Vacuum Leak at PCV elbow?

[Bender]

I have a 2001 Lincoln LS V6, and am experiencing an idle issue. Based on reading of other threads I am thinking it is the PCV elbow with a possible vacuum leak after the MAF.

Problem: The idle will jump within 500-900 rpm then eventually stall in park. While driving the car it intermittently stalls while stopped at a light. No noticeable issues when moving and I am getting P0171 & P0174 codes.
I have looked at the tech articles and I am thinking I will attempt this fix. However I am a little hesitant about all the parts I will require while I have the intake apart.

I think I will need:
PCV valve
PCV elbow
Upper and lower manifold gaskets (x2 each based on FORD)

Is there anything else that I will require to get this job done? Or is the list above sufficient?
Any tips or trick would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Bender

 

[LS4me]

You may be able to reuse the gaskets; I was able to reuse the upper intake gasket a couple of times.

The only trick is to take your time and remember where everything goes. Do you have a repair manual/CD? If not it's worth having. There are a few things that have to be removed from the rear of the intake and most of that work is done blindly.

 

[qzyl2m]

I have a 2001 Lincoln LS V6, and am experiencing an idle issue. Based on reading of other threads I am thinking it is the PCV elbow with a possible vacuum leak after the MAF.

Problem: The idle will jump within 500-900 rpm then eventually stall in park. While driving the car it intermittently stalls while stopped at a light. No noticeable issues when moving and I am getting P0171 & P0174 codes.
I have looked at the tech articles and I am thinking I will attempt this fix. However I am a little hesitant about all the parts I will require while I have the intake apart.

I think I will need:
PCV valve
PCV elbow
Upper and lower manifold gaskets (x2 each based on FORD)

Is there anything else that I will require to get this job done? Or is the list above sufficient?
Any tips or trick would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Bender

You may want to change spark plugs and coils as well if they haven`t been changed. Also you may have leaking valve cover gaskets as well. The dealer will charge 5 hours for this. If you are not machanically inclined, you will have trouble doing this.

 

[LS4me]

You may want to change spark plugs and coils as well if they haven`t been changed. Also you may have leaking valve cover gaskets as well. The dealer will charge 5 hours for this. If you are not mechanically inclined, you will have trouble doing this.

My best time on a coil/plug change is 3 hours, so having someone else do it for an extra 2 hours isn't half bad!!

 

[tireman]

Yes, you should change the plugs and cops if ur gonna keep the car awhile. U can check on the pcv by removing the vacuum line on the throttle body that goes to the pcv elbow. with engine running remove the vacuum line, if no change in indle, u have leak in line. Now first before you dig into the engine. remove the solid vacuum line that goes from the throttle body to the pcv elbow at the read of the engine. It will have rubber boots on both ends, check the boot carefully for cracks! U may only need to replace the boot or seal the cracking. If it looks good, then it is most likely the elbow has cracked. if you want to keep the car then replace manifold gaskets, pcv, pcv elbow, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs and cops all at the same time. check all vacumm lines and plastic connectors for cracks. rockauto.com has all parts at reasonable cost. by platinum plugs on sale and cops can be found on ebay. tip do not remove throttle body lines, just remove the bolts to the manifold and move the throttle body out of the way. do not remove the fuel rail, just the nut in front of the engine holding it in place, it moves enough to work around it. tip- as you remove nuts place them in order on a flat serfuce so U can put it back together. TAKE YOUR TIME, rest, relax, it can be done. careful with the connections behind the manifold near the firewall. shoot me an email if U need to know something.

 

[Bender]

2001 Lincoln LS v6. Is there a trick to removing the accelerator and speed control cables? I don't want to break them. Do they twist, snap out, other?

 

[AutumnRed]

The valve cover gaskets that fit around the spark plug well are the problem, not the coils. Oil seeps into the spark plug well area and when enough oil is built up, the coil boot that attaches to the spark plug decides to short out to ground which just happens to be the engine oil building up around the spark plug. If the seepage issue is corrected, the wells cleaned and dry etc., the COP's will last a long time. Replacing COP's first is a temporary fix and improper sequence of correcting the missing spark/fire problem, if and when it begins.

 

[stugots]

The valve cover gaskets that fit around the spark plug well are the problem, not the coils. Oil seeps into the spark plug well area and when enough oil is built up, the coil boot that attaches to the spark plug decides to short out to ground which just happens to be the engine oil building up around the spark plug. If the seepage issue is corrected, the wells cleaned and dry etc., the COP's will last a long time. Replacing COP's first is a temporary fix and improper sequence of correcting the missing spark/fire problem, if and when it begins.

From the research Ford did and prior experiences on this forum, oil in the plug wells isn't the main problem. It's just another in a series of them.

 

[joegr]

The valve cover gaskets that fit around the spark plug well are the problem, not the coils. Oil seeps into the spark plug well area and when enough oil is built up, the coil boot that attaches to the spark plug decides to short out to ground which just happens to be the engine oil building up around the spark plug. If the seepage issue is corrected, the wells cleaned and dry etc., the COP's will last a long time. Replacing COP's first is a temporary fix and improper sequence of correcting the missing spark/fire problem, if and when it begins.

Inaccurate advice. Oil in the plug wells causes problems and the gaskets must be changed (first) if they are leaking. However, very often the coils fail with no oil at all in the plug wells. Ford determined that it is a problem with breakdown of the epoxy that the coils are potted with. I have had several coil failures (failure defined as marginal output voltage causing slight misfires). I, so far, haven't had any valve cover leaks and the wells are dry (about 130K miles and 160K miles so far).

 

[milehighmikey]

When doing my V6 100K tune ups, while changing the 3 plugs on the right side of the engine, I also change the COPs, then move those 3 COPs to the left side, while moving the left side coils to spares. So far, my only failures since adopting this strategy have been on the left side, which is accessible without tearing down the engine. I noticed that my 100K miles old valve cover gaskets had hardened the rectangular seal to keep the plugs dry, so when changing those gaskets, I kept that in mind and left a nice tacky coating of RTV on that gasket, on both of its faces. Hope this time leads to longer dry spark plug wells, as 3 to 4 of my plugs were a bit wet at the bottom of the well. The V6 spark plug wells are not bored cylindrically, and the three plugs share a common low point. There is just one gasket which is rectangular, that is recessed into the valve cover. The V6 also has 4 bolts between the cams over the spark plug recessed area, which you'd think would lead to a better seal, but each time I've torn mine apart, there is always some oil down there.