EGR Valve

[snowman74]

All,

I read that worn out valve seals can cause oil to clog up the egr valve. Is this correct? My EGR tube was clogged, so I cleaned it out. The tube end of the valve was clogged up too...so I cleaned it out. My question is, without doing a valve job, won't the egr get clogged again? How does this affect performance on my 302 (speed density still, for time being)? I don't want to buy another egr valve (upwards of $100) just to get it clogged again...but I also don't really feel like pulling the heads either.

Thanks

Snowman74 >-

 

[Roadkill]

I'm not sure what effect a clogged EGR valve will have on your speed density engine, but I would not sweat it to much. The crud that was in there probably took close to 20 yrs to accumulate. Now that you have had it off once, it shouldn't be nearly as hard to remove and clean again if needed. I would be more concerned with the burned oil clogging up the catalytic convertor. But since you don't have any I would just add the EGR valve and tube to the list of things to be inspected on a regular basis.

 

[Seabronc]

Unfortunately, with the advent of EFI, the EGR has become more a part of the engine design. In the carbed engines it was only used as a pollution control device but when computer control came along, they figured out they could use it's effect on the combustion temperatures to write more aggressive timing tables into the program. Without the EGR on a EFI engine and stock programming of the EEC you run the risk of combustion chamber damage due to excessive combustion temperatures. I would fix it.

You can do new valve seals without removing the heads. More on that if you are interested.

Good luck,

>-

 

[Roadkill]

they figured out they could use it's effect on the combustion temperatures to write more aggressive timing tables into the program. Without the EGR on a EFI engine and stock programming of the EEC you run the risk of combustion chamber damage due to excessive combustion temperatures. I would fix it.

I did not know it had a function other than polution control. Thanks for the heads up on that. My only experience with them was on carburated engines that would not idle right when they got stuck open. You probably saved me some heartache and $$ if mine should ever go bad.

And that, boys and girls, is why I read this stuff every day. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[snowman74]

No doubt Roadkill...I too DEPEND on the sage advice of those who know more than me (just about everybody on here) before I tackle anything I don't already know how to do. Most of the time, I just read what other people have written here...but every now and then, I need to ask. So, thank you once again Fred, for saving me from destroying my vehicle.

Roadkill was correct...it has indeed taken 20 years for that tube to clog up...and it wasn't really that bad...mainly at the end of the tube, right by the valve. It cleaned up nicely in the parts washer. But, if you think I need to do a valve seal job, can you point me in a direction to learn more about it please? I'd like to find out what is entailed before I decide to do it. Thanks guys.

Snowman74 >-

 

[Seabronc]

But, if you think I need to do a valve seal job, can you point me in a direction to learn more about it please? I'd like to find out what is entailed before I decide to do it. Thanks guys.Snowman74 >-

I think it is just like the outside of an engine, if you don't clean it off, after 20 years it will be covered with oily crap. If you have bad seals, I'd expect you would be burning oil. While cleaning the system, check the EGR valve itself for crud in the openings.

The procedure for doing the valve seals is a little more difficult with the EFI than a carbed engine, simply because of the stuff you have to take off to get the valve covers off. I wouldn't tackle it unless I had lifter noise or was going to be in there for some other reason.

>-

 

[snowman74]

Yep, the EGR is cruded up too. I cleaned the end of it as best I could...but I'm more than likely going to have to put a new one on. I had some noise that a friend told me sounded like a lifter...so I ran some Marvel through it, and it went away. I'll save the valve seals for another day. Thanks again.

Snowman74 >-