What a frickin' hoser, eh?

We have a large 5.4L V8 Powered Ford Expedition (extra smog edition) that has been running like a piece of crap for about the past 5 months or so. In my quest to fix it myself, I started simple... did some googling and found that it is a symptom of a vacuum leak. I looked and looked, changed out cheap parts of the emission control system & found a few hoses that were cracked. "That should fix it" I would say... but each time I would be monumentally disappointed.

I was getting ready to take it up to the shop so they could remove that $300 that is burning a hole in my bank account to get it running right again. Maria and the kids drive around in it every day, and it's worth it for their safety and my (and Maria's) peace of mind.

Well, last week I broke down and bought a OBD-II code reader (it was only $50 and it talks with you car's computer and it tells you what is broken, mechanics charge you $75 just to hook it up and read the codes.. it's paid for itself already). It came back with 6 error codes, all related to a vacuum leak. So I did some googling and found the problem in only about 10 mins of searching. I ran up to Ford and bought the new PCV Hose Assembly and figured it was worth a shot. I got home and jumped up under the hood and what do you know... this hose that is hidden out of sight all the way behind the engine was completely rotted and cracked in half. I put the new assembly on and voila! It works almost like new again.

Give me props people... I'm proud of myself for turning what would have most likely been a $300+ repair job into a $34 one... and still never getting any of my cars worked on by a mechanic.