Hello all, this is my first post on here, im a few months new to the third gen world, i bought an 88 iroc z 5.7 and my experience has been great but when i went to get smog checked i failed, for NOx and my local shop quoted me 800$ to replace the EGR valve, my question is, is that a fair price to pay, is the labor really that intensive, and how practical is it to just do the repair myself(im decently mechanically inclined) as well as where can i buy the valve if i decide to make the repair. any information helps, Thank you! also heres a picture of the car, incase you care lol.

hurst dazzlers, 1inch spacers

 

Sorry , I was reading a thread of a carb car just before I answered here , the General's post has you covered

 

Well....... it's going to take more than an hour to do it right on the TPI engine. And all shops (mine included) are going to pad an estimate like that simply because they are dealing with an antique car (it's more than 30 years old).

According to Mitchell (Snap-On), the labor for EGR replacement is 2.6 hours. List price on the EGR valve is $126.88. You will also need a plenum (runner) gasket set ($23.24), shop supplies like vacuum lines and fittings, might need an EGR solenoid - maybe some diagnostics on the electrical if it doesn't turn out to be the valve..... and there is always the potential for having to clean out EGR passages in the manifold (?? hours.... lets say 1 for a total of 3.6), etc. Shop rates in most major metro's are at least $120 an hour now. If I do an estimate on a 32 year old car I have never touched before I'm probably going to 1.5x it - just because of the unknown factor, broken/stripped/rusted fasteners, 20 years of DIY BS I'm probably going to encounter. So if you add all that up and do the math - my estimate would probably be $873.18. REMEMBER! This is an ESTIMATE. Shops don't like going back to the customer and telling them the cost went up. I sure don't. I would rather tell them it was easier and I saved them money.

That's how this industry works. And anyone that tells you otherwise won't be in business long. The overhead for my shop would make your head spin right off your shoulders. Just my payroll is $25,000 a month. And I only have 5 employees.

Having shops work on collectible antique cars costs $$$$$. That's why so many here prefer, or have to, DIY.

Also - compare the price to some more modern cars - early 2000's Honda V6's that like to plug up their EGR passages..... cost is going to be about the same or more. Cars ain't cheap to repair. Labor costs are SKY HIGH in America.

GD

 

Being it says 5.7, I'm guessing it's a tuned port which puts the egr under the plenum. I've never tried it but I don't think you can pull the EGR without taking the intake apart. That's where the cost would come in. Old parts, pain in the tail bolts, cleaning out the egr passage. the shop may be covering for that. While $800 sounds like a lot, that's a bit of work. I don't deal with shops very often so I don't know going rates and such. I prefer not to deal with a shop for anything old. I wouldn't be surprised if it needed a EGR solenoid and not an EGR, but they diagnosed it. Not me.
If you do have them do it, may be a good time to check or clean those injectors.

 

Good point. A great time for some new Delphi injectors. I would highly suggest that to a customer.

GD

 

Technically, replacing the EGR valve isn't a difficult job; it's just nuts and bolts. But getting to it, through 30 year-old fasteners, and clearing clogged passages, etc., could be a problem. A bigger concern might be in the accuracy of the diagnosis.

Any competent backyard mechanic should be able to handle the valve R&R, but you might also want to go ahead and replace everything else you can get to while you're in there.

As far as whether or not the quoted price is appropriate, it's hard to say from where I'm sitting. I don't know the underhood condition of your car, nor anything else about it nor how it's been previously maintained.

 

Thanks for the breakdown, makes sense how it adds up id rather just spend on the quality parts, and save my self 200$ on labor time, now to add to the confusion, after inspecting the car after taking it back from the shop, the valve is completely disconnected, so now i don't know if that was the original issue, or if the shop forgot to put it back on.

 

Put a vacuum pump on the valve and if it stumbles while idling when you open the valve then you can be pretty sure it works and the passages are clear. Also it should hold a vacuum. If it bleeds down then the diaphragm is bad.

Solenoid - you can test with a battery and some jumper wires. Should open when you apply power and then you should be able to blow through it.

GD

 

When "shop" gives you an estimate like that, it's their way of politely saying:

"Get you filthy dirty rusty nasty clapped out ragged 100-yr-old POS with stripped bolts, crumbling plastic wiring & connectors, vacuum lines falling to pieces, if I touch one thing 3 others are going to break, can't buy half the parts for it anymore, out of my face".

Not a kind or pleasant thought, but... that's The Way It Is. They know, if they TOUCH that thing, they're on the hook for lord only knows how much of "you told me it needed the [thing] and I emptied my wallet on you but it still doesn't pass inspection", "the [something] worked when I brought it in here and now it doesn't", and all sorts of the rest of what you hear people's complaints about "shop". Quite simply, this isn't their first rodeo, and they KNOW what's coming because they've seen it before.

As said, diagnose it yourself; it's a simple enough system, and not hard to figure out what's broke. Might be nothing more than a vacuum line or some plug unplugged. Learn to take care of things like that yourself as much as possible; there's NO WAY to daily-drive an ANTIQUE car if you have to take it to "shop" for every little thing.

Your pic looks like southern California to me; the Desert or San Bernardino or some such. Is it?

 

No matter where it may be located, the picture looks like a ThirdGen with a broken lower air deflector - Almost guaranteed.

 

Just wait till you get a quote on a replacement engine should you encounter a rod knock or similar. That will put an angry, smoking crater in your bank account. If $800 seems like a significant expenditure on this hobby - you best invest in some tools and some parts cars.

GD

 

If you determine it is the valve and tackle this yourself be sure to get the proper EGR valve, the parts store ones for these cars sometimes require modification so the plenum will clear the valve. The AC Delco 214-5538 on Rockauto fits just like factory and has the access port for the EGR temp sensor. If in there you may want to think of replacing the EGR temp sensor when you do the valve, its likely worn out and is the typical cause of the annoying code 32 at highway cruising (was in my case) and you could easily break it when trying to switch over. Would likely have to source a new one from a Corvette place as no one makes them for F bodies anymore. Also a good idea to thoroughly inspect the vacuum lines too, just be careful they get very brittle with age/heat. The job was pretty smooth sailing until I had the last bolt under the EGR valve top to remove, but pb blaster is your friend there.

 

Not Cali, Phoenix AZ but similar enough, the car did come from cali at some point

 

Not broken just bent

 

In that photo, it's broken. Parking it up against a high curb like that GUARANTEES it.

 

not only that, but I'd like to think my collectables are cool enough and tempting enough, that some dude just couldn't resist and take it out for a spin when he was done. you know, to make sure it is working. if someone is going to wreck my car, it better be me!

 

We have insurance for such things, and you bet we test drive everything we build. But only for drive-ability on the street.... very carefully. We do the big power and high speed on the dyno where we can go 200 mph safely.

GD

 

We know we can trust you GD! Its just the other guys we don't know.

 

hello Reddragon88 gta we are trying to get that bolt under the egr valve did you use a special tool to get it i have a 1990 trans am v8 305
thank you
i know this is an old post but I'm desperate

 

That bolt is a pain right, if you have a crowfoot wrench that may work or you can do what I did and drill a hole directly over that bolt through the EGR and use an extension, it will come right out. I felt like a hack doing that but that bolt looked like it was going to get rounded if I kept trying my flex head wrench, it’s a tight angle. Other option is to remove the runner.

 

thank you soo much for writing me back.....we will try that hack and update in this post on how it went