HELP!! 2003 2.4 - Where the heck is my EGR valve???

Was throwing a code that my EGR valve modulator was wonky.. so I pick one up, lift the hood to replace it, and umm… is it gone??? Hiding.. so much for easy. lol

Was idling rough, power surges.. blinking CEL on highway..

So, the coils and plugs are new, the head was just resurfaced, gasket replaced… new bolts, new hoses, radiator, O2 sensor, camshaft sensor, water pump, temp sensor, t-stat.. all recently replaced..

sorry I’m lost.

here are some pics..

I’m new to this world, so my apologies in advance.

 

Starting in 02 or 03.....2.4's got rid of egr...

I believe they fixed the overheating problem from the cat back feeding, by going to a 2 cat system...
that breaks the wave guide properties so the heads dont overheat on extended hwy use...

You can see the vac ports that would of fed the egr modulator.....capped off at the factory






You traded an egr valve that has to be de carboned every 150K.....
for hopefully 2 cats that last a lifetime.....
.....at least until it starts burning oil...


As far as rough idle.....I'd check vac hoses first
might be worth wild to replace em...

next would be to clean/inspect the IAC valve, that controls idle

 

I cannot thank you enough. I thought I was losing my mind every picture that engine that I brought up, showed it right there at the top of the engine in the back.

You mentioned the IAC valve. I looked at my receipt from the work that I had done recently that I mentioned above, and they actually mentioned that that it was not operating consistently and would probably need to be replaced. Of course, after dropping 3000 you would’ve thought they’d replace that anyway. But that’s OK upon looking at the symptoms of a bad IAC looks like you are spot on the symptoms are exactly what I’m seeing.

Thanks again. This board is awesome and the help is appreciated!

 

question. Is the IAC valve something I can replace pretty easily? If I can get to it, I’m always willing to try.

well, I just looked at a quick YouTube video and it might be a little beyond my abilities. It just seems like there’s too many things I could potentially screw up lol sadly I am aware of my limitations but then again that might not be such a bad thing!

 

IAC is mounted on/under the throttle body

so have to remove the throttle body......and take iac off
and gently clean trying to keep cleaner out of electrical parts

these usually get gunked up from the egr crap building up
.....maybe yours is spared of that

I'm not even sure if yours has iac.....03/04 throttle bodies are very deferent from the previous 8 yrs....its electronic with motor actuated butterfly


another simple thing is the pvc valve....if that was stuck it would cause idle woes
and its weird hose wears/deteriorates faster than the rest.....causing vac leaks

vac leaks are no1 cause of idle problems


I tell people these are too old for non DIY's....
....however with it being '03....you're right on the fence

starting at about 150K they need a steady investment
.....lower ball joints on top of that list...

and competent mechanics are getting hard to find...