Ok, I haven't been on the forum much lately but I though this may be of interest to some so I thought I would post it up.
If you are one of the lucky soles to be getting one of the several EGR codes such as P0404, P0405, P0406 this may be of interest. First off, don't always assume it is the EGR valve right off the bat, there are other things to look at and verify/confirm. Make certain you are getting the correct voltage to the valve/sensors as well as the reference voltages are correct. The valve is a pain in the you know what to get to so consider yourself forewarned. It is not difficult to replace by definition it is just in a very tight location.
The FSM states to remove the battery, battery tray and upper intake plenum to gain access. This is not necessary. You can gain decent access through the right front wheelwell opening after removing the right front tire/wheel and the inner fender.
To remove the inner fender there are three plastic rivets that attach the inner fender to the fender flare at the rear of the wheelwell opening. I have found it best to drill the center of these out, then take a small yet sharp chisel and place nearly perpendicular to the rivet and strike with a hammer to cut the head off of the rivet. This is clean and quick and does not leave any marks or burrs on the fender flare itself. I have heard of people trying to save these rivets by trying to remove them but it is a waste of time and resources. The NAPA part # for the new plastic rivets is 665-2840.
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Here is the rivets I am referring to.
![Image]()
Drill out the center of the plastic rivet.
![Image]()
Sharp chisel to remove rivet head.
![Image]()
Clean, burr free and scratch free hole.
![Image]()
After removing the rivets there are approximately 7 or so of the push in style plastic keepers that need to be removed. These simply pull out with the proper tool. The plastic push pins (Christmas tree looking ones) are a NAPA part # 665-1125. These are generally reusable but over time they do get brittle and break, requiring replacement. These packages are around $6.00-$8.00 each so they are reasonable enough to not skimp on. If questionable just replace them.
You will have to twist the inner fender a slight amount to remove it from the body and outer fender but it should come out relatively easy.
![Image]()
Here is what you should see once the inner fender is removed.
![Image]()
Once I got the inner fender out, I sprayed the four bolts with penetrant to soak the fasteners while I grabbed the required tools. This will aid in removing the bolts.
These two small bolts need to be removed.
![Image]()
They require an 8mm socket and the tube is the one you can see on top of the engine going into the top of the intake plenum. Try not to bend the tube once the bolts are removed. It is somewhat difficult to work around this tube but no sense in damaging it. I was able to use a 1/4" drive 8mm shallow socket and 6" extension and the bolts were not excessively tight at all. They came right out with little effort.
![Image]()
Once you get those two bolt removed you can move on to the ones fastening the EGR valve to the head. The heads on these two bolts are 10mm. Remove the near one first that I am pointing to.
![Image]()
If you have a manual/six-speed transmission you can get a 1/4" drive 10mm socket and ratchet on the back or hidden bolt. However, if you are one of the lucky ones who have the automatic transmission you get the dipstick tube to contend with. There is barely enough room between the bolt head and the dipstick tube to get a box end of a 10mm wrench on it. I am pointing to it here.
![Image]()
If you have the automatic transmission you have two choices, you can remove the bolts holding the dipstick tube into the transmission and the bracket on the back of the bell housing and remove the dipstick tube entirely, or you can place a large prybar in between the engine and the dipstick tube and very slightly pry the tube rearward towards the firewall. I chose option two and felt very comfortable moving it with little effort and gained approx. 3/4" of space without any ill effects to the tube itself.
Regardless which transmission you have, remove the nearest bolt to you first. This is the one furthest away from the center of the Jeep and right in clear sight. Once that bolt is removed place the box end of the wrench of socket whichever you are using on the hidden bolt head. Simultaneously as you pull on the wrench, push on the top of the EGR valve towards the center of the Jeep, rotating the EGR valve. This will aid in breaking this bolt loose and both of these bolts are VERY tight, abnormally tight for only an 8mm diameter bolt in my opinion.
