[horacegentlemen]

I was trying to diagnose why I was hearing howling, idling rough and why it couldn't maintain idle without dying, figured out my MAF was dead so I replaced that and it fixed the dying but was still idling rough and howling. I noticed my throttle body was disgusting so I cleaned what I could from the breather side and that didn't help. Today I thought maybe the intake bolts are loose and they were, the 4 of them that weren't broken lol. So I figured while I'm replacing those I may as well clean up, replace my spark plugs and wires.
It's so full of sludge I'm thinking maybe the EGR and PCV are dead but I can't even locate the PCV, now I'm thinking the same moron that broke the intake bolts may have bypassed it?

 

[mmc757]

-The filthy intake tract is pretty normal. Don't worry about that being an indication of anything, just clean it up as best you can and come back again in a few years to repeat. The EGR passages on your throttle body are definitely important to clean out.
-The PCV looks right assuming everything was connected before you took it apart.

-Spark plugs and wires are good idea. Use only Autolite Double platinum APP104 or the Motorcraft double platinums. Motorcraft wires are highly recommended, and while not everyone here agrees, I would do the coil pack too.
-Make sure you use new intake manifold gaskets and torque them correctly (8-12 nm is the spec but if you dont have the right torque wrench, just go snug)

-The howling noise you describe might be the idle air control valve. You can start by trying to clean it but you might be better off just replacing it. There is a band-aid fix that calls for fabricating a plug of some sort and putting a hole through it for air flow and inserting that plug in the IACV inlet tube. That band-aid was common on the earlier cars but isn't normally needed on an '02 so replacing the valve is probably the right answer. You can search this site for "Moosing" to read all about it.

 

[horacegentlemen]

-The filthy intake tract is pretty normal. Don't worry about that being an indication of anything, just clean it up as best you can and come back again in a few years to repeat. The EGR passages on your throttle body are definitely important to clean out.
-The PCV looks right assuming everything was connected before you took it apart.
View attachment 82416
-Spark plugs and wires are good idea. Use only Autolite Double platinum APP104 or the Motorcraft double platinums. Motorcraft wires are highly recommended, and while not everyone here agrees, I would do the coil pack too.
-Make sure you use new intake manifold gaskets and torque them correctly (8-12 nm is the spec but if you dont have the right torque wrench, just go snug)
View attachment 82417
-The howling noise you describe might be the idle air control valve. You can start by trying to clean it but you might be better off just replacing it. There is a band-aid fix that calls for fabricating a plug of some sort and putting a hole through it for air flow and inserting that plug in the IACV inlet tube. That band-aid was common on the earlier cars but isn't normally needed on an '02 so replacing the valve is probably the right answer. You can search this site for "Moosing" to read all about it.

I went and pulled the plugs to see what I was dealing with there and while they aren't particularly dirty and no oil they're bottom of the barrel cheap and almost completely worn out so that might be what's going on. I'll add an idle air control valve to my list of parts to order. I am noticing there's a vacuum port on the rear valve cover that wasn't connected to anything but I'm pretty sure it should be lmao

 

[mmc757]

There's a hose connection on both valve covers. They should enter the accordion tube before the throttle body. Ford installed plastic hoses on those lines that are all pretty brittle if they haven't been replaced so it's not surprising if that's missing.

 

[horacegentlemen]

There's a hose connection on both valve covers. They should enter the accordion tube before the throttle body. Ford installed plastic hoses on those lines that are all pretty brittle if they haven't been replaced so it's not surprising if that's missing.


View attachment 82418 View attachment 82419

Yeah it's entirely absent so I'll get some hose too. Thank you for the info.

 

[B3NN3TT]

The PCV/oil separator system for 2001+ is handled by a non-serviceable box deep in the valley of the V6 between the cylinder heads. It cannot be removed without first removing a cylinder head. It's a pretty large piece, unlike a normal PCV valve, so there really isn't much to worry about in regards to that. As long as all 3 of those hoses are connected under the throttle body, everything is working as prescribed.

 

[mmc757]

The missing valve cover vents may be causing your howling sound. I would fix that before buying a new IACV unless you just want to start with a fresh one.