egr flow insufficient

I just had my emissions done on my 1996 Ford Windstar and it failed.It came up with EGR flow insufficient.What is this? The guy said it could be a clogged valve or a bad valve.Where about is this valve located?Is this easy to get to?I really don't have the money to go to a mechanic right now.Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, I recently had the same situation (EGR insufficient flow, diagnostic code P401). I changed the EGR backpressure transducer (f77z9j460AB) and it did the trick. I cleared the light with an OBDII scanner. The part is easy to get to, it's mounted on the front of the EGR valve. It has and electrical connector and two vaccuum hosed attached and is held on with two screw. Best of luck.
BTW, I am talking about the 3.8L engine.

We recently replaced the egr valve and that did not work.Is that part you are talking about expensive?
Thanks.

The price on that part was around $80.00 list. I purchased it from Fordpartsonline.com. for about $60.00 plus shipping. They are out of Atascadero Ford in CA. They sell parts between 25-40% off list from what I can tell. The part number I gave you should be accurate if you have the 3.8L.

By the way did you clear the check engine light after you replaced the EGR? You can disconnect the battery for a little while and it should clear, then re-light if the problem is still there (ie are you sure the valve replacement didn't fix it?).

You might look at (not easy) the EGR vacuum solenoid as well. On the 3.8 it is stashed on the back side, center near the top, below the intake manifold. It , I think, controls the opening and closing of the EGR. Make sure the vacuum lines are intact and attached.

Best of Luck

I did get the computer reset after I replaced the valve still no luck.One more question.Is that part that you put on yours the same as the egr pressure sensor?I really appreciate all of your help.Thanks.

Someone told me to replace the coolant temperature sensor.I figured since that was a cheap part I would try that.That seemed to work.But check this out.After I got that problem fixed I was driving the van and the check engine light started flashing and it was running really rough.I took it to Autozone to check the code and it was cylinder 6 misfiring.Anyone think this is just a coincedense? or did I do something to make this happen?

The egr system is hooked up to the exhaust manifold, it gets really grungy with carbon deposits, take it to a trusty mechanic for an "egr flushing", I don't think they charge much.

jwebb, the part I changed was originally -by the Ford mech who "interrogated" the light- called a PFE sensor. He gave me the ford part number that I posted above. My OEM ford manual calls it the EGR backpressure transducer. I would think that EGR pressure sensor would probably be an accurate description of the part.
As to your misfire issue - my non-pro opinion would be that it was coincidence. I would think misfiring to be an ignition/timing sort of problem. Hopefully it didn't last - I have had mine misfire and trigger the light, but it was a momentary, one time event. If it continues, check all your spark plugs leads from the plugs to the coil for good continuity. I know they are touchy -my friend's Taurus went from no start to running fine by re-seating the leads at the coil.

Good luck. I know the frustration. Thankfully when I was having my EGR trouble it was simply a personal hassle. I don't live in a county that tests vehicle emissions, so the necessity of repairing the problem was simply to get rid of the check engine light and keep things in good shape.

Well I got it figured out.I took off the throttle body to clean out the six ports underneath.They did not seem too clogged.Then I notice another port where the egr valve hooks to the throttle body.It was gummed up bigtime.I cleaned it out really good and reset the computer and so far so good.My engine is even running much smoother also.Thanks for all of your help.

Here is another fix for your problem. If you are having EGR codes or if the vehicle has a misfire just off idle, then the EGR ports may be plugged up in the upper intake manifold. It was also causing a misfire code to be set on the #6 cylinder. The EGR valve passage that goes into the intake manifold branches off to each of the 6 cylinders. The passages from cylinders 1-5 were completely plugged off. #6 passage which is closest to the EGR valve was open and it was putting all of the EGR flow into cylinder #6 causing it to run lean and misfire. It would only misfire just off idle and part throttle because that is the only time the EGR valve is open. Once the upper and lower intake manifold were cleaned the misfire dissapeared and the engine had more power. That is because the engine was detonating on the other 5 cylinders and when the computer sensed it, it retarded the ignition timing which kills power and fuel economy. The vehicle that this was on had over 200,000 miles highway only miles on it. Hope this helps someone.