Lean Condition - Both banks 5.4L
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11-10-2009, 10:47 AM
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Lean Condition - Both banks 5.4L
1997 Expedition EB, 5.4L, 174K.
So my wife calls me and tells me the Check Engine lamp is on. Of course, I'm out in the woods with my 7-yr old Cub Scout on his first camp-out. Good signal, though.
I tell her to go over to Autozone and get the code pulled. She calls me back, and says the Autozonian tells her it is a Lean condition. He says he's seen quite a few of these lately, and he thinks it is too much Ethanol in the fuel.
He sells her six bottles of Gumout injection system cleaner, and dumps three of them in the 3/8ths full tank. Apparently, that has worked before.
So, Monday morning, I call my mechanic, 'cause I think the Gumout thing is Hooey. He agrees, and tells me to bring it by so he can take a look.
He pulls the same code (PO174, IIRC) and suspects an intake leak. Since we had a Tropical Storm already dumping on us, he said that since the truck was running normally (except for the CEL) to take it home, and try to find the leak.
Well, I tried. Half a can of WD-40. No joy. So I took it back to him so his guys could do a more educated search.
The mechanic just called. He found the culprit.
Apparently the problem is a common one. The PCV circuit elbow on the back of the intake manifold had deteriorated and cracked.
He's pretty sure that is the problem, but he will call me when he checks the car after they replace the part.
Here is an interesting thread on the subject from OBD-II Trouble Codes - DTC Codes Car Repair
- 97 Ford Expedition codes P0171 and P0174 not a PCV leak - OBD-Codes.com
Those of you with aged 5.4s may want to change the elbow out before it cracks (assuming you haven't already.)
So my wife calls me and tells me the Check Engine lamp is on. Of course, I'm out in the woods with my 7-yr old Cub Scout on his first camp-out. Good signal, though.
I tell her to go over to Autozone and get the code pulled. She calls me back, and says the Autozonian tells her it is a Lean condition. He says he's seen quite a few of these lately, and he thinks it is too much Ethanol in the fuel.
He sells her six bottles of Gumout injection system cleaner, and dumps three of them in the 3/8ths full tank. Apparently, that has worked before.
So, Monday morning, I call my mechanic, 'cause I think the Gumout thing is Hooey. He agrees, and tells me to bring it by so he can take a look.
He pulls the same code (PO174, IIRC) and suspects an intake leak. Since we had a Tropical Storm already dumping on us, he said that since the truck was running normally (except for the CEL) to take it home, and try to find the leak.
Well, I tried. Half a can of WD-40. No joy. So I took it back to him so his guys could do a more educated search.
The mechanic just called. He found the culprit.
Apparently the problem is a common one. The PCV circuit elbow on the back of the intake manifold had deteriorated and cracked.
He's pretty sure that is the problem, but he will call me when he checks the car after they replace the part.
Here is an interesting thread on the subject from OBD-II Trouble Codes - DTC Codes Car Repair
- 97 Ford Expedition codes P0171 and P0174 not a PCV leak - OBD-Codes.com
Those of you with aged 5.4s may want to change the elbow out before it cracks (assuming you haven't already.)