Hi!!

Let me start by saying this site is totally cool. Let me also say that yes, girls drive trucks, too, and I heard all the usual jokes and I do change the oil at regular times.

Well.. Here's my problem. I had a P0175 code (System Too Rich, Bank 2) and replaced the front oxygen sensor on the driver's side. The mileage improved and the Service Engine Soon light went away for about 2000 miles. But then it came back on again and the fuel economy went back to being real bad. The only things I remember happening shortly before that light were:

a. I got gas (full tank) at a gasstation I never used before.
b. I was turning around and shifted from reverse to drive when the car was almost, but not 100%, at a complete stop (which is when the light came on).

I did a search for all the P0175 discussions and they listed sparkplugs (did that), oxygen sensors (did that), vacuum hoses (did not do it, some hoses look stiff but none look cracked), and PCV valve (checked, has suction).

Any ideas???

Thanks!

 

well first off welcome to the boards

lots of "loose nuts" around here so get that harness good and tight now

i know carburators and that stuff so i'm not much help with your problem but theres a lot of good help here

someone will be around shortly to help..
sort of like triple a

go to general and say hi to the "residents"



...zap!

 

my pcv also had suction but for a couple bucks i changed it and it game me way better idle, when u checked ur hoses did u spray them with anything to see if it would suck (starting fluid) or what not in to the system which would increase idle. or just visually check?.. in my opinion since u changed one side o2 i would do the other too. might as well have them both fresh cuz righ tnow u have one new fast one and one thats a little slow(they slow with age) the gear change didnt do anything im like 99% sure. it might be bad gas. either drain the tank or just add SEA FOAM to it. one can should do it and when u hit half a tank fill up with good gas and add another seafoam can for treatment ( it cleans and soaks up water and other bad gas mixes pretty well. its like 5 bux a can around here.

 

I can't really help you, but I can give this little bit of info. I almost NEVER come to a complete stop when shifting from reverse to drive. That's just the way I drive... any vehicle. Did it in my Dodge, did it in my mother's minivan, did it in my dad's van, did it in my mother's Buick, and I do it in my F-150... so I don't think that would cause any problems.

 

Hmmm, doesn't alcohol do the same thing? Last time I checked, that was less than a dollar. Maybe they only sell it up North, though. Don't recall seeing it since I moved to Texas.

 

Well, I don't think it was the gas because I went down to 2/25 gallons and filled up 23 and it's still doing poor mileage. Now here's something else I've noticed, and it was only recent..

Imagine that you're driving on a really bumpy road and doing it kinda fast -- the car sort of jumps up and down some. Well, sometimes that happens on the highway. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it goes away... This, too, is a recent development. (sparkplugs were changed recently and all of them looked the same and looked almost new, and the ceramic part looked white and clean)..

What's this jerky vibration.. Is it a cylinder not firing off right? Or... if not, then what? (PS: the highway is smooth and normal).

 

I just visually checked the hoses. I did not spray or use any liquid or anything else except for feeling for flexibility and looking for cracks.

Many were flexible but some were hard and brittle-feeling. I didn't feel or see any cracks. They all looked snug. One hose, which, I think, covered a metal wire, was torn but not all the way through. One was chaffed and brittle. None seemed damaged. I don't know if I looked at all of them since I just looked at what I could find, in the engine and under the truck.

Is there such a service as checking and replacing the hoses that need it? Is it expensive? If it is, I will try to do it myself.

 

Howdy and welcome!

If a hose seems bad, just swap it out with vac hose that can be had for cheap at any autoparts store.

You did the sparkplugs? Wires too? Not to insult you, but are the wires on tight? (I've been there, done that, and have the tee shirt)

Shouldn't matter to go right from drive to reverse, but I have mostly handshakers so a pause when I'm in an automatic just comes natural.

Adrianspeeder

 

sounds like u might have gotten a bad tank of gas run it all out then put some B12 in it clean the fuel system out and it should fix some of ur problems. u can also check ur MAF sensor see if its dirty that will throw a rich code as well

 

You have to check for codes again and not guess what is happening, then go about trouble shooting to clear that code. It may or may not be the same again.
A cylinder miss won't be the code 175 again.
A bad cylinder could in some some circumstances pass raw fuel that the Ox sensor will see as well as heat up the cat to excessive temps.
Start anew with checking code again.

 

Sounds like a bad plug wire or spark plug to me. Also check to make sure your plugs are tight and your wires are not loose.

 

Maybe if you post a pic of yourself it will help us think of the answer!

I don't know what else it would be other than what has already been mentioned.

 

I paid someone to do the sparkplugs. That's all they did, just change them out (all eight), and did not do any hoses or distributor (whatever it's called) item or anything else. The car ran at lower RPMs for several thousand miles as a consequence. I hadn't noticed anything wrong with it except when this light came on recently, and that's when the bad fuel mileage AND the periodic shaking started.

 

Two questions on that:

a. what is B12? Can it be easily bought at an autoparts store?

b. The MAF. I cleaned it once by spraying it with an electronics parts cleaner. There was a method of taking it fully out of the housing that's opposite of the airfilter housing but what I did instead was disconnect the two (clamp) and pull the MAF housing up and I saw two small wires, like lightbulb filaments, and I sprayed those down and gave it 2 minutes to dry and put it back in. My assumption was that that was the MAF.
-- The QUESTION is this: if the MAF is just a part that has those two wires, then how can I tell if they're clean or dirty? They're so small...

Thanks!

 

I agree and here's what I know:

Error code was reset (Bat neg disconnected for 4 minutes) and didn't come on for 2000 miles of mostly highway.
Fuel economy went up several miles to a gallon.
Then I got the same code I was getting before, P0175. I saw it being taken by a scanner.

There was nothing I could think of that I did that would affect the fuel lines or fuel system in any way - no modifications, no rough or muddy roads, nothing.

I will try to check the hoses I see or even replace some. I *could* replace the other O2 sensor (someone's advice), but it wouldn't be giving me a driver's side (bank 2) error, because it's on the passenger's (bank 1) side..