My Advice for Blocking Off EGR

[OneQuickV6]

I learned this the hard way last night, BTW. When I took all my EGR off, I used a freeze plug slightly bigger than the hole on the upper intake and a bit of RTV to seal it. It worked great for a couple months! Then last night in the middle of a rainstorm, I went to start it and heard a funny sound. I stopped, tried to start again and it didn't wanna go. So I helped it with a little gas. I knew I hadn't soaked up any water, I didn't drive through any deep puddles. Strange...

So I start inspecting everything in the pouring rain. Finally I noticed the freeze plug was gone :eek: I knew I should have tapped the intake and put a real plug in it. So after a discussion with Joseph (TSP's mechanic), I decided it was still in the upper intake, and I was going to try to plug the hole and get the car home.

It wasn't running because it had basically a HUGE vacuum leak. SO all I had to plug it with me was a car towel I use to spot detailing. I stick in a wad of it with a screwdriver, and cross my fingers. It cranked right up, no pinging or knocks. So either the plug somehow rattled out and is gone, or it's in my upper intake at a low spot.

Now this weekend sometime I have to pull my upper intake and see if I can find that POS, and then block off the EGR the right way. Joseph told me to do it the right way the first time [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img]

Sorry for long post. Learn from others' mistakes boys and girls.

[98v6]

whoo boy that sucks matt... i'll be sure to do it right when i get my pacesetters!

[BLLDOGG]

man, i expected more from you. i hope you find it and it didnt do any damage. good luck

[AllTheGoodNamesAreGone]

god dam.. how big was the plug?? the upper intakes egr hole is pretty big.. you better figure out where that plug went..

IMHO do it like the ZZP kit.. just get a 1/4" thick plus peaice of aluminum bar stock cut off about a 2" peice.. and drill a hole in it.. then bolt it right up.. no chance of that ever getting sucked in..

[BLLDOGG]

or.....no no wait. this will be funny....
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get the ZZP kit [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[speedracer95v6]

So when I get headers (on the 3.8L) should I do this or should I leave EGR intact? (emissions are not an issue for me)

[BLLDOGG]

i personaly believe you should leave it alone. it wont give you more horse power and no one can come up with an answer as to what its for and what the side effects are. even though a few people have done it, until i know what its for, im not going to take it off.

[nightrida]

we all have some ghetto in us.

[OneQuickV6]

This morning right before I started tearing into the intake, I found the old plug! It was by the fuel lines under that heat shield right before they come up to the evap lines and to the rail. I was VERY happy to see it.

LOL, I made a higher quality block-off plate, for less money. Actually, the 3' plate of aluminum we used, could have made roughly 18 of the plates for about $5 of material. It took 5 minutes or so, including test fitting it and making a "revision" to where it was initially cut.

And BLLDOG: Its been known for years exactly what the EGR system does. A quick search on here or LS1tech will reveal its insignificance on a "performance" application where emissions is not a concern. It adds weight to the front of the car, and wams intake temperatures. What else does one need to know?

So problem solved, all is well now.

[BLLDOGG]

well everytime we have the discussion of th EGR system. everyone seems to have a different answer.

[OneQuickV6]

[img]smile.gif[/img] Everyone ahs a different opinion about its worth maybe. But we should all know by now what it is and what it does. For a "race" appliction, it is a waste of $15 by GM.

[BLLDOGG]

so there are no disavantages to doing it? just wieght lose, and cooler intake temps. the only thing that has prevented me from doing it is that its suppose to help with cold starts. i dont want to damage anything.

[Clark Griswold]

Do you know if I block it will I still pass the readiness test for the EGR? Right now I have a hole in the EGR pipe that goes from the headers to the EGR. HPTuners is showing the test as incomplete. I hate to buy a new EGR just for the emission test and then block it off.

[ReodDai]

Originally posted by BLLDOGG:
so there are no disavantages to doing it? just wieght lose, and cooler intake temps. the only thing that has prevented me from doing it is that its suppose to help with cold starts. i dont want to damage anything.

There are disadvantages to removing the EGR. However Matt is talking about PURE RACE applications. Otherwise it sorta helps with cold starts, it prevents pinking while highway cruising and it helps meet emission's standards. If you live in the south like me, cold starts don't mean dick. Emission's standards can bite my ***. As for the pinking while highway cruising thats a problem I can live with.

[BLLDOGG]

well, in oklahoma. the winters get below freezing so i'll just save this mod until another day