Thank you very much. I'm happy to say that I got it back together & it actually ran. Lol, I'm going to see how it runs tomorrow then go from there. I'm not afraid of working on it as much as I'm afraid of forgetting where parts go. I used to help my brother drop engines into different cars so I at least know my tools HA!!
I'll keep ya posted...thanks again!

 

Thanks evie!

Pictures, pictures and more pictures!

Good luck

 

Good work. I recently went down into the engine for a coolant leak and my 3800 still works, so have confidence in yourself. But be sure to keep everything organized, and taking a pic before you undo something is never a bad idea.

My throttle body, intake manifold, and EGR tube all were quite thick with exhaust residue, several rolls of towels were used and 4 cans of spray acetone to clean it. As you work on the car and it still runs after you are done you'll gain the confidence and do more.

 

Good idea Plumbob and xpage... pictures would definitely help me remember where things go but more than that give me piece of mind I can fall back on. Car drove normal this morning into work but last week was saving the sputters for my commute home so we'll see. I'm determined to get into it and clean the throttle body next weekend, weather permitting.
Thanks again for ALL the help, videos, and encouragement! Happy Leap Day
Evie

 

Oh - what do ya'll think about the Haynes manuals? Is it worth the $20 to have one on hand? We had one for our 85 Monte so I'm thinking I want one for this model too!
Take Care

 

plumbob - I was looking at the videos again and the cleaning the EGR valve and pintle thing has me confused. My EGR looked different - I'm kind of questioning whether I cleaned it out good enough. My part looks like this one.

Is there a difference or am I am overly-paranoid, over-thinking chick, lol
Sorry to bombard you but you've become my new best friend
Thanks - E

 

Hi Evie. Glad to hear the car's running good so far. There wasn't any videos showing the cleaning of a egr just like your's. So long as you picked out as much carbon where you can get to it, and sprayed it out with carburetor and choke cleaner and blew it out you did the best you can. Sorry to confuse you with the pintle thingy...Lol. Did you replace the gasket with new?
Always better to over-think than under-think...lol. The Haynes manual would be a great investment of $20 for the average Do-it-yourselfer. I have a factory service manual that ran me $80 and is 3 volumes, 8" thick put together.
Saw you got a pic posted in your garage. Nice ride...looks familiar to my "Black Knight". Hope the commute home treats you right. Looking forward to the assist with the TB cleaning, so gimme' a holler if you need me.
Your new friend, Curt
https://montecarloforum.com/forum/im...s/thumbsup.gif

 

ive had the haynes manuel for my lumina and it got trashed before i could use it for my monte carlo, but that book did come in handy, i would say the key to doing any job is extensive research, and prep work. dont want to start a job only to find out you dont have the right tool. and of course id say some confidence is in there, im still prepping to change out the lower and upper intake manifold gaskets along with my painted reinforced manifold

 

Thanks plumbob aka Curt, I was kinda freaking out that I didn't clean it right but so far, knock on wood, it's been fine. I drove it home tonight on the back roads to specifically see if it'd drive OK hitting 30-40 constantly and she worked like a charm. I'm still going to beat the fear of takin off the TB and cleaning her real good. What scared me most was unhooking the throttle wire - I'm not blonde, but a girl, I know that means no gas lol... I didn't replace anything yet but I know if need be I can. Hope you don't mind but I added you to my friend list. Thanks for everything & I'll certainly keep you posted! Take care & God bless you!!

 

Owens91 - confidence is slowly building since yesterday was my first go at any work on a vehicle. I'm so thankful for folks like y'all