Help us help you. By posting the year, make, model and engine near the beginning of your help request, followed by the symptoms (no start, high idle, misfire etc.) Along with any prevalent Diagnostic Trouble Codes, aka DTCs, other forum members will be able to help you get to a solution more quickly and easily!

Rough idle and high bank 2 fuel trims

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5 years 1 month ago - 5 years 1 month ago #27447 by cardude
Hello Forum, seeking diagnosis advice!

Vehicle: 2005 Explorer, 4.0L SOHC non-Flex V6. 155K miles.

Symptoms:
-hard start (sometimes need to depress gas pedal)
-rough idle
-very rough idle when put in gear

Error codes (from a old cheap handheld scanner)
-P0174, which I understand to be “too lean (bank 2)”, and bank 2 = drivers side, where cylinders 4/5/6 are.

1st thing I did: some general maintenance, some of which I have been delinquent on and some of which didn’t think would cause my issue, but was already in there so replaced to rule out. Did the following:
-cleaned throttle body
-replaced spark plugs
-replaced spark plug wires
-replaced ignition coil
-replaced fuel filter
-replaced pvc valve
-replaced mass airflow sensor
-replaced fuel rail pressure sensor
-replaced air filter
-replaced intake manifold gaskets
-replaced left (driver) upper O2 sensor
-replaced right (passenger) upper O2 sensor

**No change in behavior.

2nd thing: built a smoker and checked for vacuum leaks. EGR valve (original) was leaking some.
-replaced replaced EGR valve

**No change in behavior.

3rd thing: Evap purge hose going to top of intake is pretty sketchy looking. Removed from intake and plugged intake port, in case either hose or the purge solenoid is bad.

**No change in behavior.

4th thing: bought a Bluetooth OBDII scanner (amazon, BAFX scanner) and loaded FORScan on a laptop – maybe it doesn’t take much, but I’m really impressed with what one can do with $23 and free software!
-scans show long term and short term fuel trim on Bank 1 to be +/- 5% - and stay that way as a crank RPMs up
-scans show long term and short term fuel trim on Bank 2 to be very high, LTFT2 pegged at 25%, STFT2 near 20%, and increases with higher RPMs
-data looks something like this (importing data into excel and plotting) (attached the jpeg if the insert doesn't work...):


5th thing: with the STFT2 and LTFT2 staying high as a increased RPMs, I concluded that this didn’t look like a vacuum leak, or at least if it was it was a really really bad one, which my smoke test didn’t show. So I thought maybe we’re looking at clogged or dead injectors. Put a mechanic’s stethoscope on the injectors I could get to (easy on bank 1, bank 2 harder) and all seemed to be clicking away. So I cleaned them and swapped them
-removed injectors, noting cylinder position
-cleaned with carb/throttle body cleaner (attaching a tube to the injector, putting cleaner in tube, putting 20 lbs of compressed air on tube, actuating injector by manually pulses the leads with a 12v battery
-all injectors fired
-reinstalled injectors, but put bank1 injectors in bank 2 and vice versa
-new o-ring seals
-before completely installing, test cranked engine with the fuel injectors hanging off the fuel rail. All injectors fired.
-put everything back together

**No change in behavior.

**note, while doing this, went ahead and pulled the valve covers to check out the timing chain. Bank 2 chain is tight, no visible signs of cassette failure. Bank 1 chain had a little slack, no visible signs of cassette failure. new gaskets used when re-installing the covers.

6th thing: scan again. STFT2 and LTFT2 still high. Bank2 is high with what was bank 1’s injectors. So I think I can say the injectors are ok?


So now I’m scratching my head a bit – what to check next….

1-exhaust leak before O2 sensor? take my smoker and put in my exhaust and see what happens

2-injectors? double verify that injectors, fully installed, are injecting? Pull plug wires, crank, and see if plugs are wet?

3-fuel pressure? This explorer don’t have a test port on the fuel rail. Could there be a clog in the pressure rail at/before the bank 2 side? Would weak fuel pump cause this kind of behavior? How best to test fuel pump pressure? Don’t really want to just replace fuel pump.

4-vacuum leak – double verify no vacuum leak? have the laptop plotting LTFT2 and STFT2 and spray propane around intake, brake booster, vacuum lines?

5-timing – double verify bank 2 cassette didn’t explode and timing is whack? Best way to do this? Pull off oil pan and look for chunks of plastic?

6-??????

Soooooo…..thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
Attachments:
Last edit: 5 years 1 month ago by cardude. Reason: attachments goofy

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5 years 1 month ago #27450 by cheryl hartkorn
check for any tsb's? any pcm reflashes?

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5 years 1 month ago #27451 by cheryl hartkorn
Ford has tsb for reprogramming pcm for lean or rich codes. This may be your fix.
Printable View (6 KB)
TSB
04-22-11 MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) ILLUMINATED WITH DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC'S) P0172, P0175, P0171 AND/OR P0174 - 4.0L SOHC ENGINE - VEHICLES BUILT PRIOR TO 10/4/2004

Publication Date: October 28, 2004

FORD: 2004-2005 Explorer
MERCURY: 2004-2005 Mountaineer


This article supersedes TSB 04-19-7 to update the vehicle model years and DTC information.

ISSUE:
Some 2004-2005 Explorer 4dr/Mountaineer vehicles built prior to 10/4/2004 with the 4.0L SOHC engine, may exhibit the MIL illuminated with one or more of the following DTC's:

P0172 - SYSTEM TOO RICH (BANK 1)
P0175 - SYSTEM TOO RICH (BANK 2)
P0171 - SYSTEM TOO LEAN (BANK 1)
P0174 - SYSTEM TOO LEAN (BANK 2)

ACTION:
Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest calibration using WDS release B33.10 or higher. Calibration files may also be obtained at www.motorcraft.com .


WARRANTY STATUS:
Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage And Emissions Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
042211A Check For Diagnostic Trouble Codes And Reprogram Powertain Control Module 0.4 Hr.

DEALER CODING
BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE
RECALEM 04


NOTE: The information in Technical Service Bulletins is intended for use by trained, professional technicians with the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do the job properly and safely. It informs these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or provides information that could assist in proper vehicle service. The procedures should not be performed by "do-it-yourselfers". Do not assume that a condition described affects your car or truck. Contact a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury dealership to determine whether the Bulletin applies to your vehicle. Warranty Policy and Extended Service Plan documentation determine Warranty and/or Extended Service Plan coverage unless stated otherwise in the TSB article. The information in this Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) was current at the time of printing. Ford Motor Company reserves the right to supercede this information with updates. The most recent information is available through Ford Motor Company's on-line technical resources.
The following user(s) said Thank You: chief eaglebear

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5 years 3 weeks ago #27610 by guafa
Did it work?

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3 years 3 months ago #45073 by doggonebad
I know it is a year and a half later, however, did you get to the bottom of this? I would appreciate knowing as I have pretty much the exact same behavior and data on a 2000 Explorer V6 with OHV. If you would let me/us know what the root cause/solution was, I would appreciate it much! Thank you.

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3 years 3 months ago #45074 by doggonebad
One additional point -- I am getting no DTCs, which is a little different than your situation.

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