popping noise when cold under load
 

when i start driving and car is very cold, i hear a popping sound along with hesitation. its mainly in 2nd or 3rd at with engine load. its fine for a second, you put the engine under load it pops, bangs, and hesitates, then after 3 seconds its fine. once the car starts warming up in 3-4 minutes, it goes away. whats the cause of this? i hope i described it well enough.

i attached two pics. i forget what these sensors are called and would guess they are original pieces. can they be the source of my problem and should i change them for the hell of it?

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

Intake Gasket? Or Exhaust Header Gasket?

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

take a look at the spark plugs

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

Ghettopop! No problem. I had the same exact problem. People were telling me it was the timing, the 02 sensors, etc. Although these are possibilities, it turned out to be simpler than I thought. First, about the pics, for the 1st pic, the sensor underneath the upper intake is the ACT air temp sensor and for the 2nd pic its the ECT engine coolant sensor (next to the oil cap and distributor). I originally changed both of those suspecting that those were the problem. It turns out they weren;t.
All I did was pop the MAF mass air sensor, cleaned with intake;/carb cleaner gently thru the tiny thermocouple insisde, After soaking it, I let it dry and restored it ( I have a cold air induction MAC, so it was easy). I also put in a new PCV valve too. Boom!! the popping went away, no more backfiring, bad fuel mileage etc.
Try it! You'll be surprised, those little things fool you. I learned it after spending over $100 in new ACT and ECT sensors (alhtough they werent the problem, it was time to pop new ones anyway: I got 167K!). good luck!

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

autolite plugs, FMS wires, MSD cap/rotor are all good, all bout 1 ry old. cleaned MAF, TB, and IAC this weekend. i got a new pcv valve and screen, how the hell do i reach the pcv valave? i cant really get back there and kinda unsure where it is. i know its on the back of the engine close to the firewall. help?

as for the Intake Gasket, this is between the upper and lower intake? well, this as well as the exhaust gaskets are probally original. (127k miles) my problem started occuring when the weather got colder, 30's at night. it simply hesitates at mostly low RPM's when cold. 5 minutes later car is perfect.

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

sounds like your running too lean

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

you may run lean when your MAF, ACT, ECT & O2 sensors are bad. For instance, if they are dirty, coated, or old, the conductivity thru these sensors will decrease and give a misleading or faulty signal to the ECC. The ECC in return readjusts the air/fuel mixture ratio and tells the injectors and TB to deliver gas and air in undesirable ratios.
...bottom line is, with the electronics underneath the 5.0 hood, your best bet is to check the sensors or even scan the ECC and look for codes to see which sensors are bad....my 2 cents...good luck! :D

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

Although my problem was the lower intake gaskets, or i thought, i noticed mine went away when i took off the 73mm c&l and put on a 75 pro-m, but im not sure, could be an egr problem?

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

thanks for the replies. my o2 sensors are a yr or 2 old and should be good. my friend whos a mechanic just bought a $4000 scanner, will have to give him a call. its an amazing piece of equiptment. might just change ACT and ECT for the hell of it since they are probally original. ford parts or aftermarket will be good?

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

Sounds like a bad fuel injector to me. If it is, you'll likely experience the problem getting worse and starting to happen even when the engine is warm. By the way, a hard backfire is capable of destroying the catalytic converter, but I'm guessing what you have is a

"bunk ba bunk bunk" sound. Once the backfire is done, the car pulls hard?

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

yes, pulls hard after. like i said, only occasional happens when car is very cold for a few minutes at low rpm's. dunno bout the fuel injector, i had this same problem last winter and it was gone in summer now has come back. its just a little annoying, i can live with it but wanna try to fix it. hesitation and popping sounds at low rpm's when cold, especially when you step on the gas. goes away in a few minutes. also, i dont have cats

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

unit, now that i remember, my low rpm popping went away after i replaced my injectors, cuz i did that when i upgraded my maf.....so yea might try having them cleaned, or borrow someone elses to see if it changes.

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

The colder weather is probably partially to blame. Colder air means the car needs more fuel. If the injectors aren't flowing properly (clogged or broken) it is more likely to cause problems when it's colder.

Re: popping noise when cold under load
 

sounds to me like the flux compasitor is running low...might wanna refill it with some banana peels and beer cans....