Hose to top of EGR cut and plugged

[Lomoski]

Hey guys,
I was just doing an oil change on my new to me L300 and I noticed the hose to the top of what I believe is the EGR has been cut and plugged at both ends. Is this normal? Why would this have been done and should I replace what looks like a vacuum hose that runs to the top? Thanks everyone

Marc

[sub-arctic]

That is the quick and dirty way to stop the EGR from working. The EGR recirculates hot exhaust gas into the intake, it kills your fuel mileage when working properly, and increases your EGT. Most people install blanking plates between the EGR and the manifold or delete the EGR all together, to make 100% sure that there is no gas bypassing the valve. If the EGR is stuck part way from all the build up on it and you pull the hose off there is the off chance it will still let gas through.

Pulling the EGR is super easy, and there are a lot of vendors kicking around here that sell the blanking plates. The plate that gets installed on the exhaust manifold is also a convenient place to put an EGT temp probe.

Hope this helps!

[Lomoski]

Thanks!
I figured it had something to do with disabling the EGR but I had assumed they would have just pulled and blanked it. I am ordering a blank asap and also going to do what you suggested and put my EGT probe in it. Also planning on putting a boost gauge in so this will all work perfectly. Thanks for your help!

[sub-arctic]

Bear in mind you cannot use the hose for the EGR to drive your boost gauge, the vacuum is driven by the alternator, not the intake manifold. I just wanted to make sure you don't break the boost gauge! I don't have one yet so I haven't found a good place to tap into. I am thinking the pressure line to the boost compensator on the injection pump would be a good line to tap into, as long as you know your connections are air tight!

hope this helps!

[Rattlenbang]

I don't know what the blanking plates are worth, but I cut mine out of a coffee tin and it works great. No need to buy a part. My engine was smoking pretty bad on acceleration until I fixed this.

[sub-arctic]

For the intake side thing gauge metal may work in the short term, but if its just a blanking plate without the EGR removed eventually the hot exhaust gas will blow a hole through the metal and it will be back to square one without you realizing it. I believe the delete plates are 3/16" steel, thick enough to resist the hot gas from blowing a hole in it. If i recall correctly they were something in the market of 20 bucks give or take.

[lrp374]

If you want the complete blanking kit call Dennis - http://nomadjdmautopartsca.ipage.com/modifications.html

[Rattlenbang]

For the intake side thing gauge metal may work in the short term, but if its just a blanking plate without the EGR removed eventually the hot exhaust gas will blow a hole through the metal and it will be back to square one without you realizing it. I believe the delete plates are 3/16" steel, thick enough to resist the hot gas from blowing a hole in it. If i recall correctly they were something in the market of 20 bucks give or take.

Hmmm, hard to see how...if there was still a small hole i can see how the gases would erode it bigger, but as the plate prevents gases from flowing, I don't see how hot gases could work their way all the way up the EGR pipe to my tin blockage without compressing the gases that are already there - no flow except possibly a bit of turbulence. With the outlet plugged, I don't see how flowing exhaust could even enter the EGR pipe. But time will tell.

[konadog]

When my bus start blowing black smoke a couple of years ago the lads at CCA plugged that vacuum hose to disable the EGR. The black smoke stopped and I consider it a permanent and complete fix.

[Rattlenbang]

When my bus start blowing black smoke a couple of years ago the lads at CCA plugged that vacuum hose to disable the EGR. The black smoke stopped and I consider it a permanent and complete fix.

That will work as long as the problem isn't a stuck valve. obviously in your case it wasn't; I should have tried disconnecting it first, but I was in there tightening a belt anyway so decided what they hey, block it and it's done.

[konadog]

When my bus start blowing black smoke a couple of years ago the lads at CCA plugged that vacuum hose to disable the EGR. The black smoke stopped and I consider it a permanent and complete fix.

That will work as long as the problem isn't a stuck valve. obviously in your case it wasn't; I should have tried disconnecting it first, but I was in there tightening a belt anyway so decided what they hey, block it and it's done.

Yep, that's true - so if you don't have an issue and want to disable the EGR the vacuum hose plug is the easiest route.

[Lomoski]

Thanks Guys!
For twenty dollars shipped I certainly will be ordering my blanking plates tonight. Has anyone put their EGT probe in them as suggested? I still have black smoke issues so I think the valve may have been stuck open and am happy to remove any extra useless materiel from the engine anyways. Thanks again!

Marc

[Mimic4]

Curious what everyone's opinion on EGR blanking/disabling. I believe it is in place to reduce combustion temperatures to control NOx emissions. (Which makes sense on a car but in a diesel, where the NOx emissions are outrageous anyways, get over it :P) All the homework i've done has lead me to conclude that EGR in a diesel engine compromises economy and power, as well as fouling the normally "dry" intake with soot. And also increases particulate matter. Considering details like that, and the inevitable production of vast quantities or NOx from a diesel engine anyways, I'm all for disabling it and getting more life and love out of my engine. :)

Opinions of course, share them!

[Rattlenbang]

When I blocked mine it stopped the embarrassing cloud of black smoke when I accelerated. Maybe a slight improvement in power but if I hadn't been the one doing the blanking, I probably wouldn't have noticed the difference.

[sub-arctic]

I put an EGT in the blanking plate, it works great, but bear in mind if the probe snaps off ever its going to wreck your turbo. The EGT never really gets ultra hot compared to some of the full size diesel engines, so I am not overly concerned about it.

In regards to the thin plate eroding its only in the case of a stuck valve I would say, 650 degrees on a tin plate over a long period of time may do something. I don't have first hand experience with that though as I opted for a complete delete.