I posted this under another thread, but here it is again.
Vehicle: '96 Ford Windstar, 3.8l
I had a coolant leak on the lower intake gasket into cylinder #4 (rear bank). The starting problems have gone away since I changed gasket.
However, I'm getting error codes indicating a lean condition. Most often on bank 1, but often on both banks. These happen while it's warming. My handheld code reader shows the O2 sensor not ready when these codes are registering, so how can it know it's too lean?
With the way the gaskets are built, it's virtually impossible to create an intake problem. I've checked all the vacuum hoses & everything is hooked up. I'm about ready to replace the O2 sensors, since the van is close to 100k miles anyway.
I didn't get any error codes before replacing the gasket. Is it possible that the O2 sensor was gummed by the burning coolant? Maybe it was used to the coolant before, & has an issue now that it's not there? Grasping at straws.
-Jeff Deeney-