Hey guys,

On our '98 Expedition (gee, I hope it's OK if I ask an Expi question on the F150 forum! ) with the 4.6L, about 110K miles on it, we've got the check engine light due to the EGR. I replaced the EGR sensor since my google searches show that it's the most likely culprit. That turned the light off for a few days, then it came back on. The EGR pipe from the exhaust is fine, all the hoses are fine, so I replaced the EGR valve itself. No luck, light is still on. I heard from one guy that since I didn't use a real Ford part, that may be why the light won't go off. The Advance Auto part was about $75 and I think it's twice that for the Ford part. I'll spend the money if I have to, but I sure don't want to waste more money tracking down the solution.

Am I on the right track? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks,
Michael

 

Clean out your egr ports in your throttle body, they are probably clogged up

 

I was thinking that too. Carb cleaner and a brush?

 

Get some throttle body cleaner and some pipe cleaners, pull your throttle body off and clean it out good

 

I had this going on for a while on my 97 f150. It is probably the DPFE sensor clogged up from old hoses. The original hoses that run from the exhaust to the DPFE sensor start breaking down and that powder clogged the sensor. Take them off and tap them on the cement to see if anything comes out. Mine were grey in color and orange on the inside. You can buy new silicone ones at Ford for around $10. Once I put new the new hoses on on and a new DPFE sensor I haven't had this problem since. Don't just change the sensor. I did this 3 or 4 times before I figure out that the hoses were actually the cause of the problem. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The hoses looked fine, no powder, all the new parts seemed OK, so I got a can of SeaFoam and sprayed it in the EGR port in the throttle body, let it sit for a few minutes and then started the truck and squirted more in there until I had used about half the can (as per directions). Then I unplugged the battery for a while, went for a 20 mile drive and it passed inspection! So far the light is still out, but with two teenagers driving this thing in city traffic, on very short trips, I expect it will return again.

Thank you!

 

Just wondering, but did you unhooking the battery after you replaced the the egr sensor or valve?

 

The only way to clean those egr ports is to remove the throttle body from the intake manifold and dig it out with a flat head screwdriver. Normally it's pretty packed in. I've done hundreds of them and never had to replace the gasket between t.body and manifold just be careful. I imagine the gasket is fairly cheap if you do have to replace it.

 

GTK, thanks. That doesn't sound too difficult. The light came back on as expected, so I'll do this sometime this summer... or more accurately, I'll have one of the kids do it under my supervision.

 

Easiest way to test if the ports are clogged is to apply vacuum to the egr with the engine idling and provided the egr diaphragm is in good shape, it'll start running real bad or completely shut off if the ports are clear, it won't do anything or hardly anything if it's stopped up.