OT: Mazda 2003 Tribute troubleshooting

[hemi68charger]

Hey gang..
I know this isn't Mopar-related, but some of you may have experience with this. I have a friend in our church group at the house and she's having issues with her 2003 Mazda Tribute. She keeps blowing EGR valves and apparently has replaced one of the catalytic converters. I think there's three? Anyways, does anyone have experience with this? She states that the car will start and idle, but when accelerating and going up bridges, there's no power. My first thought was a backed-up/clogged exhaust system...  She's on a single-mom's tight-budget, so I'm trying to help her square this out before having to commit to buying another vehicle..

Thanks..
Troy

[Cooter]

First off, how do we know it's "Blowing" EGR valves? Second, a "Blow" EGR valve will most likely NOT cause the symptoms you describe. She has other problems. Those converters didn't just "Go bad"..Most likely, there was a misfire and ruined the converters (Burnt them up) causing lack of power and sent vehicle into "limp in" mode, but this cannot be confirmed as diagnosing something over the Internet is all but impossible. Need more input.