I pulled out my EGR about 15 minutes ago to fix my last check engine code and I encountered something kinda strange. Now, as far as I know EGR is exhaust recirculation correct? Which means that exhaust gases are shot back into the engine for further combustion to help with emissions ... right?

So, would it be normal to pull out the EGR valve and find it half filled with water deposits? To me, this makes no sense because I have no clue how water could get inside the EGR ... which is my question to you all. Input is appreciated as always.

BTW: The bolts which hold the EGR into the throttle body were quite corroded as were the 4 screws which hold the sensor and valve together. On a second note, the whole EGR valve itself is quite corroded ... so I'm guessing the previous owner of my car really didn't take very good care of it (I bought it at 3500 miles and I've had this problem since day one ...) and probably left it sittin outside over the winter, or maybe even went for a swim in it

 

EGR is full of chemicals and sometimes they condense. It happens. nothing to be worried about. If anything that little bit of water in there will actually steam clean your valves.

to clean one I usually soak it (submerge) in brake parts cleaner overnight. Pull it out and hit it with the compressed air. If theis doesn't work Carb cleaner will...just be carefull with it.

 

Alright ... good to know that! As far as cleaning it goes, I read a how-to on the other forum that showed a pretty good description on how to do everything. I sprayed some brake cleaner inside the valve and let it sit for about 15 mins then I put it in a little contained filled with carb cleaner and I'm gonna let it sit overnight. Hopefully that should do the trick

 

yup yup

 

Hmm ... I guess there's something more going on in my EGR than I thought. After letting the valve soak in carb cleaner all night, I was hoping it would've cleared everything out and made my CEL go off too, but today it came back on again. I went to Auto Zone to get a reading, and still had the same old problem, P0401 : insufficient EGR flow. Anyone have any clues as to what could be wrong? My guess is the sensor is busted or some of the hosing is clogged up, as there's nothing to the valve that can really go wrong.

 

not really....have you checked the egr bung on the manifold to make sure it's not clogged?

if it's not clogged I would say it's the sensor...i don't know which sensor reads the egr flow though....man, I'l have to pull out my manual now!

 

You mean checking where the EGR blots up under the TB? If that's the case .. I have no idea how I'm supposed to get in there to check that out (w/o taking off the TB which is something I would never do with my mechanical skills). I guess the one thing that made me wonder a little bit is when I had the EGR out, the two holes on the valve don't connect, so I don't see how air can flow through the valve that way... That's the only thing I can think of.