clacey

I've seen alot of posts regarding broken EGR pipes so I thought I'd just make a seperat post. I was able to remove mine, braze it and reinstall it in under 3 hrs total. Alot of that time was some thinking, a trip to home depot for a small oxygen tank, brazing and testing for leaks. Here is how you do it: Take a 12mm open/closed faced wrench and tie a 3'-4'string or wire to it. Trust me. Just do it. After you drop the wrench for the 4th time you will know why. You will have to do this blindly. with your hand follow the EGR pipe down until you feel the bracket that connects it to the engine. There is one screw. there is VERY little room and you'll have to reall squeeze to get there. now you know where it is. Now take the wrench to it. put the closed end of the wrench over the bolt and carefully remove your hand leaving the wrench over the bolt. You'll neeed some leverage to break it loose initially. I used another wrench to put the open end of one into the closed end of the other to get more leverage. once you break it loose it's just patience. This bolt alone will run about 30-45 minutes. Once it is off, disconnect the two ends and pull it out the top of the engine. Once out, I cleaned and preped the TWO LARGE cracks for welding/brazing. I had bought a small Mapp gas and Oxygen set from Home Depot for about $50.00 some months ago and now it was time to get my money's worth from it. If you don't have one of these things, they are very cool and inexpensive. They get VERY HOT You can actually weld with them. I used a Flux coated Bronze rod and brazed the cracks. I put it into water closed off one end with my hand and blew into it to check for leaks. There were none so I reinstalled. I would NOT recommend using JB Weld. It is great for hi-temp but not for vibration. The only issue is that I have been unable to reconnect the center bolt. I thought that might happen. I'll try again later but I really don't think it is that big of a deal. I have also heard that you can reach the bolt from the bottom of the car as well. Now that I have done it, it would probibly only take about an hour to do. How did it work, you might ask. G R E A T! My car is back to sounding like a Lexus rather than a 1973 Ford LTD. It feels good to finally make a worth while contribution to this great site. Enjoy, CL

Well.... I did it. I thought I'd let you all know the out come. I cleaned the cold start injector over the weekend. It wasn't faulty, just clogged. When I removed it from the intake, I found that it was COMPLETELY gunked up along with everything else in the intake. I used a complete large can of gumout and a few rags that I scrubbed the intake out with. Since I had it all out, I decided to remove the EGR Vaccum stuff from the side of the intake to make sure it was clean. What a great move that was. There is a pipe that goes half way into the intake. It was completely clogged up with hard black stuff. I had to punch it out with a screwdriver. Remove the silver piece where the vaccum stuff connects to the intake as well as the black valve. It was pretty obvious that mine hadn't been cleaned in 13 years and 213,000 mi. After cleaning off the cold start injector, I did the test from the manual and a perfet cone of fuel came out both sides. Since you will have it (intake)removed, I definately suggest doing this or at least checking it. It's a great time to really scrub everything out. I also was able to fix a cracked EGR pipe in under 3 hours. I'll talk about that in a seperate post. It didn't completely fix the issue but it did make it better. I suspect I'll find that is actually caused by several different small things combined together. I'll be checking for vaccum leaks next. I hope this helps. CL

I fixed mine over the weekend. It wasn't faulty, just clogged. When I removed it from the intake, I found that it was completely gunked up along with everything else in the intake. I used a complete large can of gumout and a few rags that I scrubbed it out with. Since I had it all out, I decided to remove the EGR Vaccum stuff from the side of the intake to make sure it was clean. What a great move that was. There is a pipe that goes half way into the intake. It was completely clogged up with hard black stuff. I had to punch it out with a screwdriver. Remove the silver piece where the vaccum stuff connects to the intake as well as the black valve. It was pretty obvious that mine hadn't been cleaned in 13 years and 213,000 mi. After cleaning off the cold start injector, I did the test from the manual and a perfet cone of fuel came out both sides. Since you will have it (intake)removed, I definately suggest doing this or at least checking it. It's a great time to really scrub everything out. It didn't completely fix the issue but it did make it better. I suspect I'll find that is actually caused by several different small things combined together. I hope this helps. CL

JPI - Please elaborate. I'd rather replace it than plug it but I'm not going to spend 6-10 hrs removing it. It's not that big of a deal. Thanks, CL

R E A L L Y! Bending flat? What do you mean? Plug it? Does this increase your emissions output , degrade fuel economy or decrease performance? Please tell me more. CL

Interesting Modman. I would be interested in reading more about how you would perform this task with a flash light battery. Thanks. CL

Thanks for the replies. I wish there was a test to see if it is the cold start injector or the cold start module. I did the CPU reset but nothing changed. The only thing I can think is it must be the cold start system malfunctioning. I dunno. Is there a way to check it? Thanks, CL

I have a 91 LS400 with 213,000mi. It takes about 5 secs to start in the morning. After that, it cranks immediately. I have done a tune up (plugs, o2 sensors, distributor caps & rotors, as well as injector cleaner) but it didn't help. The exhaust smells as if it could be running a bit rich with a slight amount of white smoke from the exhaust even after it is warmed up. Fuel economy is not so good. Other than that I seems to run really well. The idle is steady. Sounds good. Any Ideas? Could it be the cold start injector? If so how can I test? Where is it? Thanks, CL

