just bought a 97 F150 XLT 4.6L, I did an oil change today and the old oil smelled of gasoline. Its been having idle issues where it tries to idle lower than 800 and then surges to 1500+ rpms. It stumbles all over the place. I am missing an elbow on the throttle body to a vacuum line that I can see plain as day.I dont know what its exactly called. I will take a pic of the engine later and post it to show you what is missing. I was told by the previous owner that the 02 sensors were bad because he had a code come on with the check engine light. I have to check this out myself. I was going to replace the upstream two but now that its having more issues I might just hold off. This is my first ford truck. (sorry guys, was and still am mostly a chevy guy. Like the F series trucks tho). Any advice would be appreciated. Hoping its something small but cant expect much when paying 400 bucks for the truck. 220k on odometer btw. Thanks

 

so i just went out there and looked again and the vacuum line (pretty sure it is anyway) its the hose that goes to the drivers side valve cover and hooks into the throttle body. Thats the line without the elbow. I tried taking a pic but my phone wont upload any photos and computer is to old to recognize the phone usb.

 

I think that line connects to the intake before the throttle body doesn't it. There is another line that connects to the pcv on the passenger valve cover that connects below the throttle body behind the throttle body. that is the one that causes vauum leaks most of the time. If the one you are talking about is missing, there would be air getting into the TB that isn't being measured by the MAF and could cause issues. I'm not an expert mechanic but I think I'm right on this. Replace those lines asap.

 

Email the pics from your phone to your account that you can check on the computer.

As I asked in the Intro forum, please post the codes. If you have a vacuum leak I bet they are P0171 and P0174. Your O2 sensors are fine if that's the case, they are doing their job *reporting* a lean condition.

 

i guess i'll pick up a scanner tool tomorrow to see what codes are being shown. I'll relay them on here. I was just going off what the previous owner told me about him doing a code read at autozone and that was what said the o2 sensors was faulty. Roadie, I do think part of the hose goes into the intake, it looks like the elbow that is missing then goes to the vacuum hose that is on top of the drives side valve cover. Give me a second and I will take a few pics and post them on here like glc mentioned. Always better to show instead of trying to explain what it looks like. be a post right after this of the photos.

 

You should be able to find this at your local Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tou...r-Red/54620271

 

thanks. better than 50 bucks at the local parts store. even harbor freight is 60 bucks. heres a pic of that elbow missing.

 

sorry the link is nothing but i hope the pic helps everyone see what i'm seeing.

 

That looks like it's before the throttle plate, so it's not a vacuum leak. However, it's letting unmetered air in after the MAF, so the system will be confused and it will throw lean codes. See if it runs better if you cap off that port on the side of the intake.

Please edit out that link, it's to your whole mailbox!

 

sorry. lol. i removed it. at first i didnt see how to remove the link but now i got it. but okay, yea i didn't know if it was a vacuum or not. I feel no suction of air when the engine is running. I might post a youtube video of it running and tag the link in here so you see what you guys think. I was thinking it might be running rich because of the oil smelling like gas but im not for sure. I know i can floor the pedal and it seems like a minute before it revs and even then it stumbles and goes back down below 1000. the cab is shaking pretty bad when it sits there and idles. dont know if this helps but previous owner did install magnaflow exhaust and used that flex pipe on the headers. with some orange bond stuff used. I have no idea what it is because i've never seen one done. Im' still llearning and will be the rest of my life. haha. Thanks for all the help so far. I already checked at my local Walmart and they have the reader in stock.

 

for some reason it wont let me do the url upload but there is the video of it idling. thanks for all the advice so far. I'm waiting for the other half to get home so we can go to walmart to get the scanner.

 

Most auto part stores have a scanner you can rent for free.

My local O'reilly parts store has a very nice Bosch scanner that will read codes as well as give full descriptions for each code and possible fixes.

The elbow you are missing connects the air intake to the crankcase ventilation on the driver side valve cover.

 

as glc told you plug that connection asap until you get the entire hose connected back to the valve cover. That hole is allowing unmetered air into the engine and is causing the engine to run like crap.

 

Well guys, I didn't get a scanner today. Got busy doing other things. I actually won't be able to fix anything til I get back home on the 13th. I leave tomorrow for work. (OTR truck driver). This is why I need a local job lol. Driving since 2012 and absolutely hate leaving my family every single time, along with not being able to get much done around the house. I'll be posting when I get back home. Thanks.

 

Hey guys, while i was gone on the road for work I ordered my scanner and plugs and wires. First thing I did today when getting home was hook up the scanner. I have six codes that showed up.
PO174
P1151
P1131
PO161
PO136