Reposting in this section in hopes of more responses as opposed to the 385 Engine section.

I have a 1997 F350 with a 460 and e4od with 116k on it. I bought it last summer and have been working on it on and off. It was previously partially desmogged – new manifolds were put on and they plugged the ports on where the EGR tubes go into the manifolds. In my tinkering I thought I found a valve cover gasket leak so I began removing the EGR tubes to gain access to the valve covers. I then discovered it did’t need VC gaskets and the oil leak was elsewhere. So I decided to leave all that stuff off.

Now, I didn’t drive the truck much when I first got it cause it needed balljoints so I don’t know if this happened ALWAYS or if it’s because of the EGR tube removal but here’s what happening:
1. If you have to get on the gas a little bit to either go up a hill or pull out on the highway 2 things happen
a. Very hard shifting from 1st-2nd gear I DO remember it shifting hard from 1-2 when I test drove it and no CEL came on.
b. When it shifts from 2nd to 3rd I will almost ALWAYS get a CEL, however, shut truck off and restart it and it’s gone. No OD light flashing
2. Also sometimes I get what seems like a miss/ engine cutting out. It has happened at idle, going down the highway, engine cold, engine warm, seems random. When it happens going down the highway it sounds like the engine just shuts off for a split second, then comes back to life at same RPM and BAM! A real hard thud, like a hard shift, but it’s not actually shifting gears.

So a buddy pulled the codes for me last night:
311 – Thermactor air system inoperative (right side)
332 – EGR Valve opening not detected
538 – Insuffecient RPM change during KOER dynamic response test/ Operator error (This one went away the 2nd time we ran the test)
Code 10 – snap throttle (think this one went away 2nd time we ran it too, but can’t swear to it)

QUESTIONS
311 code – What the hello is a thermactor and what does it do?
332 code - I would expect the 332 code as the EGR valve is gone (if its what I think it was – a valve inline with the tubes I removed laying on the R valve cover). Any way to fake it out?
Misc 1 – Is the hard shifting a stand-alone problem or is it related to the above codes somehow?
Misc 2 – What the heck is it cutting out for? Is it actually cutting out or what? Feels like a lack of fuel kinda thing, but it has a new fuel filter. Maybe fuel pump is going bad? IDK.


I should add that I changed the fuel filter some time ago and never bled the line afterwards, surely there's not still air in the lines, that was months ago.

Any thoughts or experiences here are greatly appreciated.

 

anybody? I love the truck and how it looks, just want to have it as SOLID as possible ya know?

Here's a pic of it

 

The thermactor is the fancy name for your secondary air injection system, or smog pump. Your code there is from removing the air tubes that ran all over the pass side of the engine bay, between the pump, cat, and exhaust manifolds.

Your 332 code is indeed because of a lack of functioning EGR. My bet is that you are seeing thw engine code on the 2-3 shift because of the engine load at the time. I have code 332 as well and the light alwas comes on t the very same point on my ride to work. For me, I top a small hill where engine rpms are up but load drops off.

You may not have noticed a MIL before because the light resets each time you shut down the truck. The codes are then stored as memory codes without a light until the issue pops up again.

As a side note, I find that a lot of the efi 460 stuff doesn't get much attention in the 385 section.

 

Judging by those codes you have an OBD-I system. Ignore the thermactor code. It's just the solenoid for the AIR (smog) pump system is bad. The problem you're going to run into is that the cats on that truck REQUIRE the EGR AND AIR (smog) pump to burn efficiently. They WILL clog, with only 116k miles on that truck I'd fix it right, the emissions system DOES NOT HINDER performance on that truck. It's total draw is LESS THAN 1 horsepower. You're not racing it, the computer will control the engine better with all originally installed equipment in place, and you won't be looking at replacing the cats in 50k miles.

 

The EGR valve is located next to the throttle-body on the driver side of the engine. From what you described it sounds like you removed the components from the AIR injection, aka Thermactor, system. That is the cause of your Code 311.

The photo below shows a top view of your engine. The items highlighted in the red box are the solenoids for the Thermactor Diverter and Bypass valves. These are commonly referred to as the TAB/TAD solenoids. Just to the right of that box is the EGR valve. You can also see other pieces to the right of the throttle-body, most of those are probably what you removed?

 

OK guys thank you very much! On the cats, I'm not worried about those, ahem, cough.

@RLA - I'll take a look on the truck tonight to see if the EGR valve is actually there still, but I bet it is! Yes I certainly removed the thermactor stuff looks like and not the EGR valve!

So if the EGR Valve is still there, could the solenoids be bad? I'll have to try and take a close look tonight and track where the EGR goes to/ comes from and see what's still there and what's not.

Thanks guys!!! This is exactly what I needed!

Ideally I'd just like no CEL to come on.

 

Looking at the photo I posted there are three solenoids highlighted in the red box. The front two are the TAB/TAD solenoids. They are part og the now defunct Thermactor system you removed. In order to keep the Check Engine Light off they need to stay electrically connected.

The third solenoid, located closest to the firewall, is the EGR Valve Regulator (EVR). That is what controls the vacuum applied to the EGR valve via the computer (PCM) turning it off/on.

 

Gotcha, thank you! The air pump is still there if that makes any difference, although I bet not.

This is the exact info I need!!! Thanks!!

 

I've removed my AIR pump and cat but left the EGR system intact. As long as the solenoids for the TAB/TAD are electrically actuating, and the EGR valve is electrically and vacuum connected, it doesn't matter if everything else is removed and blocked off; those components can sit with no piping/tubing and still satisfy the ECU. The ECU doesn't monitor if the system is actually doing anything, just that the correct relays and valves are being actuated.

 

perfect! so obviously somethings amiss with the actuation of it, I shall investigate!

 

Didn't have a chance to check if EGR is still there last night (sick kids) but I'm 99.9% sure it is.

So what do I do, just take it off and clean it somehow? Do I need to check voltage or something to/ from solenoids somehow?

 

Usually if it's setting a code the solenoid is bad.

 

Some info to reference:

Fuel Injection Technical Library » EGR Vacuum Regulator (EVR)

Fuel Injection Technical Library » EGR Valve Position sensor (EVP)

The other recommended test is to see if the EVR is receiving manifold vacuum. Some folks remove it in attempt to increase performance and/or MPGs. The practice is an epic fail.

 

Alittle off topic, but headley, got any info on that front bumper. Looks nice. Thanks

 

Thanks for the testing info. Had to cut wood all day, supply is a bit low. I'll try to work on the truck tomorrow after church.

The bumper was a Craigslist score. Iirc it was originally fabbed by Appalachian something. The guy I bought it from added the hoop on top and the spots for d-rings to hook into.

Thanks again guys so much for the help, I truly appreciate it!!!