You’ve almost certainly previously heard of the renowned EGR valve, the anti-pollution valve. It is not generally appreciated by drivers because it has a tendency to cause more concerns than anything else… In fact, based on the use you are going to make of your vehicle, it can become congested and cause you a lot of complications. If this is the situation, you are almost certainly wanting to know how to clean the EGR valve of your Volvo XC60 ? Don’t worry, we’ve well prepared this article to help you with this procedure. To do this, we will first check out the role of the EGR valve, then what are the failures that the EGR valve of your Volvo XC60 can provoke and finally the part that will almost certainly interest you the most, how to clean the EGR valve Volvo XC60?
How to Clean your Volvo XC60 EGR Valve: Role and Operation
Purpose of the EGR valve
The EGR valve of your car has been integrated to diesel engines mostly to reduce pollution emitted by vehicles and to match EURO requirements on Volvo XC60 . It will therefore control the quality of exhaust gas output and get rid of toxic particles, mainly Nitrogen Oxide.
Operation of the EGR valve
Before we learn how to clean the EGR valve on your Volvo XC60 , we will examine how it functions. As described before, its mission is to clean the exhaust gases, 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 get rid of all unburned toxic particles. It will perform mainly at low speed because at high speed the combustion is enough to burn all these gases.
How to clean your Volvo XC60 EGR valve: Identifying faults
The EGR valve, nevertheless very effective to limit the pollution emissions of your Volvo XC60 , will unfortunately tend to clog up because of soot/gas deposits that will build up in its mechanism, which will finally risk blocking the operation of the valve, until totally blocking the engine motor, here are the symptoms that a defective EGR valve on your Volvo XC60 can provoke:
- Motor light on
- Power loss
- Technical inspection refused
- Black gases
- Automobile that grazes at low speed
- Low RPM settings
How to clean your Volvo XC60 EGR valve: In practice
And now we’ll begin 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 yourself
How to clean your Volvo XC60 EGR valve system: Without taking it apart
Despite the fact this technique is less efficient, it is however possible to consider a “rough” cleaning of your EGR valve, in reality, 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 Volvo XC60.
How to clean your car EGR valve: With disassembly
Here is the strongest technique, which will require enough access to the EGR valve to carry out the operation yourself. 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 guidelines are completed, now comes the time for cleaning. To achieve 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 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 Volvo XC60.
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 Volvo XC60? In cases like this, it would be better rather than launching yourself into an overly complex procedure, you turn to an auto mechanic. He will be able to perform the job more cleanly and will be able, if necessary, to change the valve if it is dead. The cost of cleaning based on the difficulty of access is between 70 and 300 €.
Remove the EGR valve of your Volvo XC60
Finally, some individuals make a more radical decision to limit the risk of a failed valve. Rather than cleaning the EGR valve of their Volvo XC60, they just choose to block it in the closed position. This treatment will have the consequence 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 finally risk fouling the engine. We strongly suggest against making this choice. If you have other questions or want to learn more about your car, don’t hesitate to check out our dedicated page.
To find more tips on the Volvo XC60, take a look at the Volvo XC60 category.
