Synopsis - My car's Check Engine light was on and it had a very rough idling but otherwise ok. I am trying to fix it myself.
.... contd from Part 1
.
So, after that embarrassing moment, I again decided to take things in my own hand. This time with a little more preparation. I google for the problem and find pictorial solutions. It gave a step by step instruction including the tools I need and the set of things that I need to do. One of the lines read "You might want to buy a pair of gloves to avoid your hands getting bloody"!! Wow, this is 'interesting' I thought and yes I did buy a pair of gloves finally. Went to autoparts and got an entire tool box set (shallow and deep sockets, levers and the like, a carbon cleaner that could potentially clean the EGR valve).
.There were even videos on how to clean the EGR valve. But they were for different models and makes and so were not of much use. My father warned me of penny wise and 'dollar' foolish, as I was dealing with critical parts of my car. But, given my excitement of doing a surgical operation on my car I set my fears aside. I opened up the outer skin (hood). The first thing was to give it some anesthesia (disconnect the terminals of the battery, it is a paradox here that you cut it open and then give the 'dose'). This is to ensure my safety rather than the car's though (sorry for the PJ).
.
The EGR valve was supposedly beneath the inlet manifold, terms which were familiar but of no practical use. It took me a while to identify the manifold and remove the inlet hose. This was to clear the 'clutter' to reach the EGR valve. I was excited to see the throttle valve. It is a cylindrical disc that controls the flow of air to the engine. When you step on the gas, it is this disc that moves to feed more air (and hence more fuel). I had seen 2d diagrams of it but was quite thrilled to see it after reading it more than 4 years before.
.
Pulled out some more plugs, some electrical connections like ignition plugs to finally see the EGR valve. It was way down, almost an arm's length, and the bolts were rusted really bad (my car is about 7 years old). I had to remove it first to clean it. But, none of the tools I had could make the bolts budge. I understood the reference to 'bloody' work. It was indeed. Alas, I am limited by the simple curd rice I intake, I thought :( . The entire adventure turned out to be a dampener! Is that all, couldn't I finish the race after coming so close? It was frustrating, but I was left with no other option but to put things back where they had to go. Thankfully, I was able to start the engine again, which meant at least I had not messed up anything.
.
P.S - The problem started getting worse and I finally made up my mind after the anti-climax to take it to a nearby mechanic. He was not sure of the EGR and asked me to change the spark plugs and other regular maintenance and after all those permutations and combinations finally said he will rather replace the valve than clean it. The problem got resolved and the car is running fine as of now..
.
The EGR valve was supposedly beneath the inlet manifold, terms which were familiar but of no practical use. It took me a while to identify the manifold and remove the inlet hose. This was to clear the 'clutter' to reach the EGR valve. I was excited to see the throttle valve. It is a cylindrical disc that controls the flow of air to the engine. When you step on the gas, it is this disc that moves to feed more air (and hence more fuel). I had seen 2d diagrams of it but was quite thrilled to see it after reading it more than 4 years before.
.
Pulled out some more plugs, some electrical connections like ignition plugs to finally see the EGR valve. It was way down, almost an arm's length, and the bolts were rusted really bad (my car is about 7 years old). I had to remove it first to clean it. But, none of the tools I had could make the bolts budge. I understood the reference to 'bloody' work. It was indeed. Alas, I am limited by the simple curd rice I intake, I thought :( . The entire adventure turned out to be a dampener! Is that all, couldn't I finish the race after coming so close? It was frustrating, but I was left with no other option but to put things back where they had to go. Thankfully, I was able to start the engine again, which meant at least I had not messed up anything.
.
P.S - The problem started getting worse and I finally made up my mind after the anti-climax to take it to a nearby mechanic. He was not sure of the EGR and asked me to change the spark plugs and other regular maintenance and after all those permutations and combinations finally said he will rather replace the valve than clean it. The problem got resolved and the car is running fine as of now..
No comments:
Post a Comment