That is pretty much my question. I have posted several times for a problem with my EGR and have also searched the forum for related articles. My 93 was a one owner with all receipts and I have gone through the receipts. The EGR was replace twice in its first 100K and the SES codes were on for it again when I bought it. In the 10K that I have put on it, I have had myself, and independant shop and the local dealer check out the SES for the codes 54 and 55. I diagnosed a bad EGR by the bench test and info found here. I replaced it and several hundred miles later it returned. The local shop found a problem with the wiring and corrected it and few mile later it is back. The local dealer told me to stop buying crappy parts from O'Reilly. The part that they were diagnosing was a GM replacement part from their shop. I have replace a total of 1 GM part and 3 Borg-Warner parts from O'Reilly. Could the problem be that the original owner and myself are just too cheap to buy 91 octane and have been using 87? I can't believe that the Borg-Warner parts are that bad. I currently have a code 55 and an intermittent rough idle. Another strange thing I noticed is that when the SES lights the temperature raises from 190 to 215. Thought I was crazy but the light comes on and off and the same thing happens each time. Any thoughts for my short story that I've written? :?

gm'* da way to go

could there be somethin to cause the egr to go bad in the first place u think??? like 87 gas???

it is a Series 1 designed to run on 87

mine tells me premium fuel only

What exactly was wrong with the EGR valves? Are you sure that they were defective?

My '93 SSEi has never had a problem with its 3-solenoid digital EGR valve, and it has roughly 145,000 miles. My '92 SSE */c, on the other hand, has had several incidents in which there was an SES light and an error code for its 3-solenoid EGR valve. On my '92, the SES light used to occasionally turn on when the engine reached operating temp (180 degrees or so) and sometimes would stay on for a while. From what I read, that makes sense because the EGR isn't used when the engine is cold. In my case, the error code was always for the middle of the 3 solenoids. I removed it and cleaned it once, even though it didn't have much carbon buildup in the openings, and the error eventually returned. I took a close look at the electrical connectors and discovered that one of the mating contacts was a little loose so I bent the 2 female contacts a little closer together and there hasn't been an error code since then. I hope this helps.

The 91-93 EGR valves are digital, with three solonoids, each having an exposed shaft and return spring. They get dirty and sticky. Clean the sucker. This has happened to me a couple times since I've owned the car, and I've helped a half dozen others through the same thing.

You can see the shafts and springs. Just use a solvent to clean them, then burn it off with the car running, and use a light lubricant that can tolerate heat to re-lube them. Clear the codes, and they'll stay away. I have yet to see a digital EGR valve that this didn't work on.

Do a search on 'digital EGR', search for all terms, 92-99 forum.

Kenn, you have a SC SSE. That'* why you have to run premium. The car in question doesn't. Octane has no relation to the EGR problem listed here.

Also, when the EGR fails, combustion temps WILL increase. The sharp rise in ECT is normal for this failure. It'* simply a maintenance issue to fix it.

thanks bill for clearin that up

I just rebuilt mine a month or so ago. I got a 55, then the next day codes for the other two, 53 and 54 i beleive. Popped it out cleaned it up, cleaned the connectors and it hasn't returned. I've only had the car for 10K though.

WOW! I did't expect such a response. Kenn/93SLE - I need to correct my signature. It is an SC SSE and it does say "Premium Unleaded Only". That is part of where the octane question came from. Since I've had the car it has only had 2 tanks of 91 or better. So that is why I thought I may be causing them to go bad and creating my own issues.

willwren - I alway get a reply from you and respect you opinions -Thanks.
I didn't do a search for "digital EGR" but have ran across all of the posts with the cleaning tips. I have tried this several times with no improvement. The Borg-Warner shafts have covers over the spring and shaft assemblies so I remove the valve to clean the underside and do what I can from the top side. There is never much buildup and I talking the SES sets after 200 to 300 miles on a new valve. Since this is an SC and you were unaware of that, is the octane thing still not related? I will do a new seach and see what comes back.