Fixing my EGR problem...

[SteveSter]

Yes there is a gasket inbetween the intake manifold and the throttle body. When I cleaned my egr ports the gasket ripped on me and I had to wait to order a new one from mazda cause air was getting through and causing an idle problem.

[gkyates@bellsouth.net]

Yes there is a gasket inbetween the intake manifold and the throttle body. When I cleaned my egr ports the gasket ripped on me and I had to wait to order a new one from mazda cause air was getting through and causing an idle problem.[/b]

When you had the bad idle, did you also have any noise?? I pulled off my throttle nobody to clean the EGR ports, put it back on with new gasket after scraping off hte old gasket, and now I am getting a "squealing" sound at idle, as well as light throttle situations, and idle is not as smooth as it was even with the clogged EGR ports. Anyone with an idea on the sound I am getting and the slightly rough idle??

[SteveSter]

Yes I did have a noise it had a sucking sound coming from the TB and my idle was pretty messed up, but since you had clogged EGR ports and now they are clean you have to give the ECU time to adapt and learn about the air/fuel mixture.

[gkyates@bellsouth.net]

Yes I did have a noise it had a sucking sound coming from the TB and my idle was pretty messed up, but since you had clogged EGR ports and now they are clean you have to give the ECU time to adapt and learn about the air/fuel mixture.[/b]

Thanks for the fast reply So, you too had a "squealing" sound (almost sounds like a mouse is my best comparison) at start-up and shut down as well as light throttle? It is a really strange sound, but it does sound like an air sound to me. My idle is also a little erratic, fluctuates about 150 rpm maybe. Was smoother than this before I cleaned the ports. I will add I only made the repair yesterday and have only driven it maybe 20 miles total since the repair. Will this sound go away on its own in a day or so? Should I just drive the heck out of it today before my daughter takes it back over?? Thanks again

[gkyates@bellsouth.net]

Thanks for the fast reply So, you too had a "squealing" sound (almost sounds like a mouse is my best comparison) at start-up and shut down as well as light throttle? It is a really strange sound, but it does sound like an air sound to me. My idle is also a little erratic, fluctuates about 150 rpm maybe. Was smoother than this before I cleaned the ports. I will add I only made the repair yesterday and have only driven it maybe 20 miles total since the repair. Will this sound go away on its own in a day or so? Should I just drive the heck out of it today before my daughter takes it back over?? Thanks again [/b]

Follow-up to my last post. Had a few minutes before church this morning and took the car for a spin. Sound is a little less pronounced, but still there. I am wondering if it is coming from the EGR valve itself because this is the first time in a long time it has had good air flow from and to the throttle body. When I cleaned the ports, one was completely blocked and the other was probably 90% blocked. Idle is also more steady this morning, though just a tad higher than it should be (around 900 instead of 750). Since the EGR is mounted right below the throttle body, bet I could mistake the noise from coming from EGR as being the throttle body. This is a very strange sound indeed!!

[gkyates@bellsouth.net]

Follow-up to my last post. Had a few minutes before church this morning and took the car for a spin. Sound is a little less pronounced, but still there. I am wondering if it is coming from the EGR valve itself because this is the first time in a long time it has had good air flow from and to the throttle body. When I cleaned the ports, one was completely blocked and the other was probably 90% blocked. Idle is also more steady this morning, though just a tad higher than it should be (around 900 instead of 750). Since the EGR is mounted right below the throttle body, bet I could mistake the noise from coming from EGR as being the throttle body. This is a very strange sound indeed!![/b]

Further follow-up. Spoke with my brother-in-law today. He is familiar with GM and Nissan products, not so much Mazda. He suggested maybe I need to open the throttle body back up and spray the throttle body cleaner into the EGR through the 2 ports, let it soak a bit, then put it back toegther and run it.

I will also add the sound is more like a reed for a clarinet being blown on, and I hear it at idle and low throttle situations. Do not hear it at full throttle situations. Does this narrow this down to the EGR valve and not the throttle body itself?

I am not a machnic, but am not afraid to try a few things using geat write-ups like this thread has.

[SteveSter]

Okay this is what I would do, if the current gasket is still in one piece I would go buy some RTV gasket maker and put it on both side of the gasket then while your TB is off clean the ports a bit more and tighten those four bolts nice and tight. This would really seal it up you only need a very little bit so just smear it evenly in a very thin layer. If the noise it still there then it has to be something else.

[gkyates@bellsouth.net]

Okay this is what I would do, if the current gasket is still in one piece I would go buy some RTV gasket maker and put it on both side of the gasket then while your TB is off clean the ports a bit more and tighten those four bolts nice and tight. This would really seal it up you only need a very little bit so just smear it evenly in a very thin layer. If the noise it still there then it has to be something else.[/b]

Thanks for quick response. I am now leaning toward it not being the new throttle body gasket leaking. Brother-in-law suggested I do the soapy water test to look for bubbles indicated an air leak. I sprayed all around the throttle body this morning and no bubbles anywhere, nor did any of the water appear to be being sucked into the throttle body. I am wondering now if it is possible when I was cleaning out the ports if maybe some debris dropped down into the tubes and that is what is causing the noise? If that is the case, will the normal pressure eventually blow out what may have fallen in the tubes or do I need to pull the throttle body back apart? The debris theory comes to mind becuase it is not making the sound all the time. This morning it made the sound on intitial start-up for a second of two, then went away. I even turned on the a/c just to get more load on the over-all system (which yesterday made the noise a little more obvious at idle) and it did not make any difference. Idle is still not as smooth as it should be though at this point. Any opinions on opening back up the throttle body and spraying cleaner down inside the ports with throttle body cleaner and letting it soak for a while? All ideas appreciated, especially anyone that has experienced this with their 626.

[francois2k1@mail.com]

[quote]
HEY GUYS THANKS FOR THE MAZDA PROTEGE 97 0400 MISSFIRE CODE INFORMATION. UNFORTUNATLY I DIDNT HAVE MUCH TOOLS I TOOK A CAVE MAN APPROACH AND STARTED THE CAR AND SLIGHTLY TAPPED AROUND THE EGR, EGR PORTS AND THROTTLE BODY WITH A HAMMER WHILE THE CAR WAS RUNNING. I DID THIS TO LOOSEN ANY GUNK OR RUST THAT MIGHT BE CLOGGIN IT OR STICKING IT. THEN I BOUGHT A 5 DOLLAR BOTTLE OF SUM CHEVRON FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER AND ADDED IT TO THE GAS. WHAT HAPPEN WAS I DRIVING A LONG DISTANCE AND BOOM I RAN OUT OF GAS LOL BEING CHEAP THEN THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE MECHANIC SAID 0400 MISSFIRE CODE I HAD NO TOOLS AND NO EXTRA MONEY JUST A LAPTOP AND A HAMMER. SYMPTOMS WHERE STALLING AT STOP LIGHTS ROUGH IDLEING AND LOSS OF POWER AFTER THE CAVE MAN TREATMENT I SHUT THE CAR OFF AT MY LOCAL GAS STATION AND WENT TO SLEEP PRESSTO CHANGEO NO MORE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FOR NOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN REAL HELPFULL

[ali717561@yahoo.com]

I've had my CEL on for about a month now (I know I know). The code came out to be a P0400 which I know is an EGR code. The question is what are some of the ill affects that the cars going to endure with a dirty/broken EGR valve? I have been driving like this for some time now and I dont feel a diffrence in the ride quality. Aside from ride quality can this problem seriously affect the engine? Any advise will be much appreciated.