EGR Issue - Finally ID prob

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

My tour has never gotten good gas mileage. I.e highest ever was 20mpg. Last winter I had a low of 14.5mpg. I know I drive alot of short trips to work and not alot of highway or distance, but I always thought something was wrong. The car threw a CEL months ago and it was for blocked EGR passageways. So I cleaned them and there was really no difference except no CEL. After trying to find some kind of a problem: inktake leak, crappy alternator, poor spark, muffler replaced(it was bad, carbon blowing out from the metal folds), possiblely failing pulley bearing, basically you name I tried to figure it out.

BUT I may finally have found the problem. In all my q&a's no one every mentioned the DPFE sensor.

Question is, would a bad/failing DPFE sensor:
-cause irregular idle
-sulfer smell noticable at higher rpm (3k+)
-gas mileage of 14.5-20mpg
-EGR passage to clog to begin with

If it is nothing more then this little box I'm gonna be annoyed to all hell, but at the same time happy.

Quote:

Question is, would a bad/failing DPFE sensor:
-cause irregular idle
-sulfer smell noticable at higher rpm (3k+)
-gas mileage of 14.5-20mpg
-EGR passage to clog to begin with

In order:

Probably not. No. Maybe. No.

The DPFE sensor is well tested by the on-board diagnostics. If there are no error codes point to its function, the DPFE sensor is probably okay.

Possibilities to consider (in order):

Vacuum leak or IAC faulty.

Converters - very common for sulfur smell after "spirited" driving.

Many things possible.... including your driving habits.

Commonly occuring fault in many Ford engines... just have to deal with it by cleaning the ports.

Steve

The post I found talked about how the EGR clogged and a few months later the DPFE sensor failed and his car smelled like sulfer as well.

Link to Post

Link to Another post

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
.. Last winter I had a low of 14.5mpg. I know I drive alot of short trips to work and not alot of highway or distance, but I always thought something was wrong. ..

Winter driving with short trips do give low mileage, especially with an ATX. When my ATX was used as a second car, I would get about 15 mpg during the winter (also lots of 2 or 3 mile driving). The short trips mean fuel rich driving. In addition, with the heater defroster on during the winter , you are also running the A/C. As posted earlier, you should get a code for the DPFE if it were the problem.

Well, my car has been getting crappy mileage as well. Under 20 in just about any kind of driving - even when I baby it. My solution will be to perform the 'mystery mod'. Let's compare notes to see if either of us get a benefit from our approach.

BTW, on the way home from work last night my car actually stalled as I pulled into my driveway. I also intend to perform an intake cleaning, IAC valve cleaning, and EGR system maintenance, but I'll wait to see what kind of result I get from the MM before I do any of that stuff.

TourDeForce one of your posts was the one that made me think it could be the DPFE sensor. Because you said yours had died shortly after the EGR clogged.

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
Because you said yours had died shortly after the EGR clogged.

That's right. The EGR passages were caked up, I cleaned them, then the DPFE went crazy shortly thereafter.

I'm just not sure that is your problem at this point. If you have not done the mystery mod or installed headers, you may have the same problem I do right now - Failing pre-cats. The reason I think so is the sulfer smell you're getting. That is quite typical of a failing converter.

What I'm thinking is that the DPFE sensor probably fails and throws no CEL. The EGR valve then goes screwy because of the failing DPFE. The screwy EGR causes mass build up in the passageways then causing the cats to clog because of all the extra gas floating around in the airways.

Could this be a probably effect?

I'm gonna probably "buy" follow by return a code reader from advanced. I wonder if there are codes still floating around that are being lit up on the dash.

Got in my tour and went to start it, and the car stalled as soon as the revs started to fall...

I went to advanced, and got the codes read. I got a p1000 code??? I don't think the girl used the reader right, but I can't find the list of CEL codes. So if someone know where the list is posted help me out.

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
...I went to advanced, and got the codes read. I got a p1000 code??? I don't think the girl used the reader right,..

P1000 Incomplete test. Need to scan it again.

http://www.contour.org/FAQ/FAQ.php?s=probs&displayid=10

haha I new that list was hiding somewhere thanks Tony. I guess its back to advanced again to have my codes read. Poor Tour I just want it to run right. I don't even mind spending the money on the DPFE sensor, if that is the problem.

argh! I had the codes read again, and I got the same P1000 code. Could this mean that my ECU is not running the dianogistic tests? or does it mean that the reader doesn't have a complete dianogists test? I'm lost on the meaning of this code.

