Just about had it with the pro!

[Mazda96Protege]

well tittle says all, ive just about had enough of all these problems ive been having with this car but i cant really sell it and its my only form of transportation so what am i to do?

anyways yet another problem to add to the list that never ends! this mourning i go to my car and start it up (starst fine) but just idles worse then it ever did, the RPM would go from 1 - 2 or from 2 - 0 and just die so i start it back up and it does the same thing but doesint die so i pop it into reverse and back out and when i put it into Drive it dies so right now im pissed because its cold and i gotta go to work so i start it again and take off but when i do the engine sound sliek shti and the RPMS are going crazy and it shakes horribly (worse then it does with only 3 cylinders working) so i get out on the highway and get going and you can just hear the engine struggling and it feels like its just about to die or fall apart and then it shifts really hard and the problem goes away and runs like it normaly does so i was like ok its fixed. But i was wrong going home it did the same thing!

its really hard to explain but all it seems like to me is that it acts worse then when it does idling having the low compression and cylinder 4 fukked, and it does it when accelerating and it dies ALOT

[Mazda96Protege]

bump anyone know why this is going on? or what it could be?

seems to do it all the time now

[pigeon]

make sure you car has sat for a long while (enough that the exhaust manifold is cold to the touch)

then start it up and DO NOT DRIVE IT, let it sit there and idle... if its gonna stall, give it enough gas to keep it running... do this until the engine reaches operating temperature

once it reaches operating temperature (this is the fun part)
reach down and look for your EGR valve (its located underneath the throttlebody/intake manifold
and grab it

if you burn the **** out of your hand and start cursing "pigeon im gonna kick your ass"
your EGR valve is stuck open, and needs to be removed.. taken apart.. cleaned... and then re-installed

that is by far the crudest way to check for a stuck open EGR, however its good cause it only requires 5 minutes, no tools, and a bandaid... and its always right
ONCE YOU DONT DRIVE THE CAR

if you start to drive it, then the results will be false
to me, this is what it sounds like, and im pretty sure its this

(on a side note, if this is it, and you dont have a check engine light, you should soon...)

if this test proves false, that it is not the EGR... then post back here
you might then have to check for a vacuum leak

[pigeon]

also on another side note...

this problem is common for people with the low compression problem, because our cars run rich with the burnt valve, and over time end up clogging up the EGR system with carbon and black ****

[Mazda96Protege]

ok, thnaks pigeon

and yes it was running good when i ran to the store just a minute agao but while i wa sitting at the light i felt the car shake worse and noticed the RPM moving all crazy again and when the light turned green i gave it gas and it had the hesitation and the shaking and the rpms going crazy and sounded like it was about to blow up basicly and then i saw my check engine ligth coem on and start to flash after when i wa scomign home from the store the check engine light was still on but not flashing, it usually only flashes when it frist starts to hesitate and shake and do what i mentioned above

[pigeon]

i could almost guarantee its the egr
its just sticky, so when it shuts... it runs fine

and then it opens, and gets stuck open for a few moments... causes you some grief, then shuts again

[Mazda96Protege]

yeh, aight thanks bro i really appreaciate your help!!!


and if your plug wires were on wrong besides the way its supposed to be will it start? somone that had a 97 mazda pro said that mine looked liek they were wrong and that, that was the reason it was doing this because it was fireing wrong. but it does start and run good sometimes besides when the egr valve gets stuck

[pigeon]

yeh, aight thanks bro i really appreaciate your help!!!


and if your plug wires were on wrong besides the way its supposed to be will it start? somone that had a 97 mazda pro said that mine looked liek they were wrong and that, that was the reason it was doing this because it was fireing wrong. but it does start and run good sometimes besides when the egr valve gets stuck

it might start, but definitely not easily
and it will be totally obvious something is ****ed up

but its not your plug wires because the problem wouldnt magically cure itself sometimes, and then return at other times

check the attached image for proper wire lining up

[Mazda96Protege]

yeh i knew mine were on correct, and that it couldint be the problem because i drove it a week after changing my plug wires and it drove fine untill yesterday when it started to do this.

so what all do i have to remove to get to the egr? and im assuming its fairly easy to do since i seen in another thread that it took someone like 15 min to take off

[pigeon]

yes it is easy to do
i've done it like 5 times so i could take it off in 15 minutes and put it on in 15 minutes

the first time it took me bout 30 minutes both times
its below the TB

2 bolts, 1 harness

unplug the tps, and undo the intake pipe going into the TB

thats to get it off, and the reverse to get it back on

to take it apart, theres 4 screws... thn you just need a small brush, and paint thinner/brake cleaner

once you could move the spring freely and it bounces back on its own, its clean

[beetle_orange]

pigeon.

dO you mind posting a pic of the EGR? and whats TB?

[pigeon]

pigeon.

dO you mind posting a pic of the EGR?

these are the best pictures i got
its really back there so its a pain in the ass to get the camera back there

[beetle_orange]

those pictures are really helpful. btw whats TB?

[Mazda96Protege]

Throttle Body

and thanks pigeon for posting the picks because i was just about to ask where the hell it actually was and what it looked like since i never had to clean one/take one off before lol

[pigeon]

where the black hose connects to

it says 'Z9' on it in the first of the two pics