You’ve probably previously heard about the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not usually appreciated by motorists because it is likely to create more problems than anything else… In reality, dependant upon the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become congested and cause you a lot of concerns. If this is the situation, you are probably concerned about how to clean the EGR valve of your Chevrolet Equinox ? Don’t worry, we’ve made this article to help you with this task. To do so, we will initially take a look at the role of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Chevrolet Equinox can bring about and to finish the part that will probably interest you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Chevrolet Equinox?
How to Clean your Chevrolet Equinox EGR Valve: Role and Operation
Purpose of the EGR valve
The EGR valve of your car has been added to diesel engines mainly to reduce pollution released by automobiles and to meet EURO standards on Chevrolet Equinox . It will as a consequence influence the quality of exhaust gas output and reduce toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.
Operation of the EGR valve
Before we learn how to clean the EGR valve on your Chevrolet Equinox , we will examine how it operates. As described just before, its objective is to clean the exhaust fumes, 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 reduce 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 Chevrolet Equinox EGR valve: Identifying faults
The EGR valve, although very beneficial to limit the pollution emissions of your Chevrolet Equinox , will sadly tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will build up in its mechanism, which will ultimately risk blocking the functions of the valve, until completely blocking the engine motor, here are the signs of illness that a faulty EGR valve on your Chevrolet Equinox can bring about:
- Motor light on
- Performance loss
- Technical assesment refused
- Black fumes
- Car that grazes at low speed
- Low RPM settings
How to clean your Chevrolet Equinox EGR valve: In practice
And now we’ll commence the part you are most intrigued by, how to clean the EGR valve of your car. Here are the two ways that you can use.
Do it on your own
How to clean your Chevrolet Equinox EGR valve system: Without taking it apart
Although this process is less effective, 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 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 Chevrolet Equinox.
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 accomplish the operation yourself. If so, the operation 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 steps are done, now comes the time for cleaning. To get this done, 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 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 Chevrolet Equinox.
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 troubles (removing too many auto parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Chevrolet Equinox? In this case, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex task, 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 Chevrolet Equinox
Finally, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Instead of cleaning the EGR valve of their Chevrolet Equinox, they simply choose to block it in the closed position. This manipulation will have the result 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 recommend against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t think twice to check out our dedicated page.
To discover more tips on the Chevrolet Equinox, take a look at the Chevrolet Equinox category.
