hey guys my check engine light has been on a while but my car has been sitting up so i havent had the time to work on it here during the summer, work has had me busy and wish my first child this year. Well i fired her up and she runs but chugging and stalling at first then after a sec or two the rpms raise and she runs a 1100-1200 idle for little then goes down, but my engine codes read EGR failure, Oxygen sensor, and MAF/MAP too high...I Found one vaccum leak on a line fitting going to a sensor on the passenger side... what sensor is that and where should i go to begin fixing these problems and which ones would u replace first??? HELP PLEASE car is getting horrbile gas mileage also.

 

HELP!!!!

 

Is this a TPI?

 

Definitely take the planum off and check all of the vacuum hoses going to your EGR. If that doesn't fix it, get a new EGR.

 

Yes 305 tpi, i have breather on top. fuel injected.

 

The component on the passenger side which looks like a sensor is probably your EGR solenoid. By replacing the hose you may have fixed that problem. I do not recommend pulling your plenum to check EGR. You can test EGR with a vacuum pump from the hose at the solenoid. First clear codes and see if the code comes back after driving. The O2 and MAF(your 88 is a MAF car, not MAP)codes can both be caused by vacuum leaks. Youve repaired one already, look for others. You have an aftermarket air intake tube? Check all the tube connections for leaks. Especially look for leaks between the MAF sensor and the engine.

 

Forgot to mention, your symptoms sound alot like a stuck open EGR valve. Try manipulating the valve with a vacuum pump. With vacuum applied to the valve at idle the engine should shudder and stall. If not, the valve is probably stuck open.

 

man ASE i sure thank you for helping me out. On my car i cant seem to find a MAF like as shown online. on my intake snorkel there is a vaccum line going to some type of flapper on the snorkel.... i dont see a MAF sensor..... yea i fixed a vaccum leak going into the egr solenoid i guess thats what it is, the rubber connecter had dry rotted and split. car still jumps and stalls on start up then rpms raise and runs ok after few seconds after first start up.

 

A picture of your engine would help.
There no intake snorkel's with flappers on '88 TPI.
If there's is then I'm missing that and the snorkel.

 

What you are describing is an air cleaner as would be found on either a carbureted or TBI car. In which case, you dont have a MAF(mass air flow sensor). You have a MAP(manifold absolute pressure sensor). Your car is speed density. The MAP should be either on the rear corner of the air cleaner or on the front edge of the cowl. You can identify it by the green, 3 pin connector and a single, hose. Its rectangular and a bit larger than a Zippo lighter.

Did you check your EGR valve yet? Yours will be on the intake manifold beside the throttle body. You can manipulate the diaphram by squeezing it with your fingers. Check to see if its stuck open.