Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and rigidesignator
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2010
- Messages
- 4
- Vehicle Year
- 2003
- Transmission
- Automatic
First, let me preface this post by saying that I am new both to the world of Ford Rangers and car mechanics. I purchased my 2003 4.0L SOHC FX4 just three months ago, and ever since buying the truck, a fascination with lifting it, modifying it, or any other form of "wrenching" has been growing on me. It's unfortunate that the first work I do on my truck is because something's not working right.
I cleaned my MAF sensor two days ago, and ever since the engine has been sputtering and stalling while idling! But let me tell the whole story:
About a month ago, I took my truck to one of those quarter-fed DIY spray carwashes. I had been driving around on some backcountry roads after rain, and it was pretty caked with mud. I washed the outside of the truck, and spent a lot of time on the wheels and wheel-wells. I didn't realize it at the time, but the "splash-guard"--that rubber guard that stops mud and water in the wheel well from getting into the engine compartment--on the driver's side was missing. I was probably spraying water straight up into the engine compartment.
After leaving the car wash, my check engine light came on for the first time. Autozone told me it was P0171 and P0174: system too lean on banks 1 and 2. The truck had no drivability issues before, and, despite the error codes, had no drivability issues afterward. A few days later I disconnected, waited 15 minutes and reconnected my battery to see if maybe something had just got wet that shouldn't have. The light came back on, but, like I said, I noticed no difference in the truck's performance, so I kept driving it around.
I did, however, do lots of poking around on various messageboards, reading all about the various problems and solutions people have had with their 4.0, this forum included. Suggestions to clean the MAF seemed to run rampant, so I figured, what the hell? So, two evenings ago, after the engine had cooled off for a couple hours, I removed my MAF sensor by unplugging it and unscrewing the two Torx-head screws that mount it in the air cleaner-to-throttle body air tube. I did not disconnect the battery. Being a cheap bastard, I followed some people's advice online and soaked the sensor over night in white vinegar. The following morning I placed it in front of a desk fan for about a half an hour to dry, and then replaced it in the engine.
When I started the truck, I was horrified. After the initial 30 second above-1000-rpm warm-up thing it does (what is that, and why does it do that? I don't even know what to call it)-it barely ran, sputtering and stalling, the needle rising and dropping from about 700 rpm to almost 0 rpm and everywhere in between.
My first thought was that the vinegar was the culprit, so a friend and I drove to an auto parts store and I bought a can of MAF cleaner. Since, then, I've cleaned the sensor several times, using the entire can. I've also washed the inside and outside of the air cleaner-to-throttle body air tube with mild soap and warm water. After letting both parts dry, and putting everything back together, it basically does the same thing. It's perfectly fine to drive, but it idles like a bull ride, and stalls if it idles for too long. I've disconnected the battery, and reconnected it to clear the check engine light, and this time it's throwing the same P0171 and P0174, but this time with the addition of P2195 and P2197: O2 lean on banks 1 and 2.
From reading around, I know the intake manifold gaskets and bolts are another big thing. But here are my two questions:
1. Is the fact that P0171/P0174 were thrown immediately after washing the car just a coincidence?
2. Why the hell did cleaning the MAF cause this? Does it sound like a screwed something up by attempting to clean it?
I cleaned my MAF sensor two days ago, and ever since the engine has been sputtering and stalling while idling! But let me tell the whole story:
About a month ago, I took my truck to one of those quarter-fed DIY spray carwashes. I had been driving around on some backcountry roads after rain, and it was pretty caked with mud. I washed the outside of the truck, and spent a lot of time on the wheels and wheel-wells. I didn't realize it at the time, but the "splash-guard"--that rubber guard that stops mud and water in the wheel well from getting into the engine compartment--on the driver's side was missing. I was probably spraying water straight up into the engine compartment.
After leaving the car wash, my check engine light came on for the first time. Autozone told me it was P0171 and P0174: system too lean on banks 1 and 2. The truck had no drivability issues before, and, despite the error codes, had no drivability issues afterward. A few days later I disconnected, waited 15 minutes and reconnected my battery to see if maybe something had just got wet that shouldn't have. The light came back on, but, like I said, I noticed no difference in the truck's performance, so I kept driving it around.
I did, however, do lots of poking around on various messageboards, reading all about the various problems and solutions people have had with their 4.0, this forum included. Suggestions to clean the MAF seemed to run rampant, so I figured, what the hell? So, two evenings ago, after the engine had cooled off for a couple hours, I removed my MAF sensor by unplugging it and unscrewing the two Torx-head screws that mount it in the air cleaner-to-throttle body air tube. I did not disconnect the battery. Being a cheap bastard, I followed some people's advice online and soaked the sensor over night in white vinegar. The following morning I placed it in front of a desk fan for about a half an hour to dry, and then replaced it in the engine.
When I started the truck, I was horrified. After the initial 30 second above-1000-rpm warm-up thing it does (what is that, and why does it do that? I don't even know what to call it)-it barely ran, sputtering and stalling, the needle rising and dropping from about 700 rpm to almost 0 rpm and everywhere in between.
My first thought was that the vinegar was the culprit, so a friend and I drove to an auto parts store and I bought a can of MAF cleaner. Since, then, I've cleaned the sensor several times, using the entire can. I've also washed the inside and outside of the air cleaner-to-throttle body air tube with mild soap and warm water. After letting both parts dry, and putting everything back together, it basically does the same thing. It's perfectly fine to drive, but it idles like a bull ride, and stalls if it idles for too long. I've disconnected the battery, and reconnected it to clear the check engine light, and this time it's throwing the same P0171 and P0174, but this time with the addition of P2195 and P2197: O2 lean on banks 1 and 2.
From reading around, I know the intake manifold gaskets and bolts are another big thing. But here are my two questions:
1. Is the fact that P0171/P0174 were thrown immediately after washing the car just a coincidence?
2. Why the hell did cleaning the MAF cause this? Does it sound like a screwed something up by attempting to clean it?
