What Is an EGR Valve? (EGR Valve Service)

If you’ve ever felt your vehicle hesitate, go, then hesitate again, you might think there’s something wrong with the transmission. After all, it’s not moving smoothly down the road. But there are plenty of malfunctions that can cause those symptoms, one of them being something you may have never heard of: the EGR valve.

EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation. It’s a system that channels small amounts of exhaust back into the engine to cool down the cylinders and reduce polluting gases. Those include nitrogen oxides that can cause smog. The EGR valve regulates how much of the vehicle’s exhaust gas is recirculated. After years and long distances traveled, that valve can get clogged or fail. Sometimes the EGR valve can stick open. When the EGR valve isn’t working properly, your vehicle can start releasing those nitrogen oxides and pollute the air.

The symptoms of a malfunctioning EGR valve include:

Engine losing power
Engine idling roughly
Pinging and knocking sounds in the engine
Stalling and hesitation
Fuel economy decreasing
Check Engine light illuminated

Depending on its condition, the EGR valve can be cleaned or it may need to be replaced. Consult with your service advisor to see what options are recommended to you.

The EGR system is part of your vehicle’s pollution and emissions control equipment. If you care about keeping our planet’s atmosphere clean, you’ll want to make sure it’s doing its job—for everyone’s benefit.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Lubricate Driveshaft

See if any of these are happening to your vehicle. You feel it vibrating excessively underneath when it’s running, or you hear strange clunking, grating, or grinding sounds coming from beneath. Maybe it’s hard to turn your vehicle, or you can hear squeaking when you’re going slow. Perhaps you feel a shudder when you step on the throttle.

Any of those could be signs that your vehicle’s driveshaft might need lubricating, and it’s important to have one of our technicians check it out. Your vehicle’s engine puts out a lot of twisting power. That force is called torque, and the driveshaft is the part that handles the job of transferring all that torque from your engine to the wheels. If it’s a four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle, it will have driveshafts front and rear.

Some driveshafts have different segments which are connected by couplings called U-Joints. So that everything can glide along fine, that whole assembly needs to stay well lubricated. Our technician can inspect the driveshaft and U-joints to make sure there aren’t any broken or excessively worn parts.

Many manufacturers recommend servicing and lubricating the driveshaft at certain intervals, and it’s important to keep on that schedule. It’s essential because poor lubrication can lead to a failure while you are driving, possibly causing other expensive parts to fail. Not keeping your driveshaft lubricated or failing to maintain it regularly is the top cause of driveshaft problems.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Breathe New Life into Your Engine (MAF sensor replacement)

If you’ve noticed your vehicle is hard to start, stalling, or has lost power, the culprit may be a part with an odd name: the MAF sensor. You may have never even heard of a MAF sensor, but it’s important that it be working correctly, or you may be experiencing some fairly significant engine issues.

All vehicles bring in air and direct it through an air filter before it goes into your engine, where it mixes with fuel to provide power to get you going. There’s a tube-like device with a sensor inside it that measures how much of that mass of air is passing through. That’s why it’s called a mass air flow sensor, or MAF sensor. If the MAF sensor isn’t working right, the engine’s computer can’t figure out the right amount of fuel to mix with it, and your engine may hesitate or stall. Sometimes this will cause your Check Engine Light to come on, and any time it does that, make sure you have your vehicle checked by a professional, so you’ll know what’s going on.

When you take your vehicle into your service facility, a technician will thoroughly check the system to see just where the problems are. If your air filter is dirty, your MAF sensor may get dirty too, which might be causing the problems. You may find your fuel economy isn’t what it used to be either.

There are other things that can cause the same symptoms, too, such as a leak in a vacuum hose. It’s also possible that the electrical connector between the MAF sensor and the engine has broken.

The technician can use electronic diagnostic equipment to help pinpoint the exact problem or problems, replace worn parts, and test drive your vehicle to make sure it’s working correctly.

It’s also a good idea to make sure your air filter is changed regularly. A dirty air filter can contribute to a MAF sensor failure. One of the big benefits of having your vehicle regularly maintained at one facility, is they know your vehicle. So, they keep track of which of your vehicle’s parts should be periodically replaced before problems develop.

If you keep clean air heading into your engine, it can help your engine work efficiently, and with the power it was engineered to deliver. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air?

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com