Ford Repair: car turns over but wont start, ford explorer xlt, upper intake manifold

Question
my car turns over but wont start. a couple of people said i have a leak in the distributor or a bad distributor. it gets gas because you can smell it flooding. if i dont turn it over good it wont start up for a couple of days. i dont know if moister is getting in. if you have any input please email me back.thankyou. 1997 ford explorer xlt 4.0 v-6 100,700 miles

Answer
Intermittent hard starting is a commom problem with Explorers. The most common cause is a bad Idle Air Control Valve (IAC). When starting the engine and at idle, the throttle plate is closed and the only air entering the engine is through the IAC. This is all controlled by the Powertrain Contol Module. It uses the IAC to allow a small amount of air to enter the engine for starting and to adjust idle speed. The IAC is mounted to the upper intake manifold with two small bolts, and has a small electrical connector on it. It is about two by four inches. It may be sticking closed. You can remove it (be careful, it may have a paper gasket) and clean it out with an Air Intake Cleaner. If this doesn't help, it may have failed and need replacing.

I hope this helps,
Dave