Hey guys,

I am wanting a bit of guidance/confirmation here for the EGR port process. Any help is welcome since the DIY guide recently died.

1. I take off the plastic engine cover - no problem.

2. I take off the intake Manifold cover.

3. Because my manifold has a lot of oil pooling on the inside, I'm going to clean that out with paper towels and then take out all the bolts.

4. Disconnect all of the hoses going into the intake manifold. The old DIY had a nice list and pics of all the hoses.

In the old DIY there was a gasket on the back side of the manifold. It's smaller and resembles a trapazoid there was some importance for this procedure, but I cant remember if it's as little as "dont lose the gasket" or if this was an important part to the procedure. Help here is appreciated.

5. Disconnect Throttle body

6. Lift off Manifold.

7. Clean shit.

Now this is a bit more of a vague area for me. I am fine cleaning out the little circular holes on the disconnected manifold. BUT, there will be a source for those holes which is probably plugged up too. When I start spraying the carb cleaner into the source, where is that going? Do I need to disconnect something else to ensure all that gunk drains out instead of cycling through the engine?

8. Put it all back together following torque specs.

Do I need to take off the actual EGR Valve at any point?

Any guidance is welcomed in this process. I am really nervous about doing this since it involves a lot of hoses and stuff. I've been putting it off now all spring and summer because of my hesitation. On a scale of 1-10 how hard is this procedure? I've only changed out the brake pads on my car before.

 

Ok so I figured out I will have to take off the EGR Valve, so ignore that.

I also have more clarification about what to do on the EGR passageways (i just found out this is what they were called). Evidently I need a coat hanger at least and some sort of flex tool that has barbs on it at best, then just go to town.

Where do these EGR passageways go?

 

Use vaccum while cleaning gunk with coat hanger.

 

I won't have access to a vacuum during this procedure. Is there another way to make sure it doesn't go into the engine?

 

3 cans of carb cleaner will be your best friend, the ports lead to a passage that goes all the way from the big open end of manifold to the 2 holes directly under the egr valve

spray soak and poke with wire coat hanger, repeat many times, you be be shocked what comes out! no special tool needed but if you find an `egr port cleaner`(barb wire looking thing) and its reasonable price- that will speed things greatly
it doesn't have to be perfect- just open and flowing exhaust gasses thru it
rinse with carb cleaner after = as long as its not water left in manifold, all is well

bolts 14-16 foot pounds, don't flip the top gasket over!!!! plug 2 small coolant lines with golf tee or bolt during procedure

do an outside search for that Honda guy on youtube- he has vids of everything and procedure is procedure on cleaning~
the rest is just bolts

 

Do you know the name of the Honda Guy? is it "the Honda guy"? Trying to find the video you are referring to. Thanks ahead of time. -Joe

 

It be great if you can tell us the year of your TL, there are 2 style of intake manifolds 99 being the different one.

heres the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRp6RWZ1egM

 

Welcome Acemang !!!
Read our DIY sticky and try searching the subject as it's been covered in great detail right here on this very forum. It's not overly difficult, just a matter of loosening up some retaining bolts and then a bit of grunge work cleaning the EGR passageways.

More than likely, Erick the Car Guy is the one who you are looking for as ErickUa5.....our very own 'Ziner car guy previously stated. Good luck.....any questions, just ask !!!

 

Thanks for the welcome. I am obviously new to the site, and I own a 99 TL 177k miles. Aside from this current issue, its been a great car for me.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I did it this morning. The fucking thing took 3 hours, but then again it was my first time. I watched that video before hand and it had a bit of overlap to my 2002 TL. I had no idea how big the changes were between a 99 and an '02. They really looked nothing the same once you get into the manifold. You'll notice in the last half (?) of that youtube video from EricTheCarGuy that he mentions an "Ant Farm" on newer model TLs. I think that includes the 2002, because after I get the manifold off I had a big "Well shit" moment once I realized my passageways were not blocked AT ALL. But the panel on the top of the manifold was covered in carbon. Good one on the engineers at Honda to make this easily accessible. Had I known I wouln't have had to take the manifold off at all, this would've taken me only an hour. I wouldn't even had to take off the engine cover if I got creative. Sorry for the wall of text.

Here is the album, I notated the pictures. EGR Cleaning '02 Acura TL 3.2 - Imgur

I now have a new problem. There is a loud hissing when I start the car. I feel like there may be a vacuum leak in the TB gasket I replaced, but I haven't gone in to check. There isn't any liquid leaking out any where so I don't think I forgot to connect a hose.

Should I have used a gasket sealant on the TB Gasket? I assumed the pressure from the bolts squeezing it would be enough.

 

Wow, it appears as though ya had quite an experience with the EGR passageway cleaning.
Once it's done, it'll make a dramatic improvement in the way that your TL's motor will idle and run much more efficiently. It's well worth all of the effort involved.

Hopefully you put the gaskets back in properly, but spray some carb cleaner around the sealing areas to check for leaks. Recheck all of the connections.

