My 2001 Expedition shows code for insufficient egr flow. Dealer said that the egr ports in the throttle body need to be drilled out. Is this something Ican do myself?

 

Its a 4.6 fuel squeezer but has been an ok grand kid hauler since i bought it new in 2001,and now its paid off with 140000 miles and I`m retired.Comes our 7000 lb. travel trailer and looking forward to showing my lovely wife the country that I have seen while I was driving a truck for 41 years,and she was taking care of our kids and grand kids at home. My kids insist that this vehicle can be modified to comfortably pull our trailer. What say you`a'll ?

 

Welcome aboard. Kinda slow due to summer and people spend more time outside than on their computers I guess.
The most common reason for this code is actually a bad DPFE sensor. (EGR sensor). Not always, but most of the time.

As for towing 7000lbs, I would look into maybe lower gears such as 4.56 to get the rpms up where that little 281ci engine will like to run loaded like that.

 

Thanks! Very helpful. I'm going to try the sensor change,and see if I can find a rear end 4.56 as you suggested. Do you think that a tranny cooler would save my tranny?

 

As for the EGR if any work was done on your engine the hoses to the sensor may have been reversed as it was on mine. Switching the hoses cured my problem.

A tranny cooler would definately be a good thing as well as a fluid temp gage.

If you have a A4WD or a 4WD when you change gears at one end you must change both or serious damage will occur.

 

Thanks. I will check the hoses on the sensor.
My expedition is a 2 wheel drive,but I appreciate the warning about 4 wheel drive. Wasn't it back in the 70 s when the way hp was measured was changed? I wonder what Engine made back then would be the equivalent of my 2001 4.6 now, in 70 s terms?

 

The government and the SAE did some tinkering with the way horsepower was measured back then as well as the way octane was figured. It pi**ed me off and I ignored the new factors. Now I'm playing catch up on these. It seems that the government just has to meddle with accepted and proven practices, sometimes just to keep us confused, it seems.

 

The only way to diagnose a bad DPFE sensor is to monitor the DPFE volts PID on a scan tool. It should read 0.5 volt or 1.0 volt (depending on the sensor), if memory serves me correctly. If you are seeing 5.0 volts (or close to it), chances are good that the sensor needs replaced. If the reading is within specs, the throttle body assembly likely needs to be removed and soaked in tune-up cleaner or carb cleaner, to remove all the carbon that's plugging up the passages.

A 4.56 gearset will shyrocket your engine RPM, and throw fuel economy in the toilet. If you're towing something that heavy, it may be wiser to look into an F-250 or higher up truck. I hesitate to recommend a diesel because they are EXPENSIVE to fix when you run out of warranty on them.

 

Thanks for all this good info. In the 70's I had a 75 Mercury grand Marquis,With I believe a 460 Engine.It would push that tank with ease, I wonder what that class of engine showed as hp before and after the change, and were the torque numbers affected as well?Engines have come a long way since then. What say you all?