I just changed mine. A 91 LS 400 213,000mi. I did not remove mine. A word of warning: Be very careful with the black metal pipe that runs beside the starter. I moved mine around a bit and it started leaking. Luckily I had enough coolant in the system to be able to see it before I completely put it back together. It has an O-ring around the end that goes into the front of the engine. Pull the pipe out and change this o-ring while you are in there. It could save a lot of time and trouble later. It is probably very old (like mine) and very easily messed up. Also make sure you get new intake and manifold gaskets. Make sure those gasket surfaces are clean when you put in the new gaskets and put it back together. There is a blue valve on the top front of the engine (Ported vacuum valve) be careful removing the vacuum hoses from this. mine was old and brittle. When I pulled on one of the vacuum hoses, it broke off ($50.00). Your electrical connections are very old and very brittle. Be very careful with them. I broke several of them being careful. Go out and get you some different sized vaccum hose pieces. You will need them. I had several snap like plastic. Very old. Be careful to watch you lbs of torque on those intake and manifold bolts when putting it back together. They are not as tight as you might think and can be easily broken off. Not a good thing. Careful moving or prying the EGR Pipe out of the way. It is old, very brittle steel and not easily removed if it tears. I pried mine just .5" out of the way and guess what? Now I have to replace it. Exhaust leak! 10 hrs labor. %@*$ $(*&^@ *(&@*&$ *@)! *@*#& #*#*& @* @*@!! Bottom line from experience: This car is old, the parts are old, the rubber and plastic is very brittle. Be careful. I hope my hard learned experiences help make things easier for you. Good luck. May the force be with you. It's quite a job. CL

Does it leak externally where you can see it or internally? It's difficult to see anything in this car. Everything is so close together. Thanks, CL

Bent it over for full blockage? Can you explain? Thanks, CL

Thanks for the replies. The previous owner did say it was loosing some PS fluid but there are no visible leaks under the car. Could it be that the alternator is eating it? It is a very slow leak. If I replace the PS Pump, can I save the alternator or is it too late? Thanks again. CL

I have a 91 LS400 when you step on the brake, the interior and dash lights dim a bit as if the electrical current isn't quite high enough. The alternator was changed a year ago. Any input?? Thanks, CL

I changed a starter out about 3 weeks ago and I had to bend the EGR pipe a little bit to get it out of the way. Ever since then, the car has been noisy under accelleration. Is this thing easily broken? It is steel and seems very sturdy. How big / what is the process to remove it? This is a 91 LS 400 and only has one of these. Thanks, CL

Rice, I believe you are correct. I changed the starter about 3 wks ago and had to bend it out of the way a bit. I saw a little puff of smoke from the back of the engine when I started it, which is where the EGR pipe is. Are these things brittle? Is there anything attached to them? Thanks for the replies. CL

I smell a bit of exhaust when I sniff the passenger side of the engine, which is where the sound seems to come from. I'll probably replace the manifold gaskets on that side. It shouldn't be that difficult or expensive for me to do. We'll see what happens then. Yesterday, I cleaned the screen in the power steering solenoid. WOW! What a difference that made. No more spongy steering.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. One other thing: it gets much better as the engine reaches higher rpms. It is more noticable at lower rpms when you punch it. It seems to clear up as the engine gets rolling. It also is not a sharp knocking sound it is more dull sounding. It's hard to explain a sound in a letter. I hope this added info helps. I'll bet this thing hasn't had a tune up in 120,000 mi. I just bought it from my brother for $2,500.00. It is in awesome shape. Not a bad deal at all. the interior and paint is emaculate except for the yellow on the bumpers. Thanks, CL

preignition knock?? How do you check or fix that? Is the timing off? I am about to change the distributors and caps will this help? Thanks, CL

I have a 90 LS 400 with 213,000 mi. Under acceleration it makes a tapping sort of sound. It does not happen when the car is in park and you rev the engine. It only happens under pretty heavy acceleration while driving. When inside the car, it sounds as though it is coming from the right side of the engine or maybe this is just where the sound is coming through from the engine compartment. Since it happens while driving and not just revving how can I tell if it is noisy valves or bad manifold gasket??? There must be an easier way than to stick my head under the hood while I accelerate to 80 down the freeway. Any input?? Thanks, CL

Does the flush stuff really work? If so what's the best brand? Thanks, CL

I just bought a 91 LS 400 with 213,000 mi. I just replaced the Starter, & PCV Valve. The engine makes a tapping noise when under acceleration. When I replaced the PCV Valve, I noticed that it seemed pretty sluggy in there. Would it help to remove the valve covers and clean the valves and lifters? If so what should I use? I know that in 97 the dealership ran some GM Top Engine Cleaner through it to remove a tapping sound. I wonder if I should try that again? Has anyone used this stuff on thiers? The three causes of this seem to be: 1. Sticky valves 2. Valve adjustment 3. Exhaust leak 4. Timing advanced Do you have to reset the timing when you replace the timing belts? I have a lot to do to this thing. Any input is appreciated. Thanks, CL