Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

EGR removal/blanking on 3.0 TD series


Thanks for the link shayne as my tool collection consists of most of that tool kit but if u look at picture 11 12 13 on first page u wil see wot i mean and will struggle with most of that kit .
Take 2….

Now equipped with the right tools, I’ve had another go at the EGR mod and have decided to remove the whole EGR unit (I’ll keep it just in case it ever needs to go back on for some reason). I also wanted to remove the inlet manifold and give it a thorough clean while I’m at it.


I bought some extra tools, noting that I started to round off the EGR bolts on the exhaust manifold side during my first attempt the other day. I therefore bought a set of Laser six-point spanners (about £50) and also a Silverline damaged bolt remover kit (about £20). In the end, the six-point spanners did the trick even on the nuts that I had already started to round off.

View attachment 112382


As a guide to anyone else looking to remove (or blank off) their EGR and give the intake a general clean up, this is how I went about it…


Remove intake pipework from air filter to turbo… 10mm clip at turbo end plus bolts on two plastic legs holding pipework down to head (12mm I think), and one electrical connector to unplug. I also removed the airbox itself to create a bit more room to work, as it’s only held in by three easily accessible 12mm bolts.

View attachment 112383

View attachment 112384


Then off with the metal intake that runs from the turbo to the inlet manifold. A pinch clip on the turbo side and four 12mm nuts attach it to the butterfly housing on the inlet manifold. There are two electrical plugs to disconnect and four vacuum hoses at the back near the bulkhead. There is also a clip around one of the heater matrix coolant hoses, which needs to be unbolted from the metal intake. There are also two throttle cables to disconnect.

View attachment 112385

Next there are two arms bolted to the head, which carry the throttle cables. Remove these as it will create space and make it easier to wriggle out the metal heat shield from around the exhaust manifold, which needs to come out next… five 10mm bolts hold the shield in place and some are awkward to get at. The shield will feel like it won’t wriggle free but be brave and it will come free if you pull upwards and outwards, away from the exhaust manifold.

View attachment 112386

View attachment 112387


You should now be looking something like this (I’ve covered the exposed turbo ports with plastic to stop anything dropping inside them). The butterfly housing in the second picture only looks like this because I cleaned it when I aborted the EGR job previously…it was caked in black goo!

I also disconnected the heater control bracket from the bulkhead (10mm nut) as this will improve access for later.

View attachment 112388

View attachment 112389


I then attacked the EGR fixings at the exhaust manifold end, hoping that I could remove the inlet manifold later with the EGR still fixed at that end. This didn’t work out as there wasn’t enough room to wiggle the parts free (the EGR pipework runs through a tight space between the rear of the head and the bulkhead), so I also had to remove the EGR fixings from the inlet manifold end while it was in situ.

Firstly the EGR fixings on the exhaust side… a 12mm nut on stud is upper fixing, and a 12mm bolt is lower. This is where the six-point spanner came into its own. There isn’t much room but once the nut/bolt is cracked off, it wasn’t too bad. I had already removed the top nut before I took the photo.

If you are blocking the EGR (rather than removing it), you need to sandwich a blanking plate between the EGR pipe and the exhaust manifold. Do this now and reassemble…you’re done!

I wanted to lose the whole EGR though, so onwards…

View attachment 112391


Then the EGR fixing on the inlet side is two 12mm nuts. Again, awkward to get to but easy enough once cracked off. There is a vacuum hose and an electrical plug connected to the bottom part of the EGR unit (below the flying saucer thingy). Disconnect these and I would advise you to separate the lower part of the EGR by undoing the two small bolts, as it will make the next step easier.

