at 150k miles the egr valve cooler assembly should be cleaned

The EGR pipe seems to be the canary in the coal mine. My opinion is with "severe duty" (cold starts, short trips, bad fuel, oil burning) I'd expect the recommended cleaning is closer to 70k. For "light duty" (highway miles, high miles/year, no oil burning) expect 120-150k to be the appropriate time.

The exhaust condenses on to the cooler internals the most when the engine coolant is cold. Also the best remedies I have found for removing carbon out of the engine are distillates that tend to dissolve oil. Examples are brake cleaner, acetone, brake fluid (ether), purple power. This is why I tend to think that oil burning would exacerbate the carbon in the EGR system. Oil seems to attract carbon. This is analogous to flies and fly paper.

Pixel XL ?

 

I replaced the egr valve and cooler at ~120 k miles. I plan to do a similar replacement at 200 k miles when the engine coolant is due.

Since I will be removing the windshield wiper cowling, I will also do the spark plugs to pool jobs together .

I bought a spare egr valve and cooler so I didn't rush the cleaning process. It had come in handy and my original cooler now resides in service in @Rebound 's engine.

But to answer your question, every 100 k miles when the engine coolant is done is my plan going forward .

 

I think @NutzAboutBolts 's video agrees with you: he mentions something about not removing one last stud.

Yes.

There was some discussion as to when the EGR valve opens/closes, how much, at what rpm, and what speed. Someone monitoring an EGR system value noted significant numbers even at highway speed, albeit lower? I can't really recall what conclusion if any was drawn. Maybe only that how much and when it clogs can vary, and the factors involved are still somewhat up for grabs?

 

Let me know if you'd like some help when the time comes.

 

You're starting to sound like a midwife, lol.

(Except atttending at a birth is probably easier...)

 

Probably 2 years from now, given I am at 159 k currently.

 

There is "labor" involved.

 

Midwives get paid

 

And they provide a valuable service.

 

"Birthing the EGR" has a certain ring to it . . .

 

Just hopefully less crying.

 

Where did you find the 20g wire to get into the egr cooler fins?
I have 226k & ive never cleaned the cooler, but have it out now & I'm just trying to figure out if i should buy a new one or keep soaking & cleaning (I've already let it soak 3 different times over night & every time I spray water in there I'm still seeing a little bit of black come out the other end).
I heard that I should be able to see light through the cooler...I cant

 

20 awg solid copper wire came from some old lighting ballast's I had laying around. I tried soaking and power washing, the egr was completely blocked and would not work. Poking the egr cooler without spinning would bind the copper. With the copper on the drill slowly spin and push, carbon will come right out. It works similar to a plumbers snake when cleaning out a clogged drain.

 

Cleaned the EGR circuit on my 2010 with 97k this past weekend. It burns a small amount of oil but less than a quart per 5k that I do the oil changes on.

The cooler was not plugged but it was full of soot such that you could not see much through it but some light was visible. I used oven cleaner for the cooler and brake cleaner for the pipe and valve and oxi-clean for the intake manifold. Everything is spotless now, well except for the intake manifold.

@NutzAboutBolts videos were invaluable.

 

How long did it take you

 

Started around 9AM, finished around 4PM but I took an hour for lunch and probably another hour of soaking the intake manifold.

 

Last year when I did the EGR cleaning, I found some copper 20 awg wires at the hardware store. I believe it was doorbell wire. Most of the insulation was stripped but I left some on for my cordless drill to grip better.

 

The center wire of coax for cable/satellite TV cable. I don't know if it's precisely 20g... but it worked perfectly for me.

 

That's what I used too, but once I got into oxi-cleaning (@mjoo tip btw), I think the wire mostly became redundant.