Emissions

Tiny
TECHZIMMERMANN
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD CONTOUR
  • 6 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 197 MILES
I have a 1996 ford contour with a 2.5L v6 dohc engine. I hooked it up to an obdII scanner and it gave me codes P0171, P0174, P0420, and P0300. All of them either deal with the CAT or the o2 sensors. Any advise
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:10 AM

8 Replies

Tiny
WRENCHTECH
  • MECHANIC
  • 20,757 POSTS
It sounds like you have a sever lean condition, cause yet to be determined but likely a vacuum leak and the PO420 means you likely have a bad catalytic converter.
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:26 AM
Tiny
DOCHAGERTY
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Replace the cat and the O2 sensors
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:27 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
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I don't think I'd be too quick to change those 0/2s without looking a little deeper into this.
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:30 AM
Tiny
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I agree with WRENCHTECH. Looking into why the cat failed is as important as the subsequent repairs.
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:34 AM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
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I really suspect a vacuum leak here causing those lean codes and misfires. Check all the rubber hoses carefully, especially the PCV hose. Listen for a hissing noise when idling.
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 12:37 AM
Tiny
TECHZIMMERMANN
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  • 2 POSTS
I have checked the hoses and they dont seem to be bad. I have treid even spraying ether around the hoses to see if there was a leak. Also I scanned it again after clearing the codes and it came up with a code for idle air control module. Not so sure what this means
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Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 AT 1:47 AM
Tiny
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I am going to send this one back to Wrenchtech.
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Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 AT 2:40 PM
Tiny
WRENCHTECH
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The IAC code could be an even further indication of unmetered air being introduced somewhere. You may have to resort to a smoke test here but I really think you have a leak somewhere. You also may have to use a scan tool to analyze the sensor data to get an indication what the computer is doing with the adaptives and why. There are lot's of possibilities for lean codes but on these Fords, it's nearly always a vacuum leak.
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Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 AT 3:32 PM

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