I'm thinking about pulling the IAC this afternoon and checking my trubendz for any leak. I know that will effect the idle, but an exhaust leak shouldn't cause the car to stall.

If you noticed my post about the IAC, I've had it off and I've cleaned it. I pulled the car out of the garage and let it run for a little while. The idle held steady at 1000rpm. Previously if I would run the revs up and let off the gas the car would fall to ~600rpm. Now it only dropped to a little under 1000 so ~900-950rpm. It came back up immediately.

I don't understand how such a small amount of crap could effect the idle. Unless, like my original thought, the solenoid is just dried out and the TB cleaner absorbed into it. I'll have to watch my idle tomorrow. I'm glad I'll be back on tuesday night already from school so I should have time to test it out.

I'm still debating on buying the DPFE sensor. It does seem from other posts the egr clog, you unclog them, the DPFE dies, and in the long process the pre-cats get clogged(ask TourDeForce).

Does anyone have any information on the DPFE sensor and how it works? could it be like the MAF sensor and slowly become dirty/corroided over time? Hope someone has some answers!

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
I'm still debating on buying the DPFE sensor. It does seem from other posts the egr clog, you unclog them, the DPFE dies, and in the long process the pre-cats get clogged(ask TourDeForce).

That's the way things went down for me, but I'm not so sure they're related directly. The DPFE appears to be an independant system & was just old & corroded in my case - and many others I'm sure.

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
Does anyone have any information on the DPFE sensor and how it works? could it be like the MAF sensor and slowly become dirty/corroided over time? Hope someone has some answers!

The OEM DPFE had an aluminum body and does deteriorate over time causing the internals to fail. The replacement is a black plastic unit & works quite well & should not give you any further problems for as long as you own the car. This assumes your wiring is in OK shape.

I'm kinda thinking as the systems are seperate, they just lead to chaos in the emissions. The DPFE regulates the EGR, the EGR goes nucking futs when the passages get clogged. So when the EGR is nucking futz, the DPFE is going WTF? Then the pre-cats develope lung cancer from second-hand emissions, then the whole car just blows up and dies. lol Its been a long day and I feel better for posting that.

Is it might not be that drastic, but that is at least my thoughts.

Some good news today. The idle ran better. It stayed around 1000 and didn't drop like it was going to stall. It dropped to around 800 when I turned on the defroster, but then it climbed back up almost immediately. I also noticed that once the car is warm the idle is at 750-800, but now it doesn't sound like it is stalling it just stays at a steady spot. Is that normal idle for a warm duratec?

Maybe I need to let the batt sit unconnected so the ECU resets and it finds the idle again. Any comments?

well still have a problem. I went to pull the tour into the garage this morning and the car would not stay in idle. It would only stall. I had to stay on the gas for 3 minutes and even then it was stalling out. I basically had to launch into reverse.

possible factors:
its 27 Degress outside (started up fine in worse)
recently cleaned IAC valve
recently cleaned MAF
squirel continues to take refudge on top of my manifold
recently installed trubendz exhaust

not problem:
battery (less then year old)

Other concerns:
strange grinding noise from passanger side of block

Originally posted by ZeroHour:
..
possible factors:
its 27 Degress outside (started up fine in worse)
recently cleaned IAC valve
recently cleaned MAF
squirel continues to take refudge on top of my manifold
recently installed trubendz exhaust

not problem:
battery (less then year old)

Other concerns:
strange grinding noise from passanger side of block

Possible solutions.
Put a bottle of HEET in the gas tank.
Squirrel stew.
Grinding noise could be the start up noise quirk from the V6.
http://www.contour.org/FAQ/FAQ.php?s=probs&displayid=18

no its the idle...

I went to leave work tonight and the idle stayed high, then as soon as it tried to drop slightly the rpms dove. I hit the gas fast enough so it wouldn't stall. I'm just gonna have to order a new IAC.

Well I finally gave in. I stopped at Advanced Auto today and bought the IAC valve. On the positive side they had it instock!!!! That completely caught me offguard. The thing that pisses me off is that I have my new digital Camera and the batteries are dead after taking a few shots of the IAC. I wanted to get some pics together, but I guess I can't now.

One thing I noticed is that my old IAC valve had a spring in it. The replacement one does not.

Anyone have a clue?