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EGR Problems

2K views 41 replies 9 participants last post by  diddums100 
#1 ·
Hi my gt 19jtd has come up with a code error 0404 which is egr value problem i was going to blank this of anyway do's anyone no if this will cause any problems if i do this also which end do i blank of as i see you can buy both blanking plates on ebay
 
#5 ·
I'm not sure why people don't just clean and leave it.
Its a working part that gets clogged up. It only needs a clean probably every 20-30k. I recently did it on my dad's 160k BMW three series diesel. It kept getting errors and I didn't even need a code reader.

I simply drove it (he has had it chipped) and noticed a load of black smoke blowing out the back.

I simply said clean the EGR and I bet it'll be a load better.
Did it. No smoke loads more power.

Job done.


Its routine on diesels with these valves.
Not sure why you'd blank it to be honest. Its helps with fuel economy.
 
#7 ·
Again if they got cleaned once in their lives they probably wouldn't be an issue.
Or can you not just remove said swirl flaps and then you wouldn't have to worry about them being sucked into the damn combustion chamber?
 
#8 ·
can you not just remove said swirl flaps
There are a number of ways this could be achieved but it would prove just as pricey as replacing the manifold with the uprated flaps.

Had to do this recently and I have retained the "old" inlet manifold. The plan was to take it to a local machine shop and have parts manufactured to block up the holes. The issue is that you can't retrofit a manifold off an older model because there isn't a bracket for the actuating switch - the switch can remain in situ without being attached to anything to trick the ECU into thinking all is working well, although it's not connected.

It would be the way forward, the removal I mean, but it is not straightforward and the car would be off the road for a while whilst you got it sorted!

There is a blanking kit available on ebay but I don't trust the fact that it's like a "universal" type of fitment.

But I do agree with you Scotty - clean the EGR every now and again and will probably reduce/mitigate the effects to some degree....did/has with me after the manifold had to be replaced.
 
#12 ·
did you jut remove the valave and clean that part?

i had the same issue, then got a mirror and looked at the part on the inlet manifold and that was full of gunk aswell, I usd a small screwdriver and cleaned it up best i could and since then the fault has stay away.

before i drive down to italy in the summer ill b taking the tb off and cleaning that and also looking at how to split my manifold in two to clean it out completly.
 
#22 ·
Why on earth would you keep stripping your EGR down when you can get it mapped out so it does not open. Then block it with a couple plates .In my opinion its the best thing you can do for your car and yourself it will save your loads and loads problems .Also the car will run so much sweeter, blocked swirl flaps, blocked EGR a thing of the past .I have been running mine in that trim for 20 thousand miles .The MAP SENSOR which controls low speed boost is just passed the EGR .I removed it when I blocked the EGR and it was covered in black crap which I cleaned off .I have checked it a few times since its clean no black crap to be seen .That tells me the car is running so much cleaner than it was .Its a no brainer folks
 
#25 ·
I totally agree, but, a remap costs around £150 (just for the EGR removal) and cleaning the EGR valve and MAP sensor is essentially free (maybe £5 for a can of carb cleaner). It's also good practice to familiarize yourself with a few components in the engine bay.
Mine will be getting a remap to remove the EGR at some point but until then I'll continue to clean it as part of my regular servicing.
 
#24 ·
Exactly its a lot of cost when stripping it and cleaning will do just as good a job.
The EGR is supposed to recirculate the exhaust gas to help burn unburnt particles that float round in the head.

You're correct its not the cleanest way (Cleanest would be to vent to atmosphere but I believe that is illegal)
 
#28 ·
Totally agree with that Tommy ,Lee did you need to follow the thread that shows removal of the Acuator from the valve body or was the pin free enough once cleaned up ? Mine was seized in so I followed the thread regarding drilling a hole in the valve body and drifting the Acuator out,bit of work involved but what a difference it made was as good as new once I had finished , also replaced top and bottom turbo hoses, restricted the EGR top and bottom reset the ECU and BOOM lol.
 
#29 ·
I'm planning on doing mine next weekend. I'll be cleaning the EGR valve, MAP sensor and changing the VGT pipes for silicone ones as well as giving all the suspension bushes a good coat of red grease. I've only had this car 7-weeks and I've not done anything to it yet (except wash and polish) and I fancy getting my hands dirty!
 
#32 ·
Indeed most of Alfa designers avoided putting silly dpf and swirl flaps in but I guess the pressure of the German companies getting better on paper mpg and other such stuff forced them to do it on the later generations.

Poor buggers, its what has killed the diesel engine to some degree.

Hence a lot of manufactures going back to petrol turbo's.
 
#36 ·
Or just occasionally get your tool set out and clean the valve so it operates in the correct way the manufacture intended...

Then you wouldn't get the issues anyway.

Or buy a petrol ;-)
 
#38 · (Edited)
let not forget that the EGR isn't a necessary piece of equipment. it's a rubber stamping "emissions" work around which serves no valuable purpose other than a very minor fuel saving, through a quicker warm up, BUT at the cost of you having to "occasionally get your tool set out" - I do enough of that without this on top! It's indefensible.

Lets not forget you'll make a considerable fuel saving getting it remapped anyway which would easily offset any lost by removing the EGR. There is also a performance improvement to be had by the engine not having to feed on dirty air as well - the system, as it stands, is flawed.

B@
 
#37 · (Edited)
Not particularly having a horse in the blank vs clean debate here, but....

I don't quite understand how it's hard to see that getting a remap and blanking the ERG is mentally a bigger hurdle than cleaning the ERG valve.

It's modifying your car vs an additional maintenance task, or is my brain just weirdly wired? (On second thought, scrap that final question ;-)

Edit: On the 'cost' of your own work hours thing: you wouldn't count that unless you'd give up paid work to make time to undertake your maintenance/repairs. If a job takes me 2.5 times as long as the fiat garage, but they charge me €50/hour and charge me 10-20% more on the parts, than I'm saving €20/hour worked + parts difference . There is no theoretical 'cost' as I wouldn't be doing anything else that was making me money during that time, others' situation may differ.
 
#39 ·
Its a 30min job though. Yes its there to help emissions. But most engines have some form of exhaust gas recirculation. Have done for many many years. Petrols just take it from the rocker cover breather and vent to the clean air being sucked through the filters.

Occasionally you need to clean the throttle body as that gunks up over time. Not nearly as quickly as diesels though.

But its the same thing really.
My point is that yes its for emissions etc. Like a lot of useless things that engines have. Hinders performance and reliability of an engine at the cost of it.



I'm just saying maybe you don't have a spare £150. Don't want to remap the ECU to remove it etc... You can just clean the valve and then it'll be fine for 50k miles more than likely.
Thats probably a job once every 3 years or something.

Its hardly painstaking.

Besides the amount of people on here that get remaps then a couple months complain that there now 190hp diesel has chewed through a clutch is alarming.
 
#40 ·
1. it's not a 30 minute job, it takes that long to get it off and put it back on, but that doesn't include the cleaning of it. Plus the shutoff valve/throttle body which you may as well do at the same time because that'll be full of crap too.

2. Most engines do, but in this particular instance it's prime function seems to be causing premature failure of itself or reducing performance.

3. Name another useless item on my car which hinders performance for emissions sake AND requires otherwise unnecessary maintenance.

4. Fair enough about remapping for performance and the clutch going, so just map the EGR out - job done.

5. financially if you don't have £150 then fine, but it'll probably save you that in the long run either in labour or repairs.

B@
 
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