2001 Olds Alero EGR valve, me or shop to replace??

"joenheather" wrote: > I recently had a light come on stating service engine soon. > We did not find any performance problems other than bad fuel > economy. We took the car in for testing and they told me the > egr valve needs replacement. I brought the car home thinking > that it is something I can do to save cost. I have not looked > under the hood as of yet, my wife has it at work. I am > wondering if this is something I can do myself and if so, > where is it located and how long or hard is it to replace? I > looked up the egr valve on line and the part looks simple, two > bolts, a gasket and one electrical plug in. Please adviise! > Joe

Is it the 4.2?? Which looks like the cadillac northstar 4.6.

An Alero with a 4.2? I doubt it. 2.4 or 3.4 are the only options. It's easy. A couple of bolts and an electrical connector. Have the mechnic point it out to you, it's between the throttle body and the firewall (roughly). You'll need new gaskets and don't forget to clean the mating surfaces well.

Steve

If your only symptoms are the SES light and poor fuel economy the problem may not be a defective EGR valve but clogged EGR passageways. The EGR valve alone probably cost over $200, so check the passageways first. Good luck.