Emission high NOx and that EGR solenoid

[entity-unknown]

I just went through emissions and failed both my first tests. First time I was at 8.8 on NOx, then put in better gas, added some acetone, and now I'm at 6.5 but that's 1 over.

This typically leads someone to check the EGR so I did. If I attached a hose to the port, I can **** on it and it operates. It doesn't take much to make it move but if I wanted it to open all the way, I better be a professional ******. Point is it works and I replaced it two years ago when I failed my last emissions test. I skated by on that one, which was odd because the 10 tests before (long story lots of money) I passed every time until I fixed the fuel pressure issue. I had a mm size sand grain that was inbetween the fuel pump o-ring and the gas tank which gave enough for it to give out on the presssure....

So, I replaced the entire green plastic line for the EGR valve. I watched the diaphram as I revved it up and it didn't move. I tried this with a cold and hot engine. When I put the end coming off the solenoid in my mouth, I can always feel a bitt of suction action, in a rhythm as if you said put put put put put but it's very light. My understanding is this should never occur at idle, or cold engine, which it is. When the engine got hot and I revved it up i did this again, and it was mildly stronger but not much of a difference and it still didn't operate the EGR. So I pulled the red line from the solenoid, stuck that in my mouth and I felt like I was at the dentist with that sucker in my mouth closing my lips and almost havin the air sucked outta my lungs. So I got good, strong vacuum. I also checked all the other lines and they all look good except the one I repaired.

Also if I **** on the attached hose to the EGR when firing up the engine, it goes from idle to crap then back again as I stop sucking so this also tells me my EGR is still good.

When I do an ohm test on the solenoid it's at 42, so that's good but my imagination tells me it's still frozen, causing the EGR to not open, and causing me to fail my emissions test. Anyone able to offer any input? Will this change most likely give me the difference I need to pass?

Crappy part about that solenoid is Checker, & Autozone don't have it. Checker can order it but it's a real special order. Napa was able to order it for me too but either way I have to wait a week and the real bad part is I need my truck next week because my job is 40 miles away... You'd figure this being an emissions part, it'd be more commonly available...

If you have small children and they viewed this, I apologize for all the sucking but it was necessary /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[entity-unknown]

Oh yeah, I had one other question that isn't related to this problem. I replaced a leaky wheel cylinder recently, which I had just installed 6 months prior, and now the new one is doing the same thing. ***? The old one was fine, I just replaced it cuz it was really old, and now I have this... It did sit in the water for 3 days, but I can't see how this would be related since I replaced it after that terrible adventure. I haven't pulled the wheel off yet to look, just curious if anyone has seen a trend like this. I've come to notice some of the more recent brake parts really just aren't built to last and it's not like it takes a wizard to install a wheel cylinder for drum brakes, just some tact at putting those springs on... Do warped drums cause this? They don't seem warped but who knows.

 

[entity-unknown]

Thanks for the reply and I appreciate the info.

I just replaced my spark plugs and after 3 years of bein in there, and they look good except a bit of white on them. I was down about 1.5 quarts of oil, still down about .5 since I checked it after this post, so I'm guessing that is contributing to the white but maybe the mixture is off too. I live in AZ too so I'm sure the water is a bit low again as well. These were two things I was going to fix before I went back or really drove it of course.

The EVR does vent and I have 42 ohms. I just checked the voltage going to the EVR as well. It reads about 5.8 mV until I pull on the throttle cable (probably about half way) then it goes up to aroundd 4-6 V though vacuum to the EGR does not change. Tried at cold and warm not up to temp though. During the time it had those voltage ranges, I was able to **** and draw air through the EGR's hose, which I can do even while it's off. So at what level of "energization" should I not be able to draw through the EGR feed tube going to the EVR?

Cats, oh yeah they need to go. This is the stock muffler and cats but after market headers. I'm going to be replacing that whole setup soon excluding the headers cuz I'm sure they're fine, I just need to start this job. In one paycheck alone I'll have no problem buying a whole new exhaust system and have plenty left over for whatever. So right now, I need to get by till the end of October when I'll have that nice second paycheck.

As for the brakes, the auto-adjuster is working just fine, always has been and I have to back out of my drive way everday which is a standard driveway length with braking involved so those have always been good. This one side has always snapped off about 2 inches of the rear top part of the pad which is partially why I'm wondering about the drums.