If you have the manual transmission you can simply remove the bolt with the ratchet. However, if you have the automatic you will need to remove the bolt one flat at a time with either the open end of the ratchet or the box end as there is not much room to swing the wrench. If you have available a stubby ratchet wrench this aids tremendously in removing that hidden bolt.
Once the back/hidden bolt is out the EGR valve is free from the back of the cylinder head. Carefully turn it to gain access to the wiring connector on top of the EGR valve. I performed this task last as I could not even get my big ass hands close to the connector with the EGR valve bolted to the head. The connector can be tricky if you are not familiar with them. There is a RED locking tab that must first be removed before attempting to unplug the connector form the valve itself.
This RED locking tab slides out perpendicular to the connector and prevents the locking tang on the connector itself from being allowed to be pushed.
![Image]()
Once the locking tab is removed you can depress the locking tang on the connector and pull the connector free from the EGR valve. This is the sweet honey you were after out on the bench.
Old EGR valve on the left with original gasket and bolts. New EGR valve on the right and the NAPA one comes with both new gaskets required AND two new bolts as these seem to very common to be damaged in the removal process.
![Image]()
NAPA part # for the EGR valve kit is 2-26809.
![Image]()
Installation is in reverse order. Connect the electrical connector first and reinstall the red locking tab.
Once that is completed, place the new EGR valve into position and start the two 8mm bolts (10mm bolt head) and be certain not to cross thread them, they should thread in fairly easy by had to start. I also recommend applying some anti-seize to the threads.
Again a stubby gear wrench works great in removal and installation of that back hidden bolt due to the reduced swing required. Bring these two bolts down evenly to avoid warping or damaging the new EGR valve. Once snug use a longer 10mm box end wrench to tighten.
![Image]()
Once those two bolts are tightened install the new gasket between the tube and the EGR valve and install those two bolts.
Reinstall the inner fender and you are ready to rock and roll.
On a side note, if you are near a spark plug replacement now would be a great time to replace them as the passenger side spark plugs are easily accessible from the fender well. Especially if you are running a dual battery setup as I am. There is simply no room to gain access to the spark plugs from the engine bay/topside.
I hope this is able to assist anyone attempting to replace their EGR valve on the 2007-2011 3.8 litre Jeep engine.
Mike.
If you are one of the lucky soles to be getting one of the several EGR codes such as P0404, P0405, P0406 this may be of interest. First off, don't always assume it is the EGR valve right off the bat, there are other things to look at and verify/confirm. Make certain you are getting the correct voltage to the valve/sensors as well as the reference voltages are correct. The valve is a pain in the you know what to get to so consider yourself forewarned. It is not difficult to replace by definition it is just in a very tight location.
The FSM states to remove the battery, battery tray and upper intake plenum to gain access. This is not necessary. You can gain decent access through the right front wheelwell opening after removing the right front tire/wheel and the inner fender.
To remove the inner fender there are three plastic rivets that attach the inner fender to the fender flare at the rear of the wheelwell opening. I have found it best to drill the center of these out, then take a small yet sharp chisel and place nearly perpendicular to the rivet and strike with a hammer to cut the head off of the rivet. This is clean and quick and does not leave any marks or burrs on the fender flare itself. I have heard of people trying to save these rivets by trying to remove them but it is a waste of time and resources. The NAPA part # for the new plastic rivets is 665-2840.
Here is the rivets I am referring to.
Drill out the center of the plastic rivet.
Sharp chisel to remove rivet head.
Clean, burr free and scratch free hole.
After removing the rivets there are approximately 7 or so of the push in style plastic keepers that need to be removed. These simply pull out with the proper tool. The plastic push pins (Christmas tree looking ones) are a NAPA part # 665-1125. These are generally reusable but over time they do get brittle and break, requiring replacement. These packages are around $6.00-$8.00 each so they are reasonable enough to not skimp on. If questionable just replace them.
You will have to twist the inner fender a slight amount to remove it from the body and outer fender but it should come out relatively easy.
Here is what you should see once the inner fender is removed.
Once I got the inner fender out, I sprayed the four bolts with penetrant to soak the fasteners while I grabbed the required tools. This will aid in removing the bolts.
