Annoying check engine light.....

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1mpg

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Well this gas guzzling 2000 5.4l v8 is my wife's truck and its used as a daily driver since its all she's got. Me personally I don't see why a 5' 5" woman needs to drive a beast this big but she loves this truck and I have to keep it in top shape for her. It's not a bad truck other than it sucks a lot of gas and a real pita to work on but it's really a nice truck to go camping, beach, snow drifting etc. over the last 4-5 years we've had this truck we have replaced all the 02 sensors, 2 fuel pumps, coils, spark plugs and I don't remember what else but we've done this trying to get rid of the damn check engine light and for awhile I was away. Since I met my wife she already had the truck so she's the primary driver so I really don't get to drive the truck since all the earrings are done with my car since its way more fuel efficient. About 1.5 yrs ago the truck had some serious issues with power and hesitation and after a lot of money spent I finally tracked down the problem and it led to the fuel pump. I bought a case of beer and had a few friends come over and help me since beer does attract my friends i figured i used them to take out this tank and replace the fuel pump. After the headache of doing this fuel pump job I fired up the beast and everything was fine, she had the power it was supposed to have and I had not have any issues with her whatsoever until maybe 3 months ago when the freaking check engine light appeared again. Now when I was dropping off a family friend at their house I knew the beast was running low on gas so my intentions where to drop off my wife's friend at her house then get ***** at the gas station. At this point the beast had just a little over 1/4 tank left and no CEL but when I came to a stop sign then tried to take off she kinda hesitated a little bit. The wife told me that when the truck is that low on gas it would do that and I personally found that really strange since I've never heard of any car doing that with that much gas in its tank. I reached my destination and not more than a 1/4 mile later I filled up this thirsty beast and she still seemed strong with no issues whatsoever so I went home. A few days or maybe the next day my wife went to work which is like 4 miles from home and on the way home the CEL came back on. I used my scanner pulled up a few codes but don't remember what they are and simply just cleared them. She drove the truck the next morning and the CEL came back and it's been back ever since. I have not had the chance nor the time to work on the beast since my car needed more attention but now I'm ready to work on the beast or atleast I think I am. The spark plugs where done maybe 2.5 years ago so im going to replace those again hopefully by the end of the week since ive noticed that she rides a little heavy and power isnt really there. My thing is, does this point out to the fuel pump again? I would really hate to do that job again and honestly I would hate to do any work on this truck but we need the 2nd vehicle and this truck is unstoppable on the snow unlike my Mazda. Sorry for the long testament but I figured I would include as much info as possible. I will see if i can post the CEL codes when I get home if that helps
 

Lightnig

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Holy run on sentences Batman!!!

First off, welcome to the forum, I am sure you will find the help you need here.


That said, would be easier to understand the issues with a bit of white space in a passage like that :boxed: heh




Anyway, indeed the actual codes would be a great help in pinpointing the issue, otherwise we are just making blind guesses. Also, how many miles on the truck?

If I were to guess from your description though, sounds like it could easily be the PCV valve/hose assembly. Poor mileage, hesitation, and 'missing' power are the exact symptoms I saw with that issue. You would be looking for codes P0171 and P0174.

Might also/or be the EGR system, but like I say, post the trouble codes and we can help...
 
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1mpg

1mpg

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Thanks I got a little carried away and the scanner says "not all supported I/m monitor test are complete"

I pressed enter on the scanner and got code P0171 and P0174. I've also forgot to mention that my remote starter does not start the engine at all and this thing is maybe 2.5 yrs old if that. I would like to say that I was having issues with the starter after the cel came on, it cranks the engine but it does not start it. I've also noticed that after I try to start it with the remote and fails I then start it with the key and it takes a little longer to crank over and start so i no longer use the remote starter.
 
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1mpg

1mpg

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Well just to update if anyone is around still.... I went to the dealer and bought the pcv hose and installed this past Friday then cleared the codes. Saturday I took this beast to do the smog test and I was actually surprised that it passed but today Tuesday my wife text me and told me the fricken light came back. Is there anything else anyone recommends I should do now? I have yet to scan it but I'm sure it's those two lean codes since they don't seem to want to go away but ill check again when I get home.
Also how do I check the egr system?
 

FordandPolaris

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If it is still throwing the same codes, then the best bet is to check the other vacuum lines at the throttle body, etc. for the same thing as the PCV valve elbow. Or just do like I did and wait for the light to burn out.
 
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