So I recently disabled my EGR system, and was looking into disabling the temp sensor. I was all set to use the resistor trick, when tblume posted his thread that got me thinking.
Evidentially, for ODB-1 and ODB-2 trucks there is a very easy way to disable the EGR system. Create an continuous loop on the EGR temp sensor circuit (bypassing the temp sensor). No resistor needed. Here's how I did it on mine.
Using the part number from tblume's truck (82824-35020), I ordered two (one for my truck, one for the ). Here's his pic, when I get my truck back I'll try and remember to post a better one.
Upon receiving them, I found that they plugged into the sensor side of the plug. Here's a pic of tblume's wiring for reference (Note: This is an OBDI truck, so the temp sensor is on the other side from the OBDII trucks, you can see the bolt capping off where his sensor would go):
Here's a picture of mine. Apologies for the poor pic, it was getting dark and my camera suddenly decided it didn't want to take pictures with it that dark.
Yes, the bolt isn't all the way in. It was too long and I had to trim it, which I did after taking that picture.
You can see I'm holding the wiring for both the sensor side and the ECU side. I simply took my dremel and trimmed down the box section to match the sensor side. When you look at the terminals, it'll make a lot more sense.
Once I trimmed it, it slid in easily but never gave that satisfying *click* that the originals did. So I did what any self-respecting shade tree mechanic would do. I put a dab of super glue on the boots to hold them in place.
Honestly, I have no fear of them coming out even without the super glue, but I tend to be overly cautious.
Here's a picture of it (nearly) completed.
I simply snapped the cap on, then zip tied it up against the brake booster to keep it out of the way. Once I was done, I could hardly tell that it wasn't OEM.
To make this work you have two options. Basically you want to swap the ends that are used, so that you can plug in your cap into the correct side.
The redneck guide:
The only other challenges you'll face is disabling the EGR modulator, and blocking off the EGR temp sensor probe hole, should you choose to remove it.
I'm not sure if disabling the EGR system in this manner will also automagically disable the EGR modulator. I used JB Weld to block off the EGR modulator on my truck, I will try this method with a working EGR modulator on the truck and see if it fully disables it.
For the EGR temp senor probe hole, I just sourced a bolt to match from my local Ace. (Note to self, find the size/pitch.)
That's pretty much it. If you don't care about using an OEM part, just throw in a bit of wire to create a loop, and forget about the resistor.
Here's why to disable the EGR system:
Evidentially, for ODB-1 and ODB-2 trucks there is a very easy way to disable the EGR system. Create an continuous loop on the EGR temp sensor circuit (bypassing the temp sensor). No resistor needed. Here's how I did it on mine.
Using the part number from tblume's truck (82824-35020), I ordered two (one for my truck, one for the ). Here's his pic, when I get my truck back I'll try and remember to post a better one.
Upon receiving them, I found that they plugged into the sensor side of the plug. Here's a pic of tblume's wiring for reference (Note: This is an OBDI truck, so the temp sensor is on the other side from the OBDII trucks, you can see the bolt capping off where his sensor would go):
Here's a picture of mine. Apologies for the poor pic, it was getting dark and my camera suddenly decided it didn't want to take pictures with it that dark.
Yes, the bolt isn't all the way in. It was too long and I had to trim it, which I did after taking that picture.
You can see I'm holding the wiring for both the sensor side and the ECU side. I simply took my dremel and trimmed down the box section to match the sensor side. When you look at the terminals, it'll make a lot more sense.
Once I trimmed it, it slid in easily but never gave that satisfying *click* that the originals did. So I did what any self-respecting shade tree mechanic would do. I put a dab of super glue on the boots to hold them in place.
Honestly, I have no fear of them coming out even without the super glue, but I tend to be overly cautious.
Here's a picture of it (nearly) completed.
I simply snapped the cap on, then zip tied it up against the brake booster to keep it out of the way. Once I was done, I could hardly tell that it wasn't OEM.
To make this work you have two options. Basically you want to swap the ends that are used, so that you can plug in your cap into the correct side.
- You can use a terminal pick to remove the wires from the plugs, and then modify the ends of terminals to match. This sounds confusing, pics are worth a thousand words. I simply snapped off the excess length with a pair of pliers, then used a dremel to trim the "box" part down to match. Once you have the terminals side by side it'll make sense.
- Cut and reattach the two sides. This has the advantage of being able to unsnap your cap, and snap your temp sensor back into place, re-enabling the EGR temp sensor probe in a matter of seconds. Using solder and a bit of heat shrink, and you should be able to make this invisible to any nosy emissions inspectors.
The redneck guide:
- Unplug the temp sensor.
- Take a paperclip.
- Stick one end of the paper clip into the plug (ECU side, not sensor side).
- Stick the other end of the paper clip into the plug. (Other open hole.)
- Duct tape in place.
- Step #6.
The only other challenges you'll face is disabling the EGR modulator, and blocking off the EGR temp sensor probe hole, should you choose to remove it.
I'm not sure if disabling the EGR system in this manner will also automagically disable the EGR modulator. I used JB Weld to block off the EGR modulator on my truck, I will try this method with a working EGR modulator on the truck and see if it fully disables it.
For the EGR temp senor probe hole, I just sourced a bolt to match from my local Ace. (Note to self, find the size/pitch.)
That's pretty much it. If you don't care about using an OEM part, just throw in a bit of wire to create a loop, and forget about the resistor.
Here's why to disable the EGR system:
***Slight hijack / update***
Ebag333's tip is trick since it allows you to bypass the temp sensor. Personally, I'm sold on removing the egr completely, though this might not be feasable if you live where smog testing is done. If you can remove it due to the lack of e-check requirements, it will make things cooler. As I stated before, my wiring harness was not only heat damaged, but also appeared frayed from rubbing against the egr pipe. Blocking off the egr and removing the associated plumbing (including the installation of a pipe plug in the head) has paid off considerably for me. The wiring is safely away from both a heat source and physical contact. My intial highway MPG (keep in mind this is a new motor) was around 17.5 and has increased slightly to 18.1. This could be for a variety of factors, not just the EGR. Nonetheless, it appears removing/disconnecting the EGR does not have any detrimental effects on the driveability as others have cautioned about. YMMV
I don't have the issue of my wiring harness (as far as I can tell) rubbing the EGR pipe, but I can very much see the issue of the pipe toasting the harness. Mine isn't brittle or anything yet, but it's definitely headed in that direction, and my hope is that by disabling it the remaining heat won't be enough to damage the heat shielding around the harness any further.
Aside from saving the harness, some other potential benefits are:
Less junk going back into your engine (since you are no longer recycling exhaust, it should burn much cleaner and stay much cleaner).
Possibly stave off HG damage. There's no hard scientific evidence or proof, but there's a lot of anecdotal evidence. For one, the design of the intake/EGR mean that the majority of the recycled gas goes into cylinder 6. Around cylinder 6 is where the HG usually pops. Non-EGR equipped trucks seem to have less of an issue with HG's popping than EGR equipped trucks. Coincidental? Possibly....but I don't think so.
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