callmej75

Does anyone know about cleaning a sticking egr? Or should I just get rid of it and make some block off plates? My gas mileage is down to 5MPG! I have a 91 4runner with a 3.0

s_wall98

Please let us know. Thanks.

callmej75

I unplugged it tonight and took the vacuum line loose coming from the egr vacuum modulator and it seems to be doing alot better as far as throttle response and smoothness. I'm going to take it completely off this weekend see if the egr valve itself is able to be cleaned and salvaged. If not I will make the block off plates for it and cap off the vacuum modulator.

lesha30

Hi,

How do I find out if my egr gone south??? What are the symptoms? I have exactly the same rig as you do, and I got a couple of annoying problems. So, let me know what are the symptoms of a nad egr.

=Thanks

foxtrapper

If the egr valve is working correctly, it won't affect your performance. That said, they do stick, or get so gunked up that can't close properly. You can take it out and clean it easily enough. More of us really should do that to them.

callmej75

I took my egr valve out the other day and cleaned it with brakekleen and scraped around where the valve itsself is and I still have the annoying rough idle and chugging on acceleration. My gas mileage...well to say the least..if i put a 454 in it then it would get better gas mileage! I calculated it up and i am getting around 5MPG with 4.11 gears. not good! and lesha...if you notice a power loss and gas mileage drop...better check all things first in the egr system and a good sign is the check engine light. Get the code and see where it points ya to. There should be a vacuum modulator right before the egr valve and it has a pop off top on it where there is a filter. Take it out and blow it out with some compressed air. check all vacuum lines too. i replaced every vacuum line on mine. But there is still some little things you could do like replacing the pcv valve...but make sure you change the elbow hose and valve pan grommet too. If you have any other problems id be glad to help because im starting to run into every one on mine!

lesha30

foxtrapper, i don't really know much about cars.Help me out, how do I find out that the egr is opened or closed??? How do I know when it supposed to be opened or closed??? Do any of you guys have picture of it????

Thanks

callmej75

If your truck has a rough idle or stumbling on acceleration or when it gets warmed up it starts acting up...you can bet its stuck open. only way you can tell is if ya take the egr valve off and look at it from the bottom and see if the valve itself is up...if it is then theres bad carbon buildup. 1 way i was gonna see if my egr valve was working...is i did it the redneck way. i took the top cacuum line off the egr valve and started the motor and sucked a vacuum line attached to the top of it and if the idle drops alot or if it quits...then the valve is working in the mechanical aspect.

lesha30

When my truck warms up and I leave it shut off for 15-20 minutes, then, when I come back and start it again, the engine shakes and rmps are WAY too low. And then, if I drive it after that, it becomes normal again!!! Do you think it could be the egr?? Is it possible to clean it up or do I have to replace it?

Mossback74

My 94 did that. I think it was leaking injectors. I did an agressive treatment of techron for a few tanks and it went away.

callmej75

it could possibly be that....or could be the injectors too. I am going down to get my injectors cleaned too before i buy my egr valve. one good way you could tell lesha is if you have a check engine light and if you get the code off of it. see i think mine might be an injector too because my code points towards a lean fuel mixture but then again...all the symptoms i am having points towards the egr valve. its a neverending battle...

lesha30

What do you mean by "AGRESSIVE"??? So, basically, if you put injector cleaner in your fuel tank, the injectors stop leaking???

lesha30

I don't have a check engine light on. I tried to pull some codes, but it turns out that I don't have any

callmej75

hmm....well it sounds like something mild. might have it looked at because it could be a vacuum line somewhere that is bad....and the only way i cured that was buying about 25' of vacuum line and start replacing them 1 by 1. but if it is happening when it gets warm then it could be your egr valve or even the catalytic converter. only way to really tell is to have it looked at by a toyota service tech...i know its a pain having to take it to the dealership but it could save you alot of money in the end....

lesha30

can the egr valve be just cleaned or does it have to be replaced if it goes bad?

foxtrapper

The egr valve is normally closed at idle, and when under heavy load like accelerating hard or pulling a trailer. Mild load and moderate rpms, like cruising down the road, is when it is supposed to open.

