Removing 2010 Ranger valve cover plug

JAG

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This is on the 2.3l engine. The plastic part is fiber-reinforced, so it is very rigid. I’ve been unable to remove the old one so far and am looking for tips on a good way to do it. Attached is a picture of the new part. The valve cover has protrusions that pop into the two slots. My best idea is to try to remove it after the engine is hot, and put small flat screwdrivers into each slot to pull the plastic outward. Is there a better idea or a special tool for this?

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Your plan seems to assume an advanced level of dexterity in a hot confined space. Wouldn't it be easier to just unbolt the entire plastic receptacle from the engine and do the PCV transfer on the bench?
 
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True about needing dexterity for this. The closest thing to your approach is unbolting the plastic valve cover, which would be a lot of work. I don’t absolutely need to replace the part, so if I can’t get it off, it’s not a big deal. The only thing that might be wrong with it is a shrunken/hardened o-ring that might not have a perfect seal. The reason for messing with these parts and others are that the RPMs are not dropping quickly as they should when I let off the gas
 
I solved the problem by using a hammer to lightly tap a small flat screwdriver against the plastic at the slots.

I’ve replaced the IAC and throttle body gasket in attempt to fix the RPM issue. Didn’t help. Just replaced the plug that is the subject of this thread, but I doubt those were the issue. A new throttle position sensor will be here this week. If that doesn’t fix the issue, I will get a new throttle body. The entire thing is plastic and when I cleaned the massive amount of gunk from it, that may have opened up some gouges in the plastic that were sealed by the gunk. Before cleaning it, the problem was difficulty with starting and engine would almost stall when letting go of the throttle. I replaced that problem with the opposite problem! Haha. I did follow the recommended procedure following the throttle body cleaning.
 
I did follow the throttle re-learning procedure. No check engine lights have occurred. I have no device to read the fuel trims. I too suspect that unmetered air might be getting into the intake. That’s why I replaced the throttle body gasket, but it could be coming from a tear in the intake hose. The hose is soundly connected to the throttle body. Will be putting in a new PCV valve in a few weeks.
 
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This is on the 2.3l engine. The plastic part is fiber-reinforced, so it is very rigid. I’ve been unable to remove the old one so far and am looking for tips on a good way to do it. Attached is a picture of the new part. The valve cover has protrusions that pop into the two slots. My best idea is to try to remove it after the engine is hot, and put small flat screwdrivers into each slot to pull the plastic outward. Is there a better idea or a special tool for this?

View attachment 268229
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I did follow the throttle re-learning procedure. No check engine lights have occurred. I have no device to read the fuel trims. I too suspect that unmetered air might be getting into the intake. That’s why I replaced the throttle body gasket, but it could be coming from a tear in the intake hose. The hose is soundly connected to the throttle body. Will be putting in a new PCV valve in a few weeks.
Stop throwing parts at it and buy a scanner that can read live data. Ultimately it'll save you ten times over.

Need not be expensive and you could even do any of the apps with a dongle. Or Forscan.

Seriously, stop trying to replace parts and hoping. Hope springs eternal, but still.....
 
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the RPMs are not dropping quickly as they should when I let off the gas
This made me think of "old truck accelerator cable stretch" where a small zip-tie is used against the beaded end of the cable.
It simply acts to pull that little additional bit of cable length through the throttle's actuating lever.
Think of it as thickening the bead at the end.
 
This made me think of "old truck accelerator cable stretch" where a small zip-tie is used against the beaded end of the cable.
I had a similar thought that the cable was unable to lengthen enough for the TB to fully close. I checked it and it had some slack with the TB closed.

BTW, I ordered an Innova 5610 scanner today. Decided to go quite high-end.
 
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