Xanath

Hi all,

I have a 1982 Pontiac Trans Am with CFI and a dead EGR Control Valve Relay Solenoid, or more simply, an EGR Vacuum Solenoid. Since this piece broke last week, the car's idle is running all over the place, sometimes as low as 600 RPMs and as high as 1600 RPMs at times, regardless if the engine is hot, warm, or cold. The exhaust just sounds totally fubar'd and it stalls when braking now (not fun losing power brakes on the road whilst moving 40 mph), and as such, has become undriveable . Oh yeah, and there's a lovely shake to the whole car now. Joy.

Anywho, the part has been discontinued from GM, AC Delco, Borg-Warner, Wells Manufacturing, Standard Motor Products/Standard Ignition, Duralast, etc. This EGR Solenoid goes by different part numbers depending on the manufacturer. For instance, EGR200, EVS22, VS29, and CRB 22275 are all the same part from different companies. All are discontinued. I called/emailed all of them and they all told me I'm outta luck, including GM themselves. S I am totally stuck.

What I'm trying to figure out is, how do I get around my EGR system? My car is too old to be required to take part in the Emissions tests out here in Massachusetts, so I don't have to worry about that. So I was figuring that there might be a good/easy way for me to just remove/bypass the EGR bits all together. My concern is that the ECM will go looking for it, or more correctly, see that it's missing and knock and ping all over the place, which is more than likely what's happening now.

How do I overcome my dilemma folks? Suggestions? If I take my wife's car to work one more time and leave her stranded with a 10-month-old, she just may kill me!

HiTech5

iTrader: (4)

The EGR should not be controlled by the ECM. You should be able to plug the vac line to the EGR and block off the nipple on the EGR.

The Corvette CFI guys do this all the time.

Xanath

I just went out and tried that, and the idle started at about 600 RPM and then climbed to 900-1,000 and then sat there for about 15 seconds. The idle and exhaust still sounded off, but not nearly as bad as it did last week when it was running through the defunct EGR system.

Then after 20 seconds, the idle dropped to around 400 RPM and it nearly stalled but jumped to 600 and then climbed back up to around 900-1,000. When it dropped down to 400, the car throw up the Check Engine light, which has now not gone off.

Besides the hose that ran from the EGR valve to the first Throttle Body, there's another hose that runs from that TB to its partner, and then from there into a box with the EFI Fuel Pump relay, the MAP Sensor, and the A/C Compressor Control relay. I'm going to guess that the hose is plugged into the MAP Sensor, as that seems the most likely canidate.

I could try plugging the ends of the second Throttle Body and the MAP Sensor, but I'm out of plugs now. :P Will that even do the trick? I know that the MAP Sensor is watching for pressure in the Intake and then sends that data off the the ECM, but I heard that if the ECM notices that the mixture is to lean or rich due to the EGR, that it is supposed to just compensate on its own. And if no data is being sent to the MAP Sensor do to it being plugged up, isn't the car going to go nuts? Plugging just the EGR Valve and the first TB seemed to just do that now.

Another option is that maybe I could just plug up the TBI and run a tube from the EGR Valve to the MAP Sensor, but to be honest, I'd rather not do that because if I'm going to have a defunct EGR system, I'd prefer to just remove it and plate it off.

Sigh... Thoughts?

CJG1987

go on napaonline.com
they have the solenoid in stock anr can ship it to you if needed...im in the process of doing the same thing man

Xanath

Tried that already. Sadly my friend, that will not work. Within the next 12-48 hours, your order will be cancelled on account of unavailable inventory. The email that you'll recieve will say:

"NAPAonline has cancelled order number XXXXXX. The part number is currently out of stock. NAPAonline is not able to estimate a time frame as to when the part(s) will be in stock next. A local NAPA auto parts store may be able to special order just the specific part(s) you need directly from the supplier and usually will receive the item(s) within a few business days. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you and we thank you
for choosing NAPAonline!

Have a nice day!"

I also contacted my two local NAPA stores to order the part and they then called me the next day to tell that the warehouse cancelled their orders. That's why I refered to part number CRB 22275 in my first post as discontinued. That's the NAPA number.

I've contacted just about everyone you can think of, and they all tell me the same thing, the manufacturer of the solenoid coil itself no longer makes them, hence they no longer make the solenoid. This seems to mainly, (if not only) affect cars from '82-'84 with CFI engines, regardless if it's a Corvette, Camaro, or T/A.

I actually am currently borrowing a friends solenoid off of his parts car, and I'm back up and running! This is a temp fix though, as this to could break down at any time, (it looks "weatherd" ;-) and/or he could ask for it back for his car if he needs it.

When I capped the EGR Valve and the Salve TBI, the engine just totally choked and eventually wouldn't even turn over. So I had to either fix the EGR system or have the ECM reprogrammed to remove the EGR piece as it's definitely looking for it. Luckily I'm getting a free pass for little while, but ultimately, it looks like I have to find someone who's really good and realiable at reprogramming '82 ECM computers, as that looks like my only option left.

So, any suggestions on a good, professional, fair-priced company to turn to to have my ECM reprogrammed ThirdGen?

CJG1987

i suggest looking for a egr solenoid for an 83 trans am....my part number is CRB22276...granite its not far off from your number but its a chance....my next step is also the ecm reflash.....i suggest pcmforless.com

they are skilled in reprogramming PCM's and ECM's....they ask you to send them your old one and they will flash you a new one with anything you would like...also try your luck at junk yards...my car needs the solenoid and a manifold gasket....the intake is pulling in so much extra air that it messes with the idle....good luck to you and i hope my car will one day run again also....


btw, do you know the name of the company that made the solenoid you ordered??

enswrob

try www.rockauto.com napa don't always carry every thing in stock. search around a bit finding a new egr is easyer than u think

CJG1987

i noticed they said they have them in stock so if napa emails me and says they dont have it then i will try rockauto.com

CJG1987

so after months of playing around with the CFI to make it run right, i gave up and did the carb swap. it really woke up the 305. it now has Holley Street Dominator intake, 600cfm holley 4bbl, mechanical fuel pump, ECM Delete, EGR Delete, ac delete, and new head gaskets. i couldnt be happier with the car's overall performance as of now. to all my fellow CFI users, if yours' messes it up, swap to a carb and never look back.

bandit3

iTrader: (1)

What all did you have to do? Swap gas tanks? Fuel lines? Did you bypass the ecm all together? Did you have to change throttle cables?