[Found On Road Driving]

So, long story short. I bought a 2000 24v Taurus from a kid by giving him my PS3 straight up. I spent $400 and 10 hours wrenching on it to bring it to life. Then on the way to the DMV to register it, I got smashed which resulted in another $1000 of repair (lady ran when she saw my tire was flat and I couldn't follow her). So, I finally got it ready (again), and passed inspection and registered it. The next day my CEL is on (lucky I passed first). It's been this way for the past 7 months, but I am unsure of what's wrong. I've tired numerous solutions with no result.

Anyway, It's read p0171 and p0174 usually (both banks lean). It also had read p1151 p1153 (idle air control air flow error?) p0301 p0306 (misfires) etc etc.

Now I know it sounds like an intake leak. So I replaced the intake gaskets. No go.

Then I replaced the fuel filter. Runs better, but no go.

Then I replaced the PCV elbow and hose, still there. Then I replaced the vacuum hoses to the intake hose. Now the brakes are stronger, but still the CEL wont go away.

I am lost. I have driven it a total of 11,000 miles with the CEL constantly coming back on. I reset it often. When it's warm, it's fine and I made a 1,000 mile trip with no lean codes coming on (I interface my OBDII reader to it while driving). But when I park it and start it, that's when the codes start up.

It also misfires horribly when cold. The colder it is, the worse the misfire. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!

 

[Scout1]

May want to spend another hundred and have a smoke test done. It will tell where any leaks are.

Ed

 

[midday]

Have you checked all vacuum hoses? Had 3 broken on mine. Pcv elbow you found, front valve cover elbow, small hose near pcv elbow.
There are 2-3 hoses on the intake near throttle body. Elbow to rear valve cover. Several hoses near plastic distribution box near brake booster. Hoses to power brake booster.

 

[sheila]

Iac gasket leaking? Maybe check plugs and coils for misfire codes?

 

[hhessig]

So, long story short. I bought a 2000 24v Taurus from a kid by giving him my PS3 straight up. I spent $400 and 10 hours wrenching on it to bring it to life. Then on the way to the DMV to register it, I got smashed which resulted in another $1000 of repair (lady ran when she saw my tire was flat and I couldn't follow her). So, I finally got it ready (again), and passed inspection and registered it. The next day my CEL is on (lucky I passed first). It's been this way for the past 7 months, but I am unsure of what's wrong. I've tired numerous solutions with no result.

Anyway, It's read p0171 and p0174 usually (both banks lean). It also had read p1151 p1153 (idle air control air flow error?) p0301 p0306 (misfires) etc etc.

Now I know it sounds like an intake leak. So I replaced the intake gaskets. No go.

Then I replaced the fuel filter. Runs better, but no go.

Then I replaced the PCV elbow and hose, still there. Then I replaced the vacuum hoses to the intake hose. Now the brakes are stronger, but still the CEL wont go away.

I am lost. I have driven it a total of 11,000 miles with the CEL constantly coming back on. I reset it often. When it's warm, it's fine and I made a 1,000 mile trip with no lean codes coming on (I interface my OBDII reader to it while driving). But when I park it and start it, that's when the codes start up.

It also misfires horribly when cold. The colder it is, the worse the misfire. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks!

Good job resurrecting the old girl, PO171 and 174 Dealt with that a lot and it came down to rebuilding the vac lines that were hard plastic ...ie smoke test as suggested.

The misfire sounds like you need to check out the secondaries in the lower intake clean them and lube them up, make sure they work freely, they caused all the mis fire issues I had

Good Luck

 

[KhanTyranitar]

Also, don't forget, low fuel pressure will cause lean codes.

 

[Found On Road Driving]

Fuel Pressure is good (took 2 or 3 fuel filters before it was cleared up. It's up to 38 psi (if I remember correctly) now. It sprays when I push the valve in, rather than trickle. But the lean codes are still there.

I am betting on some vacuum lines, because I realized recently that when I get in the car after a day or so, the brake pedal is hard to push (lost vacuum).

Plugs have 10K on them, coils all test fine and aren't losing spark (spark tested). ALso, the misfires will vary from cylinder to cylinder. I'll get a p0304 one week and then a p0301 the next, but usually not the same one twice. it varies from p0301, p0304 and p0306 and sometimes doesn't show up at all.

IAC might be the culprit, as sometimes a p1151? (the Idle Air Control Signal off code) comes on too. I'll check it out when I get a chance. THanks guys!

 

[KhanTyranitar]

Sounds reasonable. A bad vacuum booster will leak inside and cause a vacuum leak that is often not easily detected.

 

[rudedog]

How did it run before it got smashed, after you "fixed" it?? Did you have all these lights before that wreck? Oh and.....

It sprays when I push the valve in, rather than trickle.

....BIIIG misconception, it does not mean your pressure is good, rather it shows there is fuel in the line. Get a fuel pressure gauge or have it tested t be sure.

 

[Found On Road Driving]

I am not really sure if it had the same problems before I was hit. I had the car 2 weeks before I got it inspected. The passed emissions that day (pulled out of Jiffy Lube) and then was rear ended on the way to the DMV. The codes came on after that maybe 100 miles later. So, it may be related to that, but being rear ended seems unlikely to me.

........Oh and.........BIIIG misconception, it does not mean your pressure is good, rather it shows there is fuel in the line. Get a fuel pressure gauge or have it tested t be sure.......

.......It's up to 38 psi (if I remember correctly) now.........
!

It's actually 32 at idle, but it's good.

 

[Found On Road Driving]

Update: My car is burning something, but what? It smells like birthday cake candles. Not the typical oil smell, not coolant, not tranny fluid (I know what those smell like). I can actually smell burnt oil as well whenever I lift the bonnet, but it doesn't make it into the cabin. Anyway, that smell smells like birthday cake candles, and I mean, exactly like candles. Anyone encountered this before?

It's not all the time, it's usually only 3-5 seconds, and then after rolling my windows down, it goes away and doesn't come back for another few trips.

 

[Jeff K]

No exact answer for you, but years ago, I had a similar smell and it turned out I must have driven over a large plastic bag blowing across the highway that caught on the cat and stuck and melted on causing the horrible smell. It was so melted on I had to wire wheel the melted plastic off the cat.

 

[Found On Road Driving]

Well it's gone.... My CEL turned off and hasn't come back, neither has the smell come back in 100 miles or so...??

 

[Found On Road Driving]

Well, it's been a while but I like to update my threads for future reference.

The P174, and the p1151, 1131, etc, weren't related to anything in terms of vacuum lines. I ended up finding out there was a slight leak on the lower intake manifold. I did by a fluke because I washed the engine, and then the car sat outside in 10 degree weather. It then had no problems when I started it.

So, I looked, and there only place there was water (ice) was near the intake manifold. I yanked it off and found that one of the gaskets was getting sucked into one of the ports. It wasn't all the way in, but it was bulging towards the intake port, if that makes sense. I replaced all the gaskets (believing one was warped) and reinstalled the manifold. I also found that the coil #1 was loose because the valve cover was cracked. So, I JB welded the mounting hole back on, and the car runs great.

No CEL for the last two tanks, and the computer says "OK" :lol2: