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Explorer, Sport Trac, Mountaineer & Aviator 1991-1994, 1995-2001, 2002-2005, 2006-2010 Ford Explorer

p171 and p174

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Old May 21, 2010 | 04:42 PM
  #1  
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p171 and p174

I have these 2 codes and i know they mean bank 1 and 2 too lean. My truck is a 2000 explorer sport with the 4.0 L v6 ohc. It eats fuel like nobody bussiness and seems to be running a little rough, although not terrible. Ive checked all the hoses and as far as i can tell no leaks. My egr tube was rusted out and i replaced that the other day hopeing that would be my solution to no avail. checked the pvc valve and hose they were clean with no leaks. changed the wires due to the broken egr tube basically melting my one wire. maf sensor was changed about 2 years ago but i cleaned maf sensor just in case. fuel filter changed about 2 years ago.

so now you know a bit about my truck maybe you can give me ideas as to what to check next. I dont have a vacume tester or a fuel pressure tester or i would have done that already, although if it is a suspect i will rent one. would a dirty o2 sensor be a cause? ive read alot about upper and lower intake gaskets being the causes but i dont have much cash so just throwing money at ideas isnt the best option at this very second.

thank you for all your advice in advanced.
 

Last edited by joshisgood; May 21, 2010 at 04:44 PM. Reason: forgot some information.
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Old May 21, 2010 | 06:26 PM
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Could be many things to get those codes: Low fuel pressure, aged O-2 sensors, bad MAF sensor, clogged injectors, leaking intake gaskets, leaking EGR gasket/seal, PCV hoses, etc.

Without having access to tools that can monitor data from the PCM, you are going to be doing a lot of guessing.

Personally, I would advise you to pay someone to at least diag the problem, then do the repairs yourself.

If you want a guess based on what info you provided, and you are absolutely sure there are no leaking PCV hoses, I would advise you to replace the upper and lower intake gaskets as they are a very common problem. I would also question the soundness of the O-2 sensors if they have more than 60k on them, but don't think they are the primary cause of your concern.


Jay
 
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Old May 21, 2010 | 08:40 PM
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agree. if its not the hoses and everything visible is o.k., its the intake gaskets.
 
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Old May 22, 2010 | 06:52 AM
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Welcome to the forum!

Does the engine seem to run okay now that you have replaced the burned plug wire? I can't tell from your sequence of events if the wires were replaced 2 years ago, or if that was the MAF. And hopefully when you replaced the plug wires you also replaced the rusted EGR tube.

If both banks 1 and 2 are reporting that they are too lean, yet it uses a lot of fuel, that would seem a bit odd. If the engine idles and runs okay now in addition to this, I would not start with the intake gaskets. Do you get an indication in the exhaust (color and/or smell) that the truck is running rich? Do you smell fuel around the vehicle or under the hood? A lean condition as reported by the PCM and really poor fuel economy (at least poorer than usual for an Explorer) does not make a lot of sense.

-Rod
 
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Old May 23, 2010 | 12:13 AM
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i replaced the maf sensor about 2 years ago. the wires were just recently changed. i also changed out the rusted out egr tube the other day too. changeing the tube didnt seem to make it run any better, just quieter. as far as the fuel smell, i cant say i have noticed anything unusual, and nothing comming out of the tail pipe other then in the cold mornings. maybe i am off about the gas mileage, but it sure seems lousy. with just run of the mill driving i put about $20 (about 7 gallons) in every 3 days, but maybe thats just typical for explorers.
 
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Old May 23, 2010 | 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by joshisgood
maybe i am off about the gas mileage, but it sure seems lousy. with just run of the mill driving i put about $20 (about 7 gallons) in every 3 days, but maybe thats just typical for explorers.
If you drive around 90 miles in those 3 days, I'd say the fuel economy is not an issue.

-Rod
 
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