I own a 95 Chev Lumina LS 3.1L and have replaced the EGR valve twice with the Advance Auto parts brand. I keep getting the service engine soon light on occasion so I had my mechanic run a diagnostic which located a bad port in the EGR valve. He said I should really use ACDelco when it comes to that part and this is an old car with 193K on it and he said if I’m not having drivability issues I should just drive it. He said he could spend more time pinpointing the problem to make sure it’s not a bad circuit but thinks it’s not work it. He is honest with me and not out to take my money. His cost for an ACDelco EGR Valve is 264.00 but I just found one on Amazon for 90.00 with shipping. I told him that and he thinks I’m wasting my money unless he runs further diagnostic on it. Should I do that or just by the part and replace it myself and hope the idiot light doesn’t come on again and assume that if it does it is simply a circuit issue?
help with EGR valve issue
- Thread starter Mark72
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If you've already replaced the EGR valve twice I would try to avoid replacing it again. Some of them do fail, but to have three of them croak on one car is unheard of.
The 3100 SFI had a habit of clogging up the port where gasses flow from the EGR valve to the throat of the plenum. You want to take the valve off and verify that you have good airflow through that port. Running the engine with the egr valve off and no plug in that hole should be about the same as running the engine with the vacuum hose to the brake booster disconnected. If it doesn't flow air very well you need to clean it out.
If that's not the problem, replace the connector that plugs into the valve. It's common enough to have a wire break very close to the connector - say within an inch, that you can't see because the insulation is undamaged. A pigtail connector is cheap enough to throw at it and only takes a few minutes to put on.
The 3100 SFI had a habit of clogging up the port where gasses flow from the EGR valve to the throat of the plenum. You want to take the valve off and verify that you have good airflow through that port. Running the engine with the egr valve off and no plug in that hole should be about the same as running the engine with the vacuum hose to the brake booster disconnected. If it doesn't flow air very well you need to clean it out.
If that's not the problem, replace the connector that plugs into the valve. It's common enough to have a wire break very close to the connector - say within an inch, that you can't see because the insulation is undamaged. A pigtail connector is cheap enough to throw at it and only takes a few minutes to put on.
I had a problem with my EGR valve on my 2001 Impala 3.8 liter, first I cleaned the OEM valve and it worked for a while, the light and code went away.
When it showed up a second time, cleaning did not help, so I bought one on the internet. It never worked! I did not find out why, I traded car recently.
Maybe try an OEM EGR valve from a "junk yard".
When it showed up a second time, cleaning did not help, so I bought one on the internet. It never worked! I did not find out why, I traded car recently.
Maybe try an OEM EGR valve from a "junk yard".
If your EGR passages have not been cleaned out, clean them.
If the warning comes back, you need an OEM EGR valve. Many cars simply will not function properly with an aftermarket one. Although I don't see that problem on GM cars often, I do often see it on Hondas.
If the warning comes back, you need an OEM EGR valve. Many cars simply will not function properly with an aftermarket one. Although I don't see that problem on GM cars often, I do often see it on Hondas.
I don’t know what to do. My mechanic diagnosed all the lines between the PCM and the EGR valve and found NOTHING wrong. They even checked the o2 sensors, they were fine. But my engine throws the serve engine light while on the highway. The heck? He did tell me the only way to diagnose that would be to run it on the highway with the gauge on it. I’m sitting there thinking to myself....so why the [censored] didn’t you try that? geez? It’s a high mileage car 193k and its 18 years old but I rely on it and it runs just as it did with 50K on it when it was 5 years old. The first time this light occurred 2 years ago they just diagnosed the code and it told them it was the 3rd bank of the EGR so I purchased an aftermarket one from Advance, then it did it again 7 months later..same code, replaced it under the 1 year warranty. Now here we are today. So what would you guys do? Just drive it? Try an ACDelco part? I can actually get the ACDelco brand for 90.00 on Amazon with the same 12 month 12k mile warranty whereas my mechanic can get it for 260.00. Side note...the o2 sensors are original, so I was also curious to ask you guys how long those usually last? Oh, and from an earlier post...the last time the car was in my mechanic did clean out the port.
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CEL comes on.....what is the trouble code that is set?
Posting the trouble code (or codes) will be helpful.
Posting the trouble code (or codes) will be helpful.
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I don't remember what the code # was, but it was a code for the 3rd bank of my EGR. I have 3 differet banks and I guess the 3rd one is the one that opens up at higher speeds. But as I stated, it is the 2nd new EGR I have had on the car within the past 15 months or so.
Carbon build up will just get worse as the car ages out.
You may find a benefit from a bit of Kreen as it quickly de-carbons the engine.
And this is the first time I've heard of a "third bank" in an EGR diagnosis. Please explain and/or post the actual codes.
You may find a benefit from a bit of Kreen as it quickly de-carbons the engine.
And this is the first time I've heard of a "third bank" in an EGR diagnosis. Please explain and/or post the actual codes.
Originally Posted By: Mark72
I don't remember what the code # was, but it was a code for the 3rd bank of my EGR. I have 3 differet banks and I guess the 3rd one is the one that opens up at higher speeds. But as I stated, it is the 2nd new EGR I have had on the car within the past 15 months or so.
The only OBDII codes I could find related to exhaust/EGR are either flow, circuit or sensor malfunctions.
http://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/
The only codes for both "exhaust" and "bank" are related to control circuit issues. If this is indeed the case, replacing the valve wouldn't have any effect. The problem is with the ircuit controlling EGR operation.
If you have access to an FSM (maybe the local library) it should contain a troubleshooting flow chart that will guide you (or your mechanic) through a trouble shooting procedure for the circuit.
Be warned though; following these flow charts can be time consuming (=expensive).
I don't remember what the code # was, but it was a code for the 3rd bank of my EGR. I have 3 differet banks and I guess the 3rd one is the one that opens up at higher speeds. But as I stated, it is the 2nd new EGR I have had on the car within the past 15 months or so.
The only OBDII codes I could find related to exhaust/EGR are either flow, circuit or sensor malfunctions.
http://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/
The only codes for both "exhaust" and "bank" are related to control circuit issues. If this is indeed the case, replacing the valve wouldn't have any effect. The problem is with the ircuit controlling EGR operation.
If you have access to an FSM (maybe the local library) it should contain a troubleshooting flow chart that will guide you (or your mechanic) through a trouble shooting procedure for the circuit.
Be warned though; following these flow charts can be time consuming (=expensive).
Originally Posted By: Mark72
Side note...the o2 sensors are original, so I was also curious to ask you guys how long those usually last? Oh, and from an earlier post...the last time the car was in my mechanic did clean out the port.
O2 sensors tend to react too slowly at 90,000 miles. On some engines, they will not set a code when they do react slowly, but they will have a negative impact on engine performance.
On your car, replacements might not be expensive or complicated to install.
Side note...the o2 sensors are original, so I was also curious to ask you guys how long those usually last? Oh, and from an earlier post...the last time the car was in my mechanic did clean out the port.
O2 sensors tend to react too slowly at 90,000 miles. On some engines, they will not set a code when they do react slowly, but they will have a negative impact on engine performance.
On your car, replacements might not be expensive or complicated to install.
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