So I've got a 2000 dodge stratus 2.4L DOHC with 170k miles. It started running rough when decelerating for stops. Eventually It threw an EGR code P0402 so I pulled off the EGR and EGR pipe and cleaned it out. While working on it I snapped a brittle line attached to the EGR solenoid. I was not able to find a replacement for the narrow line so I threw a normal vacuum line on. Will this cause trouble? Anyone know what this line is exactly? I can't find it in any diagrams...

Mystery hose I replaced... used to be much thinner

So after putting the cleaned EGR I drove around for a bit and things started running terrible all the time. Engine light came on P0302 (misfire on cylinder 2). I pulled the plug wires and found a bunch of oil in the spark plug tube (covered the entire plug). I replaced all spark plugs, valve cover gasket and plug seals. And still had trouble. I found I wasn't getting spark on cylinder 2, replaced the ignition coil and now all cylinders are firing well, however the car is stalling badly/shuts off when stopping. I've resorted to using 3/L gears to essentially downshift/engine brake to keep the revs higher when slowing.

Just yesterday it threw a new code P0172 (bank 1 adaptive fuel too rich). Looked at it while driving with OBD2 and found that it was trying to trim in excess of -40% during slow downs which I believe is well below spec for tripping this code. Fuel pressure looks good (right at 51 psi) and holds very well at higher revs and with engine off so I don't think there is a problem with regulator or injector stuck open. I'm not sure where to look next. I'll dig back in to the egr and make sure I didn't break something. All the plastic seems pretty brittle these days.

Any thoughts? What's that hose on the EGR solenoid and could that be the problem? Where can I get a replacement tube?

 

that hose is just a vacuum supply from the engine to the egr transducer any vacuum hose will work as long as it fits tightly and has no leaks you could have an egr valve sticking and you may need to replace it if the cleaning didn't work the oem egr will come with a new transducer also

 

Thanks @fca tech. By way of update, the problem was indeed the EGR. I ordered a new EGR assembly, installed, and disconnected battery to reset the computer and things are now working great.

 

fca tech, I too have a 2003 with the 2.4 DOHC engine. Does it indeed have an EGR? I was looking at Mopar parts online and that said that engine didn't have EGR, I haven't had a chance to get under the car yet to check, but I hope it does. Mine idles terrible when hot.

 

yes a 2003 stratus does have an egr valve I believe its on the back of the head but not real sure I don't have a part number they list a couple different ones and would need a vin to determine which one you need your dealer should be able to reference this for you

 

fcatech I got under the car today and I don't think this engine has an EGR, I certainly can't find one on the back of the engine. Anymore thoughts what my problem might be?

 

I'm guessing you have a 4 door body style that was the most common the 2 door will be a little different but here is a picture of where the valve should be located this is out of the 2003 service manual there's a lot of things that could cause a rough idle do you have any codes? there should be a emissions label under the hood that will tell you if its equipped with egr or not this information is for a 4 door the 2 door is Mitsubishi made and is different

 

I checked and there is not an EGR on this engine. Strange thing is it sort of looks as though something was mounted there, see the picture attached. It has code P0172 and the engine code is X, it's a 2003 Sedan with 2.4 DOHC

I used my Innova scanner to read freeze frame info, here's what it was showing:
Fuel System 1 - CL-Fault
Fuel System 2 - CL-Fault
Calc. load 0%
ECT (0 degree F) -40
STFT B1 (%) -100.00
I'm not sure what all that means.

 

ok it looks like there's a block out plate installed that's ok it probably isn't the source of your problem if there's no egr codes being set information from Chrysler could be wrong and your car isn't equipped with it but code p0172 is going to be a hard one to diagnose so many things could cause this I would be looking at the reason your engine coolant sensor is reading -40 indicating your engine is very cold that could be the cause of your rich running attached is the diagnostic test for that code it will be a hard one to diagnose when I see that code the first thing I look at is the o2 sensors and coolant sensor hope this helps you let me know what you find

 

fcatech I got another scanner and read freeze frame data from it. I don't really know what all this means, do you? Any information there that would indicate the code P0172 with rough idle?