Fg Xr6 Turbo Rough Idle

[travishartley]

Gday Guys,

I have been doing my head in trying to research and problem solve this rough idle issue im having with my 2009 FG XR6 Turbo.

Last weekend I had the engine light come on, but the car still seemed to be running fine at the time. The next morning I fired it up and it was idling like crap!! I booked it straight into a local mechanic who charged me a small fortune just to scan the computer.He did find a fault with the VCT solenoid. He also checked the coils,plugs etc and they looked ok according to him. He recommended and oil change and went on to tell me that the solenoids can block up with tiny bits of crap which then retards the timing etc etc.

The next day I gave it an oil change and disconnected the battery to reset the computer. Fired it up and it was still idling like crap, but no engine light which I guess is a small win. I took it for a spin and the issue was very intermittent, sometimes at an intersection it didn't seem too bad as long as you didn't sit for too long but I also noticed there was an abnormal sound when coming on boost. Sounded like timing then went away as the revs progressed.

I did some more research and decided to take the solenoids out and give them a good clean to make sure they weren't caked up with gunk like the mechanic said. They didnt look too bad to me but once again rough idle when we started it back up.

I took it to another mechanic and told them the issues, he hooked up the scan tool and found a few fault codes and reset them but nothing to do with the VCT. They also checked for any boost, vacuum leaks but all checked out. What he did find is that 1 of the solenoids doesn't seem to be operating at idle but when you give it some revs it seems to wake up and perform. And no timing issues when he reved it past 3 grand (im guessing due to it not being under load?). So Is this normal? Should both solenoids be working the same amount and in sync? He said that with out pulling it apart and charging a fortune I should start by changing the solenoids but he wasn't 100% sure it would be the fix.

I have been quoted $280 per solenoid from Ford so my question is,

Are the N/A FG XR6 solenoids the same?? Or are they different, the Wife has one so I was thinking I could swap them and see if it fixes it before paying a fortune for something I may not need. Also are the BF Typhoon solenoids the same? as my brother has one so I may be able to test his aswell.

Any help would be much appreciated

Cheers guys, keep up the good work

Travis

[F18XRT]

I've heard a few timing chains skipping a tooth which could mean larger dollars to fix. But if the car accelerates as normal and isn't wobbling the whole car side to side, it may just be the cars characteristic. These motors are common for sh*tty idles. All mine have done it.

[travishartley]

I'm still researching and all the symptoms for the Cam Phaser are there. Don't know whether to forkout the cash to replace the solenoid then look into the phasers. The car can definitly idle properly when it wants to as I said its intermittent. Which makes me think maybe a lazy solenoid?

Thanks for your response F18XRT, if it has jumped a tooth can this be something I can fix myself ?

Has anyone replaced the cam phasers themselves? How can you tell if it is screwed?

[turbotrana]

I have had some idle issues with my G6Et . These FGs do seem to have issues in this area when stock.

My problem could be completely unrelated to yours and I have not yet resolved mine but will outline a couple of issues.

Alot of the FGs have a crap start up when cold and gets worse when the temp gets colder. I put this down to the way Ford tuned the FG for emissions. I altered a cold start table in the ECU so that the timing at cold start was not as retarded and it fixed this problem up. ( I am quite sure its this table as I altered alot of things that day and something fixed it).

My car also used to dip when coming to a stop. This has been largely improved by altering another table in the ECU that relates to airflow at idle. This is more a hack than a fix I am not giving the engine what it theoretically should have, just what improves drivability.

The third issue relates to spark which I have not solved. When the engine goes to idle it goes to an idle spark map which runs what I think is closed loop. For some reason instead of coming down to an idle spark of say 10 degrees it dips down to zero then jumps up to 30 then settles down to its closed loop spark of around 10-15 degrees and it plays with the idle.

I have looked at the cam timing and switched the cam timing off but did not do anything.

In saying the above, I think my problem is not mechanical but sometimes I do suspect the cam phasers.

Please tell us how you go even if it is months down the track as part of the forum is trying to help one another.

[travishartley]

Thanks for your response Turbotrana, prior to having these issues I havnt had a thing go wrong with it in over 2 years.

So I rang the Ford dealership today to investigate whether the N/A FG XR6 VCT solenoids are the same as the turbos and they have informed me that they are, so I will do a swap and see how it goes. Im guessing if that doesnt fix the issue then there is only the cam phasers left or the chain jumping teeth etc?

Im very worried about how much it will cost me for the cam phasers if I do end up needing them.

I will keep you all posted

[discostig]

My BF timing chain was off one tooth and I had no idea. Still had great power. I had a bad idle sometimes and knew the valve springs needed doing so I brought it in, which is when they found the timing chain issue.

XFT fixed both (new timing chain, tensioner and tone wheel IIRC due to doing 200,000km) and all good since.

[Ic0nic]

I had the same issue in with my 09' G6ET a few months ago. Engine light on, really rough idle, scan indicated (using flash tuner) cam timing over advanced. Off to the mechanic it went, closer inspection to the timing showed the chain had jumped three teeth on the lower cog due to one of the teeth being slightly chipped. Also, the chain had stretched by about 4mm.

Solution was new chain, new tensioner and bracket (bracket was broken, plastic) and new lower cog. Massive pain in the ass.

I had about 95000 on the clock when it happened.

[travishartley]

Iconic, did the issue disappear when you touched the accelerator or was it rough all the time?

[xhxrsix]

A mate at work had almost exactly the same issue as you on his NA XR6, very similar symptoms.

After taking it to a few workshops with no results (including Knox Ford) I pulled the rocker cover off to find it had skipped a tooth, the top of the tensioner/chain guide was chipped off too. I set the timing again and its been fine ever since. He should replace the guide but he hasn't, so far so good lol. NA engines are cheap!

I would be surprised if that's not it!

[discostig]

Yeah my chain guide was also broken off at the top part. Plastic fantastic!

Fixed:

The replaced cog (tone wheel so I'm told)

Also my intank Walbro GSS294 fuel filter/pump got replaced as well, this one is approx 100,000km old:

Edited 17/04/14 08:06 AM by -SteveR-