I have an 85 V6 that has had EGR problems since I got it. For the longest time it ran fine but the check light was usually on. The previous owner had blocked off the insulated output pipe comin off the EGR which eventually caused enough pressure to rupture the old pipe and send exhaust all over the engine, melting 2 rather large holes in my distributor cap. I replaced the cap, rotor, comp module, coil, EGR valve, and hose. Ran fine for awhile but had a hard time starting sometimes when warm. After awhile it started randomly dying. Sometimes it would just miss a few cycles and start back on its own, other times it take a good 30 secs or so to restart. This got worse and starting dying every 30secs-2min. Now it doesnt start at all, or if it does, it dies within 5secs. I checked and got code 32 so checked the EGR and noticed there was oil in it and the insulated pipe. How can I fix this and does the oil in the EGR sound like the only problem causing all this?

I have never ran across this problem with oil in the egr valve. This would mean that your engine has gone south and it is pumping lots of oil into the exhaust manifold which just does not sound right. The insulated pipe you are talking about is vacuum tube which sucks the exhaust fumes into the manifold. The code 32 that you are getting is for a non function egr solenoid. I just don't know but someone will chime in and help out.
Don

Sadly, the EGR will always be dirty as hell, and sometimes you will get a little bit of oil in it. Likely this is caused by blow-by in the engine.

My BEST advice to you is to clean up the inside of the engine just to see where you stand.

Get Ed Park's decarbonization kit. It's ~$45 bucks. Two items go in the tank, and one goes in the throttle body (spray).

www.thefierofactory.com / fierofactory@juno.com


This will clean out everything inside your engine and eliminate carbon buildup as your problem. When you use it, pay special attention to the IAC chamber.


Now, as for the possible cause to this, I suspect that your EGR valve might have gone bad. Cheap replacement ones CAN go bad... either that or your Vacuum regulator has gone bad (sits on the right side (front) of the engine. It's a little black cyl looking thing that says MADE IN CANADA in big letters.

Sounds to me like it's introducing exhaust at a completely wrong time which is causing the car to die out. The car WILL run with the EGR disconnected. When you're at the point where the car IS running properly, try disconnecting the vacuum line from the EGR valve (the small one that attaches to the diaphram). If the car can be driven normally... then that's your problem. Either it's the EGR valve or the vacuum solenoid. Typically though, the solenoid will register a different code (I believe).

The hard starting could be a completely unrelated issue... like heat soak to the starter solenoid. I have that on my Fiero now... and the starter is brand new.

------------------
Todd,
2006 Pontiac Solstice
2004 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible (Wife's Car)
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 5-Speed
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 (3.2L) Auto
1984 Pontiac Fiero 2m4 SE
1981 Pontiac TransAm (Olds 455BB)
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

The hard starting issue is probally fuel related, may want to start with checking the fuel pressure. The other possiblilty is when a coil is going bad, it will give you problems as you desribed.

I have one that is exaclty the same. Time for a rebuild, rings are probably shot plus you will probably need head work (best case, valve stem seals are gone and need to be replaced).

due to the EGR tube possition on the 2.8 intake any blowby oil buildup will drain down the egr tube into the valve and get cooked in.. its a design flaw,

personally i think recirculating oil into the intake is a stupid practice.. they think its better to burn it than leak it i guess.. installing an oil catch can between the PCV valve and the intake as well as one in the breather hose will eliminate oil from getting into the intake from normal blowby (yes even normal blowby does this)

I would say that Kohburn's description is more accurate than oil from the exhaust...

proof that a catchan works..

dark line = from pcv to catchcan
clean line = from catchcan to intake

this is from about 12 hours of running -- just oil mist attaching to the tube and getting trapped in the can.. not like a stream of oil or anything

[This message has been edited by Kohburn (edited 06-12-2006).]

Thanks for all the pointers. I double checked the EGR valve and it is still mechanically functioning properly. I didn't think about the vaccum regulator so I'll look into that. Of the possible starting causes suggested, it must be fuel related so I guess that means its probably the pump. I figured the oil in the EGR was caused by excessive blowby and that fixing it would involve taking the engine apart, just wanted to make sure there weren't any likely causes/solutions before resorting to that.

The oil in the EGR valve and tube accumalated in less than 20hrs driving time, and was about an ounce or two, that was still in them, no telling how much dripped into the exhaust. The catch can helps I'm sure, but due to the amount of oil, I imagine it's something more severe inside the engine that's broken.

[This message has been edited by jlw (edited 06-12-2006).]

catchan keeps it from getting there at all, and has an indicator of how much is in the can so you can keep track of the amount of oil getting blown out of the engine.. basicly while keeping it clean inside it also lets you track internal engine wear