v6 error codes p2198, p0171, p0172, p0420, p0430

[thad_]

I'm getting a litany of codes from my 2003 v6 limited with ~220k. I haven't noticed anything wrong when driving the rig, fuel economy is a bit low (17mpg city, 21 hwy) but it's a 20yr old runner so...

I'm getting 5 codes that'll show up after clearing within a few days.

P0171
P0174
P0420
P0430
P2198

Any thoughts from the more experienced mechs when looking at those as a whole? Individually there is a laundry list that each of those (3 really) codes can point to and I'm shadetree at best so it's pretty daunting to me.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[UrbanRunner651]

Stock headers I assume? Likely a hairline crack in the manifold somewhere. Does it sound loud or odd when you listen to idle with the hood open?
You def have a leak upstream & likely aging converters & sensors not helping.
My advice would be to take it to an exhaust shop and have them find your leak. most will do an inspection for free.

 

[thad_]

Stock headers I assume? Likely a hairline crack in the manifold somewhere. Does it sound loud or odd when you listen to idle with the hood open?
You def have a leak upstream & likely aging converters & sensors not helping.
My advice would be to take it to an exhaust shop and have them find your leak. most will do an inspection for free.

I think the headers are stock, they're rusty af if they're not. There is an aftermarket K&N cool air intake on it and I've always attributed the engine's sound - I'd say it sounds like a turbo-diesel when you rev it - to that cold-air intake (but it also kinda sounds like a vacuum leak to me if I'm being honest). I poked and prodded at all the things I assume are vacuum lines and they look attached. Is there a diagram of the v6's vacuum lines y'all have squirreled away?

I checked the 02 sensors, they seem attached properly and all look like they're about the same vintage. It feels pretty unlikely that they'd all die at the same time, right? I'm assuming it's something upstream of those guys.

I called around, it's ~$120 to check for an exhaust leak.

 

[UrbanRunner651]

Doesn't necessarily have to be a vac line. Any leak in the exhaust can cause lean issues & throw cat/sensor codes.
check the welds on your headers at the seams and other points upstream from your secondary converters. The lean codes mean you are getting too much air in the system. Likely not due to the CAI.
Very hard to tell just by looking at a sensor if it is bad. You can try to swap sensors (from L to R) to isolate the issue if only one side is being flagged.
I would suggest you try a few other shops for quote. Most reputable shops will do the inspection for free..
Otherwise you can try yourself with some soapy water or a cheap stethoscope.

 

[thad_]

I followed Chris Fix's instructions and pumped air into the tailpipe with my shop vac. Holy crap, both manifolds are leaking like crazy. The rear weld on both sides is cracked all the way around, one of the 02 sensors is leaking, most of the gaskets are leaking and, just to add insult to injury, where the pipes meet under the truck into the single pipe out the back - it's leaking too.

Here's a poorly shot video of my 03 exhaust manifolds. Quotes from the shops are around $1,400 a SIDE!

I'm going to use some JBWeld Extreme temp and flip the vacuum around so it sucks that goo into the cracks like Chris Fix did I guess?

If that doesn't work, does anyone else have any suggestions to fix this? I can't put on headers (I don't think) b/c this truck is still 8 years away from being able to skip emissions and I'm not paying $2,800 for new cats b/c the manifolds that they're bolted to are garbage.

 

[UrbanRunner651]

Just my .02 but if you like your truck, don't put JB weld on it..

I can tell from your video that both of your headers are aftermarket. Not just aftermarket, but likely a quick exhaust shop fab job. You can tell by those 90 deg miter joints at the front (which btw have to be terrible for airflow..)
Buy some DT or JBA shorties, find a good exhaust shop and have them install them with new cats if needed. They can tie it in at your Y-pipe or go all the way back with SS. That is exactly what I did and paid ~1300 for the install with new converters. I just supplied the headers and new OEM studs. That also included them removing my secondaries, building a custom Y-pipe & rerouting the tip to the side..

 

[4r-4ever]

thanks for the post. never thought of this to use a vacuum to push air in the pipe.

I followed Chris Fix's instructions and pumped air into the tailpipe with my shop vac. Holy crap, both manifolds are leaking like crazy. The rear weld on both sides is cracked all the way around, one of the 02 sensors is leaking, most of the gaskets are leaking and, just to add insult to injury, where the pipes meet under the truck into the single pipe out the back - it's leaking too.

Here's a poorly shot video of my 03 exhaust manifolds. Quotes from the shops are around $1,400 a SIDE!

I'm going to use some JBWeld Extreme temp and flip the vacuum around so it sucks that goo into the cracks like Chris Fix did I guess?

If that doesn't work, does anyone else have any suggestions to fix this? I can't put on headers (I don't think) b/c this truck is still 8 years away from being able to skip emissions and I'm not paying $2,800 for new cats b/c the manifolds that they're bolted to are garbage.