Hi Guys

I've been slowly working through all the steps to solve an idling problem when cold on my 3.0 V6 2001 Tribute. It seems to be a common set of symptoms with it having a rough idle and potentially stalling when stood without giving it a few extra revs.

I've replaced the IAC valve, that made no difference so I proceeded to the throttle body for cleaning. The TB was a bit dirty but nothing that struck me as cause for the problems. I cleaned it up, replaced the TB gasket and rebuilt everything. The problem is still present though.

During the removal of the TB I found that one of the hoses is cracked. On the inside corner of the right angle boot it is cracked about half way through. I'm not 100% if this happened while I was working or whether it has always been like that. Given that the behaviour of the car hasn't changed, I'm going to guess it has always been like that. I don't know what that pipe is responsible for, but as it feeds into the engine block I'm guessing it probably isn't trivial.



So, two questions:
1. What is this pipe called so I can try and find a replacement boot for it
2. Is it possible that this is the problem?

If this pipe isn't the issue, then the only thing I've got left on my list is to try and clean the MAF sensor.

I've tried connecting an OBD2 reader but none of the apps I tried were able to communicate with the engine. It is a generic cheap eBay reader with a ELM327 chip version 1.4 or 1.5. Has anyone had any luck using these kind of readers and which app were you using?

By the way I'm pretty n00b when under the bonnet, so forgive anything I've referenced wrong and please ask if I've missed any important info. YouTube and forums have been my main guidance through this.

Cheers all!

 

Lol sorry dude, have rotated the original image.

two more pictures that hopefully help. It plugs into the main air intake pipe just after the MAF sensor and before the TB in a T piece. The pipe then runs to the front of the engine block where the boot is broken. The other side of the pipe looks to run to a similar spot on the engine block at the back.

I think that one of the previous visitors under here was a bit heavy handed as they've had to fix the cruise control throttle cable back on with twisted copper wire. I had seen that this is a fragile part and clearly that shows it to be the case.

 

Thanks UseYourNoggin.

Is it possible to repair/patch the broken rubber elbow joint? If so what material/glue etc would I look for? (I'm in Australia). If not, are these pieces relatively generic and just referenced by diameter, or is it likely to be car/manufacturer specific?

Thanks

 

Just go to your local Mazda Dealership.