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On your EGR pipe, loosen (don't remove) both of those big nuts. Use PB Blaster or even just a little oil first. Loosen the attachment nuts. NOW get the big nut started. With it all a little shaky, alignment will be easier. Then tighten everything to spec.
Thanks again. I'll try that, but I'm pretty sure its not an issue with alignment and more of an issue with the threading. I can get it to almost catch, I'm thinking it may have been cross threaded at some point. Holding out hope for wiggle room, though. I'm off early today so I'll get to trying it in a little bit.
I'm thinking it may have been cross threaded at some point.
If it was, you can always chase the threads with a die, as in from a tap & die set. A lot of auto parts stores, like Advance Auto Part, or Napa, will loan you what you need for free. Once you've got the threads straightened out, so to speak, it might be easier to start the biggie onto them.
Loosening the other nuts/bolts holding it place might help give you the wiggle room you need. I make it a policy to never tighten down mounting nuts/bolts on something until I have them all started properly. That's just me, though...
Pat☺
Thanks. Looks like I'm going to have to go that route. The plenum is plenty loose and I can move everything around enough that alignment sure looks like it isnt the issue. I don't know if it's the nut threads or the threads on the EGR that are causing the issue, but removing the pipe that the nut is attached to appears to be a huge PITA. Hopefully I can figure out how to "repair" the threads with everything mostly attached.
I keep giving it a break and coming back and trying again hoping it's magically going to catch, but no luck. Really wish I had a better option because this one nut, that just so happens to be super accessible, being the thing to hold me back is really pushing my frustration to the next level. Thought about using a dremel with a wire brush to really clean out the thread grooves but I can't get it in there at the right angle to do it - that may cause more damage than help though. I'm trying to avoid removing the plenum again so I don't have to deal with that damned hose again also.
I'll try and rent/borrow a tap & die set tomorrow on my way home from work and see if I can figure out how to use it.
I'd be pretty surprised if you could find a tap or die that size. Yeah, they exist, but it's a very fine pitch for a very large size, so they'll be very rare.
If your problem is damaged threads on the male part (I'm not convinced of that, but I'm not there), you could probably fix it with a thread file. https://www.toolexperts.com/thread-r...iles177-1.html These won't do you much good for the female threads.
Yeah, I was already thinking I may not find one in the size I need, but I'll find out tomorrow (if I can't get it on tonight).
If anything, I think it's the nut that is the issue and not the male end. From what I can tell, the male end doesn't look too bad anywhere, but the starting point seems like its on the side I cant see. On the nut side it appears the top starting portion is a bit "bald" for lack of a better term.
I can see it better in the pics than in person, but here's what I'm looking at... if I was just looking at the pics I'd think it would still go on pretty easily, but I've spent a ton of time trying and can't get it to do more than barely start to catch and pop off. FWIW it does seem to only catch if I apply pressure from a certain side (pulling up on the side closest to the radiator). I've tried over and over trying to really pressure that side and it hasn't seemed to help.
I know you've tried and tried, but from where I'm sitting (far away) I still think you're just having an alignment problem. Your threads look fine (they don't have to be even close to perfect to work well). And getting the two parts to align can be tricky.
I wouldn't suggest loosening the lower end of the corrugated tube (where it connects to the exhaust manifold); that part is hard to access. But if you can loosen the EGR valve (the attachment bolts, and the large nut where it connects to the plenum tube), I still think you'll be able to wiggle everything enough to get it to drop in.
Yeah, I know, it's easy to sit on my butt and offer advice, but I've done this a few times, and the way I described is what I need to get it back together.
Decided to try one more time before I called pick and pull to come pick this thing up.
Loosened the two bolts attaching the EGR to the plenum (even though the plenum was moving pretty good) and the other large nut on the opposite side. Got it loose enough that I could wiggle the EGR without the plenum moving and tried that damned nut again. Same issue... not catching. Leaned on the EGR from the front to try and change the angle, no change. Leaned from the driver side and passenger side, no change. Leaned from the rear of the truck and it grabbed right away.
Thanks again scope. Happy to get it on but equally as frustrated that I couldn't get something so simple done without some prodding
Should have everything back together soon... Still need to figure out the one wire connector (I'll probably rig up my own connector on both ends), but I should be able to start it and get an idea if that whole process had any impact at all or if it was all for nothing.
EDIT: AND because I can't get anything done on this truck without something else popping up... I managed to clip the one capped off vacuum line on the top throttle body and it broke off the hard plastic cap, leaving the tube exposed. The remainder of the cap doesnt want to slide off so I'll probably have to smash it and then figure out another way to cap it. My first thought was throw a small piece of vacuum hose on it and find a seal it that won't manage to get sucked in - then I realized I should probably just shell out a couple bucks for a proper cap from autozone/oreillys, if I can find the right size.
Someone elses pic taken from another thread/page... looks like his is actually capped with a vacuum hose:
Last edited by rgkharrison; 04-02-2020 at 05:14 PM.
I may well be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the vacuum line you've circled goes around to the "canister". It's a part of the fuel system's breather setup. It allows the fumes from the fuel tank to be fed into the intake to allow it to be burnt off in the cylinders. When the engine is running slowly, the vacuum line is closed with the valve inside the canister, and the fuel fumes are absorbed by the charcoal. When the engine is run up, increasing the vacuum, the valve opens, allowing the fumes to enter the intake, mixed with fresh air from the intake hose on the bottom, thus cleaning the fumes out of the charcoal. If the pressure in the tank drops enough, like once the engine is off and the vehicle is shut down, the tank can draw fresh air in through the charcoal to allow the pressure to equalize.
I believe it's located over on the passenger side of the engine compartment, on the fender well interior wall.
It's important to route it well away from heat sources such as the EGR units, the exhaust , and so forth. The exact routing is critical, just keep it away from hot engine components.
The port you have circled is blocked from the factory. If you've broken the cap, you can replace it with a Dorman product, or while you wait, a piece of 3/32 tubing folded over and held with a twist-tie.
The port to the Evap canister (via the TVV) is to the lower left of your yellow circle in your photo. The TVV is closed when the engine is cold, and when warm the throttle body vacuum pulls the stored vapors from the fuel tank out of the canister. When there is vacuum in the tank (as it cools, the vapor in the tank condenses), some air is drawn back through the canister, but most of the pressure equalization is through the check valve (air can go in, vapors can't get out) in the filler cap.
Got it all put together. Used a dorman cap for that one vacuum line, found the other side of the connector for the EGR temp sensor - had to take it apart and rewire it, but got it done.
Got it fired up and it feels like it's running the same as before. Let it warm up a bit and it stables out a bit, brought the timing down to 10 and it feels like it's barely running. I think it was the #5 wire I pulled from the distributor cap and it didn't seem like impacted how it ran at all, but it was getting spark.
Pretty sure whatever needs to be done at this point is going to be beyond my skillset and patience... I'll give it a couple days before I decide but I'm leaning towards cutting my losses and walking away from it. I suppose I could go run a smog check just to see how it does but I'm really confident it's not going to pass.
... it feels like it's barely running. I think it was the #5 wire I pulled from the distributor cap and it didn't seem like impacted how it ran at all, but it was getting spark. ...
Do you mean you disconnected the #5 plug, and it didn't seem to change the speed at which it was running? That means that cylinder isn't contributing (it's "missing"), and the fuel goes right through to the exhaust. Hence, very high HC in the exhaust.
Why would that be? Have you tried a compression test? Low compression could mean a broken ring, or something as simple as a valve way out of spec. I'm not saying this is something you want to tackle on your own, but running a compression test is pretty basic.
04-01-2020, 11:45 AM
