IMRC trouble????

[creina]

So I went out of town for work and decided while I was gone, I'd have the CSVT taken to the dealership for a tune-up. I did have a CE light which when I had the codes read months ago, it was a misfire in Cylinder 2, however you couldn't feel a misfire except on occassion during High RPM's, and it had a mildy rough idle. I had assumed the tune up would take care of this issue

The dealership came back after the tune up and said that they pulled up a code for the IMRC, and asked if I wanted them to look further into it. This was earlier this week.

I came home today and my car was three times worse than before I left. The high RPM miss is gone, however I have twice as bad low RPM miss, almost a buck and my idle is worse than it was prior to leaving it for them to fix. Also, under the hood, I hear a snapping sound, almost like arcing wires (which are brand new), however I can't see a spark anywhere. could this issue be caused my the Intake Manifold Control Runner?

Any help would be great....I have a 45 minute ride to work everyday and I'd like to get it taken care of properly. Thanks in advance.

Chris

 

[Ryan]

IMRC are known to go bad on these cars...

 

[creina]

But i thought the IMRC was soley responsible for the opening and closing of the secondaries, I wasn't aware the can effect the idle of the car at stand still or cause a misfire

 

[black99lightnin]

But i thought the IMRC was soley responsible for the opening and closing of the secondaries, I wasn't aware the can effect the idle of the car at stand still or cause a misfire

I can't see that being your problem either. I drove from Dallas to New Orleans without a functioning IMRC due to clip being broken and the car ran fine except it didn't pull hard up top.

 

[creina]

Thats what i figured, i'm still getting the blinking CE light from time to time, so it's misfiring...it seems to be in the low end...any further advice would be helpful, It's going back into the dealership on Tuesday for the IMRC

 

[LostRacer]

Arcing while idle? Make sure the wires are in the right positions. That rear bank can confuse people sometimes. Did they replace your wires with Motorcraft?

 

[creina]

My wires were replaced with motocraft, however I do believe they are in the right positions. The wire the goes to the cylinder in the front middle is really tight clearing the back, passenger side of the plenum, however the idle isn't so rough that if feels a wire is misplaced. It's just not as smooth as it should be. Also, It's still misfiring...I'm still getting the intermittent blinkinig CE light, however I dont know why. I know prior to getting the tuneup, it was cyl 2 that was missing, not its' cylinder 4. Again I'm pulling an IMRC stuck closed in bank 1 code as well

 

[LostRacer]

have you checked it to see if the imrc is functioning?

Also make sure the linkage is attached.

The pink highlights represent the grommets that hold the linkage in place.

 

[creina]

I'm not really sure how to check. I took the plastic cover off and took the outer cover off of the IMRC, and tried to trace the cable to see if it was broken but i was unsuccessful. My mechanical skills are very weak, obviously.

Although I'm sure it's stuck closed because I dont feel that extra kick when the secondaries are supposed to open, also you can hear the difference in the motor when the secondaries are supposed to open, it sounds like it's struggling a bit.

 

[LostRacer]

If you follow the cable back from the IMRC to under the throttle body, you will find the linkage. There is a metal arm that is suppose to be held in place there. It is pretty distinctive. When your IMRC activates, that cable will pull on the linkage and that bar should move. If you look at the pic above. You'll see the pink grommets which hold such bar(9S523) in place.

What you can do to check is start your car. From under the hood rev it up to about 3500. You won't onkw exactly how high you are, but you should have some sense as to if its too high. When you rev it, look at that arm for movement. If no movement, its a pretty safe bet your IMRC is trash. Or you can also try the linkage by hand to see if you can open it. The return spring is a bit tough.

 

[creina]

Thanks for the help, when I get home from work today, I'll have to check it out

 

[creina]

So I attempted to check it, and it appears that when the car revs high enough, like 3500 RPM,s, the thing opens for about a second and then closes and stays closed. is this how it's supposed to work, or is it supposed to stay open?

 

[LostRacer]

It is suppose to stay open if the rpms stay at that level plus. SOunds like a replacement IMRC may be in order.

 

[creina]

thanks for all your help,i appreciate it

 

[Ryan]

IIRC, it only opens under a load. If the car is sitting with no load and you just rev, I don't think it opens.....again, been over a year now since I messed with those things.

 

[LostRacer]

IIRC, it only opens under a load. If the car is sitting with no load and you just rev, I don't think it opens.....again, been over a year now since I messed with those things.

It will open. IIRC the rpm point is set a differnt point to do it.