Hello all... 2008 E150 4.6L triton van here... and for the last few months I've had issues with stalling when accelerating or going uphill.... kind of intermittently... and similarly, some of the times when i start the van, the idle is immediately crippled and the van stalls out. Most times, tho, it takes a good few minutes into the drive to begin stalling. It stalls mostly when either accelerating somewhat heavily and/or going uphill. When it stalls, I get the yellow wrench (limp mode i think?). The truck is basically undriveable because I'm liable to stall out at any time, causing a traffic accident.

The ECU splits out P061B.

I have changed the gas cap, the evap purge solenoid valve, MAF, and air filter, and cleaned the throttle body. I have also used several bottles of Heet and Lucas fuel injector cleaners over the course of the last few tanks of gas.

Any ideas? I'm at my witt's end.

 

As a starting point ,
the code suggests there is a problem with the air filter assy.
If the air filter is not installed correctly and completely, it can create a vortex, airflow turbulence problem, that the MAF sensor responds to and affects engine performance.
As you know the MAF sensor reading reflects the amount of air going into the engine and the Powertrain computer responds accordingly with the amount of fuel the system sends into the engine. Incorrect readings due to vortex and leaks of dirty air, on the MAF sensor will affect how the engine runs. Fords are particularly sensitive to this problem.
Make sure the filter is installed completely and correctly and that the cover that holds the filter in place is correctly installed.

 

Hi there, thanks for the response very much!! It appears that my air filter is situated in place... it's perfectly flush, the metal clamp is situated in the correct position, and the housing doesn't have any visible issues. If there were a vacuum leak, how could I (a layman who has some tools) tell? I do agree with your advice generally, it does seem that the issue is a faulty reading by the MAF due to some physical air issue. Thus, it would be safe to assume that any such leak would appear prior to the MAF and not after it, right?

 

Yes, before the MAF sensor.

Suppose you cleared any codes and ran the vehicle again, does the same or any codes come back?
Does the vehicle still have the performance problem?

 

Hanky, I cleared the code, and oddly, the problem has not returned since... How would clearing a code help the van to run better tho? TIA

 

Some systems utilize a program where power is reduced to first prevent any damage and secondly cause the operator to seek attention from a repair facility..

Sometimes we get lucky and the problem doesn't come back. See how it goes.