You’ve probably already heard about the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not usually appreciated by car owners because it tends to cause more problems than anything else… Indeed, based on the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become blocked and trigger you a lot of concerns. If this is the case, you are probably wondering how to clean the EGR valve of your Acura MDX ? Don’t get worried, we’ve prepared this content to help you with this process. To achieve this, we will first check out the intent of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Acura MDX can trigger and to finish the part that will probably concern you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Acura MDX?
How to Clean your Acura MDX EGR Valve: Role and Operation
Goal of the EGR valve
The EGR valve of your car has been integrated to diesel engines primarily to reduce pollution released by cars and to match EURO specifications on Acura MDX . It will as a result control the quality of exhaust gas output and get rid of toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.
Operation of the EGR valve
Before we learn how to clean the EGR valve on your Acura MDX , we will have a look at how it functions. As described just before, its objective is to clean the exhaust gases, so it will be positioned at the engine outlet, thanks to a valve, it will be able to return the unburned exhaust gases to the engine for a second burn which will get rid of all unburned toxic particles. It will run mostly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.
How to clean your Acura MDX EGR valve: Identifying faults
The EGR valve, although very useful to limit the pollution emissions of your Acura MDX , will sadly tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will accumulate in its mechanism, which will ultimately risk obstructing the functions of the valve, until totally blocking the engine unit, here are the signs of illness that a faulty EGR valve on your Acura MDX can trigger:
- Motor light on
- Performance loss
- Technical inspection rejected
- Black gases
- Automobile that grazes at low speed
- Low RPM settings
How to clean your Acura MDX EGR valve: In practice
And now we’ll start the part you are most enthusiastic about, how to clean the EGR valve of your car. Here are the two ways that you can use.
Do it yourself
How to clean your Acura MDX EGR valve system: Without taking it apart
Nevertheless this process is less efficient, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, actually, you will only need to use fuel additives, similar to the products used to clean the injection. These specific products must be injected into the running engine, at the right operating temperature, diluted in about 20 litres of fuel and run the engine for 3 or 4 minutes in high rev to clean the EGR valve of your Acura MDX.
How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly
Here is the more effective process, which will require enough access to the EGR valve to execute the treatment without help. If so, the process is fairly simple. You will need to disconnect the electromagnet from the EGR valve, remove the few screws that hold it in place, and remove it. Once these guidelines are finished, now comes the time for cleaning. To achieve this, you will need to use a product such as solvent, petrol, oven cleaning product, which you will leave to act for ten minutes, then scrape off the rest using a scraper, finish cleaning with wire brush. If you want to go further, you can as well clean the two conduits on which it is connected which may be scorched, for this, use a scraper and a vacuum cleaner to avoid dropping deposits in the conduits. You will only have to reassemble it and you will have finished cleaning the EGR valve of your Acura MDX.
Have it done by a professional
If, your EGR valve is not reachable because of the series or the engine of your car and if removing it would cause too many troubles (removing too many parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Acura MDX? In cases like this, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex process, you turn to an auto mechanic. He will be able to perform the job more cleanly and will be able, if required, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning based on the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.
Remove the EGR valve of your Acura MDX
Finally, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Instead of cleaning the EGR valve of their Acura MDX, they just prefer to block it in the closed position. This modification will have the consequence of greatly increasing the pollution released by the vehicle, of no longer complying with pollution standards, of having an engine warning light permanently on and ultimately risk fouling the engine. We highly advise against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t hesitate to check out our dedicated page.
To discover more tips on the Acura MDX, take a look at the Acura MDX category.
