Speed of EGR blanking effect

[Andy_M]

Hi,

I'm not 100% sure if I've got any reduced flow/EGR problems but I do think the car is slightly down on performance. Longer-term my plan is to strip and clean the manifold, do a Mr Muscle on the turbo and map the EGR out of the system completely with full blanks.

However... in the shorter-term I wanted to try and test just how much effect (if any) the EGR is having on the performance so I was planning to stick a blanking plate on and trying it out for a few miles.

Should I see an immediate effect on performance? Or does it take a while for things to trim differently?

Also I know the EML will come on if I do too much with it blanked. Is this just a flow warning? I presume it won't actually effect the car at all (e.g. limp mode)?

Thanks.

 

[SootySport]

You could try the restricted EGR disc. Has a small hole to keep the warning light happy. You won't notice any performance gain. Cleaning the inlet manifold and turbo vanes will help a bit with performance.

 

[Andy_M]

You could try the restricted EGR disc. Has a small hole to keep the warning light happy. You won't notice any performance gain. Cleaning the inlet manifold and turbo vanes will help a bit with performance.

Just to be clear I'm not expecting this add any additional performance to the package, more recover some potentially lost performance from the chance of it being gunked up. The previous owner did a lot of short stop/start commutes in the final few months of ownership (when I took it for a blast on the test drive he was surprised how much soot came out of the back, this has now cleared since I've been running it longer, hotter and faster).

My thinking was if the EGR valve is a bit sticky then it could be staying open too long (when it is suppose to shut) and leaking some of the power, if that was the case and it was blanked then I'd immediately be able to feel a difference (and then infer that there is a problem to fix). I've no idea if this is way off the mark though (I'm new to turbo diesels).

My plan is to clean out the components too to remove any build up, possibly considering an EngineCarbonClean run on it to give it a good flush.

 

[SootySport]

Yep, a carbon clean will help followed by an Italian tune up.

 

[Sayam]

Italian tune up all the way

 

[desertstorm]

The EGR has to be pretty blocked to affect performance and disabling it won't remove that block. If the EGR valve is sticking open or is being help open because of some issue a physical plate blocking off the EGR will help. Diesels run a lot better without EGR the only disadvantage to disabling it is the engine takes a little longer to warm up when it's cold as all that hot exhaust gas doesn't get recirculated into the cylinder.
Blocking it off will bring up a CEL as the engine will see the extra flow on the MAF sensor as all the air entering the cylinder will be fresh.
I would check the boost hoses for a leak, you will see oil stains on the hose near a leak as this is from the crankcase ventilation fumes.