Talk about unintended consequences... Using Pucci's photo and Ed Mc's suggestion on the throttle body, I unbolted the TB, pulled it back, took out the 19mm bolt and after 15 minutes of prodding with a piece of #12 wire and blasts of cleaner (Valvoline synthetic carb &throttle body: dissolves carbon like no other) a lump of junk floats out the 19mm drain.
OK! Bolt it all back and fire it up. Barely enough RPM to keep it running, but the push test on the EGR valve confirms I've got my EGR circuit back.
So now I take it for a test ride. Seems good, hesitation is diminished, but as I drive the temp guage climbs; past the quarter mark where I'm used to seeing it, past the halfway point, past the 3/4 mark and settles
just about 7/8 up the scale. Figuring "this can't be good" I drive home, pull in the drive and lo and behold not only is the RPM up, it's way up,
about 1500. I adjust the screw to bring it down, check the timing and it's off (almost TDC) so I reset it for 12 degrees BTDC. Then check the thermal air valve on top of the stat housing and sure enough it's open. That explains the RPM. I go for another test ride. Temp climbs again, but this time settles at 3/4. I've had enough for the night.
Starting it up today I have to keep my foot on the gas to keep it from dying (does this sound like the aux air or what?), but after a few minutes it settles to it's usual 400 RPM and the temp gauge stays at the 1/4 mark. Driving to work the temp starts the climb and settles at 3/4 on the gauge. I stop and confirm the thermal air valve is open and RPM's are up to the 900 RPM I adjusted it to the night before. I pull in to work and grab the handy infra-red temp scanner (it's nice to have toys available) thinking that 1/2 on the temp gauge (cools off quick once I'm off the hi-way) has got to be too hot. It reads 185 degrees on the thermostat housing. I read the exhaust at the EGR tube: 660 degrees. I read the common chamber 135 degrees. Nothings too hot.
So... Somebody correct me if I'm wrong; the normal warmed-up operating mode for the 2.6 I-TEC is >180 coolant temperature with the thermal air valve open. I'm thinking the introduction of 600 degree exhaust gas (via the EGR valve) to the common chamber probably tweaked the sensor reading up, but not outside of normal. And what would be too hot?
Anyway, I seem to down to a cold start idle problem so I'm back to the
aux air versus the temperature sending unit. Maybe I should just crack open the wallet and replace both seeing as they've been in place for 16 years
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