You’ve probably previously heard of the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not always appreciated by motorists because it tends to create more concerns than anything else… Actually, determined by the use you are going to make of your car, it can become blocked and bring about you a lot of trouble. If this is the case, you are probably wanting to know how to clean the EGR valve of your Toyota 4Runner ? Don’t be anxious, we’ve made this article to help you with this task. To accomplish this, we will initially look at the role of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Toyota 4Runner can bring on and at last the part that will probably interest you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Toyota 4Runner?
How to Clean your Toyota 4Runner EGR Valve: Role and Operation
Role of the EGR valve
The EGR valve of your car has been integrated to diesel engines principally to reduce pollution emitted by cars and to meet EURO requirements on Toyota 4Runner . It will as a result influence the quality of exhaust gas output and eliminate toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.
Operation of the EGR valve
Before we discover how to clean the EGR valve on your Toyota 4Runner , we will check out how it works. As seen just before, its task is to clean the exhaust fumes, so it will be installed 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 eliminate all unburned toxic particles. It will function principally at low speed because at high speed the combustion is sufficient to burn all these gases.
How to clean your Toyota 4Runner EGR valve: Identifying faults
The EGR valve, despite the fact very beneficial to limit the pollution emissions of your Toyota 4Runner , will sadly tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will build up in its system, which will eventually risk obstructing the functions of the valve, until completely blocking the engine, here are the signs of illness that a faulty EGR valve on your Toyota 4Runner can bring about:
- Motor light on
- Performance loss
- Technical inspection refused
- Black fumes
- Vehicle that grazes at low speed
- Low RPM settings
How to clean your Toyota 4Runner 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 approaches that you can use.
Do it on your own
How to clean your Toyota 4Runner EGR valve system: Without dismantle
Nevertheless this technique 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, 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 Toyota 4Runner.
How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly
Here is the most reliable technique, which will require sufficient access to the EGR valve to do the process on your own. If so, the procedure 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 accomplished, 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 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 Toyota 4Runner.
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 elements that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Toyota 4Runner? In such a 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 perform the job more cleanly and will be able, if required, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning determined by the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.
Remove the EGR valve of your Toyota 4Runner
At last, a number of people make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Instead of cleaning the EGR valve of their Toyota 4Runner, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This modification will have the effect of greatly increasing the pollution emitted by the car, of no longer complying with pollution standards, of having an engine warning light permanently on and finally risk fouling the engine. We strongly recommend against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t be reluctant to check out our dedicated page.
To find more tips on the Toyota 4Runner, take a look at the Toyota 4Runner category.
