Now I've done all the EGR stuff as seen in my earlier posts. The thing is running pretty darn good so I'm not b*tchin too much. I have noticed that it doesn't take off real quick and kind of stumbles a little. Not all the time but occasionally. Then once it's going it does pretty good. I just drove over 600 miles this last week so it's obviously doing pretty well. I've got a belt issue which I have read all the posts about getting a gatorback belt it squeals pretty loud when first started and then chirps when it's running. I think the sound is coming from around my alternator. I changed the tensioner and the idler pulley and put a new belt on last year. It's not a gatorback though. My question is could this make my engine stumble a little? Also, these issues wouldn't read through a code am I right?

 

my suggestion is to go to auto shop and have your fuel injectors power flushed

stumble is usually associated with lack of proper amount of fuel being injected into the cylinders

( fuel starvation ) could be a near plugged fuel filter too ( change it 1st )

 

Yeah, I was thinking of the fuel filter too. I changed it I want to say about 5 years ago maybe a little sooner. Time goes by pretty fast. It's a quick thing to change for $9. I still need to check on the power flushing for the injectors. Thanks again.

 

i replace my fuel filter every year whether it needs it or not
( regular maintenance schedule )

power flushing of the injectors can be a little pricey

but well worth the cost in the long run

 

is alternator charging?not charging fully can cause a stumble.

 

the squeel is probably from the alternator as well, which would cause the stumble if it needed replacing. see if you have it under warranty and if not its like 90 bucks... oh well. try that first i'd suppose.

 

if the alternator was not fully charging then the dash battery light would come on

 

Could also have a vaccum leak, might as well start on the cheap and free side of things.

 

Yeah I guess I'll look to see if there is any vaccum leaks. It runs just a little better after the fuel filter change, but still not perfect. Seems to run better from a cold start in the morning. I don't know?

 

Something I could check is the small hoses that come off of the EGR solenoid. Now that I think about it that's the only thing I haven't checked in the EGR system. Little bitty hoses for sure.

 

On the way to work I noticed I'm getting poor gas mileage!

 

definatley sounds like a plugged up EGR system

 

I don't know what to do, but I sure am pouring through the gas right now. Not real cheap at this time that's for sure. It doesn't look like it's leaking fuel around the filter. I've checked for leaks in vaccum lines but haven't found any. It's not showing any check engine light and I have my doubts that it would show any codes. The ABS light is on which I was told could be the rear ABS sensor. I'll have to order this part because all of the shops Autozone, Advanced Auto, Napa, Oreilly, etc. have a remanufactured part that won't work. Could this cause my truck to stumble this much and use this much fuel??? I think if the EGR was messing up it would show codes again. Got to do something or I'll go broke for sure.

 

pull the EGR valve and check for carbon build up ( the valve could be stuck )

also check the EGR feed pipe from the catalytic

could be carbon blocked

 

Where is the EGR feed from the catalytic located???

 

driver side intake manifold

it looks like a round cylinder with a steel pipe attached to it

 

Well, I took the EGR valve off and sprayed throttle body cleaner in it. I sprayed it in the top port and it wouldn't run out. I think this means that the valve is sticking right? Any way I told Advanced Auto to get me another one and it should be here in the morning. I cleaned the EGR valve the best I could. Then I cleaned the tube that goes to the throttle body from the EGR valve. After that I cleaned the MAF sensor with some cleaner and took the air cleaner out and shook it out. It seemed to run better after this. I also cleaned the IAC too. I'm thinking about taking the whole EGR tube off and everything and cleaning it again. Also, probably going to hit the throttle body again. I have this feeling like I loosened stuff up and it sucked it up through the system and plugged other areas.

 

make sure that you thoroughly clean the inside of the EGR feed tube

and remove the dis-lodged debris

huge amounts can plug up the catalytic converter

you should not have bolted it back up until the valve was thoroughly cleaned out

the parts store should have some very stiff thistle brushes help clean it out

 

i forgot

do not spray cleaner inside the vacuum port,, only spray cleaner inside of the feed tube and the port that feeds into the intake manifold

 

I went and got the OBD check at Advanced Auto and got these codes P1443 Emissions Control and P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire. So I think this tells me it could still be the same problem with the EGR? It could be the catalytic converter maybe. I can't crossreference the P1443 code, but I've seen the P0303 code before. Any other thoughts? The vaccum port that's toward the throttle body right(up)? I have sprayed some cleaner in there already. You will see what I'm talking about if you look at my previous post for the EGR cleaning.

 

yes that would be the EGR valve

if it was the catalytic converter your engine would run but would have very little power output

ask advance auto if they rent those snake camera`s

send it down the EGR feed pipe and look at the converter guts ( should look like honeycomb guts )

excess fuel in the converter will cause the guts to melt and block off exhaust gas flow

i would also invest in new spark plug wires as well

 

Well, they weren't very helpful in checking the catalytic converter. I bought a flexible dryer brush tool that is 10' long I thought would work good on cleaning this stuff. What do you think. Would you run it down through the port at the manifold toward the catalytic converter? I was thinking of using this brush with a vaccum cleaner to suck any material out. The problem is it might be tough to get down to the catalytic converter. Should I remove it and try to clean it? The truck runs rough taking off and going up hills. When it's on the interstate it will get to 70 mph pretty easy. I guess the catalytic converter could be just starting to go out.

 

yes you will have to remove the feed tube

any excess carbon that is allowed to flow into the catalytic will clog it up in no time

( if it was me , i would order another feed tube from the dealer )

instead of wasting my time trying to clean it out ( but that is just me )

 

I found out that the P1443 code is for a faulty or stuck evaporation purge valve. It also said it could be a clogged line from this area as well. I found out that a number of these lines have dry rotted so I replaced all of them, but a couple that looked okay and one that has two different sizes on each end. Might have to order one from Ford. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this seems to be working. I haven't replaced the valve itself yet I just wanted to see if changing the lines might fix it. I've read that this causes major use of fuel as well. So everything seems to be pointing the finger at this.

 

truck ran yesterday turned off to switch drivers and never started again! checked fuel shut off swictch..ok even bypassed it. getting 10.3v when I start. swiched relay under hood with washer pump relay 46A with 46B. still not starting wanted to check for voltage at fuel pum but cant find whitch posts to check.