BingoMacGee

Please take pity on me. I have a hard enough time changing a tire. I am not mechanically inclined, but can absorb just about any knowledge imparted to me.

The issue: The Check Engine Light is the bane of my existence... my nemesis... The sunlight to my vampire, the Batman to my Joker, the sweet & sour sauce to my Peanut Butter & Pickle sandwich...

The reason has been told to me that the EGR valve is throwing some code or other about "low flow", or some such. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the code from the nice girl (yes, I have already been emasculated, hence my request for pity) at the shop that rebuilt my transmission, but I believe it was a P0401. The light has been on for some months - unrelated to my recent "go forward" issues resolved by the transmission rebuild - and is preventing me from getting my car inspected.

My question is: Should I have it replaced, or would a simply cleaning work. I have seen a couple of posts about how to get to the EGR valve for other model years of Civic's (as I do actually understand how the "Search" function works), but nothing at or around 2002. If someone could point me to a quick-and-dirty guide for quashing this perpetual nuisance constantly glaring at me from the dashboard, I would be grateful. If the advice is to clean it, perhaps a method by which to do so would be in order. If the best way to go is to simply replace it, I might be able to get a friend to do so, but would much prefer having some sort of instruction to consult.

I currently have 287,000 + miles into this car (growing by 75 miles every day), and am aiming for half a million. Any advice given will most likely help me reach that goal.

--- Bingo

j.bro

ERG is immediately to the left hand side of the valve cover. You may need to remove your plastic intake piping. the flange underneath is semi-triangular and has 3 bolts. Disconnect your negative battery cable. Disconnect the ERG from the wiring harness. Remove the bolts (Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosy *troll face*), there is a thin gasket underneath be careful not to tear or loose it. Remove ERG valve and flip it upside down. Fill the ERG with throttle body cleaner and allow it to soak for awhile, also use your fingernails to draw out the plunger gently and clean it. Give it another good spray and allow to air dry for a minute or two... Reassemble after you have given a good spray/dry to the ERG ducts that run through your cylinder head there.. Reconnect wiring harness and battery cable. Start car (may stumble slightly if there is cleaner in the ducts ect.) and allow to idle for a couple minutes.

If this doesnt fix your issue. Reconfirm that the ERG Valve body its self is the issue na replace the ERG. These are usually something like $300. Good luck.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

For the future; if you ever need to get trouble codes pulled from your ECU, head on over to an AutoZone, PepBoys, or similar auto parts retailer. They should be able to pull them for free. Typically, they'll just tell you the problem's causes, but if asked they'll also tell you the trouble code.


Now, for your EGR valve...
If you'd like to clean the EGR yourself, you may need to get a replacement gasket first. They're rather cheap, and can be purchased online (see FAQ's for distributors) for a couple dollars. The valve is held on by two bolts, which I think are 10mm in size. You can clean it with Throttle body or Carburetor cleaner and an old tooth brush.

See here for EGR valve location (not my picture):

jdenman03

Ok so i'm a newbie on this site, but NOT a newbie to Honda's. Before on my prelude (H22a) and my older civic, when my EGR was throwing a code it was normally the EGR chamber/runners that were clogged up. Take off the fuel rail and open that bay up and clean up the carbon. On this stock 2001 civic EX sedan I have with 240k miles, i can't find the EGR chamber. Does this car have it?

I'm throwing the P0401 code and i've already replaced the EGR and the gasket along with cleaning that port. Still throws the code. Intake manifold on this car is plastic (not metal from my previous hondas).

What am I missing?

jdenman03

By the way the nuts are 12mm socket just to let everybody know. I had a horrible time with one of mine not coming off.