Chrysler Repair: 95 Chrysler Cirrus Dies, exhaust gas recirculation valve, chrysler cirrus

Question
I've got a '95 Chrysler Cirrus with 98K miles on it. Recently I have had problems while starting it. It will turnover briefly and then die. If I give it gas for a few seconds while starting it, it eventually idles fine, but then when I park and come back to it I have the same problem. Is this a problem with my fuel pump? Suggestions?

Answer
Hi Caleb,
I would check the exhaust gas recirculation valve which may be not closing tightly when you shut off the vehicle. If it is slightly ajar it won't run well or even start.  It is located near the throttle body intake in a pipe that comes across from the exhaust manifold on the front side of the engine (very close to the thermostat housing). It is mounted horizontally and has a flange in between the round top and body of the valve that is bolted into the pipe. Inside that flange area is the valve stem with a slot in it. You can insert the tip of a screwdriver in the slot and move the stem back and forth, against spring tension in one direction which tries to close it. Make sure it closes tightly on its own and if it is sticky spray some WD-40 on the stem where it enters the valve body and work it back and forth.
Also try the ignition key to get fault codes: "on-off-on-off-on and leave on" doing that in 5 seconds or less elapsed time. Then watch the check engine, which remains 'on', to begin to flash, pause, flash, etc. Count the number of flashes before each pause, then repeat to be sure of an accurate set of counts. Then write back with the counts in the order that they appeared.
Roland