View attachment 112392

View attachment 112393


You are now ready to wiggle out the EGR (assuming you are removing the unit). Hope you like swearing! It is a tight fit and the studs sticking out of the inlet and exhaust don’t help much. I used a pry bar to encourage the EGR body past the studs and after some trial and error, found that moving the whole unit towards the exhaust side of the engine bay was the way to go. I was then able to twist and wiggle it out by bringing it upwards over the back of the rocker cover. Once it’s out, this is what you have removed (note the bottom part separated as mentioned above…don’t think I would have got the EGR out with this still fixed in place) …

View attachment 112394


I then blanked off the hole in my exhaust manifold with the smaller of the two blanking plates supplied in the kit I bought off eBay (RTG Automotive £8.99), using exhaust sealing paste to ensure a good seal. The original nut & bolt will hold the plate without the need for any spacers on the exhaust side.


I then set about removal of the inlet manifold, to give it a good clean. The manifold itself is held in place by eight 12mm nuts. All are easily accessible, except the lower rearmost one – again prepare swearwords! You will need to remove a few other bits that are bolted onto the manifold and remove some of the bolts fixing the power steering fluid reservoir, so that you can swing it away from the manifold, to give room to slide it off the studs. I then uncoupled the diesel injector pipes, and cable tied some plastic around the open ends to avoid contaminating them. Ensure that the various plastic guides & clamps holding the fuel pipes are removed, so you can gently bend the pipes out the way as you draw the inlet manifold off its studs.

View attachment 112395

View attachment 112396

View attachment 112397


Having removed the inlet manifold, I realised how awful the EGR system is. The insides were caked in about 5mm of syrupy black sludge! I used a round edged palette knife to scrape as much of this out as possible, then bathed the insides with petrol and went to work on scrubbing the bores with old toothbrushes. I then finished it off with brake cleaner and the bits I could get to have come up nice and shiny. I did the same on the exposed inlet bores in the cylinder head, which were in the same state. I also fixed the larger of the EGR blanking plates from the set onto the inlet manifold. The studs are not threaded all the way down their length, so you need to make up some spacers prior to using the original nuts to hold the blank in place. I added some silicon gasket on this for good measure. Here’s how the manifold looked prior to refitting…

View attachment 112398

I then refitted everything, primed the diesel pump to get rid of any air in the fuel lines and while I had the airbox out of the way, I bled off the water trap in the bottom of the diesel filter. The bled off fluid looked nice and clean though.


When I first started the engine, there was a nerve jangling ‘diesel knock’ and I turned the ignition off immediately. I tried again and got same result. Then a third time and all was normal. I presume that the remnants of brake cleaner and/or petrol fumes in the intake system caused this and it quickly burnt off.


I then carefully ran a can of EGR cleaner through the intake for good measure, in the hope that any sludgy mess that I couldn’t reach will be cleaned out.


I’ve got a run from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands and back next month, so will be interested to see how she drives and what MPG I’ll be getting.


Hope this helps anyone who is looking to do the EGR mod on a 3.0TD (there are some different procedures with doing this mod on the D4D engine). Thanks to those who offered forum advice to me previously and feel free to correct anything that I might have got wrong.


Strange question but what tool or tools did u use to remove the inlet manifold bolt that was hard to get to directly above the oil filter incase i need to remove in the near future as i struggled with a socket because of the oil filter position.
I am trying to build a collection of tools so i can do all my own work and cos im new to fixing cars just want a few tips on hand tools or spanners to use .
 
I still can't help because i can't see anything that might need a special tool on the intake side ?

I will have a look at my own tomorrow if you like and take a pic if i find an awkward one that needs a socket extension and a swivel or some such thing .
 
I still can't help because i can't see anything that might need a special tool on the intake side ?

I will have a look at my own tomorrow if you like and take a pic if i find an awkward one that needs a socket extension and a swivel or some such thing .
Thanks shayne as just want the correct tools as nothing worse than getting half way threw a job and finding u cant finish it cos dont have the tools.
 
Just been for a look Tony and i can't see anything that specifically might cause a problem for the average tool box . The only thing i can think of that's causing you doubt is the warning of not rounding the bolt where the diamond shaped egr blanking plate goes and you have already had that off .

