3.4L v6 5 speed. car sounds cammed at idle and has a really strong smell to the exhaust. replaced the map sensor,coolant temp sensor, and upper intake gaskets. (no vaccum leaks) and idea on what it could be would be great

 

Have you checked the intake piping? That may be what is causing the idle surge. I know you stated you replaced the intake gaskets but a recheck of all parts sealed correctly never hurts.

 

i sprayed everything down with throttle body cleaner and the idle stayed consistant. thats the only vaccum check i know how to do. and the intake is sealed up good

 

Could be your EGR. That will cause a similar issue.

 

those are good suggestions, but you should also check exhaust (headers/manifolds, pipes, and muffler for cracks or holes) mine sounds thae same way. Checked exhaust and found a couple of holes in pipes. Replacing pipes next week.

 

My 98 3.8 did the same thing for about a month. I was just messing around I replaced the pcv and it made it idle perfectly smooth. An easy $3 fix.

 

is there a way to test the egr? cause i just looked it up and there 200 bucks. thats money i dont really have right now...

 

just take it out and give the wires power and ground you should hear and see the valves open. I had egrs get alot of carbon on them and the wont open anymore so I cleaned it and started working again.

 

well now i could be completly off but my bud had a 240 ya i no complete diff cars but wen his injecters went bad it ran real ruff and the idle was juz garbage vibrated alot sounded like it wanted to juz die took em and got them clean and it was fine

 

ok how exactly do i do this? i took the egr apart today and cleaned the ports and everything. the bottom of the egr where it bolts up to the headers was black with deposit and the inner ports had a red carbon on them. i cleaned everything out and put it back on the car. havent tried to start it yet but im sure it wont change anything. as for the wiring do i hook them up to a battery and start putting them in the prongs?