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Was driving home this morning and the truck was running like crap and the CEL came on. Stopped at Autozone and they pulled the two codes P0171 and P0174, lean on both banks. Came home and searched on here and easy enough found the solution...that rubber vacuum elbow off the intake was cracked open and collapsed. I'll fix it this week after I figure out what part I want to use...another OEM elbow or order a silicone elbow online.
Go for the upgrade - it's an ongoing issue if you just replace with OEM; it'll just wear out down the line in exactly the same way and place - very cheap piece of very soft rubber, and it rubs against other parts where it's emplaced, AND it's very expensive for a cheap piece of rubber,
OR
You can do what I did, and use a small copper plumbing elbow, place a couple of short pieces of compatible sized rad hose (very short lengths, just over an inch in length) on each end, and those over the plastic line and the maniford opening.
I kind of used this as a temp repair that's just kept going - it's airtight, and does the trick; the only thing is that the rubber loosens over time because of the heat, which is not a problem for me because I'm under the hood enough that I just replace those rubber pieces every so often - seems to last about 50,000 km/30,000 mi before the hose softens excessively.
Good luck on the repair, whichever way you decide - looking at it, it's hard to believe that such a small and seemngly insignificant leak can do so much to make an engine run like crap (and throw all those scary codes).
Last edited by north44; 07-10-2011 at 08:28 PM.
Reason: sp
Go for the upgrade - it's an ongoing issue if you just replace with OEM; it'll just wear out down the line in exactly the same way and place - very cheap piece of very soft rubber, and it rubs against other parts where it's emplaced, AND it's very expensive for a cheap piece of rubber,
OR
You can do what I did, and use a small copper plumbing elbow, place a couple of short pieces of compatible sized rad hose (very short lengths, just over an inch in length) on each end, and those over the plastic line and the maniford opening.
I kind of used this as a temp repair that's just kept going - it's airtight, and does the trick; the only thing is that the rubber loosens over time because of the heat, which is not a problem for me because I'm under the hood enough that I just replace those rubber pieces every so often - seems to last about 50,000 km/30,000 mi before the hose softens excessively.
Good luck on the repair, whichever way you decide - looking at it, it's hard to believe that such a small and seemngly insignicant leak can do so much to make an engine run like crap (and throw all those scary codes).
Yep! Fortunately my neighbor is a mechanic and as soon as I asked him about the codes he found it within a minute...haha. Definately common on alot of Fords.
I'll probably go a DIY route...like you said the OEM rubber wont last.
HAD THIS EXACT THING HAPPEN TO ME IN TRAFFIC TODAY.
Yeah, common experience for 4.0 liter SOHC engine owners, and it will always happen at an awkward time.
I remember when it happened to me, it was a heck of a thing to find it, because the elbow had just a small split in it, and it would only sometimes trigger the light, So I would get the code read from a mechanic friend, and I would spend time looking for a leak that I couldn't find; then reset codes, light would stay off, and drive again until the light triggered again, and repeat, and again . . .
(This was well before I had joined any Ranger Forum and I was basically flying solo on any Ranger problem.)
After about 3 or 4 times of this happening, I got lucky and heard some "hissing" under the hood when the CEL flashed - tracked down the source of the sound and found the split - fabricated the repair.
Lol @ the duct tape idea. Unfortunately, that wouldn't have worked on mine. It was sucking itself down flat plus hissing/leaking. Thats why the truck ran bad and triggered the light. Got it fixed today, perfect now. I don't feel like having to reprogram my radio and stuff so I'll just wait for the neighbor to get home from work and have him clear the codes instead of unhooking the battery for a few hours.
I was curious, does anyone have a part number or link to the ribbed one or the silicone one. I don't have a CEL but I'd like to be prepared and even just replace the crappy one w/a good one.
No, but I do have the part number for the stock replacement. It has both regular elbows and the "L" shaped plastic tube that goes from the intake to the back of the drivers side valve cover (PCV valve)
I had the dreaded split in the rubber front PCV elbow (giving codes P0171 and P0174) on my Ford Ranger 4.0L. After checking out my local auto store, I found that Dayco part number 70001 is a near-perfect fit... it's a reinforced hose and should be much more durable than the original part.. I ended up trimming about 1/4" off one end so it more closely replicated the original elbow -- no hose clamps needed. It's $3.99 on Summit Racing. You're welcome.
Dayco 70001
Last edited by Alfatechnik; 07-09-2018 at 12:26 AM.
Reason: Adding photo
07-10-2011
