99 E300 cracked EGR pipe

[ROLLGUY]

I am trying to replace the EGR pipe in my friends car, and there is not enough room between the fire wall and engine to get the pipe out. Has anyone done this job before? How does one get the pipe out without pulling the head? I am trying to remove the pipe from the parts car he has before replacing it on his car. The car runs just fine, but it has an exhaust leak.......Rich

[torsionbar]

It's probably easier to disable the EGR, and then block the pipe. You can cap it off at the exhaust manifold.

I have EGR disabled on my '98 E300 and have attempted to remove the pipe, but found the same thing you have, which is that there is insufficient space to physically remove it.

If you really want to remove and repair it, I bet you could support the engine, remove both motor mounts, and then drop the engine down a couple of inches, that may give enough clearance to remove it?

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by torsionbar

It's probably easier to disable the EGR, and then block the pipe. You can cap it off at the exhaust manifold.

I have EGR disabled on my '98 E300 and have attempted to remove the pipe, but found the same thing you have, which is that there is insufficient space to physically remove it.

If you really want to remove and repair it, I bet you could support the engine, remove both motor mounts, and then drop the engine down a couple of inches, that may give enough clearance to remove it?

It is in CA, and needs to be inspected every two years. I think it is just a physical inspection and "smoke test" (rev it up to see if black smoke emits from the tailpipe). Yes it would be easy to cap the exhaust, and put the resistor in the circuit, and I still may go that route. However, I have the part and would like to make it right if I can. I have not tried it, but I wonder if I could loosen the trans mount bolts and raise the rear of the trans to gain enough room?

[ROLLGUY]

I finally got time today to pull the EGR pipe off the parts car. I put it on the lift and removed the two trans mount to crossmember bolts. I then let the car down with a 2' 4X4 underneath the rear of the transmission. I lowered the car thereby raising the rear of the transmission, until there was enough room to pull the pipe out. Now I need to do this on the other car to remove the broken pipe, and install the good one......Rich

[torsionbar]

Nice job, good to know it can be done this way. Once the weather warms up I'll remove mine as well using your method. I have a spare exhaust manifold that I had the local machine shop weld up the egr outlet, so I have no need for the pipe any more.