Cleaning Air Intake Plenum/Manifold on 1998 windstar

This is my first post, so please bear with me as I learn to ask the right questions.

I took my 98 windstar to a dealer and was able to determine that I need to replace IMRC actuators, DPFE sensor and some vaccum hoses because I am getting codes that the IMRC valves are stuck open on one bank and closed on another.

So I have the air intake plenum off of the vehicle and have access to the intake manifold. Here are my questions.

1. What is the best way to clean out the air intake manifold (EGR ports)
2. Is there a relatively simple way to clean the intake manifold ports also so that the IMRC banks will not remain stuck (either open or shut) before I install the new IMRC actuators? The dealer and the parts stores both told me that I can't get a new manifold (and I don't want to spend that kind of money anyway). the dealer also told me that if I install the new actuators that if the problem within the intake manifold is not remedied, then the bladders in the new actuators will simply fail as well.

Thank you.

First and foremost, are you sure it's the IMRCs themselves and not just the little plastic clips that hold the rods in place? Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcTVfrAgTLk


For the EGR ports, I just carefully sprayed a little bit of carb cleaner at a time and wiped it off with a shop towel. There's probably a better way but it worked for me. I used a little pick to scrape out the carbon around the hole.

First and foremost, are you sure it's the IMRCs themselves and not just the little plastic clips that hold the rods in place? Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcTVfrAgTLk


For the EGR ports, I just carefully sprayed a little bit of carb cleaner at a time and wiped it off with a shop towel. There's probably a better way but it worked for me. I used a little pick to scrape out the carbon around the hole.
@ scubacat,

Thank you for the information.

Here's what I ended up doing.

EGR Ports:
I ended up cleaning the EGR ports out by holding a shop vac nozzle right up next to them while I carefully picked away the carbon that was completely blocking 3 of them and partially blocking 2 others. Then I put the shopvac nozzle down into the air ports and sucked up any loose debris that was in there as well.

IMRC Valve Actuators:
I am glad you sent the video about the bushings. Mine were broken, but I know now that they were likely broken as a symptom of my stuck IMRC's (one was stuck open and the other stuck shut, as verified by the dealers code reader diagnostic analysis). I was able to verify it for myself as well just by trying to move them, as well as checking to see if the bladders within them pushed air when I manually pushed on the rods with them out of the vehicle. The old ones pushed a tiny bit of air, but nothing compared to the air that I felt coming out of the new ones when I did the same thing. The butterfly valves were really gummed up and difficult to operated even manually, and I think this caused the IMRC valves to fail (something which the dealer technician also told me). Originally I thought I would take the entire manifold off and try to clean things up a bit, but I decided not to and instead, I sprayed a little bit of PB into the ports on the sides of the butterfly valves and worked them back and forth until they were snapping back shut nicely. Once I saw how much better they were responding, I decided to go ahead and install the new IMRC actuators and then try using an engine cleaning product called Sea Foam that my neighbor friend, who also has worked as a mechanic, recommended.

Any way, in addition to replacing both IMRC actuators, and cleaning out the EGR ports, I also replaced the DPFE sensor and vacuum hoses and the PCV valve. It runs so much better now and the Check engine light is no longer on. I even went to Oreilly's and borrowed their scanner again to run codes, but there were none.

Thank you very much for the advice.

I like this forum and will use it again in the future.

Be Blessed!

@ scubacat,

Thank you for the information.

Here's what I ended up doing.

EGR Ports:
I ended up cleaning the EGR ports out by holding a shop vac nozzle right up next to them while I carefully picked away the carbon that was completely blocking 3 of them and partially blocking 2 others. Then I put the shopvac nozzle down into the air ports and sucked up any loose debris that was in there as well.

IMRC Valve Actuators:
I am glad you sent the video about the bushings. Mine were broken, but I know now that they were likely broken as a symptom of my stuck IMRC's (one was stuck open and the other stuck shut, as verified by the dealers code reader diagnostic analysis). I was able to verify it for myself as well just by trying to move them, as well as checking to see if the bladders within them pushed air when I manually pushed on the rods with them out of the vehicle. The old ones pushed a tiny bit of air, but nothing compared to the air that I felt coming out of the new ones when I did the same thing. The butterfly valves were really gummed up and difficult to operated even manually, and I think this caused the IMRC valves to fail (something which the dealer technician also told me). Originally I thought I would take the entire manifold off and try to clean things up a bit, but I decided not to and instead, I sprayed a little bit of PB into the ports on the sides of the butterfly valves and worked them back and forth until they were snapping back shut nicely. Once I saw how much better they were responding, I decided to go ahead and install the new IMRC actuators and then try using an engine cleaning product called Sea Foam that my neighbor friend, who also has worked as a mechanic, recommended.

Any way, in addition to replacing both IMRC actuators, and cleaning out the EGR ports, I also replaced the DPFE sensor and vacuum hoses and the PCV valve. It runs so much better now and the Check engine light is no longer on. I even went to Oreilly's and borrowed their scanner again to run codes, but there were none.

Thank you very much for the advice.

I like this forum and will use it again in the future.

Be Blessed!
Did you use seafoam while the upper manifold was off or when after engine was all back together?