Removing or unplugging the egr valve

[Welshy_Pete]

Hello whats gains or diffrence do you get removing or unplugging the egr valve?

Also any negative effects doing this?

306 hdi

thanks

[Moonstone2.0]

I unplugged and blanked at the inlet elbow with no problems. Didnt notice any gains either but I like to think its more healthy. The erg pipe was nearly completely clogged with soot anyway!

[jo3]

well thing with the hdi, is don't unplug it i know a lot of people do but it brings up a fault code and can go in to limp home mode, best bet would be to take the pipe off the egr itself and blank it or stick somthing in it, that way the ecu still thinks the egr is working and still sends signels when really its just sucking on a blocked pipe.


possitives: quicker throttle response, a better bang in the cylinder as its fresh clean air, dont get a big build up of carbon in the inlet manifold, so more air is better, spools quicker., thats the notices i had.

negitives: you get a bit more smoke out the exhaust, not enought to worry about..... and i cant think of any more tbh :/

i would say there more possitives then bads, reason why they got put on was just get better emissions,

[Poodle]

Sorry Joe, but there's a lot there that's inaccurate:
Unplugging/removing the EGR will log a fault code, but it's a silent fault - ie it won't show the EML and won't go into limp mode. If you do remove it make sure you plug the vacuum pipe as it's the same vacuum that provides brake assistance. The EGR isn't active at WOT so there's no change in max power. There won't be a difference to throttle response unless you've had the car remapped to suit. Doesn't help the turbo spool any quicker. Won't cause you to smoke any more.

It will stop you getting carbon build-up in your inlet though. I would recommend removing the egr completely - if left in place you could get chunks of carbon breaking off and falling into your inlet. Personally i'd have the inlet elbow off to give it a good clean out and get it welded up properly (mainly to get a good seal, but could help slightly with flow if done well), but a plate will do the job fine.

[Welshy_Pete]

Does it effect mpg?

Any body got pictures of were the egr valve is?

[jo3]

it does help with spool and throttle tho, becouse your are burning cleaner, so if your getting a better bang you will get more power surly?, same as using diesel and v-power diesel as the diffrence becouse of the octane, you get a better bang in the chamber.

also unplugging the egr set my eml of quite a lot on my hdi, ended up with a lot of troubles with it, everytime it started sound like a knock and then drive down the road and eml light was on, switch the car off leave 5 - 10 secs and it will come back with fully power but eml still on... had my diagnostics on me done a test egr fault no other faults found well part from glowplug relay thats always on... so how come my one kept throwing it on?

[Poodle]

It isn't open when you're on the throttle though bud, so removing it won't change what you see in power and spool time and that. I know where you're coming from, i thought the same when i first looked at it, took a bit of getting my head round it lol.

Yours is genuinely the first i've heard of to throw up the EML and cause problems, every other time i've seen someone say that it's turned out to be something unrelated. Both mine were fine unplugged, didn't skip a beat, i'm open to being corrected though.

Shouldn't change your mpg, Pete, was on there for emissions as Jo3 said. And no need to worry about emissions at MOT time because older diesels only get smoke-tested.

It's situated at the back of the block, near the top of the engine, easily visible with the bonnet up, two secs and i'll dig out a pic.

[Poodle]

Here we go, this is what it looks like from where you'll be looking at it, just behind the inlet mani:



Water pipes going into it need re-routing if you're going to remove it, i just stuck a length of copper pipe in there and jubilee'd both ends.

[jo3]

It isn't open when you're on the throttle though bud, so removing it won't change what you see in power and spool time and that. I know where you're coming from, i thought the same when i first looked at it, took a bit of getting my head round it lol.

Yours is genuinely the first i've heard of to throw up the EML and cause problems, every other time i've seen someone say that it's turned out to be something unrelated. Both mine were fine unplugged, didn't skip a beat, i'm open to being corrected though.

ohh, i dident know that, ive never really looked when its ment to open, but yeah i see what you mean,

yeah someone else said that aswell, this is what got me but for some reason unplugging it just set my eml all the time, took it off the vac and blocked it, never had trouble done that about over a year ago, but yeah just made a really loud knocking sound, and then throw on eml, dident do it all the time but the only fault on it was egr, unless as you say its an unrelated coincidence that it happend at the time of unplugging it was another fault but it dont explain why its better after i blocked it instead :/ unless it sorted its self.. or i had a leak in the egr box where it plugs, and it was keeping it open or somthing and then making it choke its self?... dont know could be anything really lol.

[Poodle]

Fair enough, interesting one that mate, surprised plugging it back in made it better, don't see how it could be anything apart from the EGR then... Yeah maybe it's stuck open or something..? Then again, if it was stuck open when unplugged then i wouldn't have thought plugging it back in would have helped anyway since it'd still be stuck, no...? :| Weird lol

[jo3]

yeah it never ran.... perfect with my egr plugged in ether tho and not plugged in was kinda same, its hard to explain the knock it makes its not a standered diesel knock its like a.... imgene knocking a wooden front door with ur hand, but ur palm facing towards you? real high pictched knock, like an injector wasent fireing, only way to describe it. this was also why i decided to disable egr, if you ever get to see my car look at the inlet manifold and well theres just crap everywhere from carbon build up, hole thing is just shitty, lol, but the only thing that solved it was takin off the vac pipe and blocking it so i guess the spring just holds it shut now, cutting it out all together and fooling the ecu in to thinking it still works so its no fault.. :/ well it works now so i left it lol, im taking mine out completly anyway with new clean manifolds trying to look for a new mani at the moment, and then i can play about with turbos and adapters then lol.

[Dum-Dum]

Blanking the vac pipe is definately the best idea IMO as you dont get a silent fault.

Removing it totally is a bit of a job as its all bolted in hard to reach places at the back of the engine.

Theres a seller on ebay wholl sell you a blanking plug but IMO of your going to all that effort it wouldnt take alot more to get a spare inlet and l-bend and have them properly cleaned out so you can benefit from the increase in air flow then swap the whole lot over.