# Best EGR valve cleaner?



## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

So what is the best? Preferably ones you have tried and tested chaps


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I used carb cleaner on mine today. Wear decent gloves though .... my hands a now black.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

SteveTDCi said:


> I used carb cleaner on mine today. Wear decent gloves though .... my hands a now black.


:lol:

Looking at the Wynn's one, where you squirt it into the air intake (after the MAF sensor


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## 11alan111 (Dec 29, 2011)

the only way to clean it is remove it


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## LeeH (Jan 29, 2006)

11alan111 said:


> the only way to clean it is remove it


And then blank it or map it out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

None of them sprays really work, baked on carbon needs entire manifold soaking to clean it out properly.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

yes it needs to soak, i sprayed it cleaned, sprayed, cleaned ... i used the wynns carb cleaner. It was easy to remove on the mondeo and to be honest it was pretty clean given the age and mileage so i'm sure its been replaced at some point.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

I do believe tho that even if you get it really clean they come up quite quickly anyhow, so I know they won’t get them sparkling clean


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## Sh1ner (May 19, 2012)

As said, the only way to clean it, is remove it.
If possible I mark the alignment of the housings then separate the electronics from the mechanical parts and soak the mechanical parts in DAE fuel system cleaner (other fuel system cleaners are available) and once softened use a stiff brush, soft scraper to remove the grot. Then soak again and clean until clean and the valve slides easily from one side to the other.
If I cannot remove the electronics it is very important to not get any cleaning solvents on any circuitry or coils etc.
Also do not force the valve from one side to the other because that can strip/break the gears or cam assembly (Driven by the electronics) if it is of that type. Use a diagnostic scanner to open and close the valve to check for correct operation.
If it a diesel it is worth remembering that whatever oily grot is in the EGR will also be coating the inside of the inlet manifold, map sensor, swirl flaps etc and it is often worth checking and if necessary removing and cleaning or replacing these items at the same time.
I have seen inlet manifolds with 2 and 3 inch ports reduced to an inch or less by thick oily deposits.
Once properly cleaned the improvement in performance can be a revelation.


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## enc (Jan 25, 2006)

remove to clean or replace.

if you do remove to clean dont spray cleaner directly into the chambers as you may end up getting fluid into electronic circuitry. Better to spray cleaner onto your cloth then wipe awayt the crud.

i did mine the other day ...

old and new side by side. the EGR had been cleaned in October 2015. this time i replaced


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## Bulkhead (Oct 17, 2007)

You guys are lucky - mine is deep down and you have to rip half the engine off to get, including a water-cooled element. One thing I did to hopefully prevent the oily deposits is fit a good quality oil fumes catch can. This removes the fine oil mist and water vapour from the crankcase breathing system that usually gets fed back through the intake. You'll still get some deposits but not the oily gunk. You do need to be care though as most on flea bay are rubbish. They need to have a replaceable internal filter and bypass valve.


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## rlmccarty2000 (May 31, 2017)

Planning on having mine blocked off and ECU remapped. The BMW dealer wants $3000 to clean the carbon buildup on my BMW 335d.


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Remove it
Scrape majority off
Soak in Mr muscle oven cleaner and then scrub 
Repeat until spot less
Make sure it's clean where it seats otherwise it won't seal again


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Mr Muscle, i forgot about that, its what i used to clean the sump on my Saab, its good stuff !


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## Scotie (Aug 24, 2016)

Once cleaned, get it coded out, or blanked off. :thumb:


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Scotie said:


> Once cleaned, get it coded out, or blanked off. :thumb:


not sure there is a blanking off plate for mine


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> not sure there is a blanking off plate for mine


Cut a coke can up and make about 3 or 4 of the same shape for thickness, voila!


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Is it not an MoT fail now though?

So best to leave in situ and have it deleted out?


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> Is it not an MoT fail now though?
> 
> So best to leave in situ and have it deleted out?


Do it both sides, just a gasket in there isn't it :thumb:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Its a failure if its missing .... just make sure the EML isn't on.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Anyone used Tunap stuff, looks mighty impressive but expensive


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

was watching this, but can't really find anywhere selling it?


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

The parts in that video certainly didn't have close to any serious amount of mileage on them, almost looks as if they were run in a car for a short period to get dirty and then just cleaned off really easy. 

If it cleaned off thick baked on carbon as good as that, every garage on the planet would be using it.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

i was looking at some videos of people using Mr Muscle while it was still in situ, can't be good for it surely?


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> i was looking at some videos of people using Mr Muscle while it was still in situ, can't be good for it surely?


