Brangeta

Anybody know of a step by step tutorial on how to replace the EGR solenoid on a '95 Z28? Even if anybody has a '94-'97 service manual and can scan the page that says how to replace it, I'd really appreciate it!

shoebox

It's fairly elementary. I think if you just take a good look, it will be pretty obvious what needs to be done. There are not any secrets to it that I know of.

Injuneer

Rob seems to be getting shy... or he assumes everyone knows where to find his site, using the links in his signature (they should by now). When you see what it looks like, its obvious how you change it:

http://shbox.com/1/egr1.jpg

shoebox

Things are little hard to see in that area which can be a little intimidating. You might need to move a hose and cable or two to see what is going on. On my car the solenoid bracket is held on by a nut on an intake manifold nut. The electrical connector comes off in the manner most do and the vacuum hoses wiggle/pry off.

Brangeta

I'll give it a look. What bugs me is the dealership told me the car was throwing SES code 32 and needed a new solenoid. Not being able to diagnose things myself, that's what I ordered. From reading on here, that code seems to be a EGR valve, and solenoid is 27. I didn't order a new valve, because they said it was the solenoid... Whatever the case, I hope this part fixes the car and it helps stop it from smelling like gasoline.

shoebox

32 is for perceived EGR non-function and it could be caused by the solenoid, but also could not. A 27 means the solenoid or electrical circuit is at fault.

My bet is it is not the solenoid.

There is some EGR diagnosing info on my Tech Page that will tell you if the solenoid is operational.

Brangeta

Update: replacing the solenoid did NOT solve the problem. SES #32 still comes up. Dealership is recommending replacing the EGR valve now...

Injuneer

Has he checked the vacuum hoses? If they are cracked, the valve won't work. It can be tested with a hand-held vacuum pump.

Brangeta

I just called and asked my service writer and he called the mechanic and stated "he says everything else looks good" but didn't get a more detailed answer than that. I'm going to try to talk to the mechanic while I'm there. They're sending somebody to pick me up right now...

LTIPWRD

Brangeta - What was the verdict on the correct fix for DTC 32? I am trying to diagnose mine as we speak - Any help would be appreciated.

Brangeta

Gosh this was a long time ago... and it was expensive to get fixed at the dealership

Um, well, looking at the records I have saved, this is everything that was done to the car that month:

egr solenoid replaces for 194.43
water pump 579.99
egr valve 501.00
intake manifold and ports cleaned out (part of the charge for egr valve replacement)
coolant temperature sensor (they broke the old one when installing the new waterpump) $198.02
coolant flushed freebie

Brangeta

For what it is worth, here are a few other things that happened later. Last year was freakin' expensive.

March: A/C issues (should be unrelated to that code, but had A/C refrigerant pressure sensor part #22664328 replaced because original part (#22624066) was leaking freon from the high pressure side and that part number superceded it )

May: car had to be flat bed towed in because the temp gauge would spike to the max level despite the coolant not boiling. The thermostat was replaced.

June: A/C still wasn't working right, compressor determined to be bad, replaced a/c compressor and more. (won't go into detail since this is likely unrelated but I don't have time right now to read what code 32 means so...)

Later June: the car died for no reason in reverse backing out of a parking lot and was hard to start. Ignition switch was changed and wiring harness changed because it was burnt. Replaced fuel filter just in case. I figured it was opti, but they told me they'd replace these expensive (but less expensive) parts first...

July: car's idle would lope sometimes, sound weird, and lack power. Optispark replaced, spark plugs all replaced. Old waterpump despite barely weeping probably ruined the optispark and should have replaced both at the same time. Really freakin' expensive.

November: had some coolant dripping from a hose that was never replaced during the hose job a couple years ago that connected to the waterpump. Had to have that replaced and another coolant fill.

Damn. The detailed list reminds me that this car is overall almost all new parts...

LTIPWRD

Thanks for the feedback on this topic, I checked the vacuum lines and they seem to be OK. The car has had < 2K miles on it in the past 4 years.

It appears to be an intermittent problem since the SES light is not STUCK on. It comes on and goes away after about 15 mins.

Need to get ahold of a vacuum gauge to check to see if I can determine Valve vs Solenoid. I prefer not the throw parts at it since that has done nothing for me in the past.

I have the same thought! Although in my case, add a broken crank = new engine - DOH!

Brangeta

It'll do that intermittant on off. You likely have crud in the manifold that needs to be cleaned out without the EGR parts attached. Clean that out (however the process goes) and then reattach your solenoid and valve and see if the problem goes away.

I remember being told that if the manifold wasn't cleaned out, the new parts would just be ruined by the crud again, so I told the service writer to tell the mechanic to do that (and he did) and thus no more problems with at least that.

We bought this Z28 back in '95 so I know the entire (extensive) service history of the car. It's been high maintenance. I'm glad we were finally able to retire it from daily driving duties about 6 months ago and just make it into a show car. It looks a lot prettier sitting in the garage than it does in the service bay at the dealership or on the back of a flat bed tow truck.