ACT Sensor..Can it be cleaned?

[latham83]

Hey my act sensor has 165,000 on it..its freakin carboned up like a mother...can i clean that with brake cleaner or something? even the little wire thats sticking up? its all gunked...and id ont feel like buying a new one its 40 freakin dollars..
and ALSO these freakin antifreeze hoses that go from my lower manifold to the egr...2 of them on each side of teh egr..do i really need them...ppl say i can delete em and its easier and makes things cooler??or just leave em?

 

[cardudeusa]

I'm not sure where you went and they were $40, but I got mine at advance auto for under $16. Check out this web address thats the one I got.

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDet...S&MfrPartNumber=77919003&PartType=756&PTSet=A

 

[latham83]

ok yea they ahve em cheap but its not a motorcraft or ford...thats why the real ones are expensive...dont know if its as reliable???
what about those hoses i was talking bout?

 

[mustangdaren]

don't remove the coolant hoses from the egr unless the gas passages have been blocked on the heads. The coolant even though 200 degrees is cooler than the hot gassees that pass through the egr. The egr will actually be hotter with out the lines.

 

[latham83]

gas passages on the heads? u mean those to metal pipes that went into the back?? yea they are getting plugged..all my smog **** is gone...

 

[cardudeusa]

As far as the hoses I got rid of mine. Just capped off where they came from. Some people say if you live in cold climate that you shouldn't get rid of it. I eliminated my egr valve completly. Also , I have that GP Sorenson act sensor and it has no problems yet.

 

[cardudeusa]

gas passages on the heads? u mean those to metal pipes that went into the back?? yea they are getting plugged..all my smog **** is gone...

So your smog free, yeah, I'd say eliminate the hoses then.

 

[Mustang5L5]

gas passages on the heads? u mean those to metal pipes that went into the back?? yea they are getting plugged..all my smog **** is gone...

Those aren't them.

You can take off those two hoses if you eliminate the EGR gases.

The gases come from inside the heads. In the exhaust ports are two thermactor bumps that take expelleled exhaust gases and route them to the two metal hoses AND up into the intake manifold up to the EGR valve. You need to remove the upper manifold and either block of the EGR passage there or take off the lower and block the EGR passage at the heads.

One trick i use is to take a razor blade and remove the thick edge and ley it flat with some RTV. It's easy to do it between the upper and lower but better to do it at the heads to lower manifold so the lower doesn't get heatsoaked

 

[mustangdaren]

the gas passage is in the center of the lower head to intake gasket. It then goes through the center of the lower intake to the upper intake and to the egr spacer. The egr valve on the back of the egr spacer will then open or close to let exhaust gas flow in the the throttle stream to cool down the exhaust temps to prevent the production of emissions.

 

[Jkstang78]

with that many miles just change it.

 

[mustangdaren]

I believe the passages are internal to the head. I was told I would have to block the passage from the head to the intake before removing the egr. I also have the pipes coming from the back of the head removed, plugged and no emissions components other than the egr valve

 

[mustangdaren]

sorry. question was already answered. I didn't read the past couple of post

 

[Michael Yount]

I paid $13 for a new ACT from AutoZone - almost 2 years old now; seems to be completely reliable. I'd just replace it.

The Cobras also had the egr internal to the intake (just like the HO) and they didn't have any coolant lines at all. The consensus seems to be that the lines weren't there for cooling; they were there to keep icing from occuring in the throttle body neck under certain low temp/high humidity conditions. With the throttle closed, no egr flows (it's only open at part throttle). At idle under certain conditions, the pressure drop across the throttle blade can cause condensation and icing which could interfere with throttle operation. The coolant lines were supposed to prevent that. Why the Cobras didn't have them, I don't have a clue. However, people remove them all the time with functional egr's with no apparent harm. After a bit of time to heat soak, the whole upper intake is going to be at the same average temp as the engine/coolant, so there's no benefit to removing them.

 

[tmoss]

NO NEED to replace it - just clean it. It's a thermocouple (two dissimilar wires soldered together - they are good or they are bad - no in between. I've got a bag full of the Ford units - I bead blast them and they look like new.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The Cobras also had the egr internal to the intake (just like the HO) and they didn't have any coolant lines at all. The consensus seems to be that the lines weren't there for cooling; they were there to keep icing from occuring in the throttle body neck under certain low temp/high humidity conditions. With the throttle closed, no egr flows (it's only open at part throttle). At idle under certain conditions, the pressure drop across the throttle blade can cause condensation and icing which could interfere with throttle operation. The coolant lines were supposed to prevent that. Why the Cobras didn't have them, I don't have a clue. However, people remove them all the time with functional egr's with no apparent harm. After a bit of time to heat soak, the whole upper intake is going to be at the same average temp as the engine/coolant, so there's no benefit to removing them.

Cobras don't have them because i guess Ford didn't think people would drive such high performance vehicles in such conditions that would cause icing.

Now the 5.0 HO? Well that intake design was used on 5.0 engine in more than just the Mustang. Crown vics, Lincolns, Ford trucks....all vehicles that need to drive in ALL conditions. Even the 1st gen Lightning with the Gt-40 was designed with the coolant lines because, well it's a truck, and trucks need to be used in all weather. Even the 5.0 explorer had the lines readded.

 

[Michael Yount]

Thanks Tom - I learned a little something there. As I recall, mine has a plastic coating of some type that covers the wires sticking out of the tip. When you bead blast, doesn't it remove that coating?

 

[tmoss]

Mike - nope, must be an epoxy coating on the thermocouple/thermistor union - and the epoxy varies in color.

 

[Michael Yount]

5L5 - I'll promise you that any vehicle sold to the public in general by the major manufacturers is tested/designed for drivability in pretty much the same conditions - Mustangs, Cobras, trucks, Crown Vics - they're all designed to operate in heavy winter conditions. And remember, it doesn't take icy/snowy/inclimate/extremely cold weather to get conditions right at the throttle plate orifice that can cause icing. At idle or small throttle openings, there's a big pressure drop that occurs across the throttle plate - and with that pressure drop, comes a temperature drop. It's the exact opposite of what happens when air is compressed and subsequently heated. So it's possible to have intake air temps well above freezing and get temps right at the throttle plate that approach freezing.

 

[tmoss]

SO right Mike - that is what sunk our nuclear sub Thresher. They compress air to 2000# and store the air in tanks for a "blow". The air was too moist and when they had a reactor scram (the sub nomally runs with negative bouyancy - it'll sink and has to be powered to the surface) which shuts off the reactor and stops steam production for propulsion they tried to blow the ballast tanks and the moist air condensed and froze on the air line strainers and sank the sub - may my brothers rest in peace!

 

[Michael Yount]

Never knew the specific reason Tom - I work with a fellow that was a nuclear submariner in his past; really neat stories from him. Think he was based out of Charleston for a number of years back in the 70's.