Hi everyone,

My 1996 ford escort 1.4 has some issues starting from cold, more noticable when the temperature is lower. It starts just fine and for the first 10 seconds or so idles as expected, then suddenly plummets toward a stall. Pushing the throttle to the floor nurses it back to life after about 10 or 15 seconds, seems to be misfiring on one cylinder towards the end of this time before coming back to life, and may do this whole little cycle again depending on how cold it is. When it's less cold I don't have to touch the throttle and it brings itself back to normal idle slowly (otherwise it stalls).

I've tried cleaning the ICV with carb cleaner and changing the air filter so far. My car suddenly seems to be using a little coolant but there's no sign of any in the oil and I couldn't smell any in the exhaust. Any ideas?

The loosing coolant ma be a separate issue and even if its the head gasket doesn't mean you'll get it in the oil, it can go straight into the cylinder which you may notice steaming from the exhaust. If its not that have you tried the auto choke if it only does it when cold?

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Hi Nighthawk,

I haven't noticed any steam from the exhaust, and I'm not sure how much coolant has gone. How would I check the auto choke? Thanks in advance