iainmd
May 4th, 2018, 16:45
I thought I'd report on today's efforts to clean the EGR valve on our 1.6D.
The car had been throwing logged faults in VIDA relating to the sticking of the EGR valve but had at no point gone into limp mode. It did, however, feel lumpy and less responsive to drive than it used to.
I bought some Wynn's Diesel EGR 3 spray and a firm toothbrush and set about cleaning. I decided not to do the "spray through the air intake" method as I had concerns about damagin other components.
Removal of the EGR valve behind the engine is straightforward and requires the removal of 2 x 8mm bolts, one of which you can see and the other you can feel on the bottom right of the unit. Then simply remove the circlip that joins the valve to the metal pipe beside it, undo the electrical connector and remove the valve. Be careful not to drop the bolts or the metal shim plate down below the engine. There are videos on YouTube covering that off.
Cleaning was a truly manky job. Spray copious amounts of Wynn's (carb cleaner would do as well I guess) and scrub it to death. I removed the motor/actuator from the top (3 x torx bolts) and cleaned the chamber out too. Once cleaned and dried out I refitted it in reverse order (doing so is harder as keeping the shim from dropping out is tricky). The circlip is a bitch to get re-clipped and I got a local friendly garage with specialist pliers to re-clip for free once done (took the guy about 20 seconds).
The difference in engine performance is quite noticeable and, so far, there are no EGR errors so fingers crossed I have saved myself from a new EGR.
The videos that helped me were this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZGvN1FyXA0&t=1s) and this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuAfI1QbGAw). Hope it helps others.
The car had been throwing logged faults in VIDA relating to the sticking of the EGR valve but had at no point gone into limp mode. It did, however, feel lumpy and less responsive to drive than it used to.
I bought some Wynn's Diesel EGR 3 spray and a firm toothbrush and set about cleaning. I decided not to do the "spray through the air intake" method as I had concerns about damagin other components.
Removal of the EGR valve behind the engine is straightforward and requires the removal of 2 x 8mm bolts, one of which you can see and the other you can feel on the bottom right of the unit. Then simply remove the circlip that joins the valve to the metal pipe beside it, undo the electrical connector and remove the valve. Be careful not to drop the bolts or the metal shim plate down below the engine. There are videos on YouTube covering that off.
Cleaning was a truly manky job. Spray copious amounts of Wynn's (carb cleaner would do as well I guess) and scrub it to death. I removed the motor/actuator from the top (3 x torx bolts) and cleaned the chamber out too. Once cleaned and dried out I refitted it in reverse order (doing so is harder as keeping the shim from dropping out is tricky). The circlip is a bitch to get re-clipped and I got a local friendly garage with specialist pliers to re-clip for free once done (took the guy about 20 seconds).
The difference in engine performance is quite noticeable and, so far, there are no EGR errors so fingers crossed I have saved myself from a new EGR.
The videos that helped me were this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZGvN1FyXA0&t=1s) and this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuAfI1QbGAw). Hope it helps others.