Fun with EGR and more

With 94k on the clock, I finally got around to doing some much needed maintenance.
After seeing the stories about EGR's and blown head gaskets. I figured better safe than sorry before going on vacation. I figured I'd share this here for anyone looking to have the same fun and for others to add any helpful advice.
I had already grabbed a complete EGR and cooler assembly from the yard to reduce down time. It was pretty dirty inside but far from being completely clogged. I wanted a proper cleaning, not just a quick spray of carb cleaner that you see on so many videos. That is a total waste of time and only removes the lightest of deposits.
Thought about doing a soak with Berryman Chem-dip carb cleaner that comes in the 1 gallon can. But that stuff is getting pricey ($39) and I thought better of wasting what I had. So I opted for the dollar store oven cleaner instead. Glad I did too - only $2 and did the job as good as anything else could. Cut the top off a rinsed out milk jug to use as a catch can with the cooler standing-up in it. Yes - I'm a cheap bugger !

Note -DO NOT SHAKE THE CAN ! That makes too much foam. Just spray it inside till it fills. then fill the other end. After about 20 minutes I poured the liquid from the bottom of the jug into a cup and then back through the cooler. I did this a couple times, making sure the all the tubes got a fare share, from both ends. Let it soak in the sun to warm things up. Then CARFULLY rinse in a 5gl bucket with a hose spray nozzle. I used the mist setting at first and still got splatter on me.
(SAFETY NOTE - Wear goggles not just glasses! Use plenty of water and then vinegar to rinse off any spray drift/splatter that gets on you.)
On the first round, literally had chunks coming out so I did this twice. Just the cleaning took the better part of 2 hours. But it came out looking like new.
The EGR pipe and EGR was easy to clean with a plumbers 1/2" copper fitting brush. A SS wire toothbrush made quick work of the exposed side of the EGR. By removing the EGR solenoid you can hold open the valve and clean the inside face with the toothbrush too.
Because of the seals, to clean inside the valve body I used Bleach-White tire cleaner and a bamboo skewer.
After everything was clean and thoroughly rinsed. It was set in the sun to dry while I removed the old one.


Time to pull out the one in the car. The studs in the head are 6 mm and surprisingly came out with a 1/4" ratchet (you might not be so lucky). On the back of the cooler the top nut is a bear. A standard socket won't reach and my deep socket was too long. The heater tubing and fuel line is in the way. But once again the 1/4" ratchet came to the rescue with the help of a 12mm deep socket. Don't expect more than a click or two on the ratchet. And if you're lucky like me, once the nut is "loose" it will only turn half a turn or so by hand and back to the rachet. Back and forth for half an hour - yaaa!
Once the EGR cooler and valve assembly was off it was obvious that it had been replaced. But the intake manifold EGR port was half clogged. So the dealership failed to clean the port when they replaced the cooler etc. So I pulled the intake to clean it with the Bleach White too. Surprisingly there was only about a teaspoon of oil in it and not too much buildup. The intake ports were oily but not much buildup. The valves looked bright and clean. So I guess the gas I've been using is not too bad (I use injector cleaner twice a year).

Put it all back together and then change the trans fluid. 4 feet of hose and a standard funnel from above works great. That fluid was nearly as black as my diesel's motor oil but with a purple tint. YUK!!! But I was glad to see that there was no metallic sparkles in it.

Next morning I changed the motor oil and it was a bit on the dark side. The oil service light had not yet come on, so something is running dirty. It doesn't seem to be using any oil, but I'm thinking about getting a jug of Valvoline Restore Blue and adding a quart to the next 4 oil changes to help keep the rings clean.

Put on some cheap seat covers today. The leather seats don't like the AZ heat. And I haven't found anything that softens the plastic treated leather in these cars.

Next up is looking at the brake pads/shoes and installing Firestone lift bags in the rear. I built a cargo box for the tow hitch and don't want it to drag on driveways.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

 

Thanks much for all the replies and suggestions.

I also used spray carb cleaner on those small ports. When I install a OCC, I'll take Dogman's advice and use the 22 brush to make sure.
Mendel, thanks for the heads-up for the brakes info. I'll be doing them in a month when it's cooler.

Chapman, don't know how to get EGR numbers.
Knowing those might have saved me alot of work.

 

Forgot to mention, I tried posting pictures but it said the file extension (.heic) was not allowed.
Anyone got idea about what gives ?