I have the exact same car. The only way I can tell it is not mine is that I have a few pixels out on my temp. display.

I just had my EGR apart recently. Many have said that fooling with the '97 EGR will bring on the check engine light due to the sensor on top of the valve. One poster provided filtered air instead of exhaust to the EGR, but that mod will flunk the inspection where I live because the emission stuff must appear unmodified. It appears to me that the sensor measures the opening of the valve and not the flow of exhaust gas. I believe one could block the flow using a plate in place of the gasket between the valve and the intake. I would also remove the butterfly plate from the flapper in the intake where the exhaust enters the intake. This should free up the breathing. The EGR system would appear to be unmodified and I do not think it will bring on a check engine light. I did not modify mine as I was trying to get rid of a check engine light. Now that I have solved that problem, I plan to disable the EGR when the weather improves. If you try the above, let us know if your CEL stays off.

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'97 E 300 D