Has anyone ever had any luck cleaning the DPFE Sensor?

I have a '97 F-150, FI, V6, 4.2L, 2wd that I have had P0401 and P1151 codes on. I have changed out the O2 sensor bank 1 - sensor 1 and got rid of the 1151's.

Today, I bought a DPFE Sensor and after removing the old one, noticed a lot of carbon (or something) built up at the ports and inside the hoses. It was built up inside one hose almost to the point of complete occlusion!

I sprayed carb cleaner into the ports on the old sensor and through the (rubber) hoses. Hmm, that won't disolve them will it???
Anyway, cleared the codes and took it for a spin (about 5-6 miles).
No CEL, no hidden codes, and seems to be running a bit better. Of course I know that is not enough distance/time to know for sure, but I wanted to know if anyone has ever had any success at cleaning an old one.

Thanks!

 

YOU SHOULD NOT, i repeat, NOT spray carb cleaner in the ports, the DPFE is a delicate electronic sensor, and the carb cleaner is probably too hard on the components... You should only use electronic components spray....

If you have already sprayed it with carb cleaner, then you may have ruined the sensor, and need to replace it.

The codes haven't come on because it takes about 3 driving cycles to make them come on (full cool downs to warm ups)

 

The things I do just to try to save a buck!
I should have known. Good thing I already bought one, huh?

And! I already know where it's at, what it looks like and how to %@#* it up!
And, while I'm there, I'll take a gander through those (2 little short) hoses to see it carb cleaner did any damage.

I got it now, thanks to you all.

Later...
(got to go outside and.... )

 

if your original sensor was that dirty, you may want to go to wal-mart and get some pipe cleaners,,, use them to clean out the tubes that lead to the DPFE... you might want to clean the EGR as well

 

I have already cleaned the EGR. And, as I understand, it could still be bad. So I took a chance on getting the DPFE sensor because of information shared with me in these forums.

I never held it upside down, btw. And, as soon as I sprayed the carb cleaner into it (short bursts) I shook out the excess and even stood it up on a shop rag so that any additional would drain out.

And, YES ... it was THAT dirty. One of the hoses looked to be almost completely clogged.

Thanks!

 

The easiest way to test the EGR is to place a vacuum pump on the vacuum port on the EGR valve. With the engine idling, pull vacuum with the pump. If the engine starts to miss and tries to stall, then the EGR is working fine and there is little or no obstruction of the exhaust gas flow through it.

 

correct, but the egr rarely fails, it's usually clogged ports, bad sensors, or vacuum leaks

 

or those mysterious EGR block off plates that seem to wander on our engines...

 

Is there a specific type/kind of vacuum pump to use.

Thanks!

 

Sorry for responding to an old thread, but you can use a rubber hose that fits snug over the EGR vac tube and suck in with your mouth to get the same effect. Do the same thing to test your DPFE sensor as well. Hook the rubber hose up to the EGR tube, use a volt meter, set it to volts, push the positive tip from the volt meter into the top wire connector on the DPFE sensor. Use the ground tip on a good ground source. Pay attention to the volts at idle on the DPFE sensor before applying suction or vacuum. Now suck in on the rubber hose that you connected to the EGR. Once you make the idle almost die, look at the voltage for the DPFE. It should rise up to 5 volts or very near it. If it doesn't rise up, then the DPFE is bad. Maybe this will help others out along the way.