Error Code / Help easy my paranoia ... please

cynicalcriminal · Apr 8, 2005

Error Code / Help ease my paranoia ... please

P0171 System Too Lean - Bank No. 1

My car has been in storage all winter long. RIGHT before I had it put away, I had to have my Plastic FORD Intake replaced (old one cracked) and I opted for the less pricey, better performance of have a PI intake bolted into my '98. Cost me a couple hundred dollars for labor, and several hundred in parts.

I finally get my car out of storage ... give it a good washing ... replace the battery because it crapped out on me ...

and blamo .. get a Check Engine Light that kicks a P0171 System Too Lean - Bank No. 1 code.

Now ... I know full well it could be as simple as a faulty O2 sensor, and I'm supposed to grab one on my way home tonight ... BUT ... I'm completely paranoid that I have a gasket leak under my intake. Am I justified in my paranoia and should I opt not to drive the car until I figure out how to get the intake swap RE-done?

Anyone had a similar experience, or should I rest well in knowing the O2 sensor will fix my problem? I'm at work, so I'm sitting here spastic that my car will sit out ANOTHER year needing repairs as I drive my beater through the summer months.

TGJ · Apr 8, 2005

Could be something as simple as a dirty MAF.

Mike97gt · Apr 8, 2005

could be a dirty maf... could also be a vacum leak either a vac line thats off... or a gasket leak... not very likely too be a 02 sensor... fords for the most part will give a o2 sensor circuit fault code or a o2 sensor indicates lean code... witch is different than lean bank 1 or 2 code...

i would bet on a maf problem or what i think is most likely a vaccum leak.,..

cynicalcriminal · Apr 9, 2005

MikeZ28 said:
could be a dirty maf... could also be a vacum leak either a vac line thats off... or a gasket leak... not very likely too be a 02 sensor... fords for the most part will give a o2 sensor circuit fault code or a o2 sensor indicates lean code... witch is different than lean bank 1 or 2 code...

i would bet on a maf problem or what i think is most likely a vaccum leak.,..

Well the Ford guy's ran my code and claim it was the O2 sensor, so thats what we replaced. Of course, a $90 part later ... it ran fine for a block, and started rough idle and choking again.

I'll mention the dirty MAF or Vaccuum leak and see what the response is.

Thanks guys ... crossing my fingers.

Kilgore Trout · Apr 9, 2005

To save money you could try to clean you MAF. There is a great article on it on www.bullittarchive.com (I never give the exact links on that site cause Mustang owners should read that entire site plus it is easy to navigate)

You will need a tamper proof torx bit and residue free oxygen sensor safe electrical contact cleaner. Be very careful when working with the MAF sensor. It is pricey and fragile...

Cleaning the MAF is a great skill to have, it is something everyone is going to have to do eventually IMHO.

cynicalcriminal · Apr 11, 2005

Kilgore Trout said:
To save money you could try to clean you MAF. There is a great article on it on www.bullittarchive.com (I never give the exact links on that site cause Mustang owners should read that entire site plus it is easy to navigate)

You will need a tamper proof torx bit and residue free oxygen sensor safe electrical contact cleaner. Be very careful when working with the MAF sensor. It is pricey and fragile...

Cleaning the MAF is a great skill to have, it is something everyone is going to have to do eventually IMHO.

Thanks .. I'll check that site out for sure .. will give me something to do on my lunch hour. (Like now )

Had a pressure-tester brought by last night ... popped off the coolant cap and slapped it on. Pumped it up to about 15psi and let it sit for a few minutes ... never lost pressure ... so I'm hoping that means I don't have a leak anywhere.

I suggested pumping it up to a higher PSI but was told to keep it at the same level of pressure the cap itself rides at.

Will check out the MAF ... if that doesn't fix it I'm clueless, totally.

The idle is so rough the engine bounces pretty wickedly, and the car vibrates so bad you can't read while sitting in the car.

cynicalcriminal · Apr 14, 2005

Sad update:

Replaced the MAF. Got a decent deal on a fresh one and popped it in instead of attempting to clean the old one.

Fired the car up, it still ran rough, and the Check Engine Light came back on. Still giving me the SAME error code too.

System too Lean in Bank 1

So far we've swapped an O2 sensor, and replaced the MAF, and no change at all. Everyone is just telling me to clear the code and trade it in before it gives me more trouble.

Any other ideas?

At this point I'm thinking of trying to get ahold of the guy that did my Intake Swap (he stressed "no warranty" when he did it, but maybe he'll at least take a look at it) and see if he can come up with anything. I'm thinking still theres an air leak somewhere because of the NPI heads & PI Intake. He refused to RTV the gasket when I told him too ... and with my luck that is what the problem is.

Otherwise, I'll be stuck dropping it off at a local dealership & cross my fingers that they don't attempt to charge me anything I can't afford to pay to get it fixed (if they can figure out what the problem is at all in the first place).

cynicalcriminal · May 3, 2005

Well .. the bad news just keeps getting worse.

While searching for the problem we sprayed some water around the intake, and the car started blowing steam. ... so the gasket isn't set right and is sucking air.

Next, to get a better look in there, we pull a plug ... and there is coolant in there. So ... coolant leak as well.

"The guy" that did the swap won't answer his phone, so it looks like I'm eating the labor cost and having to try and fix whatever is f'd up this weekend if the weather is nice.

I bought plates from MrJones & have his instructions here ... am hoping those will be good enough if I label everything & we take our time on it.

Mike97gt · May 3, 2005

cynicalcriminal said:
Well .. the bad news just keeps getting worse.

While searching for the problem we sprayed some water around the intake, and the car started blowing steam. ... so the gasket isn't set right and is sucking air.

Next, to get a better look in there, we pull a plug ... and there is coolant in there. So ... coolant leak as well.

"The guy" that did the swap won't answer his phone, so it looks like I'm eating the labor cost and having to try and fix whatever is f'd up this weekend if the weather is nice.

I bought plates from MrJones & have his instructions here ... am hoping those will be good enough if I label everything & we take our time on it.

ok i am not surprised by the coolant. what ends up happening is when you change the manifold some coolant durring removal and install finds it's way into the plug holes. just blow them out with compressed air.

and you seem too be a little confused by what i meant by a leak. not a coolant leak. a vacuum leak. a vacumm leak will cause the problems you are having.

the best way too check for this is to get a spray can of carb cleaner and spray it around the intake manifold gaskets.. all of them. and all the vac hoses. we you notice a engine runnign change check that spot again.

1fast03pony · May 3, 2005

MikeZ28 said:
ok i am not surprised by the coolant. what ends up happening is when you change the manifold some coolant durring removal and install finds it's way into the plug holes. just blow them out with compressed air.

and you seem too be a little confused by what i meant by a leak. not a coolant leak. a vacuum leak. a vacumm leak will cause the problems you are having.

the best way too check for this is to get a spray can of carb cleaner and spray it around the intake manifold gaskets.. all of them. and all the vac hoses. we you notice a engine runnign change check that spot again.

yeah if the engine speeds up when you spray it in a certain spot youve found your leak.

Error Code / Help easy my paranoia ... please

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