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possible egr valve???

647 views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  boobala 
#1 ·
hey guys, i have a very crappy idle on my 96 trep, whe i reach any speed at all the car runs great, but when i'm idling it runs like crap. i did some searching on here, and to me it sounds like the egr valve is dead, but i'm not certain. does anyone know where this is, and how hard it is to fix?? tia for the help.

-bob
 
#2 ·
It could be your EGR system, it could be your intake manifold gasket, it could be any one of your vacuum lines, or it could be your Idle Air Controller. It is one big troubleshooting nightmare, as I've found out. I'm in the midst of solving mine right now, and I would suggest that you either get a Haynes manual or a dealer repair manual. My Haynes manual, coupled with the advice from this site, is helping greatly. Best of luck to you.
 
#3 ·
thanks jossimbyr, i hope this won't be too bad, but just from what you've described it sounds like it ought to be fun. i actually have a haynes manual for this car, but it's not with me (it's at my grandparents house) so it's not much use to me at the moment. looks like i'll be going there tomorrow morning to get it. I figure i'll replace a few things right at the beginning that could help, plugs, plugwires, air filter, and then go from there.
 
#4 ·
You can check for vacuum leaks using an UNLIT propane torch. Start the car up and blow the gas around the vacuum lines and seals. If a particular area causes a change in the idle - it is likely the leak is there. This is not a joke, this is what the haynes maynal says to do.
 
#5 ·
The Haynes manual says to do that, but let me warn you that unless it has a decent amount of propane coming out, it won't do much. I have a small butane torch that also has a sautering tip, and it won't even blow strong enough to get down around the intake manifold gaskets. If you want to use the propane to find a leak, I suggest using a handheld blowtorch or something similar. Good luck with it, and, if you like diagnosing what could be wrong, you're in for a lot of fun.
 
#6 ·
well, i found it, i was looking at it today and i had the hood open and was standing in front of the car with it running, and i heard a ticking. After looking around, i realized that one of my plug wires had a small hole or something in the boot, because there was a spark arcing f4rom the boot to the engine...... needless to say i won't be driving it anywhere until i get new wires. thanks for the help!!!!
 
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