I have a 6 cylinder 2000 olds Alero. When I start it from a cold start it idles rough for about 60 seconds and then runs fine. As long as the engine is warm I have no problems. If I try to drive off while it is idleing rough the check engine light will come on and and go off after it starts to idle correctly. I thought it might be the EGR valve stuck open or something like that. Any Ideas?
Thanks in advance for any help.
It wouldn't hurt to clean the EGR valve... but without knowing the codes, you don't know why the light came on. And that's what you need to know.
--scott
I think i'll go buy a scan tool. This car is an OBD2 car isn't it?
I would suspect some coolant leaking into a cylinder through a intake gasket, or head gasket. The check engine light is probably a P0300 general misfire detected. If you have a scan tool that can read live data, look for misfires on cyl #'s 1, 5, 2, or 6. Then I would suspect an intake gasket leaking into one of the intake runners. But first I would try a block test to make sure no hydrocarbons are in the cooling system indicating a combustion leak into the cooling system. You could also have a leaking fuel pressure regulator, fuel passing through the vacuum line is brought into the nearest cylinder resulting in misfire. Pull the vacuum line to the regulator and look for sign of liquid. Gerald
I took off the EGR valve to clean it and it was loose. I suspect leaking air into the intake. Put it back together after I cleaned it and it has ran fine since.
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