2003 Explorer XLT Engine Lopes at Idle/Can't Find Name of Hose

[froglady99]

I have a 2003 Explorer XLT with a V8 engine. It has a little over 130,000 miles on it.

The engine lopes when idling, and there's kind of a groaning sound sometimes. The groaning starts when I first start the engine, when I've been idling for a couple minutes, and when I'm driving and take my foot off the gas to slow down.

I looked under the hood yesterday to try to find out what's causing the problems, and I noticed that there's a hose that seems to be loose. One end of the hose is attached to the valve cover, and the other end goes into the air intake duct. The end that goes into the air intake duct pulls all the way out really easily, and that end looks like it has some sort of grease on it.

I've tried looking up the part number on the hose and can't find it, although I had to read it with a mirror and might have gotten it wrong. I've also tried searching to see what the name of this hose is, and I can't find anything on it. If you know what this hose is called, please let me know!

 

[Number4]

It's just like the hose for the pcv valve, only there isn't a pcv valve in the valve cover. I assume it's the one coming from the driver side valve cover? The grease is oil residue. The hose is about $30 from what I was quoted.
It should be held in place by a green plastic lock. Sounds like the green plastic piece is gone.

 

[froglady99]

Yes, it's coming from the driver's side valve cover. It looks like it could be removed from the valve cover with a wrench, but I haven't tried to take it off since I didn't know exactly what it was or what it does.

There's no PCV valve? I think that was one of the things my repair manual said could cause engine lopes.

Anyway, hopefully I can replace the hose now and see if that solves the problem. If you can think of anything else I should check, please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Number4]

PCV valve is in the passenger side valve cover. Why one isn't in the drivers side? I have no clue. The drivers side simply vents into the air intake at all times and could allow the blow by gasses to be forced back into the crank case.
Something is in the drivers side, but I've never pulled it to see.
The PCV valve is designed to only go in once. Removing it breaks off tabs.

These V8's are horrible for allowing oil residue into the throttle body. So much so that Ford has a TSB on it for 4.6l engines with less than 10k miles.

 

[froglady99]

Ordered what I thought was the right part, but it's not

After consulting with you guys on here and looking at the Ford website and elsewhere, I ordered what I thought was the right part. It came today, but it's not the right one. It's actually the hose that connects to the passenger side valve cover. It's the replacement for the Ford part 6A664, but what I need is the replacement to Ford part 6758. Unfortunately, the Ford website calls both products "PVC Valve Hose," which obviously confused me.

Do you know if there's a Motorcraft replacement for part 6758? When I look up that actual part number, it says it's no longer being made and might not even be available.

This might be a dumb question, but would it be bad to use duct tape or electrical tape to hold the hose in place until I can get an actual replacement? I really can't afford to take my car to a mechanic right now.

 

[froglady99]

Replaced Parts, Still Having Problems

I just replaced the PCV valve and hose, and since I couldn't find a replacement for the other hose, I just used some stuff that's like electrical tape (it's not sticky, but sticks to itself) to seal the hose in place.

Unfortunately, the engine still lopes and I still hear the noise, although it doesn't seem to be quite as bad. I'll have to listen to the engine tomorrow when I drive to work and see if it sounds any better then, because I just ran it for a few minutes after putting in the new parts.

Any ideas? I was really hoping this would fix the problem.

 

[swshawaii]

Check engine light or trouble codes? PCV elbow checked?
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1965554&postcount=11

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217062&highlight=p0171

 

[froglady99]

The PCV elbow seemed to be fine. The check engine light turned on a couple days ago and has stayed on, but I haven't taken it somewhere to have them check the code because I thought I knew what the problem was and wanted to try fixing it first. I'll try to get that done tomorrow.

Thanks for the link to that other thread. I'll check on that elbow and see if it might be the problem.

 

[froglady99]

I'm happy to report that I finally found the problem! It's the IAC valve. Today I cleaned it, replaced the gasket, and put it back in, and the engine sounds great! I ran the car for at least 6 minutes, and the RPM needle stayed in the exact same spot (just under 1,000) the whole time, except for a couple times when I revved the engine just to see if it made any difference. Each time, it went right back to the same spot and stayed there. Also, the loud noise was gone.

From what I've read on this website, it seems like cleaning the IAC valve is usually only a temporary fix, so I'll probably just go ahead and replace it. I wouldn't want it to suddenly go bad in the middle of winter, when I would have to pay someone else to replace it since I don't have a garage.

Thanks so much for all your help!