You’ve likely already read about the famous EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not usually appreciated by drivers because it tends to create more concerns than anything else… In reality, dependent on the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become blocked and trigger you a lot of problems. If this is the case, you are likely concerned about how to clean the EGR valve of your Toyota FJ Cruiser ? Don’t get worried, we’ve prepared this content to help you with this task. To achieve this, we will initially look at the intent of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Toyota FJ Cruiser can provoke and at last the part that will likely appeal you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Toyota FJ Cruiser?

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How to Clean your Toyota FJ Cruiser EGR Valve: Role and Operation

Goal of the EGR valve

The EGR valve of your car has been added to diesel engines primarily to lower pollution emitted by cars and to match EURO measures on Toyota FJ Cruiser . It will therefore control the quality of exhaust gas output and eliminate toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.

Operation of the EGR valve

Before we learn how to clean the EGR valve on your Toyota FJ Cruiser , we will have a look at how it works. As seen before, its objective 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 run mostly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.

How to clean your Toyota FJ Cruiser EGR valve: Identifying faults

The EGR valve, despite the fact very important to limit the pollution emissions of your Toyota FJ Cruiser , will unfortunately tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will accumulate in its mechanism, which will inevitably risk obstructing the operation of the valve, until totally blocking the engine unit, here are the symptoms that a faulty EGR valve on your Toyota FJ Cruiser can trigger:

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

How to clean your Toyota FJ Cruiser EGR valve: In practice

And now we’ll commence the part you are most interested in, how to clean the EGR valve of your car. Here are the two solutions that you can use.

Do it on your own

How to clean your Toyota FJ Cruiser EGR valve system: Without taking it apart

Nevertheless this methodology is less effective, 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 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 Toyota FJ Cruiser.

How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly

Here is the most efficient methodology, which will require enough access to the EGR valve to carry out the process without help. If so, the process 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 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 also 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 Toyota FJ Cruiser.

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 auto parts that hinder access for example), how to clean the EGR valve of your Toyota FJ Cruiser? In this instance, 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 dependent on the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.

Remove the EGR valve of your Toyota FJ Cruiser

Finally, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Instead of cleaning the EGR valve of their Toyota FJ Cruiser, they simply 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 requirements, of having an engine warning light all day on and in the end 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 hesitate to take a look at our dedicated page.

If perhaps you have any further questions about the Toyota FJ Cruiser, do not hesitate to consult our Toyota FJ Cruiser category.