sluggish cougar. please help!

[Dmecca19]

hi, i guess to start off i should put out that i know practically nothing about cars. so some of what im asking may be easy to answer or not, but hopefully someone can help. for the longest time now, my cougars been going extremely sluggish. just recently its been worse. if i floor it, 90% of the time, it will either take forever for the car to speed up and the rpm's creep up slowly, or when i floor it, the rpm's shoot up, but my car still barely creeps up in speed. there is a very noticeable difference from what it used to be like. im being told that the problem is the intake manifold runner controller. they are saying something about its supposed to open up at around 3000rpm but it doesnt open at all. (sorry for the confusing explanations) they are quoting me at $140 for the part. plus about another $170 for labor to put that in, and also to reprogram the pcm. my questions are, could this be the reason its acting sluggish like this? they are guaranteeing me that they are 90% sure that is it. i dont want to pay this much money just to find out it didnt do crap. also, am i getting ripped off for parts cost and labor cost? please help, im to broke to be dishing out this kinda money... especially if it isnt even the main problem. i guess i probably need to mention some stats on my car. its a 99' v6, atx. ummm... dunno what else i need. my mileage is at 66,000. my cars been acting up id guess for around 8 months, but just recently its been acting like this almost everytime i do it now. it used to just do it every now and then. thanks.

[Dmecca19]

well after reading through a few other posts, it looks like the imrc box was causing most people the same problem. took me a few seconds to register in my head that those are the same initials as my problem with the intake manifold runner controller =P (im slow) so it seems that is almost definetaly my problem considering its most peoples problems. now my next questions. does it really cost $170 in labor to install this and also do they need to reprogram the pcm when they replace this? that $170 is including the pcm. thanks to whoever can help. (is it hard to do this yourself with little knowledge, but with help of friends that MAY know a lil bit more?)

[CatMan]

Yep, I'd say thats sounds like the problem. And I'd also say that if you have a friend or two that knows their way around a car's engine, you should be able to do it yourself. I know that taking off the intake manifolds isn't all that hard, so removing the IMRC couldn't too much more of a challenge once you get those out. I'd say get the part and try to do it yourself, and if you decide you just don't want to mess with it or your friend(s) don't know as much as you thought, then just put everything back together and take it back to the dealership.

One other thing: I thought this was pretty funny:

they are guaranteeing me that they are 90% sure that is it

So basically, they're guaranteeing you that they THINK they know what the problem is? You gotta love Ford techs

[Ripple]

Find the part number or submit a part request from Fordparts.com. Ken has never failed me in getting me the lowest price for any of the parts that I've needed. If you don't have a service manual yet pick one up. If you would rather have the CD PM me and I can get you one.

[blacklighting]

If you look around you probably could find the part for cheaper. And I know 170 to put in imrc box is way to much. Take CatMan's advise and try to put it in your self, it isn't that hard. If you do have problems then find a place that will put it in for cheaper. Good luck with your problem.

[Dmecca19]

thanks for all the helpful feedback. i have pretty much everything cleared up except one more thing. they told me after they replace the imrc box, they need to reconfigure the pcm. is that true, or do i only just need to replace the imrc? thanks.

[ShinyBlackCat]

I don't see why it would be necessary, but it can't hurt. Often times, Ford will update the PCM program with a newer, better one.

[GrandMasterKhan]

fordpartsonline sold me a IMRC box shipped for less than a 100....


removing the upper intake manifold will be nessisary to install the device. it only took me 2 hours remove the UIM install the imrc. and reinstall the UIM. all you need is a basic sockey set and some screw drivers....just dont lose any bolts!! lol

[DanN]

When a cat gets sluggish now we worry about their "urinary track health"..but back in the day a slingshot slug in the ass got a cat moving...

Oh, your talking about a Cougar....