egr valve

[sharbeezy]

I have a 1998 Pontiac grand prix gtp and the service engine light comes on and off so I took it to see what the problem is and they said it was the egr valve. When they took the egr valve out it was pretty dirty and I was wondering do I need to buy a new one or could I just clean it because the service engine light comes on and off.

[BNaylor]

To start EGR valves are not cheap so you want to make sure it is bad or really the cause of the SES/CEL light. If you have the DTC (diagnostic trouble code) post it for further guidance.

[richtazz]

All EGR valves are dirty. The recirculate exhaust gases and get carbon build up. Please post the actual DTC code they pulled and post here, but here's a tip. If the code turns up EGR insufficient flow, and you've recently replaced the PCV valve, make sure the lower black o-ring was re-installed. I know they sound totally unrelated, but if that o-ring is missing, it causes a vacuum leak at the MAP sensor, and MAP vacuum signal is what the PCM uses to test EGR flow.

[JonJon68]

That's exactly what tripped my SES light a few years back and sure enough, Bob asked if I had recently replaced my PCV valve, I had, without the lower black o-ring. Replaced the o-ring and all was fine. I still cleaned out my EGR with some carb cleaner.