1987 2.9 intake question?

[chris1]

I am presently replacing my EGR valve and wondered what is up in the hole in the intake where the EGR bolts up to? I had always heard that you could clean out a EGR valve but even after doing that I still have the same problem. I had a milky sludge coming from this hole in the intake but have since cleaned that out. I can run a short screw driver up in it and it seems to be rubber or something like that inside this hole on my intake. Also there is a cheese head plug directly under just behind where the throttle body mounts. After taking that plug out I see that it's closed off too. It also feels of rubber when scratched with the end of a screwdriver. I need help if anyone is out there that ca tell me if this is normal or is it blocked and needs cleaned out. Thanks,

 

[MAKG]

Could it be baked sludge from the PCV system?

The passage should be open to the intake, through a 90 deg bend into the bottom of the plenum.

 

[chris1]

Thank you for the info. I ran out of time yesterday and had to pursue this myself. Yes it turns out it was sludge! I picked out hard black stuff that must of been blocking off the EGR passage way. I also removed the plug that was on the underside of the intake. I was worried that it was some kind of seal or something that was broken and I was making it worse but once I got it out and saw a clear passage I put the EGR valve back on and my scanner code of 33 was gone! Thanks again. The only thing now I see is still a bad mix smell coming from the tailpipe that has me confused. At a loss on it since now I don't have any trouble codes coming from my tester. Truck runs fine and has plenty of power but smells? Just replaced the o-sensor too. Could this be if the cat is bad?