If your car has over 150,000 mi. and is no longer eligible for the Acura extended emissions warranty or if you just want to take a preventative measure to ensure that you won't have EGR problems calling for the removal of the intake manifold, you might try this suggestion.
Huge thanks to [Ballistic] whose fantastic DIY on removing the EGR assembly made my revelation possible.
After I removed the EGR assembly I noticed that the build up was oily and that a good blast of carb cleaner cleaned out the EGR pipe very nicely. I reasoned that this is what was clogging the EGR channels in the intake manifold. If carb cleaner could clear out the EGR pipe easily it might clean out the whole intake manifold.
I call this a POSSIBLE fix because I didn't fully test this. I used the only can of carb cleaner I had at the time and found that there was a SLIGHT but noticeable increase in flow but the MIL light still came on. I would have continued this procedure but I was already scheduled to have this problem fixed by the Acura dealership the next day, so I figured just go ahead and let them do the work. I can't guarantee this will work, but considering the alternative of removing the entire intake manifold and cleaning it (or paying to have someone do it) I think this is a gamble worth taking.
1. Move car outside. There will be exhaust fumes.
2. Remove EGR valve.
3. Set idle speed at about 1500 -2000 RPM. I did this by wedging a piece of cardboard in between the idle adjustment screw and the throttle arm
4. CAUTION: As the engine recovers it might backfire through the exhaust port. Keep your face away from the port or cover it with a rag. Spray carb cleaner down the intake port on the EGR manifold until engine almost dies out. Wait for engine to recover and repeat. I would recommend using at least one can, maybe more if the intake manifold is really clogged.
5. Don't be alarmed by all the fault codes you get on your OBD II reader. They're all related to the engine almost dying out. (codes 1201-1206, 1300, 1399, 0401(duh!)) Reset the computer and the codes go away.
6. Perform procedure about every oil change or 7500 miles. This is not exact, but an estimate on how to keep this problem under control.
Huge thanks to [Ballistic] whose fantastic DIY on removing the EGR assembly made my revelation possible.
After I removed the EGR assembly I noticed that the build up was oily and that a good blast of carb cleaner cleaned out the EGR pipe very nicely. I reasoned that this is what was clogging the EGR channels in the intake manifold. If carb cleaner could clear out the EGR pipe easily it might clean out the whole intake manifold.
I call this a POSSIBLE fix because I didn't fully test this. I used the only can of carb cleaner I had at the time and found that there was a SLIGHT but noticeable increase in flow but the MIL light still came on. I would have continued this procedure but I was already scheduled to have this problem fixed by the Acura dealership the next day, so I figured just go ahead and let them do the work. I can't guarantee this will work, but considering the alternative of removing the entire intake manifold and cleaning it (or paying to have someone do it) I think this is a gamble worth taking.
1. Move car outside. There will be exhaust fumes.
2. Remove EGR valve.
3. Set idle speed at about 1500 -2000 RPM. I did this by wedging a piece of cardboard in between the idle adjustment screw and the throttle arm
4. CAUTION: As the engine recovers it might backfire through the exhaust port. Keep your face away from the port or cover it with a rag. Spray carb cleaner down the intake port on the EGR manifold until engine almost dies out. Wait for engine to recover and repeat. I would recommend using at least one can, maybe more if the intake manifold is really clogged.
5. Don't be alarmed by all the fault codes you get on your OBD II reader. They're all related to the engine almost dying out. (codes 1201-1206, 1300, 1399, 0401(duh!)) Reset the computer and the codes go away.
6. Perform procedure about every oil change or 7500 miles. This is not exact, but an estimate on how to keep this problem under control.
