Canister purge valve.

[mozart577]

Hello All:

I'm new to this forum and am hoping someone can help me out. Can anyone tell me where the canister purge valve is located on a 1997 Aerostar 4.0L? Thanks!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Take a look at the lower left hand corner of the diagram:

 

[mozart577]

35 minute response time with a diagram?? I am totally blown away! BrooklynBay you are awesome!! I can't thank you enough. Thank you!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

I would have given it to you sooner, but I had to find it on my computer, copy it to MS Paint from a screen shot, upload it to the forum's photo gallery (it was too large to upload as an attachment), then link it to this thread.

 

[mozart577]

I would have given it to you sooner, but I had to find it on my computer, copy it to MS Paint from a screen shot, upload it to the forum's photo gallery (it was too large to upload as an attachment), then link it to this thread.

Oh, I'm not complaining by any means. I thought the response time was phenomenal! But, I take it you're kidding around with me about that.

Just out of curiousity, what was your source for the diagram? The only reason I'm asking is that I'm buying a Chilton manual for this van tomorrow and was wondering if it came from there or perhaps the Haynes.

I also have one other problem you might be able to help with: I believe that the person I bought this van from let the CEL stay on until the bulb burned out. CEL was on because of the P1443 code. I'm trying to figure out how to get into the instrument panel to replace the bulb. I know it's a little 194LL bulb, but I have no idea how to get to it to replace it. I'm hoping the Chilton manual will cover that. If not, any info you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again BrooklynBay!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

I have the Ford CD on my hard drive. I'm able to run it without having a CD in the drive with a program called Magic Disc. It emulates a CD drive. The panel has some screws holding it on. It's not that hard to remove everything to get to the instrument cluster. I'm sure that the Haynes manual covers a lot of these things.

 

[mozart577]

No Joy

Well BrooklynBay, I printed out the diagram you gave me and looked under my hood. Couldn't find the purge solenoid. I bought the Chilton manual today and it says that the fuel injected models don't have one. Supposedly, there should still be a Purge Flow Sensor but the Chilton doesn't mention it at all for any model and I can't find that under the hood either. I think I wasted my money on this book. It doesn't even give details on how to disassemble the dash to replace instrument lamps. It may eventually help me with other issues later on, but for now it's a "no joy" situation.

Is there any way you can check to see if my particular model has that sensor? Is it possible that it is hidden somewhere else near the throttle body?

My van failed the emissions test yesterday and the code came up P1443 Evaporative Purge Flow Sensor Fault. Could the problem be somewhere else such as the PCV valve, EGR, vacuum leak, etc? I need to try to track this problem down and fix it before the 30th when my registration expires. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

The diagram is for a 97 model. You could call the dealer, and ask them if they have this part for your year. The dealers are usually eager to sell parts, and would sell it if it shows up in their book. Another option is to check WWW.RockAuto.Com or WWW.FastPartsNetwork.Com to see if they show this part for your vehicle. Is it possible that the previous owner removed this part because it was faulty, and decided to bypass it instead of replace it? The emissions sticker should show it if you have it.

 

[mozart577]

Yep. The emission sticker shows it and the parts houses like NAPA and others also show it, but I just couldn't find it. It's very possible that the previous owner removed it or rather had someone else remove it for him (I doubt he was saavy enough to do it himself).

After not finding any answers in the Chilton manual, I finally gave up today and made an appointment to have it fixed at a shop tomorrow. I really hate spending the money to have someone else fix it but I was driving myself crazy trying to find it. I searched every square inch of the van and couldn't even find the charcoal canister. Maybe that was removed as well.

Funny thing is I do my own wrenching on my Harley and I usually don't give up so easily, but this van was starting to look like a lost cause. If all the necessary parts are indeed missing, I have no way to figure out where they are supposed to go. So, this time I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and let the pros fix it. I just hope I have enough money to cover it if all the emission components are actually missing. The purge valve isn't that expensive and neither is the CEL bulb, but that canister is over a hundred bucks! Unfortunately, the shop isn't going to let me buy the parts on my own where I can get a better deal. I have to buy and use their marked up parts. Oh well, I've had worse days...

Thanks again for all your help BB!

