Egr Blanking.

[Sher]

When I did this on my Galaxy II it revived the performance and economy as I had a faulty control vacuum valve for the EGR.

 

When I bought a 2008 2.0 TDCI recently I found this on ebay:-

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110907922480?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

10 minutes to fit and less than a fiver.

Seems to have improved the economy slightly. I had not enough mileage before to compare with but over the same fixed route the computer indicated an improvement of 1.5mpg.

If so it indicates it is working.

[gregers]

been thinking of doing this to mine,dont suppose you have any piccys/write up on how to do it?

[Sher]

The advert shows the location. Its just a matter of loosening the two 10mm bolts, perhaps by 5mm.

 

Pull/raise the stainless(?) tube.

 

The blanking plate is then slid into the gap made. (The joint has no gasket)

 

Retighten the bolts.

 

The biggest problem for me was removing the engine cover.

 

Pull up on each side, seperately to disconnect the lugs and then pull/slide towards you to disconnect the rear lug.

 

I think the picture in the add is an S-Max or Mondeo as it seems to have more room/visibilty than the Galaxy.

 

The worse thing that could happen is dropping the blanking plate at the back of the engine.

[gregers]

cheers m8ty

[GaryM]

I have fitted one to my 1.8tdci. Rather than block it off which causes the MIL to come on the one I have has a small hole in it to restrict the flow but fool the sensor so the light does not come on.

 

I have read a lot about EGR and my conclusion is that now the car has done starship mileage 167K it is serving no purpose. I occasionally get EGR errors which I have to reset. I would like to remove it altogether but certainly strip it all down to clean the manifold.

 

Anyone know how to program it out?

 

I have started a strip down but bottled it after I could not figure how to get the lower manifold bolts out. Looks like the exhaust manifold has to come off first which will mean also the cat, turbo etc. A big job in that very limited space behind the engine and only a driveway to work on.

 

Have found the source of one of my other problems though, that being exhaust smells at start-up. The drivers side exhuast manifild bolt has sheared off. Not sure if I can get to it to drill it out.

[GaryM]

Update, I have now blanked the EGR out totally. And to stop the EGR light from comming on all I did was to remove the link in the EGR motor so that the motor works and provides feedback to the position sensor but the actual valve does not operate. Gained an instant 4-5mpg and that is without changing my driving style.

 

I'm intrested to see how clean the enging oil stays now. But I still want to get the inlet manifold off and give it a good clean.

[Titusflumpo]

I've got a 2009 2.0 TDCi Galaxy and I do approx 8,000 miles a month. What would be the pros & cons for me? I understand that the EGR light may come on!! Can this be prevented? Is this mod likely to cause any damage anywhere (engine, turbo etc)

 

Many Thanks

 

Titusflumpo

[GaryM]

The debate runs long if you search the web. For my two penith it is my belief that this is required to meet all the EU regs but after 20K or so its effectiveness v's longer term fuel economy and potential component failure outweighs any benifit it may bring.

 

What it is doing is returning oily exhasut gas back to the inlet for a second burn and this gums up the inlet manifold resiricting airflow, putting oliy soot into the engine oil etc. And to achive this it needs various valves, sensors, cooling systems which are all items that can go wrong and add weight and cost to the vehicle.

 

As to damage, if anything I'd say it will add to the longer term reliability and certainly fuel economy.

 

I'd blank it off. Not sure if the setup is the same as my 1.8 but if you have not had the MIL light on already because of EGR issues then I'd assume the valve has not gummed up and therefore is working reliably. That being the case blanking the EGR will stop the return of the gasses but the actuator and position sensor will work as before.

 

Worst case you will just have to learn to ignore the MIL light but if you are in the know I think you can turn the EGR system off using the ODB port. Unfortunatly I'm not in the know in that regard.

 

It is a quick fit, low cost. So try it for a month and let us know what you think.

 

Gary

Edited October 28, 2012 by GaryM

[Titusflumpo]

Have fitted the blanking plate today, I'll let you know how I get on

[chrispb123456]

This is a copy of an email I received back from the Department of Transport regarding the blanking off of the EGR valve.

