Pontiac Repair: EGR valve Pontiac Grand Am, pontiac grand am, coat hanger

Question
Hi Harold,

I have a 94 Pontiac Grand Am 3.1L V6 that has just been diagnosed with having a clogged EGR valve.  The cost of replacement is hundreds of dollars.  I am looking into seeing if I can clean this myself.  Is it hard to get to and what do you recommend in cleaning this?  and any other info that you might have in regards to this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Tom

Answer
You can remove the EGR valve and clean out the carbon around the pintle valve with a small screwdriver. Just scrape it out. You may also have a plugged EGR passage in the intake manifold. You can soak it with carb and choke cleaner to help soften the carbon but you will have to break it out with something like a coat hanger. The passage runs from where the EGR valve was down to the throttle body. It is not easy to clean out but if you keep working at it, you'll get it.