Ok, on the way home from work today my car was doing it's whole bad idling thing where my car is just struggling to stay on. It does this once in a while and the car barely ever died. BUT on the way home my car died at every stop light. It was very embarrassing to be at the light getting my car to stay in the higher rpms so it wouldn't die. So what I wanted to know was if this has happened to any of you guys and what can I check for so I can fix it myself? Recently I have changed my spark plugs, spark plug wires, alternator and my thermostat. All this stuff keeps going wrong with my car and I thought maybe the bad idling would stop happening if I changed my spark plug wires. Because they were jacked up! What causes rough idling and what I described? Please help, I need this fixed!!!
And the wierd thing is that it doesn't always have a bad idle. It's only once in a while.

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1992 RS 3.1L Bone Stock

 

EGR

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

What's the EGR?

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1992 RS 3.1L Bone Stock

 

Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve..

sounds like it's occasionally sticking open at idle..

it allows some of the already burnt air/fuel mixture back into the cylinders to help lower combustion temperatures.. thing is, those burnt gases don't want to burn again (CO2, NOX, CO, O, few others) so if the valve is open at idle the car will run really rough.. it should only be open when you're accelerating, and only slightly open if you're cruising on the freeway..

hanging open can cause stalling, hard starts, rough idle, surging on the freeway..

one 'good' thing about the EGR is it lowers combustion temperatures which allow our engines to run with more advance, get more power, and get better fuel economy (mainly because it helps to prevent pinging or predetonation)..

i would change it if your car has over 100,000 miles..

as well, get a GM one, the cheap ones from the auto parts stores are junk, trust me, i used to work at AutoZone

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

oh.. if you don't know what it looks like.. it looks like a flying saucer about 3.5 inches across

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

Well, how much would a gm one cost? Could I install this myself? Is it a pain in the a$$?

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1992 RS 3.1L Bone Stock

 

70 bucks..

you cna change it on your engine in about 25 minutes, i'm sure..

my TPI car is harder because it's hidding under the plenum, you shoulnd't have any trouble

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org