These two small bolts need to be removed.
They require an 8mm socket and the tube is the one you can see on top of the engine going into the top of the intake plenum. Try not to bend the tube once the bolts are removed. It is somewhat difficult to work around this tube but no sense in damaging it. I was able to use a 1/4" drive 8mm shallow socket and 6" extension and the bolts were not excessively tight at all. They came right out with little effort.
Once you get those two bolt removed you can move on to the ones fastening the EGR valve to the head. The heads on these two bolts are 10mm. Remove the near one first that I am pointing to.
If you have a manual/six-speed transmission you can get a 1/4" drive 10mm socket and ratchet on the back or hidden bolt. However, if you are one of the lucky ones who have the automatic transmission you get the dipstick tube to contend with. There is barely enough room between the bolt head and the dipstick tube to get a box end of a 10mm wrench on it. I am pointing to it here.
If you have the automatic transmission you have two choices, you can remove the bolts holding the dipstick tube into the transmission and the bracket on the back of the bell housing and remove the dipstick tube entirely, or you can place a large prybar in between the engine and the dipstick tube and very slightly pry the tube rearward towards the firewall. I chose option two and felt very comfortable moving it with little effort and gained approx. 3/4" of space without any ill effects to the tube itself.
Regardless which transmission you have, remove the nearest bolt to you first. This is the one furthest away from the center of the Jeep and right in clear sight. Once that bolt is removed place the box end of the wrench of socket whichever you are using on the hidden bolt head. Simultaneously as you pull on the wrench, push on the top of the EGR valve towards the center of the Jeep, rotating the EGR valve. This will aid in breaking this bolt loose and both of these bolts are VERY tight, abnormally tight for only an 8mm diameter bolt in my opinion.
If you have the manual transmission you can simply remove the bolt with the ratchet. However, if you have the automatic you will need to remove the bolt one flat at a time with either the open end of the ratchet or the box end as there is not much room to swing the wrench. If you have available a stubby ratchet wrench this aids tremendously in removing that hidden bolt.
Once the back/hidden bolt is out the EGR valve is free from the back of the cylinder head. Carefully turn it to gain access to the wiring connector on top of the EGR valve. I performed this task last as I could not even get my big ass hands close to the connector with the EGR valve bolted to the head. The connector can be tricky if you are not familiar with them. There is a RED locking tab that must first be removed before attempting to unplug the connector form the valve itself.
This RED locking tab slides out perpendicular to the connector and prevents the locking tang on the connector itself from being allowed to be pushed.
Once the locking tab is removed you can depress the locking tang on the connector and pull the connector free from the EGR valve. This is the sweet honey you were after out on the bench.
Old EGR valve on the left with original gasket and bolts. New EGR valve on the right and the NAPA one comes with both new gaskets required AND two new bolts as these seem to very common to be damaged in the removal process.
NAPA part # for the EGR valve kit is 2-26809.
Installation is in reverse order. Connect the electrical connector first and reinstall the red locking tab.
Once that is completed, place the new EGR valve into position and start the two 8mm bolts (10mm bolt head) and be certain not to cross thread them, they should thread in fairly easy by had to start. I also recommend applying some anti-seize to the threads.
Again a stubby gear wrench works great in removal and installation of that back hidden bolt due to the reduced swing required. Bring these two bolts down evenly to avoid warping or damaging the new EGR valve. Once snug use a longer 10mm box end wrench to tighten.
Once those two bolts are tightened install the new gasket between the tube and the EGR valve and install those two bolts.
Reinstall the inner fender and you are ready to rock and roll.
On a side note, if you are near a spark plug replacement now would be a great time to replace them as the passenger side spark plugs are easily accessible from the fender well. Especially if you are running a dual battery setup as I am. There is simply no room to gain access to the spark plugs from the engine bay/topside.
I hope this is able to assist anyone attempting to replace their EGR valve on the 2007-2011 3.8 litre Jeep engine.
Mike.
