Did yo change the vacuum hoses that go to the DPFE sensor? When I purchased my DPFE sensor the guy and the Ford dealer explained that often when the DPFE sensor fails the hoses fill up with crude which can interfere with the function of the new sensor once installed. Hence, I changed the hoses that went to the DPFE sensor as well. I think they were $7.00. Good luck with solving your problem. It is frustrating to not be albe to get rid of a code. One other thing I did with my truck was to replace both Oxygen sensors. This job wasn't too bad but it does require a special socket for the wire to pass out the side.

Push forward!

John

 

Thanks jcandrew, when purchased the parts I asked the guy at the counter, (Advance Auto Parts) whether or not I should replace the hoses, his reply was no. I should have gone with what my gut was telling me.

Replacing the oxygen sensors was going to be my next plan of attach.

Question, how does the EGR impact the milage, or does it at all? I'm I spending a lot of time on something that is rather minor?

Ohio2553

 

Hello Ohio 2553! I am glad to be of help. I hate it when my gut feeling tells me something and then I listen to someone else and kick myself later. I would change those hoses even though it may not be a problem.

I'm not an expert on the EGR valve and gas mileage but when I was at the Ford Dealership picking up the DPFE sensor I asked the parts guy if he had ever sold an EGR valve to anyone. His answer was hardly ever...so with that in mind I went with the DPFE sensor and O2 sensores and it solved my problem. I'm trying to remember back many months but it seems like it took about 10 starts or so for my check engine light to go off.

How many miles does your truck have? I guess if your truck has a lot of miles on it the EGR valve could be defective or clogged with carbon but I would try a few other fixes first (like O2 sensors). Mine had about 60,000 miles at the time of this repair. Since the above parts changes I haven't thrown a code since. Yeah! I hope that it works for you too!

John (jcandrew)
PS When removing the O2 sensors be sure and heat engine and exhaust to operating temperature first as this makes them a lot easier to remove--expands the metal. Be careful though as when they break loose your forearm will want to collide with the hot exhaust! I learned this the hard way.

 

Had the same problem. Truck wouldn't pass emmisions twice. Changed DPFE sensor and everything was fine. Thanks guys.

 

I was also getting the same P0401 code. I replaced the DPFE sensor, and the problem is fixed. There is a test for the DPFE sensor. Autozone has a book with a test in it. It involves a 6 volt battery, a voltmeter and a couple of wires. After the connections are made you have to blow into the small inlet of the sensor, if the sensor is working the voltage will drop. If it doesn't drop the sensor is bad.

 

Welcome to FTE!!

Thanks for the tip, if you have the details on that test please post them.

 

Hi,

I just recently had my 2001 ford ranger (edge 4L, V6 Fuel injected) vacuum hose (at intake vacuum hose for pcv) replaced and now I am being told that there is a new dtc code of p0401 showing up after having it rescanned to turn off the check engine light. Shortly after they turned it off, it came back on and they said if it came back on then it would have to be diagnosed again (which already cost me $100 for the diagnosis in the first place). I was told that if the egr valve was bad that it wouldn't pass emissions when I went to get an oil change today. After reading other people's responses I was wondering if I should just have it checked for a bad dpte sensor or oxygen sensors or what?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Deanna

 

Welcome to FTE!

The EGR valves themselves are much less likely to go bad, especially on an '01. My money would be on the DPFE sensor.

 

I agree, on my 2000 Ranger it was my DPFE sensor. After replacing this sensor I cleared the code and it has not come back since--that was 3 years ago.

PS In addition to the DPFE sensor I also changed the hoses going to the DPFE sensor as per the recommendation of the guy at the parts counter. The hoses were only $10 for both. He explained that sometimes these tubes can fill with moisture if your DPFE goes bad and then the new one won't perform as it should if the old hoses are filled with crude. Good luck!

John

 

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

Would anyone happen to know if an auto parts store would perform the egr sensor test for me or is this test something I would have to try & figure out on my own?

Also, which hoses are you talking about having replaced; I have just recently had my vacuum hose replaced and the automotive place charged me a fortune. I was told by a friend afterwards that it should only have taken about 5 or 10 minutes to replace it & that I got totally ripped off.

PS. Any recommendations as who to take it to replace the part or know of anyone that lives near Vancouver,Wa that would be willing to help out a cute blonde in distress?

Thanks,

Deanna

 

Hi, newbie here. Found your website, and it allready has aid off. Here's the question. Check engine light comes on, a guy from autozone hooks up his code reader( language of the old) and it pops up as the EGR valve pressure sensor, which I had to find out is the DPFE sensor. Don't know why the manuals and autozone speak different languages sometimes.Other than checking for broken or cracked vacuum hoses,do I replace the DPFE first or check the EGR valve itself. Trying to save money here.

 

Welcome.

EGR valves rarely fail. 99.9% of the time the problem is a bad DPFE sensor. If you want try and do some testing, check out: http://www.tomco-inc.com/Tech_Tips/ttt36.pdf

 

After carefully reading I have a question that hasn't been asked yet. I have the same cel code and after pulling the dpfe it's not metal it's plastic and appears to be in good shape. I'm assuming somebody already changed it, but I'm unsure how long ago. Is everyone who is replacing this and it's fixing their problem replacing one that is metal or one that is already plastic????? On the other hand, the egr is ford factory and looks not-so-new? Only reason I ask that is cause the P0401 code is accompanied by P0402 as well. The ECM has detected too much flow on the EGR system.
Probable cause:
1. EGR valve stuck open
2. Failed EGR pressure sensor
3. Failed EGR valve

 

the metal one is the one from the factory, mine lasted 125k miles, i got a p0401 code replaced it with one from autozone that was plastic, along with the hoses, 5k miles later got p0401 and p0402 codes and i replaced the dpfe sensor again and havent had a code in 25k miles....

so it def could be a bad dpfe sensor again, and ive never understood why people say change the metal ones, mine lasted pretty long while the first plastic one only a couple months

 

ok thanks I'm gonna give that a shot then I guess