Running/starting HORRIBLE When Cold.
 

This is my first winter owning a Ford. I have a 92 Explorer and starting about 1 1/2 weeks ago I've had to warm my car up for like 5-10 minutes before driving first thing in the morning and then it's good for the whole day but starting this afternoon my truck sat outside of my work from 8-12 and when I went to start it I reversed out of my parking spot and it died, started it up again and it died. I had to sit there and warm it up again for a few minutes. Then I came back to work at 12:30 and it was parked just from 12:30-3 pm and it died again!! Now I don't live in a snowy place. I live in California and it's like 55 degrees out-far from freezing.
I don't know whats going on. This is bull if I have to sit there warming up my car after just a few hours of it not running. Does anyone know what can be wrong??
Thanks!!

RE: Running/starting HORRIBLE When Cold.
 

I had the same problem with 2000 exp. sport, had to warm it up every am, outside temps varied from 0 to 40 deg. in northeast. Turned out to be intake manifold gaskets, ran great after replacement. Did it myself in about 4 hours. Good luck and hope info is not too late.

RE: Running/starting HORRIBLE When Cold.
 

There are several things that could cause this. Running a KOEO and KOER test may reveal the cause directly. If I was to guess, you have a problem in either the ECT sensor, or circuit. The ECT compares to the the chokes of older cars. It's mounted directly under your throttle body and has two wires leading from it. (The sending unit for your temp gauge is next to it and has a single wire. It's for indication only, not control of the engine). I recently found corrosion on my ECT sensor connector pins on my '92. You may also want to check basic tune-up stuff, such as fuel and air filter, spark plugs, and wires. Clean the MAF sensor (only takes a minute...do a search here for procedures), and check for carbon build-up at your throttle body. Also, do a detailed check of all your vacuum lines and electrical connectors. None of these things are all that difficult and shouldn't take too long. Let us know what you find out. Hope this helps.....