As of Saturday PM, I am the proud owner of a 2010 Mustang GT Premium Convertible!! She has about 65,000 miles on her, and I intend to keep the mileage very low as it is a second, fun car. Prior to my purchase, I had a Ford Dealership in Arlington, VA inspect the car. They told me that a Corsa exhaust system and an intake had been installed. One, or both of these installation had caused two engine codes to be thrown: P0171& P0174 indicating that Bank 1 & 2 Sensors are running to lean. Now that I've had a chance to get the car home, I'm ready to address this issue however I need to so that the check engine light isn't constantly on. I believe it is the Air Intake that is causing the code to be thrown, but are not certain...
More than likely the CAI(cold air intake)is the cause of the lean codes. What CAI is it?
Did the previous owner say anything about it ever being tuned?
It should be easy to find a stock intake on Craigslist or eBay. That should clear the codes. Or if you end up like most here, go ahead and get it tuned from a number of vendors here on this forum.
I would drive it as little as possible and definitely keep your foot out of it, till you get this taken care of.
More than likely the CAI(cold air intake)is the cause of the lean codes. What CAI is it?
Did the previous owner say anything about it ever being tuned?
I think you're onto something here.
Chip, can you post a pic of your cold air intake so that we can identify it?
I'd say it's more than likely that the CAI was installed and the tune wasn't changed from stock.
Maryland GT is right on with the CAI causing a lean code is you are running a bigger than stock intake. Another thing to look at is where the PCV line connects to the intake, (the bigger of the two that go into the intake behind the throttle body). I have seen a few to include mine, before I swapped out my stock intake, that had a cracked nipple that the PCV line connects to.
To clear up confusion, I was referring to the stock intake manifold,
Another possible cause could also be if the o2 sensors are in different positions with the exhaust system, they could be reading rich. If there is any way to get any information from the previous owner and find out if it has been tuned after the intake and exhaust were added. I would guess that would clear up your codes if it has not been tuned, or the dealer put the factory tune back in it when they went through it prior to selling it.
I appreciate all the responses. I have attached 4 pictures of my engine as requested.
A few things to note: This might be revealing a bit to much, but the dealership had a rather good relationship with the guy that traded it in and said that he admitted to having cancer and needed some different and more practical to drive. However, these codes were noted by the Ford Dealership prior to purchase, and the agreement between myself and the dealer I purchased it from was that if they could not get in contact with the original owner prior to the end of the year, they would purchase me a OEM Stock Intake free of charge. Additionally, prior to my purchase the replaced two 02 Sensors sitting right ahead of the Axle Back exhaust system that was installed.
Based on this, I'm guessing the issue is it needs a tune, or that there is a problem somewhere else causing it to run to lean. Is it bad to run the car without a tune if that is what is needed?
Stupid pics won't load for me, but I can see from the thumbnails that is a big aftermarket intake. Can't tell what brand from the thumbnail.
Here's how it works: the stock intake and MAF (mass air flow) sensor work together to meter the air that is coming in, and the EFI system commands fuel from the injectors to match the air per the desired air/fuel ratio. If you substitute a bigger intake tube, there is more air coming in than the MAF thinks is coming in, and the car will run lean (this is because of the larger tube diameter). So the MAF readings need to be recallibrated for the larger tube. That is what the tune does -- corrects the MAF readings for the larger tube; so the computer will get the right reading for the correct amount of air coming in; it will command the right amount of fuel; and all is good in the world.
It is strange that the prior owner did not tune the car for the intake. More likely, they returned it to stock before they sold it, so they could sell the tuner. And they either didn't bother to put back the stock intake, or they don't have it any more.
Running lean can be bad. I would avoid driving it like this. If you do need to drive it, go easy and avoid lugging the engine or full throttle/high RPM.
If the dealer will do it for you; I'd take the stock intake and also make sure they flash it back to stock. (also have to make sure there are no other mods that would require a tune . . . but if it's already back to stock than it will make no difference) .
Once you get it all back to stock so you know what you have, you can buy a tuner and tune for the intake, and reinstall the intake. Or if you like to gamble, you could buy a tuner and tune for the intake right now; based on the assumption that you have the stock tune. But if you don't actually have the stock tune, that could cause other problems. It sucks to be guessing . . . . .
I don't get the part about the O2 sensors out back near the mufflers. They are normally just downstream of the catalytic converters. And I don't think those are O2 sensor codes anyway.
If your's has the restricter insert inside then it does not require a tune. If it does not have it, then you'll need a tune.
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