check engine light has been on.. took it to autozone and they ran the codes.. it sometimes cuts out.. usually only when starting up.. it came up with 3 codes.. number 1 and 5 has a misfire.. i think that is from when we had it tuned up and they didnt clear it. but the other code was for the egr, autozone said to to clean it out. is there a treatment that actually works to put in the tank.

check engine light has been on.. took it to autozone and they ran the codes.. it sometimes cuts out.. usually only when starting up.. it came up with 3 codes.. number 1 and 5 has a misfire.. i think that is from when we had it tuned up and they didnt clear it. but the other code was for the egr, autozone said to to clean it out. is there a treatment that actually works to put in the tank. Could you indicate the year of the van and also the code that Autozone has indicated for the CEL

i didnt get which code it was. but the van is a 96 with 3.8 tuned port

There is nothing that you can put into the fuel that will clean the EGR ports.
You have to remove the upper intake manifold to get to them.
I have pictures, that the link in my signature will take you to, that show the EGR ports.

The fuel does not get to the EGR ports, so while a can of Berryman's B-12 Chemtool would be great for cleaning the fuel injectors......and still a good idea to do for the misfire, it will not clean the EGR ports.

The other causes for EGR issues are the EGR flow sensor, called the Delta Pressure FEedback sensor (DPFE), and the vaccum line to the EGR valve.

The EGR valve is not a high failure item, not that it cannot fail, but it is not the first place that I would look.

The EGR system usually causes a misfire on Cylinder(s) 3 and/or 4, as those are the last ports to become clogged.
The ports clog closest to the throttle body first, and that leaves the ones furthest from the throttle body as the only ones open.
This results in cylinders 3 & 4 getting all the EGR flow when the EGR valve opens, which ends up robbing those cylinders of oxygen, causing the misfire.

The EGR system should NOT be open at idle, so if it is causing a problem at idle, then it is open when it should not be.
One can remove and plug the vaccum line that goes to the top of the EGR valve to troubleshoot and see if the EGR system is causing the problem at idle.
You only want to do this as a troublshooting aid, not as a solution to the problem.
Of course, with the vaccum line removed, you should get a code for not having enough EGR flow.

It is possible that the EGR valve is sticking in the open / partially open position, even though that is not common.
A bit of dirt on the seat in the valve would be enough to do that.

It really would be useful to you to know what code you have for the EGR system.
Too much EGR flow?
Too little EGR flow?
Each of those codes is quite different, and would have you look at a different path of troubleshooting.

i do not know the code that came up.. all he said that it was for the egr valve.. he said wht this code usaully mean that it has carbon build up and need to take it off and spray some cleaner on it

is there anyway to know if it is the dpfe or not

what is code 401? i think i seen code 401 on the screen

P0401 is "Insufficient EGR Flow", the most common EGR related code on the Windstar.
The most common causes of this are the DPFE or clogged EGR ports in the lower intake manifold.

how do you know if the DPFE is bad or not. i really dont want to take half of the upper motor apart right now