How To: EGR Removal and Cleaning for Rough Idle Fix

ok, well i was taking everything off when i noticed a crack in the solenoid housing near the clip. that was the last step i had to do, was disconnect that clip, but the bastard wouldn't budge and then i noticed a crack on the top half near where they meet. so i skimmed through here reading about the recall and i figure i might as well just go and take mine in and let them replace it for free since mine is an 02 and the replacement has been extended to 08 i believe right? do i need a part number or what exactly? i would like to get it fixed before something happens and i throw a CEL. also, does it matter if my car is modified? i know stealerships try to pull s*** with cars that have aftermarket stuff on, so any info would be great.
 
so is it possible to take the egr tube out and just plug the holes with a bolt or something with no problems?
 
So I have a 95 Protege, 1.8L DOHC LX and have basically followed the instructions on the first page of this thread to get my EGR out and clean it(problem is rough idle and after driving for a awhile and starting and stopping, the RPM would hover around 200-500rpm). I got as far as to get to the darn thing...mind you it was very difficult to get out. Anyway, I got it out, removed the 4 phillips(stripped one of them), and it looked NOTHING like the picture in the first page...so I wasn't sure how the heck I was supposed to clean the inside of it. There was 1 allen key holding the piece together...and I couldn't get it open...looked to be a 3.5 and all I had were sizes 3 and 4. So I sprayed the opening(I could see the spring inside this opening) with some WD40. I put it back together and not sure what else to do...Thoughts?

Here are a few pictures taken today...
 

Attachments

  • SSPX0107.webp
    SSPX0107.webp
    80.5 KB · Views: 299
  • SSPX0108.webp
    SSPX0108.webp
    82.8 KB · Views: 262
  • SSPX0109.webp
    SSPX0109.webp
    39.3 KB · Views: 249
  • SSPX0110.webp
    SSPX0110.webp
    44 KB · Views: 251
So I have a 95 Protege, 1.8L DOHC LX and have basically followed the instructions on the first page of this thread to get my EGR out and clean it(problem is rough idle and after driving for a awhile and starting and stopping, the RPM would hover around 200-500rpm). I got as far as to get to the darn thing...mind you it was very difficult to get out. Anyway, I got it out, removed the 4 phillips(stripped one of them), and it looked NOTHING like the picture in the first page...so I wasn't sure how the heck I was supposed to clean the inside of it. There was 1 allen key holding the piece together...and I couldn't get it open...looked to be a 3.5 and all I had were sizes 3 and 4. So I sprayed the opening(I could see the spring inside this opening) with some WD40. I put it back together and not sure what else to do...Thoughts?

Here are a few pictures taken today...
this how to is for a 3rd gen pro so the egr is different looking. what you should do is to make sure you can move the piston freely in the valve and work it in for a while and see if it will last you longer then my did when i cleaned it.
 
I'm relatively new to the EGR discussion......I'm not sure how to move the piston ?

Also, the unit looks different and I'm clueless as to how to go about cleaning the EGR.
 
I'm relatively new to the EGR discussion......I'm not sure how to move the piston ?

Also, the unit looks different and I'm clueless as to how to go about cleaning the EGR.
you will need to take the the servo off (the part with the plug) to get to the piston and move it. i had to do that on mine.
 
well, these mazda computers ain't SKYNET for sure!!! i'm wondering how long the computer takes to adjust now that i have cleaned the EGR and re-installed it. the first few miles i expected a little lower idle, but the idle is around 500 rpm's now. before i cleaned the egr it was usually around 700 w/ a little drop that i felt would stall the car if i didn't rev it quickly after noticing the drop.
 
well, these mazda computers ain't SKYNET for sure!!! i'm wondering how long the computer takes to adjust now that i have cleaned the EGR and re-installed it. the first few miles i expected a little lower idle, but the idle is around 500 rpm's now. before i cleaned the egr it was usually around 700 w/ a little drop that i felt would stall the car if i didn't rev it quickly after noticing the drop.
if u did the work with battery unplugged and then trained the ecu bu trying to start the car it should have cleared and will be back to normal as soon as you reconnect everything.
 
you will need to take the the servo off (the part with the plug) to get to the piston and move it. i had to do that on mine.

so does that mean I have to remove the allen key? I can't see any other way of getting the unit apart?

Also, is the unit spring loaded? The last thing I want is to have to open the part and then have parts fly out all over the place and have pieces missing etc...This is a HUGE concern for me.
 
So I have a 95 Protege, 1.8L DOHC LX and have basically followed the instructions on the first page of this thread to get my EGR out and clean it(problem is rough idle and after driving for a awhile and starting and stopping, the RPM would hover around 200-500rpm). I got as far as to get to the darn thing...mind you it was very difficult to get out. Anyway, I got it out, removed the 4 phillips(stripped one of them), and it looked NOTHING like the picture in the first page...so I wasn't sure how the heck I was supposed to clean the inside of it. There was 1 allen key holding the piece together...and I couldn't get it open...looked to be a 3.5 and all I had were sizes 3 and 4. So I sprayed the opening(I could see the spring inside this opening) with some WD40. I put it back together and not sure what else to do...Thoughts?

Here are a few pictures taken today...

Am I crazy here, or are these pics of an IAC valve instead of an EGR? if I'm crazy, okay, not a problem. but if it's IAC somebody needs to tell the guy....
 
really dirty EGR!!!
DSC00698.jpg

man just 5 minutes worth of brakeleen really cleaned it up.
DSC00700.jpg

but not taking any chances i used some methanol, then a little pest. grade acetone. then i cleaned the IAC and used some methanol on it, too. makes a difference.
 
???Did u take it apart and get inside there? or you poured it in?

Do any of you notice a a foul smell of like gas or something related to the stalling?
 
i did take it apart, but took pics b4 that after only a few passes of the brakleen to show results. the methanol i used did the best overall, but u folks prolly can't get the good stuff.... i work in a lab though!!
 
ok......so its possible I may have removed the wrong part.....i feel really stupid about it.......any idea where the EGR is on my car.....?
 
look at the first page pics. all u should be able to see is the black plug on the end of the unit. the holes u can see in my pic attach directly under the TB (open the butterfly and u can see the holes that the gases pass thru). this is all assuming u have the 2.0.
 
I have a 1.8L...

here's what my engine looks like.....the only piece i could find that looked like the ones in the start of this thread was the piece in the pics from my previous post...

the car again is: 95 protege, 1.8L LX, DOHC...

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • SSPX0107.webp
    SSPX0107.webp
    114.3 KB · Views: 267
  • SSPX0108.webp
    SSPX0108.webp
    173.1 KB · Views: 272

New Threads and Articles

Back