two issues: P0404 & head gasket

hello everyone;

1997 SL1 SOHC. standard xmission. approximtely 130.000 km (i live in toronto, canada, which is metric)

issue a) giving erratic P0404 SES when engine gets hot. i have obdc diagnostic tool, which lists a MUST to change egr valve. previous posts in this forum (btw, excelent forum !!), mentioned an ELECTRONIC egr, and a possible alternative of cleaning existing egr to avoid exoenditure. a parts vendor ststes that no electronic egr valve exists for saturn (?). i am confused.........please help with clarification.

issue b) oil stains in driveway. mechanic have been pointing to spot where leak was taking place (with some spry and light). he was advising to postpone as possible. this is THE BEST CAR I HAVE VER HAD IN MY LIFE; and want ot make it last !!! (also, i am aretiree, and every penny counts now !!) QUESTION: does the repair / new gasket replacement REQUIRE the block head rectification ?? (even at U$S values), what amount of expenditure woul i be facing to?

thanks in advance for all you help. bst regards.

danielR.

Google for P0404 and see if any of the responses seem to apply to you. Not familiar with the 97 sl1 so... Is it an electronic EGR valve or vacuum operated? Remove the valve and inspect for carbon build-up. If it is vacuum operated, you should be able to push the pintle up and inspect the valve area. If it's a motorized unit, it won't move by pushing. Those need a diagnostic tool to move the valve and ain't easy. Sometimes you get lucky just spraying cleaner into the EGR valve ports, let it sit and blow it out. Reassemble with a new gasket and test.

One thing you should do is to remove the valve and plug both of the holes in the manifold. One side will be manifold vacuum and the other side is exhaust gas. Don't use anything that can get sucked in and cause other problems. Start the engine and pull out the plug on the exhaust side. you should get some noise and gas blowing out. Pull the other side slowly and you should feel a sucking. With the intake manifold side completely open, the engine should stall - or run very poorly at very least. This will prove that the main lines are not plugged as they sometimes happen.

Get the head gasket taken care of! You're lucky that it's just leaking oil. I had one that the gasket went and coolant got sucked into the cylinder... Temperature sender had failed also and never gave a warning. Engine died.