BTW, a few months ago, I had to do the front brakes on this van and even though I wasn't a member yet, I accidently came across your thread with photos for that job and it saved me a bunch of time and money. Thank you for that as well!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Let us know what the mechanic says. Compile a list of possible parts, and put prices next to each item, then compare it to what this guy wants. He might get the parts from a junkyard, and charge more for them than new parts. Another idea is to go to a junkyard with the above diagram, then look in all of these places for these parts, and take them out. You will see where they are located in the donor vehicle, so it will make it easy to swap. You could take a few pictures to use as a reference.

 

[steelhead48]

hello mozart,
look under the air filter housing for the gasoline vapor purge system components
have to remove the air filter box to have room to do any work on the system and access the components. the purge vacuum canister is mounted on the inside of the frame with no other access, the valves and vapor lines are mounted on and attached to it

what commonly fails is the purge system rubber/neoprene hoses. they break down from heat and gas fumes. leak air and prevent proper cycling of the purge system thus setting a fail code. i've had to replace the hoses on my system, several sharp bends, short hoses and poorly designed clamps. the long hose up onto the engine runs to an inlet on the throttle body, common failure.

i've got 180k miles on my original factory purge tank and valve, no codes now.

 

[Aeroman59]

po1443, No flow or low flow purge condition.

Basically you have a restriction in the purge lines or purge control solenoid. The cannister under the air filter box has the purge flow pipe connected through a purge solenoid valve & then to a purge sensor which feeds to the intake or throttle body. Under certain engine conditions the EEC commands purge of the fuel vapour by opening the purge control valve & it also measures the fuel vapour flow via the downstream flow sensor. If no flow is detected the MIL is commanded ON. (why the bulb is missing).

All the rubber hoses & elbows /connectors etc, eventually crack & leak, which is one problem which may need addressing. Aside from that the functional operation of the circuit may need correcting.
To fix is usually quite easy, you may be able to clean the solenoid valve which can stick with carbon dust, spray carb cleaner into the valve while shaking it untill the debris comes out clean. You can energise the coil with 12v, which should fully open the valve. Blow air through all of the purge pipes & make sure the intake nipple at the throttle is clear. The purge flow sensor could be faulty, you may have to replace it if no joy once the other problems are corrected. I had this code on my Aero at 260,000 kms & I was able to rectify the problem & lose the code with the above proceedure. I did not have to buy any new parts, cleaning the pipes & components was enough. If your cannister is missing someone had decidied they did not want to correct the problem, but then they would not be able to run through the emmisions test, maybe they used it off road?

Good luck, Aeroman.

 

[Malk67]

Well sometime in the next week I'm going to be replacing the one on my 96 3.0. I'm hoping it's easy enough because I hate paying shops to repair my van. As a former mechanic I try my best to do as many repairs as possible, unless a lift or machine work is involved. Will let you all know how I make out.

 

[CGordon]

Hey Malk67,

Were you able to fix this? What was the solution?

I have the exact same code and am starting to think it's related to this one very deteriorated hose.

Let us know. Thanks!

 

[Malk67]

Hey Malk67,

Were you able to fix this? What was the solution?

I have the exact same code and am starting to think it's related to this one very deteriorated hose.

Let us know. Thanks!

Yeah, replaced the solenoid and some vacuum hoses fixed the problem. NOW to deal with the "running hot" issue. If it's not one thing it's another but she has 241,000+ miles on her and fires up every day, so I'm not complaining.

 

[rwp1946]

Many thanks to all of you

New to forums...

Have same problem....

You have given me a lot to think about and do....

Just picked up a 97 aerostar ... 166K .... excellent condition... low price...

but ,,,,, yeah some codes.... and other minor issues....


Now to work...

 

[ms1kat]

Hello everyone I joined the forum just today so I could ask a question.

I have a 95 aerostar that I've been told is having vapor lock problems (no oomph, hills are totally out of the question, gas smell in cab)

From reading the posts here, I'm thinking I need to check/replace the solenoid and vacuum hoses first, and if that doesn't fix it, move on to the charcoal canister. My question is this: is the location for the canister/solenoid on the 95 the same as on the 96 and 97 - under the air filter housing? I can, and probably will, do the work myself if I know where I'm looking for the parts.

Thanks guys

Kathe

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Check the catalytic converter to see if it's clogged. Clean the mass air flow sensor, and check the resistance range of the engine coolant temperature sensor. My list of useful threads has information on the sensors.

 

[ms1kat]

Thank you, BrooklynBay, for answering so quickly.

I've cleaned the catalytic converter already, no change. How would the coolant temperature sensor affect performance in the above way?

 

[BrooklynBay]

It sounds like it's running too rich.