Throttle hang...

[Diesel]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how I would find out if my cougar has the throttle hang problem? I saw the how to, but I am not precisely sure if I need to do it. I have a MTX V6 if that helps determine anything.

Thanks,
Diesel

[James]

there's a how-to on fastcougar.com

[Diesel]

James,

I understand that the How To describes how to fix the problem...what I want to know is, what exactly happens when you have the throttle hang problem or does it afflict all the 1999+ cougars.

Diesel

[James]

Basically what happens is that your rpm's drop very slowly when you let off of the gas. This is not the "norm" with most mtx cars. My guess is that in an effort to keep emissions of unspent fuel lower Ford "Over-engineered" the bypass air supply hose. It bypasses the throttle body and supplies air for idling. Think if you will... you have open throttle body... engine movin... all of a sudden you close the tb, and the air supply is just cut off. There's still unspent fuel in the combustion chambers that needs air to combust efficiently. This air is supplied through the bypass hose. All the throttle hang fix does is decrease the flow bypass hose by adding a restrictor (in the form of the drilled copper cap). I personally like the way car shifts better with it installed, and i would recommend you try it and see if you do. If not it's really easy to remove.

[Diesel]

Outstanding James..Just the information I was looking for!

Diesel

[mindtrip1016]

James, does this install also lower the RPM's during idle? Possibly causing the engine to stall?

[James]

That has happened in one or two cases that i've heard of. You can try resetting the ecu (just pull off the + on the battery for a few minutes) or make the hole in the restrictor plate (copper cap) a little bigger to allow more air through.

I have no problems with my idle and I did not have to reset the ECU. That is the most common case.

[Xrumer]

I have the TH FIX and, mine idles fine, only thing is i live in michigan and it's FREAKIN cold and when u 1st start it u have to give it alittle gas to keep the rpms up for a few seconds to warm it up... if u dont most of the time it stalls... But to tell u the truth i hate it with out the TH fix cuz when u start it normally it rev's so high at the 1st start it pisses me off take forever to come down.... :biggrin:

[mindtrip1016]

Thank you James and Xrumer. That is what I wanted to hear. I am going to do the mod this week or weekend.

[mindtrip1016]

I have one more question before I do this. What exactly are the benefits of having this done? I understand what it does, but as a daily driver and weekend street racer, what will this do for me? How does it shift better?

[Blackcoog]

I have heard that it is a bad idea so I took mine out a couple months ago. Search the board for Throttle hang and there should be a recent topic on it that explains why it is bad.

[Fieldsexp]

Ya search the boards. If I recall correctly, there was more bad then good about it.

[mindtrip1016]

I searched the boards for the goods and the bads. There is no bad. They were saying that the engine could suck oil and crap in the combustion chamber, but that is only if the half inch copper restrictor doesn't have a hole in it. I don't really understand the good in it. What does lowering the RPMs quicker do? Anyway, there is no bad if you read the instructions and follow them correctly from what I have gathered since my search.

[Blackcoog]

That bad is with it done correctly you were mistaken.

[mindtrip1016]

Blackcoog, Have you fully read the thread entitled, "Correct Throttle Hang Mod"?? I have done my research. It names one thing in perticular that is bad to our Duratecs, but it also is questionable.

"If the engine's Plan B is removed, it resorts to Plan C: Sucking oil & crankcase vapors into the combustion chamber past the valves and rings in an effort to fill the cylinders on the intake stroke. Without an air source, a vacuum is created, and nature abhores a vacuum. So oil sucks in through the PCV valve, valve seals, and rings. The result is a fouled intake (when we already have a fouling problem to begin with), and worn rings, seals, and seats. "

That is a direct quote. Notice the words " with out an air source". That is assuming that there is no air source going to the intake when the throttle is let off when all this sucking of oil vapors and crap happens. But with the throttle hang mod done correctly there is an air source. It may be smaller or less than factory, but there is still air going in. Please go through the thread and read it from top to bottom. Pay careful attention to what DanG, PuckPuck, and FastCougar have to say. They are all reputable moderators and know what they are talking about. Do this and then if you want to come back on and tell me that I have mistaken, go right ahead.

Peace

[James]

the advantage is the way that your car shifts.... you can rev your engine and not have it hang (and make a TON of stupid sounding noise if you have an exhaust). And shifts are less jerky.

[mindtrip1016]

James,
Thank you for all the insight through out this thread. I myself did the throttle hang fix a few mintues ago. It took all of 5 minutes to complete. Right now I am just waiting, with the battery disconnected, for the ECU to reset. Thanks again.

[Blackcoog]

Ok! You are still mistaken! (I have been on quite a bit longer then you and I listened to the whole post). The throttle hang in no way entails you to put in a cap with no hole in it. Dan was referring to the air source being diminished not totally stopped. Of course it will phuck it up if you block the pipe. I did go back and read it and I still see it this way. Read the entire post on it again and if you still don't believe me then leave it in it is your choice I will not make anyone take it out. I am just stating my opinion.

Later,
Chris

[Fett]

The good and bad that I experienced.

Good: RPMs dropped down quicker, shifting seemed slightly crisper because of it.