It's vacuum operated, with some dohickeys controlling the vacuum signal. The type of dohickeys depends on what year you've got.

When it's working right, you don't feel it. When it's broken or sticking, you get a rough idle, poor power, smokey exhaust under full throttle, and poor gas mileage. The degree of these effects is dependent on how bad the condition of the egr valve is.

You can somewhat check it for mechanical operation by disconnecting the vacuum hose and sucking on it. You can create enough vacuum to open it. If you do this while idling and the idle goes from smooth to real rough when you suck, and back to smooth when you let go of the hose, you can reasonably assume the egr valve is working correctly.

Egr valves don't normally fail completely. What happens is they get carbon on the valve stem and on the seat. The stuff on the seat prevents he valve from fully closing, so it constantly sucks exhaust gasses in, making for a rough idle and weak full power. The stuff on the stem makes the whole thing very inconsistent in its operation.

The best way to check, inspect, and overhaul the valve is to remove it from the engine, clean it up and vacuum check it. Btw, you want to use vacuum when you clean it so you can clean the seat and valve face.

If you've got an EFI truck and your intake manifold is full of black gunk, that's a good indication that the egr valve is not working as it should.

callmej75

is there a way to clean out the intake after getting the egr valve straight? i scraped and scraped and used brakekleen to clean my egr because it is sticking and even took wd-40 to lube it up to maybe work smoother...it works a little better but still sticking. the bottom tube from my manifold to the block has nuts holding it on that are hard as hell to get to so i left the bottom on and ran a coat hanger down in it in hopes of maybe clearing up some blockage if there was any. but the turn the tube makes into the block is impossible to make with the coat hanger wire. i was maybe thinking of a small snake for plumbing or something. what is the best fuel injector cleaners so maybe i can try some of that and how much is the max i can add to 1 tank without screwing something up?

foxtrapper

None of the fuel injector cleaners are going to clean out the intake manifold. That's upstream from the injectors. As much of a mess as the intakes frequently are, it's the most effective to remove and disassemble them. At least take the throttle body off. It's not hard to remove the upper manifold half, and that allows a lot of cleaning to be done, and a lot of cleaning tends to need to be done. It's a messy job involving a lot of paper towels.

A good soft wire to use for snaking things is the steel wire used for tying up rebar. You can get it at Home Depot and the like. It's a good thing to carry on the trail as it holds lots of things together.

WD-40 isn't much of a lubricant. Get some spray silicone or such. You will be amazed at the difference in how parts move after being sprayed with silicone as opposed to the likes of WD-40. If it's rusty, try Liquid Wrench *with teflon*. Regular LW isn't worth a shucks, but the stuff in the teal can with teflon is very good in my experience.

Fuel injector cleaners are pretty much all the same. I prefer Berryman's, but that's not a very strong preference. I also do rotate around them on the chance that one of their propretary chemicals does something another ones does not. Only saw that work once, with Berryman's added after Chevron's stuff.

callmej75

ill keep the silicone in mind...is there any spray chemicals i can use to clean out the intake once i have it off and is there any new gaskets i hafta buy before i put it back on? i haven't tore into a toyota motor before so this oughta be good....

foxtrapper

You should get a set of intake manifold gaskets. Many have reused the old ones, but it's a poor practice.

Carburetor cleaner and a toothbrush do a dandy job of cleaning away the carbon gunk. Frequently it's so thick that you can do the first round with a flat blade screwdriver, scraping it out. Lacquer thinner is also a dandy solvent. If you do this job with the lower manifold on the engine, remember, one of those intake valves is going to be open. Don't fill a cylinder up with junk. It's not good for the engine.