HIgh idle in park (2000rpm) after cleaning EGR - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

timekiller · 08-08-2011, 09:12 PM

In an attempt to clear my check engine light, I followed some advice online and removed and cleaned my EGR valve with carb cleaner. I replaced the EGR gasket also when I reinstalled the valve. Now my car idles too high, at 2000 rpm when in park (cold AND warm engine). The idle drops to 1000 when in drive or reverse. Occasionally, while idling in park, the rpms will surge and drop between 1500 and 2000, then go back up and stay at 2000. I've checked several times to make sure all hoses I removed are back where they belong, and not damaged, so I don't think it's a vacuum leak (at least not from the hoses). The car was running fine, with none of these symptoms before I cleaned this piece. Any suggestions or ideas as to what happened? HELP!

This is a 4 cyl '98 Camry.

hill8570 · 08-08-2011, 10:38 PM

Double-check the vac hose to the throttle positioner (a bellows-like dingus underneath the throttle wheel). If it isn't getting vacuum (line disconnected or leaky), you'll get rpm behavior real similar to what you're seeing.

***fenixus*** · 08-08-2011, 10:52 PM

there are 2 gaskets for the egr valve (metal and paper), did you replace both? did you torque down EVERYTHING to OEM specs?

take a picture of your vacuum routing and post here, so we can glance through it.

also, when removing the egr valve, did you unbolt it successfully from the exhaust pipe (2 small 10mm head bolts) or rather you removed it together with it (large union bolt down behind the engine)?

get the throttle body cleaner spray and mist it around EGR connections you touched, listen to engine RPM, if it surges you found the leak.

2,000rpm surely sounds like a vacuum leak from something you did in process.

check that vacuum connection for throttle opener Hill mentioned.

timekiller · 08-09-2011, 12:17 AM

@Hill8570- I've checked that hose a couple of times, it looks good. I guess it won't hurt to check again and pinch test it to see if that makes a difference.

@fenixus- Hmmm...I only saw one gasket when I took it off, the one on the side facing the front. Where does the other one go? Was there supposed to be one where the 2 10mm bolts go on the bottom?

I unbolted the EGR from the exhaust pipe. It seemed a bit trickier for me to get down into there to disconnect at the base of the pipe. I did not torque anything down to OEM specs, I just tightened it all back up as much as I could. I'll check to see what the specs are and see if that makes a difference.

I know it's got to be something I did during this process, as it had NONE of these issues before I did it. I'll take a pic of the routing tomorrow and post it.

Thanks for the suggestions.

***fenixus*** · 08-09-2011, 12:53 AM

yup, the other gasket is between EGR valve and pipe (held by 2 10mm head bolts), if I remember correctly that's the metal one, while the paper one went for the intake manifold.

spray some TB cleaner at those suspect connection areas on running car and you will know if there is a leak when engine surges. could be tricky to spray it all around the mating surfaces though, space is tight over there.

here are '00 5s-fe specs:
2 nuts for the intake manifold: 7ft-lbs / 84in-lbs
2 10mm head bolts to the exhaust pipe: 10ft-lbs / 120in-lbs

Quote:

Originally Posted by timekiller

@fenixus- Hmmm...I only saw one gasket when I took it off, the one on the side facing the front. Where does the other one go? Was there supposed to be one where the 2 10mm bolts go on the bottom?

I unbolted the EGR from the exhaust pipe. It seemed a bit trickier for me to get down into there to disconnect at the base of the pipe. I did not torque anything down to OEM specs, I just tightened it all back up as much as I could. I'll check to see what the specs are and see if that makes a difference.

I know it's got to be something I did during this process, as it had NONE of these issues before I did it. I'll take a pic of the routing tomorrow and post it.

Thanks for the suggestions.

***Mister_Perkins*** · 08-09-2011, 06:33 AM

You have a vacuum leak.

The best way to diagnose problems is to look at what you just did last.. Which is egr

BamZipPow · 08-09-2011, 10:16 AM

You could git a smoke machine and use it to find the vacuum leaks...

hill8570 · 08-09-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamZipPow

You could git a smoke machine and use it to find the vacuum leaks...

Or the shade tree method -- spray throttle body cleaner near areas that are suspect -- when the engine stumbles, you've found the leak.

timekiller · 08-09-2011, 07:46 PM

I won't get a chance to take that part out again until the weekend. I found the metal gasket, it had apparently fallen when I removed the part.

I know it's not ideal, but is there a major issue with driving it around like that for a day or two? Just curious...

Here are a couple of pics of the hose routing-

***fenixus*** · 08-09-2011, 07:59 PM

vacuum hose routing looks good.

yeah, you need that gasket you missed on reinstall

you can drive the car like that, but mind the motor mounts, they are taking great stress every time you shift between P/N vs D/R (2000rpm vs 800rpm).

timekiller · 08-09-2011, 08:41 PM

Oh, also Fenixus, are those '00 torque specs you listed earlier good for the '98? Thanks for all the advice so far!

***fenixus*** · 08-09-2011, 09:10 PM

yes, as far as I can remember Haynes listed the exact same torque specs for all 97-01 camry + solara/avalon/lexus (of course only camry and solara models were made with 5s-fe engines), so it's the same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by timekiller

Oh, also Fenixus, are those '00 torque specs you listed earlier good for the '98? Thanks for all the advice so far!

timekiller · 08-13-2011, 02:22 PM

Ok, I'm going to take this thing apart again and try to put it back properly today. A quick question for anyone on here right now- The EGR valve was pretty tricky to put back on with a small flat wrench. Any clue as to how I should put it back together with the much larger torque wrench? I'm assuming I'll have to take the whole thing off at the very end of the metal pipe, not at the 2 10mm bolts on the bottom of the EGR, right?

***fenixus*** · 08-13-2011, 07:06 PM

^yes.

you need to "remove" the union bolt from engine head and remvoe the valve as one piece with the pipe. then separate them later on bench or on your lap (that's what I did)

clean and put together, torques on 10mm head bolts are low, so you can easily do that without a vice, just using both hands and good tools.