Because of e-mail inquires about a very common problem with PO171 & PO174 Lean Right Bank codes on the 6.8L Ford V10 Triton engine, I made this movie to illustrate the most likely suspect. A customer’s 1999 Ford F250 Super Duty truck with 6.8L Triton engine came in with the check engine light on, and the engine loping (revving up and down in RPM). The PCV hose running from under the front center lower throttle body to the right valve cover PCV valve (Crankcase Ventilation Valve) deteriorates where a sharp bend in the hose routes the hose to the valve cover. Once this bend in the hose rots and causes a vacuum leak many performance problems crop up – loping engine, lean miss, stalling, high idle speeds, hesitation, power loss, and the PO171 & PO174 code combo. The fix I do for this is to change out the sharp bend with a plastic connector. It’s a little time consuming but the hose never causes the same problem again.
The second part of the movie pertains to taking off the individual coil assemblies, spraying into the spark plug hole, and allowing a soak period before removing the spark plugs. These 6.8L & 5.4L Ford engines are infamous for stripped threads and actually blowing spark plugs out of their holes. Replacing them even with careful precautions can end in having to install thread inserts when the threads get damaged during removal. The Timesert 5553 repair kit is the best tool set for repairing these potential disasters.
38 comments:
I smell academy award, man! :)
Yeah, Charles, I finally got another one of these in the shop to illustrate the problem I've answered in E-mails generated from my other Ford posts a bunch of times. It's hard in a regular work day to find the time for setting this stuff up in my pursuit of acting honors. :)
Incredible how stubborn those Ford engineers are.
With all the grief the aluminum heads cause people and all the ill will it generates, those engineers refuse to change back to cast iron and admit defeat.
I would never buy a aluminum head vehicle. Aluminum is good in certain applications but its not good at a small level like threads. There, aluminum reveals its weakness among metals.
You can't buy a vehicle anymore with a cast iron head, Whydibuy. While I agree with you about the problem, it seems only certain applications have trouble with this specific blow out. The fix would be to sleeve the spark plug holes on the assembly line similar to the fix the Timesert kit uses to fix the problem now.
I guess with mainly the 8 & 10 cylinder 5.4L and 6.8L engines being the most susceptible, Ford thinks the reinforcement too costly. Like you, I believe the animosity garnered from unhappy consumers far outweighs the expense of them making this right. Just a head job on an F250 or F350 costs in the three to four thousand dollar range.
Saved me a bunch of cash, my F250 has been running bad for a few months. I saw this on you tube went to the hose, it was cracked. 20 bucks later my 99 F250 V10 runs like new.
Thanks
Thanks for the update howdew. I'm glad it helped.
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Thank you for the video. I was in Louisiana where they charged me hundreds of dollars to correct the problem and it didn't work. A short time later I pulled it into a KY garage and spent hundreds more and still didn't get the problem resolved. I decided to try and research myself tonight and your description of symptoms matched mine spot on. I watched your video and looked under my hood and there it was.....a crack in the hose. I'm thrilled to know that when I wake up tomorrow I can correct the problem once and for all. Thanks again.
Thanks for commenting, Ruby. That's a shame you were unable to get it fixed at either shop... and embarrassing.
thank you for the video, my 1999 F350 had exactly problems as described by you, saved me a ton of $$ !
I have another question if I may: after replacing the 90 degree hose with a new original Ford part ($45.- in Canada !) the engine is running way way better but still revving up from 800 to 1000 rpm when idling, should I check the straight lower part of that hose to the valve cover as well ?
cheers
Rik
Rik, it may take the computer a few starts to adjust to the repair. You could try disconnecting the battery and reboot the computer. If it still is revving, you may still have a vacuum leak somewhere. A non flammable brake clean spray can pinpoint the leak. If the engine idle drops anytime you're spraying along the intake or throttle, you still have a vacuum leak. If the reset doesn't work, and spraying doesn't help, you may need to take it into a shop with a smoke machine to find the vacuum leak. There also can be other causes such as a bad idle air control, but I would drive it for a few days before doing anything else.
Thanks again Bernard !
I highly appreciate your advice and will follow your instructions .
Thank you for spending time and energy on a complete stranger's car problems, this is quite the experience, you are a true altruist.
Rik
Thanks, Rik. It helps me too in keeping up with anything in the way of new pattern failures. I appreciate the update.
Thank you Bernard. I followed your video and found the exact the same crack in the elbow on the Triton V-10 6.8L E-350 Econoline van.
