Bad Valve Springs

I had my 97 Explorer (4.0 OHV with 125K miles) into the dealer today for a
rough running engine with no check engine light. The tech listed the
problem as "Broken or weak valve springs." I did a bit of googling and
didn't come up with anything that seems to relate to my situation. I'll
probably have it in for repair next week but was wondering what anyone out
there thought of this diagnosis. Has anyone ever had a broken valve spring?
What were your symptoms if you did.



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"Captain Coleman" > wrote in message
.. .
>I had my 97 Explorer (4.0 OHV with 125K miles) into the dealer today for a
>rough running engine with no check engine light. The tech listed the
>problem as "Broken or weak valve springs." I did a bit of googling and
>didn't come up with anything that seems to relate to my situation. I'll
>probably have it in for repair next week but was wondering what anyone out
>there thought of this diagnosis. Has anyone ever had a broken valve
>spring? What were your symptoms if you did.

Well if a valve spring is broken, the valve might not close completely and
the engine could run rough. If it is an intake valve spring the engine could
run very rough. Does it idle OK? Did the technician do a compression test?
It seems more likely to me that you need a valve job than just a bad valve
spring. Did he check for vacuum leaks? Maybe you should get a second
opinion.

Ed

C. E. White wrote:
> "Captain Coleman" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >I had my 97 Explorer (4.0 OHV with 125K miles) into the dealer today for a
> >rough running engine with no check engine light. The tech listed the
> >problem as "Broken or weak valve springs." I did a bit of googling and
> >didn't come up with anything that seems to relate to my situation. I'll
> >probably have it in for repair next week but was wondering what anyone out
> >there thought of this diagnosis. Has anyone ever had a broken valve
> >spring? What were your symptoms if you did.
>

That's unusual because these engines are pretty much bulletproof. I
would get a second opinion. Could be something simple like bad plugs,
wires, etc.

Thanks for the replies.
I don't know if a compression test was done. They hooked it
up to the "computer" and said there were no codes of any kind. I don't know
if a compression test was done or if it was checked for vaccum leaks. Those
would be a good questions to ask. How does one check for vacuum leaks? The
problem occurs at idle as well as highway speeds.

I changed out the spark plugs, plug wires, air filter, fuel filter, and
changed the oil to rule out all (or at least some of) the simple stuff.
There was no change in symptoms. I've googled myself silly on this problem
and didn't find anything that really applies to my situation. That's why I
took it to Ford dealership in the hopes they might be able to figure it out.
What took me $85 to find out is they want to do what amounts to exploratory
surgery by taking the valve covers off. This means new valve cover and
intake manifold gaskets at dealer prices plus another labor charge which
will be somewhere north of $200. I'll have to look into a second opinion,
although it's hard to find repair shops that are interested in doing more
than brakes, plugs, oil changes, etc. (ie the routine stuff I can do
myself.)




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Captain Coleman wrote:
> Thanks for the replies.
> I changed out the spark plugs, plug wires, air filter, fuel filter, and
> changed the oil to rule out all (or at least some of) the simple stuff.

It could also be the coil pack if you have not replaced that, but you
don't want to go ahead and change stuff if it's not causing the
problem. I agree, a second opinion would be good.

I just had similar problem, rough idle and by cleaning IAC and EGR valves ,
problem solved.
Just opinion
Good luck

"Captain Coleman" > wrote in message
.. .
>I had my 97 Explorer (4.0 OHV with 125K miles) into the dealer today for a
>rough running engine with no check engine light. The tech listed the
>problem as "Broken or weak valve springs." I did a bit of googling and
>didn't come up with anything that seems to relate to my situation. I'll
>probably have it in for repair next week but was wondering what anyone out
>there thought of this diagnosis. Has anyone ever had a broken valve
>spring? What were your symptoms if you did.
>
>
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>

Clean the throttle body and valve too.

Make sure it closes tight.

In article >, dosio
> wrote:

> I just had similar problem, rough idle and by cleaning IAC and EGR valves ,
> problem solved.
> Just opinion
> Good luck
>
> "Captain Coleman" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >I had my 97 Explorer (4.0 OHV with 125K miles) into the dealer today for a
> >rough running engine with no check engine light. The tech listed the
> >problem as "Broken or weak valve springs." I did a bit of googling and
> >didn't come up with anything that seems to relate to my situation. I'll
> >probably have it in for repair next week but was wondering what anyone out
> >there thought of this diagnosis. Has anyone ever had a broken valve
> >spring? What were your symptoms if you did.
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
> >
>
>