P0171 & P0174 and Service Engine Soon Light

[whtbronco]

Well the codes are for running lean which is not good. It also implies that you have unfiltered air entering the combustion chamber which can lead to increased wear in the valves, pistons, rings and heads. In my opinion performance issues should not be put off any longer than absolutely necessary as they can lead to other problems.

The job pays 6hrs, plus parts. I'll let you decide if it's worth $1000 for labor or considering the purchase of a small heater and some mechanics gloves if the garage temp is an issue.

 

[Hamfisted]

Yes, the passenger side is bank one . I'm not sure what the going rate for an intake gasket change is in your area. Have them replace the coolant crossover gaskets ( Fel Pro ES-71213 ) while the intake is off. Since that is a common failure item as well, and the intake has to be removed to replace those gaskets anyway.



Coolant Crossover Gaskets ( Fel Pro ES-71213 )





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[Kenerator]

Thanks whtbronco. Great input! Thanks for looking up and posting the hours.
Thanks Hamfisted. Excellent idea.

Actually, I discovered the following YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJTlDrCaUQ by FordTechMakuloco. It doesn't seem like it's too bad of a job. If the book says 6 hrs like whtbronco says, then it will take me 12 hrs. That's not too bad. My local Napa Auto Parts has all of the Fel Pro gaskets and there is an added benefit of being able check all of the hoses and their connections up close.

If I do this myself, in addition to the intake gaskets, I plan on replacing:
Throttle body gasket
Thermostat + gasket
Crossover gasket
Spark Plugs
Any suspect hoses

Anything else should I do while I have it apart?

 

[Hamfisted]

If you don't already have one, get yourself a good 3/8" torque wrench. Proper torque is very important with all these components, and you're only working with plastic. You don't want to over torque stuff. A good intake gasket set should come with new fuel injector O-rings, but if yours doesn't, pick up a set of those too. The coldest you can go on the thermostat is 180. Pickup a couple gallons of Zerex G-05 or Ford Gold Premium coolant too. Since you'll have to drain the coolant for the job anyway.





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[RichardH]

I can almost swear that I had the same codes for my former 2001 Expedition - I replaced the hose that connects to the rear of the throttle body and it fixed the codes.

Dick

 

[whtbronco]

Kenerator, you sound like me, I generally double the book time for myself as well. After I have done the job a few times I can get close to the book time, but certainly not the first time.

 

[texasscot]

Thanks whtbronco. Great input! Thanks for looking up and posting the hours.
Thanks Hamfisted. Excellent idea.

Actually, I discovered the following YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJJTlDrCaUQ by FordTechMakuloco. It doesn't seem like it's too bad of a job. If the book says 6 hrs like whtbronco says, then it will take me 12 hrs. That's not too bad. My local Napa Auto Parts has all of the Fel Pro gaskets and there is an added benefit of being able check all of the hoses and their connections up close.

If I do this myself, in addition to the intake gaskets, I plan on replacing:
Throttle body gasket
Thermostat + gasket
Crossover gasket
Spark Plugs
Any suspect hoses

Anything else should I do while I have it apart?

It may be worth getting some spare plugs for the injectors and coils. These get brittle with age and the retaining tabs often come off when you’re messing with them which can lead to random misfires down the road.
it’s been suggested here that removing the wire pins using a special toolset and switching the plastic plug body is better than soldering on new ones. Either way, with the inlet manifold off it’s a lot easier than reaching down and in to strip and solder tiny wires.

 

[Kenerator]

Copy on the injector O-rings, torque wrench, crossover gasket, thermostat, Zerex G-05, hose on the rear of the throttle body, and spare plugs for injector/coil connections. Thank you.
Seems like Motorcraft spark plugs are hard to get around here. My local Napa Auto has NGK Iridiums, Ruthenium HX, Laser Iridium, and Platinum. Thoughts on these?
Lastly, I believe the gap should be 0.052". Can anyone confirm?
Thank you so much everyone for your input! Not exactly what I wanted to do during Christmas break, but y'alls input has gotten me well prepped!

 

[Hamfisted]

You can order any sparkplug from Rock Auto and get it in a few days. Some plugs recommend .054 and others recommend .052 . Just depends on what you end up installing. I used NGK Iridiums in mine when I replaced the head gaskets a year ago. They're fine. I probably won't have to replace the plugs again. I don't notice any "performance" difference over the stock Motorcraft SP-479 Platinums that were in it before. If you have any concerns, I would just stick with the Motorcrafts at a minimum.

Sparkplugs available online at Rock Auto







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[Drae]

I've had the intake manifold off of my 03 5.4 a couple of times now. Not a bad job just time consuming getting things out of the way for clearance. The first time I had to replace the leaking Dorman Intake Manifold that someone put on there at some point before I bought it. Not sure if it was just gaskets or if it was cracked but once I found out it was Dorman it was getting pulled regardless for a Ford replacement.
The second time was after I brought it from Alaska to Texas and it began to overheat while running the A/C often. It turned out to be the cylinder head temperature sensor which was right under the intake manifold in the front. My suggestion would be to replace all that was mentioned above and that sensor as it's about 10 to 12 bucks on Rockauto. Also take plenty pictures of everything you remove as a reference for when you're putting it back. I even got out masking tape and colored markers for hoses or whatever to color code things to make it that much easier.