Why not?

Seen plenty of success stories on Mr Muscle freeing up stuck vanes on Turbos by squirting it in the exhaust side of the turbo and letting it soak.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

well the car is going into garage to have the EGR cool gasket done soon, so was thinking that while its off the car, may as well give it a good scrub or soak and clean


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> well the car is going into garage to have the EGR cool gasket done soon, so was thinking that while its off the car, may as well give it a good scrub or soak and clean


What car is this on?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

the kia optima


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> the kia optima


Why are you having the EGR Gasket replaced?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Coolant leaking

Thinking of getting the car decarbonised next week, least I'll see the results if it works or not


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> Coolant leaking
> 
> Thinking of getting the car decarbonised next week, least I'll see the results if it works or not


Usually the coolant part of EGR coolers is a completely sealed unit, usually coolant loss due to EGR Cooler is because the pipes the coolant runs through in the cooler erode from the outside inwards causing coolant to leak into the exhaust gases and get burnt off.

Maybe yours is designed differently but from looking at google pics it seems very similar to VAG ones that work as above.

Who's doing the work? Who suggested this?

I'm going to look up more into this.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=406298


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

bidderman1969 said:


> http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=406298


I remember that now but....the cooling part is a closed loop (on everything I've ever encountered or read about online), what gasket is going to be changed?he

I'm just trying to help you not spend out unnecessarily, as if it's just the gaskets that connect each end of the EGR to the car (exhaust side and inlet side) that won't stop coolant loss and if it's the gasket between the EGR Cooler and the EGR Motor that won't stop it either.

Do you have a part number of the gasket they intend to change?


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Here you go..

This is on eBay for a 1.7crdi 2012 Kia Optima










That shiny square block in the middle, that's the cooler. Water goes in one pipe, goes through the vanes inside and out the other pipe in the shiny part.

Left hand side is the EGR Valve with motor. Right hand side is a small manifold to connect it to the exhaust manifold.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)




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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Which number on there is the one your after changing?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Think it's 28412E


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

It's one of those things that you can't know unless you take it apart and I can't really afford to do that and the garage believes it's more likely to be that


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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

Are you able to get a picture of the EGR Cooler in situ on your car in post in here?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

It's under here


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)




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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

I'm sorry I can't make head nor tails of that, it's obviously in a tricky spot. 

I hope it's sorted cheaply for you.

I've not seen any of the ones listed for Optima that have that gasket in the diagram you posted but that could just be from the info I've got. 

Fingers crossed. When's it going in?


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)




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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

I'm beginning to wonder now

In the engine pics it goes front to back under the bits in the pic


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)




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## Starbuck88 (Nov 12, 2013)

See if you can work out if your eGR cooler is like this:










or like this










The first picture doesn't have that gasket. This 2nd one does.

I'm very surprised there is a system that isn't totally closed loop, I've never seen it before.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Yeah me too, &#55357;&#56833;

I don’t know myself which one it is until I take bits and pieces off, may do tomorrow


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

Well, seems to have cured 2 years things now, changed the EGR cooler and the part attached, EGR itself? 

Before the mpg was down to between 34 and 38 mixture of long and short journeys, when I got the secondhand part I cleaned it out with Mr Muscle and the flap was moving freely, the garage put my old one back in the boot of the car, when I looked at it, I couldn't move it at all! After a bit I managed to move it but it's not moving freely so I may clean it up and see if I can see where/and if any coolant was going out of that.

I did quite a long trip from base to Luton airport and back and retuned 46.4 mpg, so happy with that!

I did the "green machine hydrogen carbon cleaning", before I changed this EGR stuff and said I'd know if it worked as it was being taken apart, and although the engine sounds a little quieter, it never cleaned the EGR out at all


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Thats the problem with engine cleans, they just cannot get to the areas where carbon builds up. They only way to get rid of it is to strip it all down and and scrub.


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## PugIain (Jun 28, 2006)

Bit like the companies that advertise that their miracle product works on the intake valves of DI engines.

I'm sure it does.

As for cleaning an EGR, I've used oven cleaner before. Worked for me.


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## bidderman1969 (Oct 20, 2006)

PugIain said:


> Bit like the companies that advertise that their miracle product works on the intake valves of DI engines.
> 
> I'm sure it does.
> 
> As for cleaning an EGR, I've used oven cleaner before. Worked for me.


Yup, Mr Muscle oven cleaner did the trick for me!

Contemplating doing the turbo now!


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

i wouldn't worry about the turbo too much, the inlet manifold however ......


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