EGR question

[broncobuckinaround]

would it be a good idea to let it sit in a cleaner to soften up the hard carbon build up on it. it is stuck closed. so that is why im asking. ill buy a new one if i have to spend the money. just looking for another way around spending if i dont have to

 

[shane96ranger]

The cleaner may eat through the diaphragm.

 

[adsm08]

The cleaner may eat through the diaphragm.

But it also might not.

If you need a new one anyway I would take the gamble and try soaking at least the bottom part, below the saucer. What have you got to lose, right?

 

[PetesPonies]

You can spray carb cleaner in it and shake it back and forth. Does it not rattle when you shake it now?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Be careful when soaking it and if it breaks free and the diaphram is still good you still need to be concerned about the actuator rod seal between the valve and the egr body. With the valve closed what I do is just suck on the vacuum side of the egr that goes to the intake manifold. It is a direct vacuum leak if it dont hold vacuum pressure with the valve closed. If that seal is leaking dont even mess with cleaning it it will never work properly.

 

[broncobuckinaround]

kim; it does hold vacuum.

pete; it doesnt make any noise what so ever.

adsm08; exactly my point, i guess there isnt much to loose. lmao

shane; the cleaner would be purple power, with an eight hr soak. or over night. then with carb or brake cleaner spray to remove loosened carbon.

 

[James86]

Could you maybe try MAF cleaner? I'd think it'd be less harsh since many MAF housings are plastic, and there's a rubber seal on the MAF housing that needs to be left intact. It might not be harsh enough to cut through actual carbon though.

 

[RonD]

I think PetesPonies was thinking PCV not EGR
EGR valve shouldn't rattle

Yes soak lower "valve part" in cleaner as adsm08 suggested.

The EGR valve must be easy and smooth to open and close, it only has vacuum pressure to open and a spring to close, so even after soaking you may find it hard to open and close, then it's time to get a new one, or hit wrecking yards, you can tell if it's good by comparing it to your original.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Seafoam would work pretty good without damaging the seal and diaphram but you still want to avoid soaking any rubber in chemicals tho!

 

[broncobuckinaround]

hey guys, i used diesel fuel. worked good. the egr moves freely with little effort from vacuum. also the egr port was blocked from carbon. i cleaned that out too.

thanks for all the input from everyone. very useful for future problems.

 

[PetesPonies]

When a PCV valve isn't working well, very common for the port to get clogged as well.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Given the age valve guide seals would also be suspect. A puff of black smoke when you start it hot say 10 minutes at the store. You can change the seals without pulling the heads. The cat will be trash also?

 

[BabyBronco89]

Given the age valve guide seals would also be suspect. A puff of black smoke when you start it hot say 10 minutes at the store. You can change the seals without pulling the heads. The cat will be trash also?

How can you change the valve seals without pulling the heads?? Just curious???

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Use the compression tester to apply 30lbs air pressure to each cylinder while at TDC on the compression stroke. It will hold the valves up as you remove the springs. I did it for my 2.8 and worked pretty sweet. You just need to be real careful not to drop the keepers for the springs as they can end up in the oil pan. I used a palm valve spring compressor I got on ebay for around 25 bucks. Another way to do it is with a length of 1/4 inch nylon rope. Disconnect the battery and push a bunch of rope in the spark plug hole and the turn the crank until the piston pushes the valves up tite. after you change the seals just back off on the crank and pull the rope out.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Mine is similar to this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-E..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item3a8474f570&vxp=mtr