You're welcome, Unknown. Thanks for the update and comment.
I just want to say thank you! I have gone other websites after googling these trouble codes and they did not mention the PCV hose. Im glad I kept looking and read your page because I would have been throwing money at this truck for nothing! Thank you again!
Thanks for the update, Steve. I'm glad you were able to fix your truck.
You were right thank u I've do everything to fix this problem
Thanks for the feedback, Marty. :)
Thanks for the info. 99 f250 v10 po174 hose was cracked agane thank you.sr you rock Vincent from calif
Cracked park plug and cracked hose thank you sir.
Cracked park plug and cracked hose thank you sir.
I'm glad it helped man.
I have a 2003 and the hose is different and dont see any damage to it. They pulled the same lean codes. Could it be a fuel pump issue? I replaced the filter and the maf sender already.
I have a 2003 and the hose is different and dont see any damage to it. They pulled the same lean codes. Could it be a fuel pump issue? I replaced the filter and the maf sender already.
The only way to confirm whether you have a fuel pump issue is to have a fuel pressure check. If it's at or below minimum specs, the pump needs changed. A bad one can cause lean oxygen sensor codes.
Perfect fix. Thanks Bernard. On a side note while I was watching your video I noticed you were a writer. Kind of rang a bell as I was reading the latest books in a series by an author/mechanic. Good job Peeper!
Thank you, Unknown. I'm glad the fix worked for you. I am writing Rick Cantelli, P.I. Book 10: Shadows of Horror right now. It will be released in the third week of May. This link takes you to a page with links to all 55 of my novels on Amazon.
http://bernardl.allauthor.com/
I have a 2002 ford f250 with the v10 and I replaced the ignition coil packs wen I got the truck and I looked at the hose you were talking about but my truck does not have that hose at that location
F7UZ 6C324-PA Is the part # I used. Took a little digging around to find. It is two pieces. Insulated tube with PCV valve and the insulated 90 degree tube. Took 10 minutes to fix. Cleared the error with my cheap error code checker and now runs excellent (since May). 2000 Ford F-350, V-10. Cantelli book 10 is next on my list.
Thanks,
Ron
I have a 00 f250 v10, its been one year and been with over 12 mechanics shops and can't find my bank 1 and 2 too rich
My guess would be leaking fuel injectors. They're twenty years old and you've probably been using regular. The codes in this post are about a lean condition, due to a leaking PCV hose.
I just had my heads, my manifolds and a manifold cover replaced. Then had a misfire. Replaced coils and spark plugs. Now I have 5 misfires also p1299,p0171,p0174. What could be the problem? He said oxygen sensor. Also it overheats randomly.
Pioneer... you didn't write year, make, model, or engine size. If I had to guess with no information, I would say your catalytic converter is possibly plugged.
I have a 2004 ford f250 triton v10 and have codes p0171 and p0174. I found the plastic hose to the pcv was cracked so I replaced the pcv, pcv hose, and valve cover gromet. Reset codes with scanner and took it for a drive. Same codes came back. Replaced MAF sensor went and drove it and same codes came back. I have used carb cleaner around intake manifold and doesn't seem to change the idle. Freeze frame data on my scan tool for fuel system 2 says CL-fault. What am I missing please help
Unknown, the vehicle will not go into closed loop unless the oxygen sensors heat up to temperature. My guess would be you may actually have a bad oxygen sensor, or still have a vacuum leak, or fuel injection problems. If the truck is running okay, try running the tank down to 1/8 of a tank. Refill it with either Chevron Supreme or Unocal Super. Your injectors are probably the originals. If you've use regular gas in it, the injectors are probably clogged. Add a couple of bottles of Chevron Fuel injection cleaner to the tank when you fill it too. Sorry... that's all I got.
Most grateful to you, Bernard. As soon as I removed the air intake I could see the hole in the apex of the PCV hose. The fault codes cleared immediately. I also had one spark plug blow recently and have been apprehensive to change the remaining plugs and coils. Your video gave me more confidence to take on the task, and confirmed that the tune up is a requirement, not an option. Thank you for your knowledge, experience and willingness to share it. Perhaps I have time to shop for one of your books now.
Thank, Shambop. Yeah, you need to be extremely careful after allowing the WD40 to work in the holes overnight, and then loosen each plug, working it back and forth, adding more WD40 to the stubborn ones. Replacing them all and their coils is a must.
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