EGR Valve Flow Insufficient, Gotta pass emissions Options

[estaticd]

At the bottom I have another question.... please scroll down.

Hey all, I'm just trying to troubleshoot this problem on my own, which is probably a dumb idea but the stealership wants to milk me for $400-600 to fix the problem, which is pretty much out of the question.

My mechanic says it'll be far less than that, but even still... if I can fix it on my own it will always be cheaper.

The main question I want to know is if I can just disconnect the thing alltogether, since the emissions place I am going to does not do a visual inspection... but will not pass it as long as the CEL is on, which it is, and which it has been for awhile now.

And if so, how would I go about doing this?

-Wayne

This post has been edited by estaticd: Jun 6, 2005 - 4:08 PM

[playr158]

the easy way to do it....
unplug the light that displays the CEL

but as far as disconnect it i don't think so

[lagos]

buy a 2$ can of carb cleaner. take off the egr valve and clean it out. disconnect the battery for 30seconds to clear the codes, drive around a few days to make sure the code dosnt come back. go pass inspection!

[estaticd]

Yeah... I bought the carb cleaner already, unfortunately it's raining like hell outside and I was wondering if there was an easier way like yanking out all the hoses and tossing it.

[estaticd]

OK.. i'm trying to remove EGR valve, and it looks to be bolted to the air intake chamber... but I dunno.

[estaticd]

OK, got those bolts off... what a PITA... and now it's attached at the bottom by a huge bolt? Anybody know?

[estaticd]

Hmm back to reading the Chilton... seems as if it's a long pipe that I've gottan unbolt the bottom of. Frustration setting in.

[estaticd]

I guess I gotta remove the throttle body to get to the nut / bolt holding the pipe attached to the EGR valve.

Manual doesn't say it in writing, but it shows in the pictures that the throttle body is nowhere to be seen.

[estaticd]

Alrighty.. I'm farther along and hopefully progressing quickly. Got throttle body off along with throttle cable and now I'm almost done. Yeehaw.

[estaticd]

Busted the EGR valve modulator pulling a vaccum line off.

Gee, I think I am lucky... because I went ahead and bought JUST an EGR modulator at the junkyard off a '90 Celica.

Did I get the EGR valve as well? No. Yeehaw.

[TrdKing]

Remove intake
Remove throttle cable
Remove vaccum lines on top of throttle body
unbolt throttle body
pull towards side of car

remove vaccum line from top of egr
remove vaccum line from side of egr
the sensor is located by the throttle body connected to the manifold
be careful removing clips as they are connected good.
take 24 mm wrench and look down at motor from side
you want to disconnect the bolt connecting into the motor by the valve cover
after you loosen this bolt
when bolt is loose remove the 12 mm? nutss holding the egr to the manifold

then lift the whole assemble out the back

if you need more help post here

[estaticd]

Yeah... well I got everything unbolted like you said... sprayed down the EGR valve and pipe with brake cleaner (used pretty much entire can on it) and it wasn't very dirty at all...

Drove it for 40 miles, then CEL came back on.

I still gotta check if the valve is working at all.

I got a vaccum gauge(EGR) and multimeter (VSV? forget the name of it) and I'm going to have a go at it tomarrow.

Emissions suck.

[TrdKing]

try putting vaccum on the top tube and then release it. (several times)
after try hitting the side with a hammer as it might stick alittle

What engine code is it giving you is it even from the egr?

[estaticd]

try putting vaccum on the top tube and then release it. (several times)
after try hitting the side with a hammer as it might stick alittle

What engine code is it giving you is it even from the egr?
[right][snapback]296304[/snapback][/right]

I beleive it's Code 401 (unsure) But it's definitely EGR flow insufficient.

I'll try banging it with a hammer, but how to get a vaccum to the valve? from the intake?

[ActionClaw]

Remove intake, Remove throttle cable, Remove vaccum lines on top of throttle body, unbolt throttle body...etc., etc., etc., etc.,
...then lift the whole assemble out the back

Is all this what's required to remove the EGR Valve?

If so, in order to get to the large nut that connects the tube to the valve itself or to get to the two bolts that connect the tube to the engine?
(Some folks say the latter is easier.)


The top two bolts are no big deal. I can (relatively) easily remove three of the four but the lower one closer to the drivers side I can't get a decent grip on with any socket, extension or wrench I've tried. Any suggestions, hints?

Also, I'm only try to clean it and don't yet, as far as I know, need to replace it. I've been able to clean up quite a bit without removal. For those you hear/read about with a great deal of built up crud where is it found? in the tube itself? the upper or lower section of the EGR valve?

Thanks

[jordisonjr]

Someone should do a writeup on this(if one doesn't already exist), cause I know lots of people have done this, and it seems to be a fairly common problem recently, but no one can get a real answer on how to do it.
Pretty sure I need to do it as well but have no real idea how, i've never even looked for it yet.

[ActionClaw]

Someone should do a writeup on this(if one doesn't already exist), cause I know lots of people have done this, and it seems to be a fairly common problem recently, but no one can get a real answer on how to do it.
Pretty sure I need to do it as well but have no real idea how, i've never even looked for it yet.

I did eventually manage to get it off: both the EGR and tube. It seemed damn near impossible at first but it really isn't that bad provided
you have the right tools (long socket extensions and such) and
you're not unwilling to get in there and disconnect other hoses, cables, wiring etc. to gain access.

I'll try to get back later with better detailed description if/when I find time but, right now, though cleaning the EGR valve, tube, EGR modulator valve (its filter, ports, etc) decreased my NOx levels significantly, it didn't solve my problem!