Since this was a successful project, I thought I'd put something together for the blog.
Background: The 2004 Ford Explorer has been a really good vehicle for us. We bought it used in 2007 and used it for a quite a few long trips and to run around locally. It is only one of several vehicles we have. It must have around 125K on it by now. The aluminum housing for the rear differential whined when we bought it and I had to have it campaigned at the dealer as it was a common problem. Other than that it has been trouble free. Anyway it has been hesitating when accelerating and finally it continued to get worse and threw trouble codes. P0171, P0174 and P0193 P, which is a pending fuel rail pressure sensor fault. Research informs us the fuel pressure sensor helps control the flow of fuel from the fuel pump, extending the life of the fuel pump and only providing the calibrated, necessary amount of fuel required by sensing the demand. According to the ECM, it was malfunctioning.
I viewed a few youtube videos (you should too) which provided valuable information. Not quite a step by step help guide but enough to give me hope I could do the job. I decided to share the information I garnered while doing the job to help others. The pictures I provide are intended to fill in the holes left by the youtube videos. Between those videos and my pictures, you should have a fighting chance of getting it done. This blog posting isn't going to be a really good step by step guide but I will share what I learned (that wasn't in the videos) in hopes it might help someone else. You will need to watch similar youtube videos before starting to gather all the intel you can. The 2004 Ford Explorer (not the Sport, if you have the Sport, your pressure sensor is exposed and easily replaced and I think beginning with the 2005 model, the sensor is no longer under the air intake, glory be), hides the sensor under the intake manifold (plastic plenum) on the fuel rail. You will need these parts:
Most everything connected to the plastic intake plenum is either electronic or vacuum lines. The electronic plugs each has a release to slide and I think you can figure most of them out. Some of the videos help with that. I couldn't do much with just my fingers and had to use a screwdriver to get anything to release. Most of the plastic was brittle and hard and no longer very pliable but I did get everything disconnected. A couple of the videos show how to release the plugs. The other lines I looked at both ends and made sure I unplugged the side which offered the least resistance. If you are having a hard time getting it unplugged on one side, try the other end of the line. Go with the easiest side.
I didn't run the car and pull the fuse to try to get all the fuel out of the fuel line, as suggested in videos. When I pulled the sensor off the line I didn't get much fuel spill. Of course the car wasn't running and the fuel pump wasn't pumping and with my car, at least, there wasn't a whole lot of built up pressure in the line. Your mileage may vary. If you want to do it the "right" way, go for it. I just wanted to share my limited experience.
Nobody filmed themself pulling all the Torx screws out of the intake manifold (plenum) because that's the hard part of the job. You can see three of the screws on the front passenger side but there's a total of eight. I actually was able to see (sitting on a blanket on the radiator shield with a trouble light and a flashlight) seven of the eight screws. I used a variety of extensions from the 3/8s socket driver, based on how far down I had to go to get passed the plenum (intake manifold) chamber. I did use a flashlight to view the very back torx screw heads (5mm, from memory). When completely unscrewed, the screws will release and then stay in their individual chamber so you won't lose them. It is a little difficult to tell if you have unscrewed the far back torx screws far enough to release that area from the engine since it doesn't come all way out. Jiggling the plenum and pulling up will let you know if they've been fully released or not. Here are a few pics with notation(s).
Ultimately I was able to get the job done with only a few back-of-my-hand cuts. The car now runs fine. Good luck.
Background: The 2004 Ford Explorer has been a really good vehicle for us. We bought it used in 2007 and used it for a quite a few long trips and to run around locally. It is only one of several vehicles we have. It must have around 125K on it by now. The aluminum housing for the rear differential whined when we bought it and I had to have it campaigned at the dealer as it was a common problem. Other than that it has been trouble free. Anyway it has been hesitating when accelerating and finally it continued to get worse and threw trouble codes. P0171, P0174 and P0193 P, which is a pending fuel rail pressure sensor fault. Research informs us the fuel pressure sensor helps control the flow of fuel from the fuel pump, extending the life of the fuel pump and only providing the calibrated, necessary amount of fuel required by sensing the demand. According to the ECM, it was malfunctioning.
I viewed a few youtube videos (you should too) which provided valuable information. Not quite a step by step help guide but enough to give me hope I could do the job. I decided to share the information I garnered while doing the job to help others. The pictures I provide are intended to fill in the holes left by the youtube videos. Between those videos and my pictures, you should have a fighting chance of getting it done. This blog posting isn't going to be a really good step by step guide but I will share what I learned (that wasn't in the videos) in hopes it might help someone else. You will need to watch similar youtube videos before starting to gather all the intel you can. The 2004 Ford Explorer (not the Sport, if you have the Sport, your pressure sensor is exposed and easily replaced and I think beginning with the 2005 model, the sensor is no longer under the air intake, glory be), hides the sensor under the intake manifold (plastic plenum) on the fuel rail. You will need these parts:
Most everything connected to the plastic intake plenum is either electronic or vacuum lines. The electronic plugs each has a release to slide and I think you can figure most of them out. Some of the videos help with that. I couldn't do much with just my fingers and had to use a screwdriver to get anything to release. Most of the plastic was brittle and hard and no longer very pliable but I did get everything disconnected. A couple of the videos show how to release the plugs. The other lines I looked at both ends and made sure I unplugged the side which offered the least resistance. If you are having a hard time getting it unplugged on one side, try the other end of the line. Go with the easiest side.
I didn't run the car and pull the fuse to try to get all the fuel out of the fuel line, as suggested in videos. When I pulled the sensor off the line I didn't get much fuel spill. Of course the car wasn't running and the fuel pump wasn't pumping and with my car, at least, there wasn't a whole lot of built up pressure in the line. Your mileage may vary. If you want to do it the "right" way, go for it. I just wanted to share my limited experience.
Nobody filmed themself pulling all the Torx screws out of the intake manifold (plenum) because that's the hard part of the job. You can see three of the screws on the front passenger side but there's a total of eight. I actually was able to see (sitting on a blanket on the radiator shield with a trouble light and a flashlight) seven of the eight screws. I used a variety of extensions from the 3/8s socket driver, based on how far down I had to go to get passed the plenum (intake manifold) chamber. I did use a flashlight to view the very back torx screw heads (5mm, from memory). When completely unscrewed, the screws will release and then stay in their individual chamber so you won't lose them. It is a little difficult to tell if you have unscrewed the far back torx screws far enough to release that area from the engine since it doesn't come all way out. Jiggling the plenum and pulling up will let you know if they've been fully released or not. Here are a few pics with notation(s).
