how to fix a rough idling 1.9 litter ford engine in a 93 escort lx

Asked by tex1987 May 23, 2014 at 03:42 PM about the 1993 Ford Escort 4 Dr LX Wagon

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

i replaced the motor in my escort with one from a 96, also replaced plugs. alt., plug
wires injectors, timing belt, serptine belt, tensioner, fuel filter,temp sensor, cooling fan
switch, but as soon as she warms up she idles so rough the whole car shakes and as
soon as you put her in gear she dies as well as when i stop at light........what can it
be? checked compession and no problems there, check engine light stays on....has
me my grandfather a ford tech and my father in law stumped.

7 Answers

25,285

wow that's a bunch of hands on,sounds like you replaced the engine and the you replaced all the parts on the replacement. Rough idle and stalling sounds like fuel/mixture, firing order correct?,is a 96 run on same PCM as 93? I don't have any thing on hand to look at 1993 and 1996 specifically so just making some suggestions.

2 people found this helpful.
199,605

Possibly dirty/faulty idle air control valve or dirty throttle plate. I would also inspect for vacuum leaks.

4 people found this helpful.
25,285

Depending on your comfort level (which sounds high) does the air intake have a sensor that you can easily disconnect and see if that smooths out the idle. This is not a solution - it just can help pin-point the trouble.

4 people found this helpful.
57,865

My '93 1.9L automatic Escort has the same issue - I've decided to live with it but here's the cause: All 4 motor mounts are old and the design of the engine promotes the transmission of the engine pulsations through the body. In my case, I have the additional complication of the front end being slightly askew due to an accident by the previous owner so things don't exactly line up. You cannot effectively adjust the idle - the computer will just adapt and return to it's preset engine speed. The engine is a little workhorse - they're basically all the same (with minor changes) 1.9L SEFI. It's just a little, reliable econo-car. Mine has well over 600K miles - second engine-third automatic transmission. There are no balance shafts or other vibration- damping technology built into the engine. BTW folks - a little mechanical aptitude and a free Saturday and you can swap the motor in this car in about 6 hours - easy peezy.

3 people found this helpful.
50

I took off and cleaned the carbon out of the part that comes off the exhaust. It is located on the upper back od the engine and has a pipe going over to exhaust manifold. It requires a 1-1/16 inch open end wrench (crow foot) on bottom and two 10 mm bolts I think. There is a vacumn tube attached to the top back of it. Mine was plugged full of carbon and was giving a code on inn the computer. You can clean this out and reuse it unless you really want to waste $50 on a new one. The carbon has to be chipped out but it can be done..

5 people found this helpful.
30

I have 1995 ford escort lx 1.9 and i keep adding antifreeze everyday and i don't know where / it has no visible leak any where what could it be

3 people found this helpful.

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