Bad: That only worked for a few weeks, after that the engine seemed to "learn" the fix and over ride it.
Black smoke puffs out of tail pipe at WOT.
Fuel Sender Circuit failure.


All the bad went away as soon as I took out my fix...I will never put it back in again.

[mindtrip1016]

Blackcoog, I read it several times before replying to the thread, soaking up every bit of info there was. I guess you are agreeing with DanG, because he doesn't believe that the mod is good. And I am agreeing with FastCougar and PuckPuck, because they are saying what I want to hear. So let's just leave it at that- a difference in opinions. I did the mod last night and if I have any problems over the next few weeks like Fett had then I will post it and agree with you. Thanks for the info guys.

[James]

do you like the way it shifts now?

[mindtrip1016]

I actually do, James. I also like the sound. I have gutted precats and YoDude exhaust so it used to sound rather raspy. Now it has seemed to have tamed down a bit. I haven't noticed any power loss, but maybe a little low end torque gain. I haven't gotten to race it yet, but there is a guy in my neighborhood who likes to romp on the accelerator in front of my house, I guess to let me know that he has a pissed off bee in his muffler. But I am thinking of going in front of his house and letting him here the beautiful tunes of YoDude till he comes out and races me. I raced him before, but he has done a few mods since then. We'll see how I fare against his rice racer tomorrow. Has any one with an MTX noticed any kind of power loss?

[James]

good to hear you like it!

i didnt notice any loss or gain..... i just like the way it shifts now.

ps- i have a yodude too, and it does sound better.

[mindtrip1016]

How long have you had your fix in, James? I was looking back and saw that Fett had a reply about his fix getting overridden and bellowing black smoke and such. Is this a mod that you have to redo a lot? If this mod gets over ridden, couldn't we just disconnect the + side of the battery so that the ecu could relearn again?

[Fett]

You could do that, but in my case it would not have helped me with my other problems.

Not sure how this relates, but my throttle hang is now gone, since cleaning my UIM and changing plugs and wires.

[James]

i put the fix in about 6 months ago and have not noticed any problems.

[Rylee44]

I did this mod to my Cougar last night, but then the check engine light came on. It started idling at 1500-2000 rpms, so i shut it off, took out the plug, and it worked fine???? Any insight? Thanx

[James]

make the hole in the cap bigger

[Rylee44]

I took the plug out (at night), and i lost the damn thing, so ill go get a new one today and try it... what size hole should i use?

[PuckPuck]

Not only does the size of the hole matter, the placement of the hole matters also, as well as which way you face the cap.

What we are doing here is restricting air flow, not completely however. The level of restriction will dictacte the effectiveness of this mod, you can over do it and you can under do it.

Size of the hole: Bigger hole less restriction.
Which way you face the cap: I recommend putting it in so the flat (top) goes in first, otherwise you will cause extra turbulence in the air before getting to your hole which will cause more uneeded restrictions.

Placement of hole (most important): There are 2 ways of doing this, thoses who still have the stock hose, and thoses who had to get an aftermarket one due to a different intake pipe.

No modifications done to IAC hose: Look at the hose. You see thoses bends, well air will travel to apex each bend. Basically it will take the shortest route through. First off you do not drill the hole in the center, you drill it off-center, now place the hole so that it is on the outside of the last bend. see the attached pic for more details. In the pic black lines are the hose, blue lines are the air flow, red lines is the copper cap, and the yellow spot is where the hole should be drilled and placed.

Aftermarket IAC hose: Basically look at your hose, determine the air flow path and place the copper cap so it will work with the path. Use the attached pic for a better idea of what i'm talking about

[Scudrunner]

I put the fix in about a month ago and I like the results, however, just to be conservative I drilled a 1/4" hole
instead of the slightly smaller hole called for in the "how-to". I have the cap in backwards though, so I will flip it around.

[BazookaJOE]

I had the throttle hang fix in my V6. When it was first done everything was great, RPM came down quick, and sifting was smoother. I also had more black smoke spewing from my exhaust that before. I took it out and now the smoke level is back to normal. (whatever normal is).

[Scudrunner]

One thing I forgot to mention is that when I really go through the gears, my check engine light flickers on and off.
I know that the "fix" is causing this ,but what I don't know is whether any damage is being done to the engine?

[TheNinja]

i heard in mustangs they had similar issues, where the rpms hold and slowly drop. The thing is a guy at ford motorsport told me that its the PCM valve that is causing it to do that... which is electronicially controlled. im sure it is for emissions or whatever, BUT should getting the car dynotuned or having a custom chip made which has the beast close the PCM valve more "fix" the problem in a less "ghetto" way? im not really sure what to make of what he told me... any word o' wisdom?

[DreamNforSpeed]

Not sure about that - I have a custom dyno tuned chip from SuperChips and my throttle habg is worse than ever, esp with the AC on. It's exactly as explained before - once I stop rolling, it comes down, but if I am drifting up to a light in neutral, it pegs at 3K. I tried to get the guys at the shop to work on eliminating it... but they weren't able to spend much time on it for other reasons. I don't like the sound of black smoke coming out, cause that certainly sound like it' sucking oil in under vacuum, like some posters suggested. I'd love to get rid of this, but I also don't want to trash my engine.

BTW, are these copper caps the ones from plumbing supplies? The end caps?