1998 xlt 4wd

[wmsrichard]

I recently bought a 1998 XLT 4WD and after about a month of driving it the Check Engine light came on, took it to AutoZone and it came back as the EGR valve. I took the throttle body off and noticed that the ports for the EGR valve were carbonized completely shut.

I used an ice pick, pipe cleaner and 4 cans of carburetor cleaner and got the holes opened back up. Replaced the EGR valve, gaskets and mounted everything back up. Hoses all plugged in correctly, etc.

It fired right up. Purrs perfectly at 600 RPM.

HOWEVER,

Going down the road it actually felt like it "sucked" something up and started sputtering and the check engine light came on. Took it back to AZ and the machine said "misfire #4" (i have no coolant leak) and additionally "restricted flow through EGR valve". So now i am stumped.

Is there something specifically I should check first prior to systematically replacing, coil packs, plugs, plug wires, etc ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[tonydiv]

It could just be a bad coil, which is a very common problem. The coil is about $40, so you may just want to roll the dice and get one.

You also could have loosened or damaged the wires to the #4 coil or injector while you were working back there. Check that first.

I guess that there's also a chance that the cylinder sucked in a big chunk of carbon that is now holding one of the valves partially open. I suppose the remedy for this would be a good Sea Foaming.