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Zetec Contour/Cougar header info

ButtonPuncher said:
The P0420 is because you don't have a MIL on your lower O2.

The P0171 is interesting. How old was your upper O2 before doing all of this. All of the wrenching/movement may have killed it.

Did you reset your PCM after doing everything? Pull the little 3 amp fuse in your fusebox and let it set for 5 minutes (with the car off).

BTW, I've always wanted to try this...



Do you notice surging at part throttle? I've always wondered if you could just cut the EGR pipe after the cat and just put a small air filter on it. To bypass the EGR system, not have it throw a CEL, and have a nice clean intake manifold all at the same time.

HTH,
BP
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The first o2 sensor is almost new (about 2-3 months old).

I had the battery disconnected while doing the header so the ECM should have been reset. I cleared the codes today, if they come back I'll reset it again.

I haven't noticed any surging, in fact, I havn't noticed any problems other than what's mentioned. After cutting the EGR tube, I noticed minimal air flow from it. Mainly I just want to hook it up to the cat so everything is as it should be and proper. I can be anal about things like that. :rolleyes:
 
I'll update more as time goes by to see if the codes come back. Just to clarify incase anyone is thinking differently:

I cut the EGR tube where it normaly hooked into the cat. I left the tube to the egr valve in place - open. The cat back section is what was removed. There may be some connection between this being open and my codes, but I'm hesitant as the EGR is for emissions if I'm not mistaken ( Don't really know much about th EGR system though).

Thanks for the input guys.
 
ButtonPuncher said:
Watch out because then you'd be double metering the air.

The DPFE monitors the EGR flow and adjusts the IAC. There's no need to have the MAF meter it. it would only be unmetered if the EGR pipe was cut off between the EGR valve and the intake manifold.

I'm guessing that it's a combination of the lower 02 CEL, possibly a bad upper O2, and not resetting the PCM after putting on the header.

BTW, if I had a spare EGR pipe, I'd definitely try the air filter/EGR bypass test.


BP
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although the PCM knows how much air is coming in through the EGR via the DPFE sensor, it thinks that its unusable exhaust air. by letting good "burnable" air get into the system other than through the MAF you will run lean. so if you let metered air pass through the EGR system then the PCM will still give the correct amount of fuel for the air flow. the amount of flow through the EGR doesnt change the amount of fuel the computer injects, just how hot the mixture will burn.
 
Well, the light came back. I still need to check to see if I'm gettinge the lean code or just the expected cat code. I ordered an x-cal3 today so I can turn off the cat code. If the aire is coming back from the cat to the egr system then I might not need to get a high temp metal tube. Would radiator hose work? - Since the temps shouldn't be that high?
 
Teal4Banger said:
Well, the light came back. I still need to check to see if I'm gettinge the lean code or just the expected cat code. I ordered an x-cal3 today so I can turn off the cat code. If the aire is coming back from the cat to the egr system then I might not need to get a high temp metal tube. Would radiator hose work? - Since the temps shouldn't be that high?
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check the codes but im betting the lean code is back and i bet its cause you have teh EGR open to atmosphere.

FYI, you can plumb the EGR back into the exhaust anywhere BEFORE the cat. on the stock system its plumbed to either the manifold or the cat housing but its always before the cat. if your replacement cat has a port on it that port is for an air injection system, NOT EGR. that cat is not a 3-way cat like what was on the car originally. im not going to try to explain the differences right now but i can if you need me to.
 
Well, it looks like I'm going to be replacing the cut egr tube with a copper tube of the same size and route it into the second o2 sensor bung on the collector pipe of the header since that second o2 isn't needed in its current location. I spoke with a couple of mechanics at Tuffy today and this seems to be the easiest/cleanest way to do it.
 
Just an update:

I'm waiting to get some time to take my car in to have the egr tube connected to the header. Until then I've crimped off the original tube which was left wide open after cutting it from the CAT. I am still running lean and now have two new codes indicating that the flow has been restricted in the egr tube ( :o )
 
Block EGR with no CEL

Block EGR with no CEL

I swiped this info from the 'Old' site. It worked for me.

Step 1: unplug the two hoses from the EGR flow sensor, can't recall the actual name but it is to the left of the EGR electrical solenoid that activates vacuum to the EGR, both are located on the fire wall above the intake. This flow sensor has two hoses one marked ref which is the smaller of the two and one marked hi. Step 2: unplug the EGR vacuum hose from the EGR valve and plug this hose into the EGR flow sensor ref connection. Step 3: remove the actual EGR valve/tubing and block off both the exhaust manifold connection and the intake manifold connection.
 
devanmc said:
when we going to get a sound clip? :shrug:
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lol, I know.. but like I said, winter.... and the usual excuses:

Working full time

Full time student

Studying for a Microsoft exam

yada yada yada.... :crazy:

I'll get one up eventually.... I'm thinking that I'm going to add a third straight through muffler if I can fit it in, to quiet it down some more.. I'm going for a completely stock look (and sound I guess) and having a loud exhaust kinda gives it away :o
 
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