How much does it cost to replace a purge valve

Purge valve replacement is under $400 at a shop and less than $100 if you do it yourself.

Purge valve replacement cost generally runs about $300 to $380. The purge valve itself runs about $75. The diagnostic charge at a shop is usually one hour of labor. The labor to replace the purge valve is usually around .5 of shop time. It’s an easy DIY project. All you need is a hose clamp pliers.

Whats involved in purge valve replacement?

The purge valve is usually located in the engine compartment. It has two vacuum lines running to it; one from the charcoal canister and a second vacuum line form the purge valve to the intake manifold or throttle body.

The replacement involves removing two hose clamps, disconnecting the electrical connector and the two hoses and swapping out the valve.

How is the purge valve diagnosed?

The technician pulls the trouble codes from the computer and determines

Purge Valve

whether the purge valve has an electrical or mechanical failure.

If it’s an electrical failure

If it’s an electrical failure, the tech will check the valve with a multimeter to see whether the failure is in the valve’s solenoid windings, the electrical connector or the wiring harness. If the failure is in the solenoid windings, the fix is to replace the purge valve. If the failure is in the connector or wiring harness, they’ll fix the harness or install a new pigtail.

If it’s a mechanical failure

The technician will check for evidence of charcoal particles in the valve. If there are charcoal particles in the purge valve, then the charcoal canister has failed and must be replaced. That will increase the cost of the repair by at least several hundred dollars. The technician will have to replace the charcoal canister and flush all the debris from the line that runs from the canister to the purge valve before replacing the purge valve.

If there are no charcoal particles in the purge valve, the technician will attach a handheld vacuum pump to the valve to see if it holds vacuum when the valve is closed. If the valve leaks, it is faulty and must be replaced. However, if the valve holds vacuum, then the tech will check for leaks in the vacuum hoses.

©, 2023 Rick Muscoplat