 

 

In answer to your recent question, I can respond as follows;

 

 

Disabling of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) systems on road vehicles is indeed illegal. Regulation 61a(3) of the Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations as amended make it an offence to use a vehicle that has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the emissions standards which it was designed to meet. EGR systems are commonly fitted to diesel cars and vans (and some petrol vehicles) to meet mandatory NOx emissions limits

 

 

Mark Heverin

 

Freight, Operator Licensing & Roadworthiness

 

DfT

 

My question was, is it legal to blank off the EGR valve, and was there anything in the pipeline as regards checking operation of EGR in the MOT test.

 

It may help you decide if you were considering blanking off the EGR valve

[gregers]

thanks for putting this up chris.

[GaryM]

Strange because many people fit the blanking plates to reduce the excessive black smoke that a faulty EGR and gummed up inlet manifold cause to get it through an MOT. If these systems are to perform then perhaps they should be part of the service routine. Both my cars have passed thier MOTs with the EGR plates fitted.

 

In addition surley better fuel ecconomy, is less fuel burnt, is less overall pollution. In my days of old playing with engines polishing the ports, inlets and outlets was a sure fire way of increasing performance. Now (to meet regs) we are choking the engine by returning olliy sooty exhaust gas into the inlet manifold and burning it again. This gunge in turn sticks to the side of the manifold and EGR valve hindering that airflow of a nice new engine. Another issue is that the increased acids and pollutants get to work on the engine oil hence all the expensive concoctions seen. When you are next in Halfords take a look at the variation in price by car manufacture for halfords own brand 5W30.

 

It seems to me that many of these systems in play now are there to meet the regs but then do not take into account any ware are tare, cost of long term maintenance and fuel efficency over the life of the engine. Sure I minimise my Nox emmisions at the start but I carrying arround sophisticated electronics, various actuators, weight etc. all of which cause pollution during thier manufacture and later replacement. Just look at the precious metals in a CAT.

 

Bring on all electric vehicles.

[tyrescrubber]

Has anyone got instructions on how to fit this blanking plate off ebay?

Having done this, what are the actual long term benefits you've found?

 

Thanks

[GaryM]

There is no link so we don't know what "this" plate is?

 

There are two types of plate a restricted one and a blanking plate (yes I know it says A4 but it is the same size). I went for the later (in fact two). The plate is sandwiched between the EGR cooler outlet and the feed to the inlet manifold.

The restrictor plate has the advantage that it lets some of the gases through and so should not trigger any MIL's but of course that means you are pulling crud back through the engine for a second burn still albeit less of it. Long term it is still going to ultimately restrict the airflow and probably end up with the MIL coming on as and when the EGR valve finally gums up.

I have been running for some time with just one restrictor plate in and saw an instant improvement in MPG from a 39 average to 42 without any change in driving style and that is not particularly fuel efficient. As per a previous post I disabled the physical operation of the valve while allowing the motor and position sensor to think it was all working.

However after a recent strip down brought on by a recent turbo failure (and the two are not related by the way) I took the chance to clean the inlet manifold and remove the EGR cooler which is a weight saving or 2-2.5Kg if you include the fluids. Overall nothing, but it all adds up. This involves fitting another blanking plate to exhaust manifold. Removing the EGR cooler and jointing the cooling pipes together.

 

Heres what EGR does to your manifold...

 

http://www.morban.co.uk/MiscImages/Inlet%20manifold1.JPG

http://www.morban.co.uk/MiscImages/Inlet%20manifold2.JPG

 

Pretty gunked and a messy clean. BTW getting to the inlet manifold is not for the feint hearted as it involves removing the turbo and exhaust manifold before being able to remove the inlet.

 

If your MIL starts coming on because of EGR faults then most likley it will need a new valve which is integral to the manifold. So £200-300 for one of those and various gaskets plus a lot of labour to put back to stock.

 

So now you know where I side with EGR! Personally dump CAT, EGR & DPFs and go back to lean burn engine development while trying to perfect battery tech for electric motors. Others of course others are intitled to make thier own decision.

[martinwsf]

Having read many forum posts on this topic I decided to disable the egr on my 2000 Mk1 Tdi 110bhp 150k miles by blocking/disconnecting the vaccuum pipe to the egr.

 

The heavy smoke I used to get under strong acceleration has mostly disappeared, which was my main concern.

 

It may be my imagination but I would say the engine runs a little quieter and with a touch more power / free-revving (for a diesel!), I haven't yet noticed any fuel consumption improvement but I've been gunning it a bit since the mod. The warm tickover has increased from 900rpm to 950.

 

If anything further happens, I'll add here.