You’ve likely already read about the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not generally appreciated by drivers because it has a tendency to develop more problems than anything else… In truth, according to the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become congested and cause you a lot of problems. If this is the situation, you are likely wanting to know how to clean the EGR valve of your Ford F 450 ? Don’t get worried, we’ve prepared this content to help you with this process. To do so, we will initially take a look at the intent of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Ford F 450 can reason and finally the part that will likely concern you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Ford F 450?

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How to Clean your Ford F 450 EGR Valve: Role and Operation

Role of the EGR valve

The EGR valve of your car has been integrated to diesel engines primarily to reduce pollution emitted by automobiles and to match EURO measures on Ford F 450 . It will as a result 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 Ford F 450 , we will check out how it works. As described before, its task is to clean the exhaust gases, so it will be placed 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 operate mostly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.

How to clean your Ford F 450 EGR valve: Identifying faults

The EGR valve, nevertheless very beneficial to limit the pollution emissions of your Ford F 450 , will sadly 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 totally blocking the engine motor, here are the signs of illness that a defective EGR valve on your Ford F 450 can bring about:

  • Motor light on
  • Performance loss
  • Technical inspection refused
  • Black gases
  • Car that grazes at low speed
  • Low RPM settings

How to clean your Ford F 450 EGR valve: In practice

And now we’ll start the part you are most curious about, 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 Ford F 450 EGR valve system: Without taking it apart

Despite the fact this process is less efficient, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, the reality is, you will only need to use fuel additives, equivalent 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 Ford F 450.

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 conduct the treatment on your own. If so, the procedure is fairly straightforward. 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 simple steps are done, now comes the time for cleaning. To do 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 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 Ford F 450.

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 complications (removing too many parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Ford F 450? In such a case, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex process, you turn to an auto mechanic. He will be able to accomplish the job more cleanly and will be able, if necessary, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning according to the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.

Remove the EGR valve of your Ford F 450

At last, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Instead of cleaning the EGR valve of their Ford F 450, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This manipulation will have the effect of greatly increasing the pollution emitted by the vehicle, of no longer complying with pollution standards, of having an engine warning light all day on and in the end risk fouling the engine. We strongly advise against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t be reluctant to take a look at our dedicated page.

If you have any further questions about the Ford F 450, do not hesitate to consult our Ford F 450 category.