One vacuum hose after another....

[ganchan]

I keep having my Check Engine light come on, with codes of P0171 and P0174. every time I take the car to get checked, the technician finds another hose that has crumbled or gotten a hole in it. Last time they replaced the PCV elbow, and the car ran perfectly for 3 weeks. But now, here we are again with the check engine light and the motor running a little rough at idle.

I'm told that there are tons of hoses on these Expeditions, and I figure that if these are all OEM hoses, they're probably all reaching their end of life at around the same time. Should I just get them all replaced? That sounds like a big job....

 

[Aspen03]

Sorry to say but might be the case. My old regal I had I got tired of screwing with things and spent about $200 and replaced every single vacuum line in the car. Never had another associated issue as long as I had it and ran great.

 

[ganchan]

Actually, vacuum pressure is still good; turns out I had a bad ignition coil instead. So I guess I'll have some more of THOSE to look forward to in the future....

 

[Bruce Mitchell]

I had a cluster of vacuum line failures a while back. Sucks that we can't get more than a quarter-million miles out of those OEM lines.

 

[VoxVeritatis]

Vacuum lines are cheap. Over 17 years I've replaced most of mine (original one-owner 2002 5.4 EB) with inexpensive hose-by-the-foot from O'Reilly's. In fact, when I need less than a couple of feet for a job they usually insist that it's on the house. Compared to OEM (Motorcraft) prices north of $48 for some hoses you can't beat it. The replacement hoses are heavier, will last longer, and are the same inner diameter.

A few of the Motorcraft hoses were like porous foam. Ford must have been trying to reduce the vehicle's weight to meet CAFE standards and consequently took it out on their obscenely high-priced, see-thru vacuum hoses.

 

[Bradley Munn]

I have the same problem with my 4 wd vacuum lines too. I will be replacing all the lines that help with the 4 wheel drive. But she runs like a champ. We call it old red!!!

 

[BrentDJ]

I had a cluster of vacuum line failures a while back. Sucks that we can't get more than a quarter-million miles out of those OEM lines.

Yes! Most 97-02 models are right about that number of miles these days. I have two 99s that are about 245K. After a timing chain and guides replacement and maybe also the intake manifold whenever it gets to that point for you, there is absolutely no reason that the old girl can't do another 250K for you! Heck, you should be able to get the cheap collectors lifetime plates for these as well by now.

I will witness! There are about a dozen vacuum line connector points that you will need to check individually with an aeorosol can. Don't forget the fuel evap separator tube and the power brake assist vacuum hoses.

I had my first 1999 sitting for the past 2 years until I could get around to doing the timing chain/guides. The lower chain guide on the passenger site shattered on the interstate at 70 mph. I lost oil pressure immediately. Not being a complete idiot, I pulled her right over and thumbed a ride back home and went back out with a tow dolly to bring it back home. I must have replaced 8-10 hoses this past month until the idle finally settled down to a quiet purr.

Semi Pro Tip:

Unless you have a decent sized gut from years of experience, you'll want to put a stack of shop towels over the hood catch receiver assembly so it doesn't do ya harm while you are in there pushing and pulling on those old vacuum hoses.