Help! Car Stalled, Rough Jumpy Idle Now

[mtnbiker26]

Hey All,

Was just driving home and felt the car bucking very slightly around 40 MPH. I came to a stop sign and the engine died when I slowed down to around 10 MPH. It turned over fine when I re-started it but took about 3-4 seconds to actually start and now it idles VERY rough and skippy around 400 RPM. If I bump the gas pedal the RPM's pick up okay but stumble on the way back down to idle. No recent changes, same tank of gas since Monday and no Check Engine Light. Where do I start? I'm going to attempt to clean the EGR valve right now. I have a code reader that will display live data if it helps at all but I don't know what to look for. Any input is VERY much appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

 

[mtnbiker26]

Just pulled the EGR valve. Wasn't too bad of a project. Took about 90 minutes including test drive. It was in the open position when I removed it and it audibly "popped" shut when I pushed the valve with the tip of a screwdriver. I suspect it was stuck open. It felt a little crusty so I used carb cleaner and Q-Tips to clean it until it operated smoothly. The car seemed fine during the 10 minute test drive afterwards. I'm amazed that a little recirculated exhaust gas can cause the engine to run that poorly. The way it was shaking you would think that something large and metal was broken inside the motor.

 

[hotcracker69]

carbon build up in the egr valve mean is also all over other parts of the engine. buy injector cleaner. switch gasoline brand once in a while. check your spark plugs

 

[mtnbiker26]

Yeah, I'll probably put a can of Seafoam in the tank. The problem hasn't returned so I'm positive it was just the EGR valve.

 

[Captaingnarnia_]

How hard of a project was it removing the EGR? I couldn't remove mine for the life of me.

 

[mtnbiker26]

It went pretty smoothly for me and only took about 90 minutes to get it done. The car was hot so maybe that made it easier to remove the bolts? I just removed the air intake boot and used a stubby flex-head ratchet on the two EGR mounting bolts and they came right out. You could remove the battery too if you need more elbow room. There are also four phillips-head screws that hold the mechanical valve to the actuator so be careful not to round those out when you disassemble them. Getting it back together was a little awkward because it's upside down and blind. I was afraid the metal gasket might move out of place or fall off without me noticing so I just threaded the two bolts in a few turns to hold things in place and used a telescopic mirror and light to check that everything was correct before I tightened it down.

 

[kms1990]

run some seafoam through your vacuum line connected to your brake booster i provided the link to the seafoam site page on that topic below, it says only by professional but i have done it many many times on many many cars and it works great to keep them clean and running good. if you do not know the brake booster is round thing on driverside firewall and it has a vacuum hose running to it.

just unplug that hose turn it upside down and then start your engine and slowly pour about 1/3-1/2 the can in, the rest can go in the gas to help that way. and while doing this you need make sure you pour slowly and not let the car die, as it will try while pouring. then shut it off(make sure to put hose back where you unplugged it before driving again) and wait 10 or so minutes then go drive somewhat aggressively until the smoke stops. it will ensure your engine internals are clean and so is the egr and intake systems as well as the o2 sensors and cat converter. i do mine at every oil change.

link to seafoam site:http://seafoamsales.com/vacuum-line-method-with-sea-foam/