a wide band fast xfi on it. lol. I know lots of $.
 
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