Hi Everyone...
I have a 2004 (new style) with the 4.6. I have a TON of miles on it but it still runs fantastic. (280K). I keep it maintained & clean, run fuel system cleaner through it once in a while & have not had any real trouble with it but have driven it everywhere pulling my boat & trailers, ect.
I recently got the "P0401" code. Searching around it looked like the best thing to start off with was cleaning out the EGR port especially with the high mileage situation. I took it all apart & the port was barely carboned up at all. I cleaned it out anyway with carb cleaner & an oil passage brush & now it is as clean as it could be. Put it all back together, cleared the code & after about 50 miles it popped back up again.
From reading, it appears that the only other two thing it may be is the EGR valve its self or the DPFE sensor. Neither of which is very expensive.
Any thoughts on this & also where is the DPFE located on this truck? Is it on top of the EGR? I've never messed with one of these sensors...Thanks everyone!!

 

Alldatadiy.com has the DTC codes and how to fix at your fingertips. Good luck on your repairs.

 

Remove the Throttle body and clean it properly. Small passageways clog. All Data is good but you have to buy into it every year. A ford manual is good to go.

 

The DPFE on your truck is built into the EGR valve and I dont think its available separately.

 

Yeah, figured it out yesterday. After searching on google finding youtube vids & all kinds of search results saying where the silly thing is supposed to be, searching the forums, autoparts websites, finding the things for sale... I just drove over the local O'reillys & found a guy behind the counter that did all of the searching I had been doing all day, went out looked around the engine for something that looked like the picture of the part he had in stock, (& could not find it, LOL)... We figured out that it was intergrated into the EGR valve... How funny is all of this... One would think that when you looked up the part for that truck it would just say something like, "It's on top of the EGR"... Good news is that I was prepared to buy both an EGR and DPFE sensor.. About $130 for both... The EGR with the integrated sensor was only $80... Thanks for your reply!!!

 

Remove the trottle body as you are doing this to, clean it good with its cleaner. That way you get the good charge insertion all the way around. You probably need new spark plugs now also due to gnarly fuel air mixture.

 

Replaced the throttle body about two weeks ago. Opted for a new one instead of trying to clean one with that many miles on it. So it is still new and shiny smooth... The check engine came on about 150 miles ago & I will put on tht new EGR tonight... (thankfully an easy swap)... Do you think it would have taken out the plugs after such a short time?

Thanks for your help!