[road_rascal]

I had asked this question before when I first bought this car last year but it's still bugging me so I'll ask it again. When I first start my car ('99 Duratech) after it has been sitting overnight or at least 7-8 hours the initial idle speed varies from 1800-2300 rpms. After about 20-25 seconds the engine eventually settles down to around 1000 rpms. I have been told this is normal for this car. My wife's '01 Windstar with the 3.8 somewhat does the same thing but the startup idle only hits about 1400-1500 rpms. I use a full synthetic oil and I don't always have the luxury of parking it in the heated garage at work, although it's always in the garage at home. Does this situation seem correct for the 24v engine? Having the motor rev over 2000 when it's below zero makes me cringe.

 

[sundarpn]

fyi. my 96 taurus gl.. in the morning.. on start idles at 1400-1500
then after about 30 secs.. falls to 1000.

when its at 1400 to 1500 rpm, putting to reverse give a kick going back...

but i always wait 1 min atleast...

 

[jason8225]

Originally posted by sundarpn@Dec 12 2003, 01:04 PM
fyi. my 96 taurus gl.. in the morning.. on start idles at 1400-1500
then after about 30 secs.. falls to 1000.

when its at 1400 to 1500 rpm, putting to reverse give a kick going back...

but i always wait 1 min atleast...

my vulcan does the same thing...

 

[road_rascal]

So I'm assuming this is a normal characteristic for this engine. I guess I won't worry about it then.

 

[JasonBVHS]

Yeah don't worry about it, I had the same problem, and i asked a relative of mine who is a mechanic, and he says that the engine runs alittle high to get all of the systems fully pressurized, and its very common on any vehicle.

 

[Sablewagon]

This Fall, I bumpet the timing up to 15° on my 1995 3.8 Sable. It started the same initial high idle game, and hasn't gone back to the way it used to be. But, it seems to have so much more spunk with the timing advance, I'll live with the goofy idle stuff.

 

[djnb40]

Yep, that is perfectly normal. That's exactly what my Duratec would do.

 

[97vulcan]

I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure you let her warm up for a couple minutes before taking off. Just my $.02

 

[Twilight]

Check out your owners manual... the car will idle high to warm itself up and pressurize the oil, and it does not recommend driving until the idle goes back down to normal.

 

[qwertz9586]

Does this only happen on newer cars? My Sable idles at 1000 on startup and I wait 10 seconds and drops 200 RPMs when I shift on cold morning starts. But our Windstar idles at 1500-2k RPMs then drops to about 800-1000 RPMs after like 30 seconds.

 

[mikehawk]

High idles on a cold start sounds normal, but your seems a bit high. Maybe you should check out the iac?

 

[road_rascal]

Well like I said, sometimes its 1800 rpms, sometimes its 2000 rpms, but it always drops back down to 1000 after 15-20 seconds or so. I don't have any driveability problems and there aren't any codes stored in the comp so I'm just guessing this is just a function on the emissions systems getting things going quicker.

 

[mikehawk]

Maybe, but mine never goes past 1500rpms. I guess as long as there's no drivability issues or gas mileage changes, then it's no big deal.