EGR or no EGR? (1 Viewer)

[ROFF]

Hi all. I picked up my 83 about a month ago and love it! A bunch of little things here and there I’m tackling one by one.


It has the hesitation in the low/mid range that went away completely after I bypassed the EGR. The filter is clean but I suspect a few things.

1. I think the EGR valve comes on too early. When I get a little more time I will take a vacuum gauge to it and diagnose that.
2. There seems to be a small leak downstream of the valve. The exhaust leak sound seems to come only under acceleration (when the EGR opens) and is completely gone when I bypass the EGR.

I get a little OCD with this stuff so when I tear into it it’s going to be a commitment. But in the meantime, what are the opinions of running it with the EGR bypassed? It drives WAY better but nothing is free. I know it changes the mixture but to what extent? Harmful? I wish I could just desmog it, ugh.


Thanks

Brandon

 

[OSS]

There's a lot of info on this site about the EGR valve. They wear out and as you've noticed, it will open faster & farther than it was supposed to. That's when you start feeling the hesitation.

But that hesitation can be eliminated (to some degree) by just pushing farther down on the gas pedal. It won't waste gas. The EGR is bypassing the carburetor with inert exhaust. You HAVE to press farther down on the gas pedal to get the same amount of power.

Gently pussy footing a 60 that has the EGR system working is a sure way to get stumbling. Step on it!

 

[ROFF]

Yea, I notice that for sure!!

There’s just something unsettling about pumping exhaust back into the engine.

 

[OSS]

Yes,
But then there's something unsettling about THIS picture too. Can't have it both ways. One or the other.

 

[2mountainfish]

Bypassing the EGR is fine. If you are going to be leaving it that way, you should consider getting your dizzy re-curved to eliminate pinging from to much advance. I notice that you live here in Kalifornistan, that being said, since you have to smog, you might just get a good working EGR to replace the one you have. Where I live we only have to smog on change of ownership, so I took my EGR system off and re-curved my dizzy. It runs soooo much better. Welcome to Mud

 

[Seth S]

I don't know how Kalifornistan's rules for emissions go...and I don't know what your budget is....but I'd think that an 02 driven EFI system with a new cat could meet emissions, clean up the engine bay, and improve drive-ability. I will go this route but I am in Vermont where the emissions test simply means they look underneath to see if something is there that looks like a cat. Or you could have two efi boxes...(like VW) one for passing your emissions test and a second one for actual driving.

 

[ROFF]

Thanks for the replies.

I thought about bypassing and re curving. Then using the EGR when I need to get it smogged. Not sure if the re curve would pass even with the EGR operating.

 

[2mountainfish]

I thought the same thing, so I bought another dizzy for the re-curve and kept my stock one in case I ever need to sell the 60.

 

[OSS]

I'd replace the EGR vacuum modulator first with a new one and see how it runs then. When the FJ60s were new, the EGR system worked fine. There wasn't any hesitation or stumbling.

 

[ROFF]

Yea. That's first on the list is checking operation. I've been reading up on it. Now just need the time!!

But I'd still like to eliminate it.

 

[DFXR]

I think it needs to stay in place to pass the visual inspection in CA, unless you've got a super-friendly tech. A big problem with the hesitation issue is that it makes it very hard to hold steady rpms on the dyno in the test stations, and most techs will just abort the test at that point. So, the options are a stealth bypass... or just fixing it.

 

[lcolon]

Living in CA = that EGR needs to stay in place as you will have to pass a visual inspection. I have an 83 as well and have no hesitation when the truck is warmed up. Have you done the basic timing elements: valve adjustment, cap, rotor, sparc plugs, timing check? My truck always runs much better once the valves are adjusted and all is setup properly.

The hesitation that I did experience required a carb rebuild to remedy. That was the ticket after 30 years of running.