Codes reads, Can you help me, Please!!
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Codes reads, Can you help me, Please!!
I own a 1994 aerostar 4.0. It usually runs fine BUT, recently it started burning a lot of gas. I took it to the dealer and for $79.00 they told me that they were not sure of the problem but they had put back a "few" vacuum hoses. They went on to say that for $1500.00 they could probably fix the problem. I decided just to try it. To my surprise it ran wonderful for about two months. Then right back to the same thing, burning excessive gas. I did my best to locate some vacuum hoses that may have come loose but to no avail. I purchased a code reader and the codes reads 1,3,3 -- 1,3,3. I have not idea what that means. I thought it might be the EGR valve because the book said 33= EGR. I went to the dealer to find out about the EGR location and was told that there was not on on this vehicle. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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If it ran better after they reattached some vacuum lines, I would suspect the currrent problem is the same - loose vacuum lines or blown off vacuum port caps. This is a fairly common problem, especially with the 4.0 engine. If you can recall a time when you tried to start the engine and it failed to catch the first time and then seemed to start oddly the next time, it likely backfired through the intake manifold and blew off one or more vacuum hoses. Remove the engine access panel in the passenger compartment. Look at the top of the engine near the rear (closest to you) for the vacuum "tree" that should have 4 to 5 hoses connected to it plus one or more unused ports that should have rubber caps sealing them. This is usually where the problems are found. Either a hose has come loose or a cap is missing.
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Thanks but,
Thank you for you quick response. I checked the tree for missing hoses and they all appear to be attached. I know I am grasping at straws but two things caught my eye.
1. there is a black box located under the air filter box attached to the engine wall on the left hand side facing the car. I took it off to see what it was. It appears to be very dirty inside. (looking through the holes on top, under two removable tops.
2. One of the vacuum lines appears to go into a ""switch" (not sure what it is) laying on top of the engine with a wire attached to it.
As I am sure you can tell I am out of my league here but I really want to keep this van if I can fix it.
1. there is a black box located under the air filter box attached to the engine wall on the left hand side facing the car. I took it off to see what it was. It appears to be very dirty inside. (looking through the holes on top, under two removable tops.
2. One of the vacuum lines appears to go into a ""switch" (not sure what it is) laying on top of the engine with a wire attached to it.
As I am sure you can tell I am out of my league here but I really want to keep this van if I can fix it.
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Thanks to all of you.
I would be remiss if I did not express my thanks to all the members of this group that posted a thread even remotely connected with my problem. I would like to especially thank aerocolorado, for your response that got me to thinking about how this problem first started. After sitting and rethinking the situation, I remembered that this all started after the second hurricane, when there was a gas shortage here in Florida. I purchased gas at a station that only had regular. Shortly there after I noticed that the mileage slipped to less that 9mpg.
I then decided that I should read everything on this site that had anything to do with gas or engine problems. After that I listed a few of the solutions offered on this site , ranking them from simple to hard to do. In one post teg3 mentioned that "every few month a can of dry gas cleared the problem right up." What could I lose. $1.00 for a can of dry gas. To cut to the chase, it worked. I'm back to 18 mpg. Thanks guys. Keep posting, I'll keep reading.
I then decided that I should read everything on this site that had anything to do with gas or engine problems. After that I listed a few of the solutions offered on this site , ranking them from simple to hard to do. In one post teg3 mentioned that "every few month a can of dry gas cleared the problem right up." What could I lose. $1.00 for a can of dry gas. To cut to the chase, it worked. I'm back to 18 mpg. Thanks guys. Keep posting, I'll keep reading.
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Dry Gas
As I am sure you can tell from my previous post, I am not a rocket scientist. So please don't hold me to this answer. I am hoping that someone else helps out with this. To try an answer your question I looked at the following website:
http://www.shorechemical.com/Section%201%20Tech%20Sheets/dry_gas.htm
In general it says: "Dry Gas is a concentrated solvent blend that quickly and effectively removes water from gasoline and fuel lines. Prevents gasoline lines from freezing and carburetor icing. Suitable for use in automobiles, trucks, buses, school buses and all gasoline powered vehicles and machinery."
I brought mine at the local Autozone. I am sure you can get some at the local Advance Auto, Pep Boys, NAPA or whatever auto store in your area. This is not an endorsement but, I used a product from Valvoline.
I hope this helps.
http://www.shorechemical.com/Section%201%20Tech%20Sheets/dry_gas.htm
In general it says: "Dry Gas is a concentrated solvent blend that quickly and effectively removes water from gasoline and fuel lines. Prevents gasoline lines from freezing and carburetor icing. Suitable for use in automobiles, trucks, buses, school buses and all gasoline powered vehicles and machinery."
I brought mine at the local Autozone. I am sure you can get some at the local Advance Auto, Pep Boys, NAPA or whatever auto store in your area. This is not an endorsement but, I used a product from Valvoline.
I hope this helps.
Last edited by shakatac; Oct 4, 2004 at 10:58 AM.
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I'm not a chemist, but it is my understanding that it's mostly just ethanol (alcohol), which really loves to absorb water.
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OK, upon reading the Material Safety Data Sheet, the part about "causing blindness" led me to believe it might actually be methanol instead of ethanol.
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Well, I'll drink to that! Congratulations on figuring it out. BTW, methanol (wood alcohol) can cause blindness when ingested so your guess was probably accurate. Ethanol is tightly regulated by the Feds (i.e. expensive) which makes the methanol guess even more likely.
Last edited by aerocolorado; Oct 4, 2004 at 04:00 PM.