Originally Posted By: Uber_Archetype
EGR is one of those stupid EPA-inspired pollution control measures with a high cost vs. benefit.
Benefit: Slightly reduced Nox emission
Cost: Higher maintenance requirement
Increased maintenance complexity
Reduced longevity (overall, and numerous single engine parts)
Reduced performance (including long-term fouling)
Reduced reliability (related to previous items)
This is all well and good for the greenies and people who buy new vehicles every year or two. It sucks for manufacturers designing unnecessarily complex emissions control systems and people who have to live with them long term.
The maintenance requirement for an EGR equates to around 30 mins labour about every 50 to 100K km, one small can of carb cleaner and a gasket. That is a fraction of the cost of something like a full cam belt service and is a much less complicated procedure.
An EGR only causes a small increase in the soot loading of the oil and as long as the oil is changed at a sensible interval, which is normally the max recommended figure quoted by the manufacturer for normal service, or half that for severe service use, the extra soot loading will make no difference in engine wear terms.
Oddly enough I've never seen a UOA result where the insolubles figure or TBN was out of limits for a normal OCI that was not caused by a HG leak, oil filter failure or use of the wrong type of oil.
Early model DPF systems did cause UOA results that were often a horror story due to fuel contamination, but even a bad DPF does not cause increased wear IF the oil is changed often enough, although nothing can be done about increased wear from the restricted Zinc based anti wear additives, unless you use expensive oil additives like Ceratec.
There is no change in the performance of the engine unless the EGR is allowed to block up because it has not been cleaned.
If you are interested in engine life expectancy, whilst it is important to use a good oil and filter, it is even more important to change the oil at a sensible interval and the best way to find that out is to get a few UOA's done. That way you will not suffer any ill effects from a DPF system, faulty air filter, gummed or damaged injectors and most important of all, a leaking HG (Head Gasket).