So I cleaned my EGR system and heres what I found
 

The pictures below show the injector neck were all pretty dirty. The nozzle itself inside looked all clean. They are the original injectors so I have no idea if they need to be replaced or not. You can also see the carbon build up and the pic of the carbon scraped out is HALF of what I actually removed. It was worse then I expected. This was the first time Ive ever messed with the fuel system at all and I was a bit nervous making sure it all seated properly when reassembling. I assume I did it right because after it stumbled to run for about 4-5 seconds, it leveled out and ran fine. I drove it around the block twice and see nor smell any fuel leaking. I filled up this morning and added a can of B-12 Chemtool to the tank. Is there anything else I should keep an eye out for or check? I guess when I head to work tomorrow if I make it 50 miles to work without a car fire then I'm good. :)

Did you clean the EGR injection ports in the intake manifold, below the EGR manifold? This is where complete blockage usually occurs.

Very dirty Injector head. I would inspect PCV system closely and insure it's functioning correctly.

good luck

Biggest thing, no leaks...external or internal (air getting past the injector in the intake). If the "cone" was clean (one pic it looked that way) then you should be good to go with the injectors.
When you get to work, take a good smell....then when you get home, pop the hood-I'd leave it running- and give it another good look over.....call it done! :)

Yes, I found a thread on here by Hondadude I think that had me use a drill bit and hand drill out the blockage. They were totally blocked below the manifold I removed. I drilled them out and vacuumed up as much as I could.

I had replaced the PCV valve awhile back and it is still functioning well from what I can tell. It rattles freely when i shake it. What else should I look for there?

About a year and a half or so I did have the oil in the spark plug wells and had to have the top and bottom portion of that repair fixed. Would that contribute to the dirty injector heads? They are the original at 222,000 miles now. I have no check engine lights or performance issues.

Thanks for the reply.

I did gently wipe off the carbon from the injectors and inside each of them on the tips were totally clean and shiny silver. I'll do just that, thanks!

Good stuff on this forum.

As engine ages, blowby from engine increases crankcase pressure (lowers vacuum level). Under acceleration, reverse flow from crankcase to PCV air intake occurs and can contribute to the coking you see. Not much can be done other than make sure PCV hoses and valve are clean. Air filter should be clean also to allow minimum pressure loss across filter.

Note, some amount of reverse flow is inevitable under heavy acceleration.

good luck

rykertest,
Did you have any problems getting the injectors to reseat back in the manifold? I've cleaned my EGR ports and am reassembling but cannot seem to get them back in the manifold. I've read they should go in without much force but I pushed and pulled on them for an hour last nite with no luck. I'm scared I'm going to damage something. How difficult were yours to get back in? Did you pop them in 1 at a time or push all in at once?

Also, were your o-rings on the manifold side in bad shape? Mine were in pieces, which seems odd.

Thanks for any advice.

manifold side orings are usually inserted first, then injector installed into orings. New rings seem to be indicated. The injector/fuel rail orings should also be replaced and lubed w/ silicone grease or other appropriate lube.

good luck

X2. I am by NO means a mechanic, but I know O rings are not supposed to be in pieces. I would think new rings with the proper lube would do the trick. If it doesn't, I'm not smart enough to help. I hope that works. Good luck.

Texashonda thanks for the input. I did replace all seals/rings. I ended up putting the seal that goes on the intake manifold on the injector itself before putting the injectors in. That seemed to help me get the injector aligned better to seat. I know that's not the preferred way to do it but everything is back together and took it for a spin and no leaks so far. I assume if it's going to leak you would see it right away.

I was wondering if there is anything you can do to prevent the EGR from clogging up? It's only been 50k mi since it was last cleaned and all 4 ports were almost completely blocked.

Rykertest, thanks. I used some engine oil for the lube. The Honda shop manual recommended using that. Seemed to work ok.