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Cleaning Egr.


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morning. i know theres been a lot written on here about egr cleaning. but would like some advice please.cars a tdi 1.8 2005,72 k miles. the have had a peek at the egr and it is getting a bit gooey. i have bought a can of wynn's cleaner but have gone off the idea of using it now after reading good and bad things about it.so i'm thinking off blanking it off.would the car need a remap or anything after putting the plate on and what would be best,an ali or steel plate.

thanks for any advice.

Brian.

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Hi, you should be able to blank it off no problem, usually a euro3 diesel Ford can have the EGR blanked with no problems at all, but on a euro4 the EML (engine management light) may come on (especially on Mondeos), this is just a light on the dash but this can "mask" other potential problems but can be reset with a £20 code reader, many prefer to run their cars like this than leaving their EGR unblanked

EGRs can get quite hot (EGR = exhaust gas recirculation) aluminium has a realatively low melting point and alloy plates have been known to melt (depends on the exact design of the system/ how hot it gets/ how close to the exhaust the EGR valve is on the particular engine )

Mild steel rusts, so stainless steel is best - you can get ones with holes in them to let the gasses through (in an effort to stop the EML coming on) these are literally a waste of time and defeat the purpose of the plate, a solid plate stops any carbon/ muck getting through and can "fix" faulty/ leaking EGR valves

Several people on the forum have fitted solid plates on their euro4 Focuses with no problem - so it seems the EML coming on is more of a Mondeo problem

So you can go ahead an fit a solid plate - after all, it only costs about £5

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ok thanks for that foca,very usefull info.like you say for fiver its worth a go.will give it a go next week. cheers.

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You should be alright with blanking it off, its been a few months now for my Euro 4 and no EML since, car running sweet

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ok thanks for that to IINEXUSII,have bought a plate off fleabay and going to have a go at it right away when it arrives.and then like the pope says,suck it and see.

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ive fitted the stainless egr blank last week on wifes focus 1.8tdci ..managed two undo the two 10mm nuts and slide blank down without removing anything else...but before I did this i cleaned the inlet/egr with carb cleaneryou wont believe how carboned up inlet was...i must say what a difference its made no dangerous flat spot throttle is more responsive.at first mpg was lower but now its back to normal def best/cheapest mod for a fiver.

also I won a dtuk tuning box on eBay for 75 pound will be fitting tom along with a panal filter

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thanks everyone with your answers.so do you all think it would be better to give the egr valve a clean out with a can of wynns egr cleaner first,or just put the plate on.thanks again.

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You could just fit the blanking plate.

Ideally, you should clean everything on the "inlet" side of the plate, including the inlet manifold etc the EGR itself is not important as it will not be "active" with the solid plate on

EGR cleaner is of limited use and is often ineffective, a proper clean out may involve taking the components off (like the inlet manifold) and jet- washing them/ degreasing them

Once the plate is on it stops further build-up of carbon/ muck

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yes agreed...I took the intercooler hose of and sprayed the carb cleaner in then used a seires of pipe cleaners...then put the blank in ran it for a bit with hose back on...last of all hose back off then sprayed into inlet with engine running just too try and clear last bit.

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Ive used wynns egr 3 on my 2006 1.8tdci and had no issues with my EGR. First time I done it, it dumped loads of coke out the exhaust but I do every service. - Next weekend...got all parts ready.

first time can be daunting but its ok.

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I bought an aluminium blanking plate, FOCA whats your thoughts on these? I see you say that they have a lower melting point, how much of a problem do you think this would be? Just looking to find a stainless steel one now, as I probably wont bother with the aluminium one if its a great problem...

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The advantage of the auminium is they are easier to make (the metal is softer/ does not blunt tools) and possibly helps the "gasket face" to seal

On something like a Mondeo mk3 with a front mounted EGR, there is a port on the exhaust manifold (at the back) which connects to the EGR cooler then it goes all the way round the engine along a metal tube (where it has a chance to cool) before reaching the EGR valve (and blanking plate if it is fitted)

On some other (engine) designs the EGR valve is closer to the exhaust manifold so it has been known for the alloy to melt and spray the inlet manifold (or at least the EGR valve) with molten aluminium, so just to be on the safe side i recommend solid, stainless steel blanking plates

i looked these figures up -

Potential maximum EGT (exhaust gas temprature) = 1250 degrees centigrade (yours may not be that hot, and the gasses may be a bit cooler by the time they get to the blanking plate)

Aluminium melts at 660 degrees centigrade

Stainless steel melts at 1510 degrees centigrade

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stainless steel it is as a precaution!

I really need to use EGR cleaners as well as a precaution before I blank it off...

