Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting egr insuficient. plz help

98 contour hesitating (stumble) on quick exceleration. repair shop and auto zone read cel and it came up egr excessive replaced the DPFE sensor and the prob still exist but now code reads egr insuficient. going to replace egr valve and clean opening at intake but i was wondering do i have to be worried about knocking debri further in the intake. newbie to forum and contour ty

Instead of wasting money on an EGR valve, vaccum test it first.

With engine idling, apply a vacuum (vacuum pump or just pretend it's a milkshake) to the valve. A properly working valve with clear ports will cause the engine to stumble, even to the point that it might die.

Normally, it the engine does not react, the EGR ports behind the throttle body are clogged. Egr valves sometimes, but very rarely, will go bad, but usually they either stop seating properly or the diaphragm leaks vacuum.

Steve

i wish i knew that i could have vacuum tested with my mouth lol. spent $50 and a vacuum pump/brake bleeder but the engine did not react to the vacuum . so what u r saying is just clean it @ the port that attaches to the intake? btw i love this site already

Welcome. A EGR gasket costs $2. I would try cleaning the EGR first if it fails the vacuum test.

EGR test.
Modified test for EGR (per Ray and Steve):
(remove the green vacuum hose from the top, be careful as it is brittle, and apply a vacuum (attached a small hose and suck on itl) to see if the car stumbles while running. This indicates a properly operating EGR.

Does it work properly?

NO: The EGR valve is defective or the EGR passages are clogged. Check (and clean, if needed) the passages behind the Throttle Body. Purchase a TB gasket, and remove the air plenum (rubber accordion tube) then remove the TB. Clean the EGR passage (small cut-out in the outer edge of the TB's mating surface) really well, install a new gasket and re-attach the TB. If the passages are clear, the EGR valve is defective. While rare, they do fail.

YES: The EGR valve works and the passages are clear. The likely fault is the DPFE sensor or its sample hoses, followed by the EVR solenoid or the PCM. May also be caused by interconnecting vacuum lines or electrical connections.

Very common code and I've yet to replace an EGR due to it. What you need to do is remove the throttle body and gasket. I'll bet that you'll see a lot of carbon built up pluging up the egr passage. Simply spray some carb cleaner on the carbon to soften it up and then clean it out with small point screw driver. Put it all back together, reset your pcm and you're goood to go.

ty everyone for the help. will do saturday hope it works

removed egr cleaned and it works fine. cel is back on still having same probs. STUMPED

What is the exact CEL code? How many miles on the car?

cleaned egr and passage in the intake the best i could. it had i small layer of carbon in both but nothing looked blocked and i dont understand how one day it is egr excessive then i change the dpfe sensor and now it is insuficient, im starting to think there is some other sensor that is bad and is confusing the whole system but i dont know what other sensor it is