You’ve probably previously heard about the popular EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not generally appreciated by drivers because it tends to create more problems than anything else… Indeed, dependant upon the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become blocked and cause you a lot of concerns. If this is the case, you are probably wanting to know how to clean the EGR valve of your BMW X4 ? Don’t stress, we’ve made this article to help you with this operation. To do this, we will initially take a look at the purpose of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your BMW X4 can bring about and at last the section that will probably appeal you the most, how to clean the EGR valve BMW X4?
How to Clean your BMW X4 EGR Valve: Role and Operation
Goal of the EGR valve
The EGR valve of your car has been integrated to diesel engines principally to lower pollution released by cars and to meet EURO specifications on BMW X4 . It will therefore influence the quality of exhaust gas output and eradicate toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.
Operation of the EGR valve
Before we discover how to clean the EGR valve on your BMW X4 , we will take a look at how it works. As seen before, its goal is to clean the exhaust fumes, so it will be located 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 eradicate all unburned toxic particles. It will perform principally at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.
How to clean your BMW X4 EGR valve: Identifying faults
The EGR valve, despite the fact very important to limit the pollution emissions of your BMW X4 , will unfortunately tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will build up in its system, which will finally risk obstructing the operation of the valve, until completely blocking the engine unit, here are the signs of illness that a defective EGR valve on your BMW X4 can bring about:
- Motor light on
- Power loss
- Technical assesment rejected
- Black gases
- Car that grazes at low speed
- Low RPM settings
How to clean your BMW X4 EGR valve: In practice
And now we’ll start the section you are most intrigued by, how to clean the EGR valve of your car. Here are the two approaches that you can use.
Do it on your own
How to clean your BMW X4 EGR valve system: Without dismantle
Nevertheless this process is less efficient, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, the truth is, you will only need to use fuel additives, similar to the products used to clean the injection. These particular solutions 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 BMW X4.
How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly
Here is the most effective process, which will require enough access to the EGR valve to execute the operation without help. If so, the procedure is fairly easy. 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 steps are completed, now comes the time for cleaning. To accomplish 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 even clean the two canal 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 BMW X4.
Have it done by a professional
If, your EGR valve is not accessible because of the series or the engine of your car and if removing it would cause too many problems (removing too many parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your BMW X4? In this instance, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex operation, you turn to an auto mechanic. He will be able to do the job more cleanly and will be able, if required, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning dependant upon the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.
Remove the EGR valve of your BMW X4
Finally, a number of people make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Rather than cleaning the EGR valve of their BMW X4, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This treatment 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 all day 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 take a look at our dedicated page.
If perhaps you have any additional questions about the BMW X4, do not hesitate to consult our BMW X4 category.
