The 350SDL had been smoking badly upon acceleration and was being sluggish. One attempt to remedy this was to remove the EGR valve. The EGR delete kit that I had was one that I bought on eBay or somewhere. It was all stainless steel. I didn't care for the bolt heads sticking up so tall, so I used rounded head bolts. It came with blue silicone water pump sealant (interesting) but I used copper silicone sealant instead.

The stainless steel exhaust manifold plug was very thick and I could not get it to fit. The clamp would not close down enough because the plug was way too thick. The thickness of the metal on that end of the EGR valve was paper-thin, and if you put in metal that's any thicker, the clamp will NOT tighten over it.

So, I took a jar lid that had a 36mm pop-up button that was the same diameter as the plug. It was already the perfect shape and size, so I used a Dremel tool and cut out slightly larger than the button (to 38mm) and used a file to smooth out the edges.

Then I placed the newly made plug against the end of the manifold and tapped on the edges with a hammer so they would bend over the sides. After that, I used copper silicone sealant and the clamp fit right over it. I used brake cleaner to get the expiration date off of the paint.

If the clamp makes the plug buckle at the open end, you'll have to remove the clamp and use a hammer to make sure the edges fit tight against the manifold end. If the end up the plug sticks straight out past the end of the manifold, the clamp will catch it and make it buckle. It has to fit tightly against the manifold first.

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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles