Valve cover replacement

[rhe8542]

Love this forum as I have used several bits of advice from here- it's one of the best forums out there. I have a 2001 3.8 LX Windstar, with black valve covers. I know (from this forum) that certain years are much more prone to have the EGR paths (inside manifold) clog than others, and I would like to know if the 2001 is one of the years that requires cleaning the ports, changing the isolator bolts and valve cover. I remember reading the years on one thread sometime back but I cannot find it again so I apoligize for redundancy. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[12Ounce]

I think "Yes", your model is also affected. The surest way, probably, is go to the Ford parts counter and see if the same upper manifold part numbers apply 1999 - thru to your model build date.

I wouldn't worry about replacing the valve cover unless you just want to ... I don't think its that important.

Its easy enough to lift the upper intake "upper" and clean out the EGR jets just to make sure they are not a problem. You could then remove one of the hold-down bolts so see if the seal rubber is black (original ) or green (updated).

[mundy5]

my year was included in the isolator bolt issue so yours is definitely included since mine is a '03.

[pstrbrc]

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

I wouldn't worry about replacing the valve cover unless you just want to ... I don't think its that important.

.

Actually, I think that's not true. They changed the valve cover because the original baffle let way too much oil into the intake manifold. But, you shouldn't actually have to change the valve cover. There's just a hole in the baffle that needs to be plugged. Pull your pcv valve, and shine a flashlight in there. Look for a hole (I think about 3/16" dia.) at about 5 o'clock on the baffle inside. If you have that hole, you're running about 8 oz. of oil through your intake every 3-5000 miles. The way the manifold has its egr ports, that much oil can cause these ports to carbon closed. Then your egr ends up being unevenly distributed between cylinders, causing rough part-throttle running. PITA to track down, because it just shows up as an intermittent miss, which has you chasing through ignition and fuel injectors. So, since it IS the front valve cover, go ahead and replace or modify it. I've been told a pop rivit works just fine.