I am not a mechanic but learn very quickly.

1998 F-150 2WD 4.2 V6 is what I drive. 145,000 miles.

My check engine light came on and I got a code twice of P0171 when I went to autozone.

The repair shop and I quote:
Inspection and testing of the vehicle found codes P0171 and P0174 for bank 1 and bank 2 Lean. Further testing found that the PCV hose to the intake manifold is collapsed. Technichian recommend replacing the hose and retesting.

The Part is the "PCV Hose assembly" $74.98 and the labor is $101.65 for a total of $176.63.

They also said it is REQUIRED that I get the "BG FUEL INDUCTION SERVICE" for $74.39 for the product and $93.66 labor for a total of $168.05..... this has been an optional for performance in the past. I had this done 14K miles ago.

GRAND TOTAL OF THE BILL $390.92


Am i being ripped off here? I finally raised cain and insisted that the fuel induction service was NOT required and declined it

 

If you had it done 14,000 miles ago, -I would say yes. For that matter , it's never required. That PCV system is over priced by about $20 as well. Call around for a price. This is simple to do yourself, -get the parts and PM me, I'll email you the procedure.

Make sure you get a Motorcraft PCV valve too.

 

Or just pick up an $11 dollar part at the parts store and do the 5-10 minute job yourself.

...and yes, you were getting ripped off (IMHO). The actual repair time is less than 10 minutes and a complete hose from the dealer is under $50.

 

If the hose is good and it's just the elbow that's collapsed, you can get that for what - about 8 bucks?

I see NO reason to get a BG job that often - I'd only do that as part of a full tuneup - i.e. spark plug change.

 

whats a BG job?

 

BG Fuel Induction service - same thing as Motorvac. They spray stuff down the intake to clean everything out.

 

The BG does work.but its not required or recommend by Ford.Spend 6 bucks on some contact cleaner and clean off your MAF very carefully.then recheck

 

Then why does my local Ford dealer recommend and do BG jobs? I know the reason they do BG instead of Motorvac is BG is headquartered about 200 miles away and they have a good local rep. I had mine done at 84k and plan on doing it again in another 80k or so - when it's time for spark plugs again. I feel better doing it with this garbage E10 I have to buy here.

Neither BG or Motorvac cleans the MAF, I do that myself with CRC MAF cleaner.

 

The broken PVC hose was letting all sorts
of crud in bypassing the air filter, probably why they recommended it the flush. Part may be a few bucks of but the labor sounds fair, standard hour diag, free part install. Think your getting ripped off? Go check the price on a code scanner,fuel system test kit, a shop
manual, an evtm manual etc...the basic essentials to diag some lean codes are at least 3-4x more than your repair cost.

 

which the dealer should already have, and are already paid for.

 

Lol. Love how u think the dealer supplies us with everything we need to survive. Paid for... My tools cost more than my truck did, about as much as the average college education, and they were neither provided by nor paid for by the dealer. Getting the right tools to do the job isn't cheap.

 

Jbrew, can you email me the procedure for replacing the pvc hose?
I took my 2003 f-150 to get it checked because of the (check engine light)
they gave me the same codes as boxdspam (P0171 and P0174 for bank 1 and bank 2 Lean)

 

I'm dealing with the same P Codes (P0171 / P0174) and have found a collapsed PCV elbow at the rear of the intake manifold.
Only problem, I can't manage to get enough of my hand back there to get the old one off.

Ideas?

 

Just gotta reach back there bud. It makes a 90 degree turn in the back and is just pressed onto the nipple. If you can get anywhere near the 90, just pull outward with a little twist to break the seal. Tight spot but you should be able to get your hand back there without removing anything.

 

Befriend a person with small hands.