Has anyone per chance got any links to any of the recommended stuff on eBay at an excellent price? between WHYNNS EGR and some sort of carb cleaner (I really wont have the space around the roadside to take all the inlet off etc for the first time ever!) so I need to clean the thing as far as I can without ripping the engine bay to pieces...

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stainless steel it is as a precaution!

I really need to use EGR cleaners as well as a precaution before I blank it off...

Has anyone per chance got any links to any of the recommended stuff on ebay at an excellent price? between WHYNNS EGR and some sort of carb cleaner (I really wont have the space around the roadside to take all the inlet off etc for the first time ever!) so I need to clean the thing as far as I can without ripping the engine bay to pieces...

Somebody mentioned Mr-Muscle - works as good as the "super dooper" cleaners at a fraction of the price, apparently (never used it myself)

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Hi, i need some help with my car. I have a 06 plate Ford focus, last week the engine management light came on on the dash board and when I put my foot on the accellerator it lost power and jerked alot. When I drove the car again it still had the same symtoms. Then there was a plume of black smoke and it went back to near normal! Someone thought it was the ERG valve and recommended I get the valve cleaned. I have booked it in but is this the best way of sorting it. Is it the ERG valve.

I also wanted to know if it was easy and will it cost alot.

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I just normally search eBay and get it cheap from there.

Micky, please start a new thread. Best chance your gonna get is to find out by using the dash technique or a scanner to get a code otherwise your throwing money into a hole

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thanks everyone who answerd my questions,i've had a look up the pipe on the egr and it's full of gunk.i have on order a 3mm s/steel blank off fleabay and a can of egr cleaner.so I've been in 2 minds what to do,but I've decided to give it a clean out this weekend hopefully when the weathers better.havent done this before so gona be a bit nervous.

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I would be relieved to try mr muscle lol unless someone confirms miracles do happen and they have tried it :p

Micky, welcome to the forum. You can clean the EGR yourself by using WHYNNS EGR cleaner (its not as good as a take out and spit polish but it helps. As for the EGR cost, I cant recall really what they charge but its a few hundred after labour IIRC.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok,didnt get time to clean the egr last weekend so it's having it tomorrow.1 question,do I need to disconnect the air filter housing with the mass air flow meter. cheers.

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Ok,didnt get time to clean the egr last weekend so it's having it tomorrow.1 question,do I need to disconnect the air filter housing with the mass air flow meter. cheers.

To clean the EGR properly involves removing it, and the inlet manifold, and cleaning it with a brush and solvent (petrol, thinners, engine de-greasant mr muscle etc) its a really dirty job, if you don't remove the EGR valve and inlet manifold, any carbon/ muck will be ingested into the engine, which is not good,

So i recommend you just fit the (solid, stainless steel) blanking plate only, (without spraying anything into the engine) or remove the EGR + inlet manifold and clean it properly, or have it cleaned (i just gave my inlet manifold to a valeter to use a high-power jet-wash to clean it)

"better to put the muck into a bucket than back into the engine"

I designed and fitted an EGR delete system for my car 7 years ago and know a little bit about EGRs, blanking plates, etc, i would never spray anything into the engine when it was running

Just fitting the solid plate will stop the carbon building up more if you are not prepared to clean the EGR / inlet manifold properly by taking it off / cleaning it

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Hi FOCA, even if you were to fit the solid blanking plate would cleaning the whole lot make any diffenece doing it, what would happen to the material that is already buit up in the system?

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ok thanks for the advice and knowledge foca.

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I did this yesterday...

Take off the engine cover if you have it, when you look at the engine, bay you will see the engine is centre/left, if you look to the centre/right closer to you, you will have a t shape hose. one end goes into the air filter then that splits off into two, goes into the turbo at the front of the engine and then a small thinner tube goes up to the engine head.you take it off at the bottom right corner (so it still goes to the turbo and engine head) and then start the engine, just lightly put your hand over the hose and you will feel it sucking the air in.

You need to spray the cleaner into there for about 1 second, then stop, let the revs return and then do it again. Keep going till you have it sorted. I stopped to talk to a colleague in the middle, so the process took about 20 minutes.

Also I have in the boot of my car still, a winter snow brush / ice scraper. I gently wedged that against the driver seat and pushed it onto the accelerator pedal so that the car was idling at about 1050 revs, rather than 750, as I nearly stalled the car following the instructions which said "leave the car running at idle"...

Since doing it, the car feels better at lower revs, but I really need the time to take the EGR and insert a blanking plate on it!

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hi mate best thing to do is start a new thread

also state what engine if it the 1.8 it a easy diy job......prob a good place to start the egr but a def would get it on diagnostics

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I pick up my 1.8 TDCi on Tuesday. It only has 24k on the clock. Is it worth blanking off the EGR now rather than wait until it's gets all gooed up and giving me problems later?

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