I am considering totally removing the EGR valve on my '84 300D. I already have a blockoff plate under the valve so its inoperative but I want to remove it completely. The question is how do you block off the port in the exhaust manifold that fits the tube that ducts exhaust to the EGR valve? I was going to make a disk out of 1/16" aluminium and "stretch" or expand one of those little circumference clamps that hold the factory EGR tube on to retain the disk. I am on the right track? Thanks, RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

rt i think someone already did this but as i remember they used stainless steel for the 'disk' .. think ur on the right track though.
i'm not sure i could get any of those components to even move on my engine as they appear 'welded ' on...

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

RT,

You forgot that I made about 40 of these kits a long time ago??

For blocking the exhaust, get a piece of copper, about .015 thickness, and see if you can cut a perfect disc from it, 1.50 inches diameter, IIRC.

Then heat the copper with a propane torch for 10 seconds and allow it to cool.

Remove the clamp from the exhaust manifold.

Remove the corrugated metal tube.

Place the copper disc on the face of the exhaust manifold and, using a ball peen hammer, tap the disc carefully all around its face so that it takes the shape of the nose of the manifold.

Get some Permatex sealant good for 700 degrees and apply same to copper disc.

Place disc on manifold and put clamp back on. Make sure you use some channel locks to squeeze clamp firmly BEFORE starting the screw, otherwise it will cross thread.

Tighten the clamp until you can just barely turn it by hand. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN IT or you will crush the copper disc and it will leak. The copper disc is slightly larger than the nose of the exhaust manifold.

Don't use stainless steel because it's not malleable enough to follow the face of the exhaust manifold port and you won't get it to seat properly. I never tried the aluminum, but if you try it, don't use anything thicker than .030 or so. It won't fit in the clamp properly.

PM me if you have any questions/problems.


Edited:

I took a quick look around and I've got a copper disc you can have. Shoot me an e-mail with your mailing address and I'll send it to you.

ahh yes it was copper.. memory failing in my old age, heh

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1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

I took the stainless pipe off of mine and drilled and tapped that opening for a 3/4 inch pipe plug. Works flawlessly

also made an aluminum blockoff for the intake.

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1992 300TE 4matic - Just obtained 12/22/06
1983 300D - SOLD
1997 Dodge 2500 - CTD 400+HP, 1100ft/lbs torque

The end of that manifold is cast iron and is not in the best area for direct access with a drill and a tap.

How did you manage to drill and tap it with the manifold still on the vehicle? This seems like an impossibly difficult task.

Or, did you do it with the manifold off when you drill and tapped it for the pyrometer?

had the manifold off for the pyro install...

It's very close to the correct size drill size for a 3/4 NPT plug....

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1992 300TE 4matic - Just obtained 12/22/06
1983 300D - SOLD
1997 Dodge 2500 - CTD 400+HP, 1100ft/lbs torque

Yep, that's what I figured.

Think I'll do the same when I pull the head on the 617.

I was going to try the pipe plug method when I had the mainfold off but the area looked a little thin for threads... Brian, check your PM! Thanks, RT

__________________
When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

I have Brian's kit on my 617 and it's working perfectly. I did two things slightly differently though. 1. I cut the end off the corrugated tube and used it as a cap for the copper disc....first the permatex, then the disc, then the end of the stainless tube, then the clamp. 2. Instead of peening the copper on the manifold, I put the copper disc between 2 sockets, one big and one small, then pressed on it with my arbor press. It formed the copper to fit over the angled flange of the exhaust manifold, and was pretty easy to do.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

I've read about this thing of blocking the EGR valve. Exactly how much additional power and how many miles per gallon is all this effort worth?

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1999 Mercedes-Benz S600, 103K miles - garage queen
1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, 89K miles - daily driver
2007 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 31K - daily driver

That depends how well the EGR is working. At it's best, the EGR makes a minor reduction in soot emissions at the expense of crudding up your intake manifold and valves, shortening the life of your engine somewhat. As it ages, the EGR vacuum control leaks and wreaks havoc with your transmission shifting. If the EGR valve sticks open (even partially) it causes a rougher idle and reduced power at full throttle.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Ahh.........Pete..........if I knew you were going to experiment, I would have told you a little secret:

The bottom of the EGR valve has the identical shape as the exhaust manifold.
So, you could have carefully fit the copper piece right in your vise.

Hey,
I have a general question concerning the egr valve. My valve does not hold vacuum at all so I plugged the vac line going to it.
My question is why not just plug the vac line? Why go through all the trouble of fabricating a plate?
Unless the valve fails open in which case I'll be needing a plate!

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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If you plug the vacuum line, the EGR valve cannot open. The reason for the plates is to get rid of the valve completely. Some of us think the valve is butt-ugly.