Again, thanks for the input. Let me know what you think with this additional info.

 

[entity-unknown]

OK I re-checked the valve as your picture suggests, by applying vacuum to the lower port and blocking the upper port. With the engine off, I can hear air comin through the filter and it barely holds a vacuum. With the engine on it really doesn't hold a vacuum either. It does, but bleeds off which is roughly about the same as with the engine off. This is regardless of pulling on the throttle cable or idle. The engine was warm then almost up to temp when I tested both times.

I also just noticed your fuel pump access. Nice! I did somethin similar after having to drop the tank 8 times, four times while it was full. I cut mine in the lowered areas along the edges using a dremel but made sure to disconnect everything first too. After that I lined it w/ 5/16 hose (I think) on the on the bed, and on the hatch which I used the same panel I cut out for. The back side I put hinges and covered the edges with hose only on the hatch. Next I put a clasp hinge on the other side, and now with one finger, I pull the clasp and have full access to the fuel pump. Good for removal, change, or even mixing. I can stand on the access panel too without any give. Pretty sweet!

 

[entity-unknown]

Yeah it does and this happened with my old axle. I replaced the axle but haven't replaced the pads since I replaced the axle. The previous axle did sag and I'm quite certain that's what resulted in my carrier splitting in half and my gears gettin eaten. So perhaps that's what caused the friction material to rip off, but my original wheel cylinder worked in the old axle for probably it's entire life, at least for 10 years. That wheel cylinder was removed and put into the new axle and worked for about 8 months till I replaced it just cuz I was replacing the entire braking system. With the old axle I used a yard stick to verify the sag and I could see there was about a 1-2 inch sag. This one doing the same thing, I see it's perfectly level across and visually it looks ok too. The old one did not even look straight visually. Also when I pulled my axle shafts, I verified they were perfectly straight as well. So perhaps it was just from the old axle ripping off the chunk of friction padding.

Either way the new one worked with the old wheel cylinder for about 8 months, then I replace it, and that one starts leaking after a couple months, and now this one did the same thing in the same amount of time, and it was from the same manufacturer.

As for your diagrams, yes I did go through them, though I did not see the details below them yesterday, probably because I was using my netbook with an itty bitty screen and wireless. I see the details now, and the only thing that raises concern to me is the drag force, because the forward facing pin of the cylinder is where it was leaking from before, and I'm certain that's where it's leaking from this time. When I looked at it, it was pushed about 1/2 inch downwards. So I guess I'll pull the wheel off and see what it looks like and see if I can get an idea as to what's goin on. Any thoughts before I start since I'm gathering you've got many more years experience with mechanics and modding than I do.

As for the EVR, with all that's been said, I'd imagine you'd concur that thing is shot.

Another note for ya. One mod I recommend is the center console. Turn it into a cooler! I sealed mine off, drilled a hole straight to the bottom, with an extension pipe to give a more precise exit point, then sealed that off. It's a huge cooler that can go back do storing your crap whenever you want. When using as a cooler, make sure you plug the drain hole if you're on the freeway because driving fast will cover the person behind you's windshield with water and dirt if you're in a state like AZ.

Thanks again for the responses and thanks for joinin the board, guys like you are truly valuable here.

 

[entity-unknown]

Not too bad! The cooler would be pretty nice but in the end I'm in AZ so really I just need the AC system replaced and the top on. I do the poor man method of cooling though, which works quite nice with the top off. Soak the shirt and pants down before I jump in the truck and I got about 20-30 minutes of AC /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I was thinkin bout cuttin the flat spot out of the cup holders because out of all the nifty engineering and power this truck has, if you want to have a drink, you better be straddling it between your legs. Who ever thought of the original cup holder in the Bronco needs to be fired because they have no concept of engineering unless they thought of them as change holders, but still they need to be fired.

I'll start looking into those diagrams and pulling the wheel off here soon to see what's up. Thanks for the reply.

OH, and I will add my oil was topped off and so was the coolant so I was good to go in that respects. Thinkin about it more, I'd say the EGR valve might be the cause of the bit of white on some of my plugs considering it's purpose is to cool the combustion and clearly it's not doing anything right now except being attached to my throttle body. I get the EVR on Tuesday or Wednesday and if all goes well I might just have a new exhaust next week, otherwise next month. Maybe I'll get lucky and get my bike back up next week too. That'd be sweet!