code p0171 - heard all about the nightmares of the p/s press switch and sure enough thats what i got goin on. 2001 4.7 Question... Is their any way to clean out the wires that are contaminated by p/s fluid? Also does the contamination toast the 02 sensor?

 

Use electrical contact cleaner. You can find it at your local auto parts store in a aerosol can.

After cleaning you should get some di-electric grease, and grease the contacts and plug to help seal them and keep corrosion out, this will not hurt the connection. Personally I don't use it but most people do, but in a problem area like this I most likely would.

 

Thank you. That's what I figured I should do. The problem is that contact cleaner evaporates so quickly that I'm not sure that it will do a whole lot with the actual wires that are contaminated. I've cleaned all connections, drive for a while, then recheck. Still see p/s fluid in the couplers @ PCM & 02 sensor. Do u think they will eventually dry out on their own? Plus I haven't changed the 02 yet (just driving with it unplugged) because I'm not sure if i will damage the new one if the wiring isn't cleaned out all the way. Also does driving with the 02 unplugged harm anything?

 

Your trucks PCM will be running in open loop mode with an O2 sensor disconnected. Will it hurt anything? No. You'll just experience terrible fuel mileage since the PCM doesn't have the O2 sensor to determine the correct air/fuel mixture; instead it uses a preset "map" that delivers what it thinks the truck should need. Generally a rich mixture.