Had a shop look at my car and they have diagnosed that the EGR needs to be cleaned. Is there a chemical that can be used to loosen the stuff up without blowing it back into the engine? Would I be better off purchasing the tube? I think this is where the junk is stuck.

I cannot do the job myself. I took it to Midas but am wondering if I should consider going to the Nissan dealer for this one. I don't want to pay an arm and leg but don't want to waste $$ if they can't fix it at Midas. Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Why dont you want to do the money youself? You concern about money being wasted, in a sense it would be if you did the job yourself, Would be a task of just taking apart the egr and cleanning it yourself, and cleannin up the build up. But if midas cant do the job they cannot charge you for bad service, I believe they will get it done and fixed for you.

 

The dealer will charge 300-400 bucks for the job - but you know it will be done right. I can't say the same for the local Midas - it varies drasitically from one Midas to another.

Most likely the EGR tube is clogged as well as the EGR port on the back of the plenum.

Local shops around here wanted ~$150 to clean both out.

 

Spoke to the dealer and they said that they usually just replace the parts. They wouldn't give me a quote, though, which makes me nervous. Midas said $200-$250. The main reason I think of going to the dealer is cause they see this problem all the time and could get it fixed faster I think since they are experts of the nissans. Is Midas asking too much.

About doing the job myself...I'm a girl and have no idea how these things work except for what I have read on the org and my manual. I couldn't find the EGR I don't think. Plus, I hear it's really tough to get to.

I know some of you guys have been on here a really long time and I have learned tons from all of you. Hope you can help me with this problem....
Back to the original question, is there a chemical that can be used to loosen the carbon up?

 

The carbon is really caked on there and fairly hard.. I used a lot of intake cleaner and a coat hanger and screwdrivers to scrape all off it off/out.

 

This company provides EGR cleaning

http://www.bgprod.com/

 

knight71 - I looked into that... I called almost every local shop listed on their website (since BG just makes the products) in my area and no one knew anything about the EGR service... they all kept telling me they only did the fuel/air induction service... If anyone is able to find a shop to do the actual BG EGR cleaning service, then that would be the way to go.

 

Not even a shop located in the Milwaukee area.

 

I'm sure the dealership will want more than midas or atleast the same amount. The most inexpensive route could be posting in your regional section, and see if an org member can help out, I'm sure they'll be a lot cheaper than midas and would know about our cars as that person would most likely have a maxima.

The EGR isnt really hard to find its at the top of the engine, I'll find and highlight a pic to point it out.

 

I look forward to the pics!

 

*Edit:*

I'll try to find a better quality pic but the black thing in the center is the egr and all related egr stuff is in that area. Will find a better pic, dont have the library of photos with me here at school.



This can help you get an understnading of what the job is like
http://autoclinic.net/article/imports/nissan_p0400.htm

this is for a 3rd gen, still looking for 4th gen pics.
www.geocities.com/cbmaxima/maxima/egr/egr.html

 

http://photobucket.com/albums/v158/evilBIGD/EGR/

here we go.

 

i have read here before about using a coat hanger to clean out egr. where exactly are you putting a coat hanger to get the build up out and does that still require removing the upper plenum?

 

http://autoclinic.net/article/imports/nissan_p0400.htm

 

This code has been showing up for me for the past month or so. I would clear it but comes back after a couple of days.

Would also like a good writeup like the 3rd gen one.

 

the link above isnt good enough? Download the FSM (check the sticky in the all motor forum) and search for egr it should be more elaborate on the removal of it, and then you can scrape with a coat hanger and hopefully that will work.

 

check these threads:

carbon build up:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=90535

Other Egr related threads:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=393527
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=350528