99 Sport Check Engine Light

[SteveW]

Help ! My 99 Sport idles rough when the engine is cold. Scanned for codes - came up with 0171 - lean fuel condition. fuel pressure is 61 psi - OK according to my manual. Any ideas ???

 

[Robert]

Your lower intake manifold o-rings are leaking. As long as you have less than 72K miles on it, Ford will replace them for free under an extended warranty program. Do a search for Owner Notification Program 00M12. You should have received a letter late last year advising you of the program. If you paid to have the o-rings replaced prior to the letter, Ford would reimburse you. If you paid after the letter, you wasted your money.

 

[SteveW]

I did get that letter and had the recall service done last year ! At the time, I had no apparent problems. But now that I have over 100K and no warranty, the problem surfaces !!!

 

[Robert]

The repairs should still be covered by a 12 month / 12K warranty. Unfortunately, Ford would probably tell you the problem is unrelated to the repair. Your code and symptoms are the same ones I had when my o-rings needed to be replaced. They may not have gotten the o-rings in properly the first time. Or, they may not have even replaced them if you didn't have a problem at the time even though the instructions say to replace them. I can see an unscrupulous dealer doing that to save time. I've seen worse from a dealer. A guy at work wrecked his '98 Sport a couple of months after he bought it new. On the bill to the insurance company he noticed that the dealer charged for 2 front tires and rims, size 235 75R15. Well his Explorer has 16" tires and he knows for a fact they never replaced his rims. He still has the scratches from the accident. It amounted to about $800 that the dealer charged his insurance company, even though they didn't replace the items.

 

[SteveW]

I will have to check my service records to see if it the gaskets were replaced at the time I took it in for the recall. Its been way more than 12k for sure, but if the recall called for a replacement and it wasn't done, I may be able to argue it. The worst part is thats its probably a $2.00 part and 4 hrs labor. Sucks about your friend but no surprise. You cant trust anyone to work on your cars these days! They just want to make a quick buck.