shotwell
Veteran CEG'er
Hi all! Thought I'd share my recent drama with the ex-wife's Contour.
Car kept coming up with P0171 code. That's Bank 1 Lean so you don't have to look it up. Lots of people have trouble with this code, some even calling it the code of death! :crazy:
(The car is a Zetec ATX, 2000 model year. The same one Aussie and I changed the timing belt on earlier this year. Has over 220k on it.)
I did a lot of searching here and elsewhere to find solutions. Learned that OBDII systems don't like vacuum leaks. Check.
Followed some people's advice...cleaned the MAF, check fuel pressure, check air box O ring, check tube beyond MAF for cracks, etc, etc. No joy. I found a cracked vacuum line right by the throttle body. Fixed that and sent it out...code came back.
This is where I call up my good buddy Aussie for reinforcements. Today we went over it with a fine toothed comb. Found ANOTHER cracked vacuum hose, although much worse. It's a curved hose that goes to the transmission (I think). Goes from a canister under the intake to a pipe near the thermostat housing.
Once the hose was replaced (with a slightly modified version) the car idled a little better and drove A LOT better, at least compared to reports my ex-wife gave me before I picked it up. I drove it about 50 miles total, shutting it off and restarting at least five times. No codes so far.
Fingers are crossed!
Car kept coming up with P0171 code. That's Bank 1 Lean so you don't have to look it up. Lots of people have trouble with this code, some even calling it the code of death! :crazy:
(The car is a Zetec ATX, 2000 model year. The same one Aussie and I changed the timing belt on earlier this year. Has over 220k on it.)
I did a lot of searching here and elsewhere to find solutions. Learned that OBDII systems don't like vacuum leaks. Check.
Followed some people's advice...cleaned the MAF, check fuel pressure, check air box O ring, check tube beyond MAF for cracks, etc, etc. No joy. I found a cracked vacuum line right by the throttle body. Fixed that and sent it out...code came back.
This is where I call up my good buddy Aussie for reinforcements. Today we went over it with a fine toothed comb. Found ANOTHER cracked vacuum hose, although much worse. It's a curved hose that goes to the transmission (I think). Goes from a canister under the intake to a pipe near the thermostat housing.
Once the hose was replaced (with a slightly modified version) the car idled a little better and drove A LOT better, at least compared to reports my ex-wife gave me before I picked it up. I drove it about 50 miles total, shutting it off and restarting at least five times. No codes so far.
Fingers are crossed!
