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common problem?

projekt-apex

New Member
Joined
January 12, 2015
Messages
6
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1
City, State
Jacksonville, Fl
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 explorer xls
So first of all I have a 2000 explorer xls 4.0 ohv with approx. 123,000 miles. I have had some intermittent p0171 and p0174 as of late (since weather got colder) new IAC, cleaned MAF etc. thinking the rubber manifold gaskets are leaking since it idles high until engine gets up to temp then idles smooth at 750ish. I think once the rubber warms up it seals back up.
Ok now that I've got the background info out there here is the issue. My brother just got a Tacoma and wanted to shakedown the 4wd and asked me to come along with the X in case he had any issues ( my explorer is 2wd). The area we went to is not real tough or anything just a few shallow mud puddles and some packed dirt mounds, just enough to put some load on the system but not enough to start breaking stuff ( I thought). Upon arriving my bro proceeds to drive through mud puddle #1 and it ends up only being a few inches deep so I followed ( a little quickly as my 4 year old was in the back seat saying "do it, go Dad splash the mud" how could I deny such a well thought out argument). We then proceeded over a couple hills and through some dry sand again this was not crazy terrain, as I said it's 2wd and due for tires and I never came close to getting stuck, just a little wheel spin here and there.
After about 5-6 minutes I noticed a kind of plastic burning smell so I checked the under carriage and under the hood but couldn't pinpoint and after a minute or two it faded away. I saw no visible signs of any issue and had no warning lights or cel and temp, oil etc all read normal. ( isn't that the classic ford statement "temp was getting high, it was at the "A" in normal). After not seeing or feeling any sign of a problem I figured the couple shallow puddles had splashed some gobbledygook on the exhaust ( people fish near here so plastic bags or fishing line is not unheard of). After about 20-30 minutes we head out and on the way home hit the old diy car wash where I pressure washed outside, undercarriage and wheels/wheel wells for a good 10-15 minutes. X is all clean, running smooth no burning smell and bro's new Tacoma did great! Success!
The wife leaves for work this morning and a little while later calls me and says she just got to work, X drove fine but burning smell is back and CEL is on. I know this was a long story to explain the problem but I didn't want to leave anything out in case it was important. I do not yet know if the cel she is seeing is a new code or a returning p0171/p0174. Anyone else have this kind of issue? Is this common?(I searched but didn't find much on this topic) The pessimistic side of my wallet is hinting at trans problems.
 






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