Low idle/ dogging at cold start.

I plan on buying some MAF cleaner tomorrow...so I just give a few blasts on that thin white sensor within the housing? Seems pretty simple.

ALSO: I am also considering changing the fuel I use (Exxon to Sunoco) and maybe adding an injector cleaner. Does anyone have a suggestion for an injector cleaner that is safe for the car and will not make my fuel system explode? Thanks...I have heard a few suggestions on brands before but would like to use one that is certain not to do any damage to the car whatsoever

 

the oil was last changed about a year ago or five thousand miles ago. I have to periodically top it off because I have an oil leak from the main oil line. I use the correct 5w30 Pennzoil with the Ferrari logo on the bottle. I plan on doing a full oil change within the next couple of weeks. Where is this check valve you speak of? I would love to check that out

 

can I take the oil filter off when the car is cold? Or will oil spill everywhere? If I do get it off can I access that check valve?

 

CORRECTION: my oil is 5W/ 40, not 30.

 

I cleaned the MAF and took out the idle control valve for a quick inspection. Haven't started the car since, but I am sure it will dog as usual.

Here is a question for the forum:

Can 5W/ 40 oil be so thick at cold temperatures that it causes the engine to dog when I reach full oil pressure?

A more important question since I doubt that oil viscosity in 40 degree weather is the real issue. None of my other cars do this:

SO: WHAT POTENTIAL ISSUES can make the car dog at cold start GIVEN THAT IT TAKES 2.5 -3 seconds for the oil pressure gauge to move, and when it does, this is exactly when the dogging STARTS.

Bad oil sender unit?
Bad check valve in the oil filter?
A clog in an oil line?
A seal bent or broken in an oil line?
Old oil? 4800 miles, getting changed as soon as my filter arrives via UPS.
Oil too thick at 40 degrees? No, it took 3 seconds in the summer too, it just didn't dog.

What do you think?

 

I had SDL often when I first bought it 1 year ago, but my SDL has gone away, more or less. It flickered once in the summer, and that was it. Haven't seen it since. I have a 1448 bypass valve code, and not sure why. The valve sounds like it is fully functional. The code pops up after an ECU reset, but I just clear it with my OBD code reader and it doesn't come back. I used to get a cat temp code too, but that seems to have gone away as well.

 

Thanks guys, good ideas. I'm going to try and prime the oil pump first by not disarming the immobilizer. Its a 1997 5.2 so I'm not sure if it'll work but I'm going to give it a shot. if that doesn't work I'm going to try to unplug the cat ECU. Is that the one that's on the right hand side all the way in the back close to the ground or is it the one that's on the left side at the top of the engine bay and is visible?

 

Thanks brother. I'm going to order some of that. A double restart used to solve the problem but now I have had to do as many as four restarts to solve it!!! The fact that the problem is getting progressively worse and is basically constant at every cold start tells me something but I'm not sure what. What does it tell you guys? I'm going to go read up on Techron and injector bleed down.

 

I was thinking about this a bit: What I do every time I start is turn the key forward until things turn on....I wait about 6-7 seconds and then start the car. When I do this, I see the oil pressure move up a little bit, but I still have the same problem with the dogging when the oil pressure FINALLY kicks in 3-4 full seconds AFTER the motor is running.

2 Question: Would it make a difference if I tried to turn the key with the car still immobilized (not hitting the button on the fob) VS just turning the key forward, waiting and THEN starting? Is this the same thing? I don't want to try this yet since I cannot drive the car due to salt and 6 inches of snow at the garage door.

2nd question: Is my car being damaged because the oil doesnt pressurize for 3-4 seconds? As if to say...am I basically shredding my cylinders because of delayed oil pressure? This worries me.

Thanks guys...all feedback is welcome and appreciated. This is my dream car, and this is an awesome forum. I have learned TONS from your help. I want to keep this car for a long time...so solving these bugs is uber important!