It took me a while to accept its all just bolts mate a big meccano set but sod's law dictates because we don't have Jap hands so we usually have to remove 3 things to get to a single nut :icon-rolleyes:
 
Just been for a look Tony and i can't see anything that specifically might cause a problem for the average tool box . The only thing i can think of that's causing you doubt is the warning of not rounding the bolt where the diamond shaped egr blanking plate goes and you have already had that off .

It took me a while to accept its all just bolts mate a big meccano set but sod's law dictates because we don't have Jap hands so we usually have to remove 3 things to get to a single nut :icon-rolleyes:

Thanks shayne and i done it with a stubby 12mm ratchet spanner because unless u have a thin socket set u wont get directy at the nut witch was wot i did first time round.
 
Thanks shayne as just want the correct tools as nothing worse than getting half way threw a job and finding u cant finish it cos dont have the tools.

Hi Tony.

Just noticed your question about the inlet manifold nuts. The only one I struggled with (and it might be because I'm not built like a racing snake anymore!) is the top right hand nut (so nearest the back of the engine bay). It was just awkward to get to...I had to climb into the engine bay and lay across the rocker cover. Getting the spanner into the space was fiddly with not much space to turn the spanner and I think I dropped it a couple of times. Once it was loosened off, the nut span off with fingers though so not too bad. No special tools are needed mate, just special patience/special swearwords!

If my efforts to learn how to post edited photos are bearing fruit...see the picture I've added with a yellow circle round the relevant part. I recall the vacuum unit shown is part of why you can't get your hands in easily to deal with this nut.

inlet_manifold.jpg
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
Hi Tony.

Just noticed your question about the inlet manifold nuts. The only one I struggled with (and it might be because I'm not built like a racing snake anymore!) is the top right hand nut (so nearest the back of the engine bay). It was just awkward to get to...I had to climb into the engine bay and lay across the rocker cover. Getting the spanner into the space was fiddly with not much space to turn the spanner and I think I dropped it a couple of times. Once it was loosened off, the nut span off with fingers though so not too bad. No special tools are needed mate, just special patience/special swearwords!

If my efforts to learn how to post edited photos are bearing fruit...see the picture I've added with a yellow circle round the relevant part. I recall the vacuum unit shown is part of why you can't get your hands in easily to deal with this nut.

View attachment 123565
Thanks knicko and as i said to shayne i just want to gather tools to do my own car instead of paying machanics to do wot i can learn to do.:text-bravo::text-thankyoublue::text-worthless:
 
Good write up and a picture tell a thousand words - if you have a manual, you have an additional issue with the clutch fluid reservoir - I removed mine which means disconnecting the pin inside the vehicle in the footwell area. Very difficult to get access with it in place and the danger of rounding a nut in the process.

Regards

Bill
 
I'm planning on blocking the EGR with a steel plate at the exhaust manifold end, as described in various posts I have seen.

I do have some questions before starting this job though:

1. Is anyone out there still selling the plates, to save me having to make one myself?

2. Some posts refer to the need for a small hole in the plate, to prevent warning lights being activated. Is this necessary for my model? Won't the small hole just allow a smaller amount of nasty gas into the inlet manifold?

3. Does the blocking plate need to be sealed with exhaust paste gasket or anything else?

4. If I want to remove the intake manifold to clean it, will this come off without disturbing any fuelling settings, injectors etc? Can I clean it effectively just with carb cleaner and toothbrush?

5. I plan to leave the EGR unit in place. I presume once blocked off with a plate, I can leave all the vacuum hoses in place on the unit?

There are various threads for 120 series, intercooler models (which mine is not), D4D models etc. Just wanted to be sure what I'm taking on for my model please.

Thanks and Seasons Greetings to you all!

Nick
Hi I blocked mine when I bought my Toyota 6 years ago at 130k and now it’s done 210k. Never used a cleaner on it as I’ve never felt the need to as the Toyota as always pulled so well. I made my plate out of some brass plat took half hour to make and fit. I did mine as it joins inlet manifold
 
Back
Top