EGR problems?? - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

white80zred89rs · 03-29-2005, 11:41 PM

I have an '89 Camaro RS with the 305 TBI and Automatic. I just bought it about a month ago--a one owner car. It has 140,000 miles on it and was well taken care of--all the emissions stuff is in tact and and the engine looks as clean as it did brand new. When you start it cold, it smokes a blueish/gray (oil I guess). The smoke smells like rich exhaust and not burning oil, though; and if you drive calmly/take it easy before you shut it off at night, it won't smoke in the morning. It doesn't seem to be using any oil either.

The reason I was wondering about the EGR valve is because when it's warm (and especially after you romp on the gas) the car surges at idle and pings after each upshift. I work in the service department of a dealership, and one of the techs said it's probably due to a faulty EGR valve. Does this sound right? And if it does, could it be the cause of my smoke problem as well?

I even got a trouble code the second week that I had the car--it was 32--the Haynes manual said it was a faulty EGR system, faulty ECM, leaking EGR valve, etc. I cleared everything about a month ago and it hasn't showed up again--but the surging seems to be getting worse. The car also seems to be a little more sluggish after it's warmed up than it is when it's been running for about 5 minutes.

Sorry to be so wordy. The smoke doesn't bother me too much, but the surging can be really annoying--the car tries to just leap forward at every stoplight.

Also, would it be wise to just remove the EGR system completely?--someone did that to my '80 Z28, and it runs great. Is that a difficult process? Will it hurt anything?--I live in a NM town with no inspections.

Any input is greatly appreciated. I'm really in the dark here--ECMs, EGRs, and TBIs throw me off!!