Back to Death Valley (Apr 2018)
April 11–12, 2018. A Struggle from the Start
If our first trip to Death Valley taught us anything, it was that our adventures there were far from complete. The three days of exploration had just scratched the surface of the vast wilderness before us.
So, when I found out that @mrs.turbodb was headed out of town for a week, I was quick to make plans for a return trip. Going solo, my route did include a few of our favorite spots (Butte Valley and Goler Wash), but focused on several new areas as well — most outside of Death Valley proper (West Side Road, Charcoal Kilns, Saline Valley + Warm Springs, Steel Pass, and Eureka Dunes).
It was a lot to cover in such a short time, and I knew I’d be once again be left wanting more. But that was good in my book — so as departure time arrived I turned on APRS and headed out.
Headed south, I was keen to make good time. I’d gotten started 90 minutes later than our first trip, but I figured I could make that time up with a little speed and no detours (we’d had a 2-hour goof-up on the previous trip). And then, 30 minutes from home, this orange light meant that I had a decision to make…
Engine lights are never a welcome sight, but I figured it was better to get one close to home than in the middle of nowhere, so I set about diagnosing the issue. Of course, I kept heading south as well — time was of the essence.
I quickly determined the code to be P0171 (bank 1 too lean); unfortunately not an easy code debug and fix. Essentially, running lean means that there’s either too much air or not enough fuel, so any of the following might be at fault:
- Dirty air filter
- Dirty or failed Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF)
- Vacuum leak (introducing extra air)
- Failing Air-to-Fuel Ratio (AFR) sensor
- Dirty fuel injectors (restricting fuel flow)
- Dirty fuel filter (restricting fuel flow)
- Bad/weak fuel pump (restricting fuel flow)
So my approach was twofold: first, I stopped at Napa to purchase some MAF cleaner (since I’ve previously dealt with codes that were resolved by cleaning the MAF); second I asked the good folks on TacomaWorld three questions:
- What would they try to diagnose the situation?
- Was it serious enough to abort the trip?
- What was the worst that could happen if I drove 2500 miles with the error code.
After a couple questions about fuel trims (my Long Term Fuel Trims were in the 30%+ range), the general consensus was that P0171 is most commonly caused by a vacuum leak, so @Speedytech7 suggested spraying some starting fluid around in the engine bay — if the engine started to rev, I’d know the vacuum leak was near. @Blackdawg was emphatic that “fuck no, you’ll be fine to wait” with regard to aborting the trip, and that if I were to do more damage, it’d be to the catalytic converter and associated AFR/O2 sensors.
I pulled over an hour later for my first refueling, and whipped out the starting fluid, spraying it liberally in the engine compartment, hoping to hear the engine rev. Nothing. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I quickly pulled out the air box and MAF sensor (which was definitely dirty) and cleaned it thoroughly. @m3bassman suggested resetting the ECU (rather than just clearing the code) so I disconnected the battery for 15 minutes to do that as well.
30 minutes later, I was back on my way south. Hoping.
I made it into the fog of Oregon before the light came on again, 96 miles later. But, at this point I was committed. I knew it could cost me a new catalytic converter, but I chalked it up to part of the adventure.
To see how it all turned out, head on over and read Back to Death Valley at adventuretaco.com.
Originally published at adventuretaco.com.
