im not very mechanically savvy, but I have a cousin that is pretty good, so I will probably have him help me.(or maybe i'll just watch him, and throw in a few words every now and then) As for my engine, it is a 4.2l v-6. Also, I am curious as to how much it may cost to rebuild those o-rings. Are they in the manifold?

 

go to the dealership parts department and get a set of intake plenum orings (6 total), an upper to lower intake plenum oring (1 very large oring), and I believe 8 isolator bolts. Pull the plastic intake all the way to the aluminum one and replace all the parts that you just bought. That engine plenum sucks and always leaks. The updated parts that you will buy will correct the problem. All you need is an 8mm for the isolator bolts and a 10mm for the upper plenum and a lot of patience since it take quite a bit of it to get the upper plenum out without ripping your firewall insulation.

EDIT:

Aftermarket parts are not updated and are based on the original design which suck ***... just so you know.

SECOND EDIT:

Cleanliness is next to godliness... clean everything before assembling it and you won't have to pull it apart to do it over again... Sorry, figured I'd have to throw that part in since you're not a tech.

 

Cynder ? Who right's the estimates - I'm thinking the service manager did in this case...Because this guy got a line sh^t . No offense to you - But your in the minority.

The Service manager prolly didn't feel like consolting a mechanic before pushing him out the door . His determination made no sense.

kyconrep - Did you check that line in the pic , they colapse/split right @ the 90 back by the firewall ..

Cynder , are you talking the manifold gaskets on each side of the heads and the plenum underneith the manifold ? Or injector O-rings? - The "hats " can fall off the injectors into the manifold.

The codes given usally end up being something to do with air metering . I would forget about the gaskets for the time being because that's last place to look for that problem (It's a big job)

Stick w/vacuum lines - Once checked and seem to be ok - Go to the MAF Sensor and clean it , Clean or replace your filter while your in there.

Heres how to clean your MAF -

http://www.fordf150.net/howto/clean-...low-sensor.php


Reboot your computer (PCM) - Your prolly fixed if you cover everthing in this post..

 

i will get this going in a week or two, I really appreciate this info, but keep your ears on, cause i may have more, when i get into it, Thanks again!

 

Cynder - EDIT:

Aftermarket parts are not updated and are based on the original design which suck ***... just so you know.

this is so true...i had to replace 2 aftermarket vaccume hoses before i got one from the ford dealer.

 

The dealership has all the answers right???????

I agree with Jbrew on this one, especially with my experiences reagrding dealerships. Here is how I see it work

All businesses are in the "business" of making money.
Time is money
Most businesses have a senior know it all who ends up being the go to guy.
They may have good mechanics, but there is a difference between assembling something and diagnosing something.

Most dealerships read your codes and begin to throw parts at the problem untill its fixed. The parts aren't random by any means. According to the "book" they may be part of the problem.
In the case of 0171 and 0174, do NOT let a dealership throw parts at it.
You will take your vehicle in and there is a high likely hood that you will take it back.
Listen to the guys on this post. Some of these guys were building these motors when you were a sperm, no offense to either party.
I would venture to say that a vast majority of us have encountered these codes. take a few minutes to get under the hood and look at your motor. Check those elbows and hoses. I would bet a paycheck your problem lies there, not pulling your TB off and replacing everything underneath. Start small or you end up creating a bigger problem than what you started with.

Good luck buddy!

 

The orings I speak of are not injector or exhaust... they are the crappy orings that seal the plastic upper intake to the aluminum lower intake manifold. 171 and 174 are common on the 4.2L (or 3.8L for that matter since they used the same ****ty design) because those orings don't seal completely when the vehicle is cold but seal completely when the vehicle warms up... hence the reason sometimes it's hard to diagnose... whenever I see 171 and 174 on a 4.2L I always replace those orings and isolator bolts... and so far it's always fixed the problem... nothing to do with diagnostics... everything to do with seeing it at least once a week with the same problem and yet having to deal with a comeback from the issue.

That job runs around $600-700 due to the amount of labor incurred cleaning the manifold and the disassembly and reassembly. If you are comfortable I fully recommend you doing it yourself since it's not that hard of a job... just a very long one due to cleanliness requirements.

As I've said before though... you drop anything down into that lower manifold you're on your own.

EDIT:

Injector hats do fall off the injectors due to age and wear. They typically burn up and end up melted in your cat... or they just stay on the injector cracked... if you have that issue, replace the cap and the orings... they do make kits for it so you can save $$ and not have to buy $100 injectors.