 

The reason for taking it off is to clean out the 6 EGR holes, and to make sure you get it out of the IM so that it doesnt go into the engine. The other reason is is so you can clean the TB good with cleaner and a tooth brush or something similar.

Make sure you have the hoses on the bottom of the TB hooked up correctly. One is coolant and one is vacuum. If you have them hooked up wrong you will be sucking coolant into the engine.

Also make sure the resonator is still attached to the bottom of the tube going from the air box to the tb

 

I forgot to plug in a hose. I've taken pics of it, but I'm at work and can't upload them. I will later.

However, just to keep this thread alive , I am now getting all manner of misfire codes. Also, my TCS turns on a few minutes into driving.
The codes are as follows:

P1519 - IAC Valve Circuit Failure
P0301 - Cyl 1 misfire
P0302 - Cyl 2 misfire
P0304 - Cyl 4
P0305 - Cyl 5
P0300 - Random Cyl Misfire Detected
P1399 - Random Cyl Misfire

This makes me think that it is some sort of sensor, since the car is running fine. When I get home, I am going to disconnect and reconnect all electrical connectors I had touched when I did the maintenance.

Any ideas?

 

Recheck all of your previous work. Make sure that all gaskets, hoses, and electrical connections are correctly in place. Were ya getting any CEL codes prior to the recent attempt at cleaning the EGR passageways ? Chances are that if the motor's running normally, simply reset the PCM by removing the Clock Back-up Fuse (7.5a) from the passenger's side interior kick panel box, and then see if the codes come back afterwards.

If the car's motor is idling rather roughly, it's probably a vacuum leak somewhere.

 

No CEL before the "operation." I did change the gasket on the TB. Should I have used something to "seal" it? I just assumed the pressure between the Intake and the TB would be enough if I bolted it on tight enough.

 

The most important thing is to have the gasket oriented correctly.....as it's easy enough to have it put in wrong, and cause problems. Nothing extra is required to seal it.

 

making sure all the old gasket is removed and no nicks are made in the surface is important

the top most cover gasket can be flipped over and installed upside down- cause major problem, match gasket to cover - not to manifold

I think Kris nailed it with the reversed hoses

Multi misfire in normal situation is a failed coil (see: engine roughness) but ecu is not sure so it throws multi code fit

 

careful to use correct torque on all bolts, too little and it leaks , too much and it warps metal and leaks

 

I had a limited amount of time last night to check stuff because the sun sets earlier now. I was able to get in and check the Hoses and Electrical connectors. They are all connected correctly. All 4 behind the manifold, and the ones connected to the Air Intake & TB Area. I didn't get a chance to check the Intake gasket under the peleneum or the TB Gasket. Those are next.

The car is starting to drive bit rough in acceleration and a steady speed.. starting to get nervous.

 

I'm sitting here at work just thinking of what could be the issue..

Could the gasket under the valve cover (panel to access the bolts on intake) be warped because of over tightening before me and need to be more snug now that it is warped? It would be causing a leak if it's not snug, right?

 

Unfortunately it's your IACV u either disconnected it and put it in backwards, assembled it incorrectly that made it sticky or connect wrong hose to it.

 

I just looked that part up. Holy shit.. That is the thing I was trying to identify. I had the car running immediately after the EGR cleaning without that hose connected for about 5 minutes. There was a really loud hissing (im assuming it was sucking air in). What do? I'm going to take a closer look at it when I get home.

 

ONE OTHER SUGGESTION!!!! Make sure the upper metal gasket on the intake manifold (where the ant farm attaches) is installed correctly. It can be flipped and make the car ride/idle really rough.

I had the same issue for 2 days, scratching my head. I took off that cover and saw that I flipped the gasket hence blocking the EGR port holes. Th gasket I'm referring to the the 12th pic in your images.

 

All is well! Last night was the first time I could get into it. I feel like an ass because the Plenum Gasket was flipped upside down. I had thought for sure I double checked that before re-assembly. Ugh.

Now, I just have to ask: Is there any permanent damage that could have arised from blocking the ports with the gasket? I had driven probably 30 miles on it since Sunday. No more than 10 miles at any given time.

Also, kinda new here, Is there a way to add a resolved tag to the thread? Or to close it?

 

Glad you figured it out! To answer your question, there is no permanent damage from blocking the ports that I'm aware of.

 

Yeah, sometimes it's easy to stumble on the simple stuff when doing it the first time.

Thanks to BigSaveDave for following up for the solution and swallowing some pride.
This serves as a great reminder to others who develop an issue right after attempted repairs.

 

you mean it was the upper-most gasket, correct?

don't feel bad, its easily flipped and the reason we remind ziners to match it to the upper part - not the engine side/manifold- where it looks right but is blocking port on top section!

You are ok now that its fixed, no one has reported damage or destruction- and how do you think we know about this!- you are not the first.... or 50th

Might want to reset the ecu- pull clock fuse for a minute- just so it relearns with clean manifold and renewed vigor