How can I replace the EGR Valve? error code P0401
 

hello fellow mustang owners.

I have a 2k v6 101k miles. The service light went on a few days ago, took it to advance auto parts and asked them for a free diag. Code returned was:
P0401 - "insufficient EGR system flow"

Per the guy at AAP I need to replace the EGR valve, is this correct? It will run me 60 bucks.

Now is this part easy to change myself? I am not mechanically enclined so anything that involves other than a phillips screwdriver is going to mess me up! ;)

Can someone tell me where I can find this piece? I've image googled EGR valve but I cant get one of a mustang.

thanks for your help!

ceez

Heres my thoughts.... If it says "insufficient EGR system flow" you need to clean it not replace it. Just take that mother ****er off and spray it out with carb/brake cleaner works like a charm. You dont need to replace it more then likly.

i had the SAME problem on mine around 55k miles. it WAS NOT the EGR valve. it was the EGR pressure feedback solenoid. Ford replaced it for me for free because it was under warrantee. with your miles i dont know if its covered still, but it is an emissions item so it could be. I replaced my EGR valve thinking it was it because i had a few people tell me (2 Ford techs) that the EGR valves get clogged up and need to be replaced. AFter we replaced it, the CEL was still on.

My advice, take it to ford and have em take a gander at it.

dealer will charge him... he's over the mileage and time limit.

it's a simple bolt on part. Look for a tube that comes from the exhaust and finds its way into the intake. Remove the thingy that it connects to at the intake and use a little carb and choke cleaner to clean it out. If you can't get it clean that way, use a toothbrush and some Zippo fluid or Ronsonol liquid lighter fluid (bar-b-q starter fluid works well too) to clean out the crud and try the C&C cleaner again.

If you need to replace it (it should be like 20-50 bones) then it's stupid easy in most cases. I don't remember the exact placement on sick-sers but it's Ford...they try to make things you have to change easy to get to.

yeah id guess theyll charge you for the part and minimal labor if you let them do it. i would just go get the part and do it yourself. when we replaced the EGR valve we had the old one off and new one on in less than 10 minutes. i imagine the solenoid is probably similar.

thanks guys....
 

thanks for the reply everyone. A coworker showed me where the egr is and what to unscrew and the hose to disconnectd. seems pretty simple, I rather try it myself than to spend 50 bucks for the piece and then some more for the labor. a few drops of sweat cant cost that much!

thanks and i'll post an update!

ceez

yeah, it is really simple. you pretty much cant mess this one up :)
hopefully cleaning out the EGR valve will clear up the problem for ya.

let me ask you this. are you getting any hesitation or rough idling?

I am going to give it a shot this weekend, take it out and clean it.

Do you guys know if there's a gasket involved too?

@doobie, the car is at 101k miles but I THINK that I am feeling some hesitation when accelerating from 0 but once i am moving it's all good. I have no rough idling.

for the valve itself i dont think there are any gaskets, theres some hoses that screw on to either end of it. even a monkey could take the thing off.

i was getting throttle hesitation and a bit of an inconsistent idle when i was throwing that same code. once youre done cleaning that valve out, disconnect the battery (unless you have a tuner to clear the codes), let it sit for a minute or two, and reconnect. This will clear the codes and i'd give it a week or two of normal driving until i made a definite call on whether it was the valve or not.

after we replaced my EGR valve/cleared the codes, p0401 came back on 7-10 later and i do about 60-70miles of driving every day. so if it comes back on, that EGR pressure feedback solenoid would be my next item to check

@doobie, thanks again for your continuous feedback....as per that "even a monkey could take the thing off" quote...

I have a Q. I did notice today bad hesitation which I had not noticed since this started last week. I was going to clean it out this same day....after going to the autoparts and getting a gasket (yes they do have one) and getting some 10mm wratched add-ons I was ready to go....except....I couldnt get the large lug nut loose. I gave it a reasonable ammount of WD40 and let it sit for a while...but no go...so here's my Q:

pic 1:
green arrow...I tried turning it but no go, i could easily unscrew the other 2 screws (yellow)
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...7/EGR1-300.jpg

pic2
I was thinking that maybe I have to remove the 2 screws AND THEN pull the EGR away from the manifold and turn the EGR itself to unscrew it:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...7/EGR2-300.jpg

Is this how it goes?

Thanks again,

ceez

if i recall correctly, theres that line on the left with the green arrow and then a rubber house on the other side. we used a bigass crescent wrench to get mine off and a hammer to lightly tap on it til it came loose. that nut had already been sorta rusted over so it was pretty rough on there. the wd40 should do a decent job at loosening it up. after you get that off, the other hose should come off and you should be able to take it off. i'll take a look at mine before i leave for work in a few minutes and ill get back at you from work

@doobie, so I do have to losen that nut, I dont turn the whole egr itself to losen it. I'll try a hammer...dont know why that didnt come to mind and hopefully the WD40 did some more work after being on for 24 hours!

yeah just loosen it, i think its one of those locking ones that will stay on the pipe. if its still stuck, get a crescent wrench around it, and get a mallet and tap the handle of the wrench a bit and you should be able to loosen it up. or just put some muscle into it, heh. the valve should pop out of that socket once its off

could not losen it!!!! >:[
 

Ok I could not losen the EGR from the pipe (yellow) that comes from the manifold to the EGR itself (red).
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f373/ceez97/egr-1.jpg



I tried turning the EGR itself outward or to the right if looking at it from the passengers side (blue)
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f373/ceez97/egr-2.jpg


I sprayed some more WD40 but no go. I didnt want to tap the EGR with a hammer in case it cracks that black platter looking thing....damn you car parts!!!!!!!!! :flameON:

any other ideas on how to take this thing off safely??!?!

did you try using a crescent wrench and tapping the wrench itself with a hammer/mallet?

@doobie...damn you're quick to reply! :)

getting an adjustable wrench around the nut is not going to work cause it's part of the tube that comes from the manifold.
As you can from the pic, the EGR unit 'screws' itself into that tube. I did use the wrench to push while i pulled the EGR towards the front of the car but it would not budge and I do not want to hammer the piece. Lets see if the extra WD40 will help losen it up. I am trying agian later...this Miami summer sun is a killer!

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...z97/4F1298.jpg

nah, don't try "unscrewing" the EGR valve from that pipe, thats not gonna work :)

that screw thinger on your copper pipe there to the left of the valve (if youre looking at the engine bay) WILL unscrew. make sure youre turning it in the right direction. righty tighty, lefty loosey :P

mine was pretty good and mucked up with rust, but we didnt need to put anything on there like WD40. just used the old adjustable wrench and mallet and a few taps loosened it up enough to where it would come off.

keep the egr bolted down and spin the nut on the tube. it'll just break your egr tube if you try spinning the valve.

wooo hooo!
 

I got it!

All I needed was a little 'hammer' power!

I left the EGR bolted on, used the wrench around the nut, wacked it a few times with the hammer and it loosend up like a cheerleader on a football field!!! LOL!

It didnt seem 'congested' with gunk inside but I sprayed some WD, used a little brush and good ol Q'tips.

Drove the car for 12 miles and the light did not go on. I did notice that the hesitation is gone when accelerating, I never had rough idling.

Thanks @doobie :Woot: for sticking around this post long enough and others for sharing their information.

laterz

ceez

PS - now to post my next troubling issue...vibrations.... :)

nice, hopefully that light will stay off. if it comes back, i would just take it to ford and tell them what you've been experiencing, what you did, and they'll most likely check out that EGR pressure feedback solenoid and see if its gone bad or not. i think there was a TSB on it, not sure.

75 miles and still no SES light!