EGR cross over pipe

Apologies for yet another thread but want to confirm ditching this bracket on the middle of the EGR crossover pipe (attached to head) can be left off with no ill effects?

Fought me like crazy to get it off and rather just leave it off since I’ll be regularly swapping headers for smog time and this so far has been the most annoying part (exhaust manifold studs stayed put for me and nuts came off easy). LCE header is going on and don’t want anything in the way, plus going to clean EGR since it’ll be apart.

EGR pipe is super light and the bracket isn’t tight enough to help prevent a bad seal with the gaskets anyways so I figured why not leave it off.

Pic and diagram attached

Thanks!

 

They (several) sell a delete kit with two block plates and a resistor to keep CEL off....


however.....

Egr on toyota is less about mpg, and more about their version of cylinder deactivation.

They use inert gases to reduce the effective cylinder size, and combustive gases....

that reach the catalytic converter...


Thereby reducing the cats temps that backfeed into the headers and head.
Sounds like crzy sh#t, doesn't it....


IF you do stop and go traffic its esentually shut off mostly..

Its when you cruise at highway speed that it stays on and get the cooling benefit.
Over heating the head in the header area is whats causing the all the head gaskets to fail....

well old acidic coolant is a close 2nd.........both together......a KILLER....


so consider carefully


the newer 2rz/3rz's that removed egr......had to have a two cats system to defeat that overwhelming backfeed of intra red radiation

this fancy system might give only 1/2 mile extra a gallon, if your lucky....so its really not about the epa or mpg
....its about those metal head gaskets sandwiched between iron and aluminum

 

And the gaskets are a PIA.....the ones from the auto stores dont fit....

you have to get the real dealer oem ones




and if you can get that back of engine bolt back on at mid pipe.....you're a better man than I, could not do it....had to leave it loose
.....I was tearing up all the wiring trying to get to it.....much worse than even getting at the ECT

 

oh man oh man sir, thank you for that A1 info. It is crazy! But Toyota knew what they were doing with the 1st gen platform.

I have no intention of doing an EGR block plate, I just needed the tube temporarily removed so I could slide my old manifold off easy and the new LCE on easy.

would have the bend the EGR pipe otherwise and I’m not down with that.

Aha glad I’m not the only one who hates this bolt - I’ll leave it loose! I’m not even a big dude and I definitely feel like I was tearing up wiring too attempting that.

The bracket gets in the way of any long rachet/socket combo.

 

ON mine that pipe lies firm against the back of the block......and does not rattle at all


but I went and bought new doreman replacement one thou
....for some crazy reason

 

And excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by backfeed from the cats in terms of head temps?

I get the EGR pipe reducing temps AT head by inert gases gases

is this why the stock manifold can also crack exhaust valves? Doesn’t properly push heat down the system

 

The heat inside the engine is constant....mostly

its the more gases passing over the cat......enough to set even a field on fire.....

your exhaust is actually a wave guide...........but only ready long ones.....like red.......

reason you get away from the surface of the sun......temps go up a 1000 times........not from the heat.....the radiation...



so essentially creating a hot spot on that side of the middle of an alumium head

toyota didnt knock it out of the park tho......they made the gasket too skinny between the cylinders for an iron/aluminum combo

the 4 bangers are really prone to this

.....fresh coolant every 4 or so years can really help toooooooo
the heads get real nasty real quick when that anti corrosion wears out.....

7 years....my ass

 

well I got the idea right at least lol - I’ve always said keep them COOL and CLEAN and they’ll keep running.

Koyo radiator (bigger than OEM) + fresh coolant when I bought the truck last June.

I’m guessing switching to LCE header like I’m doing and keeping EGR system clean helps a lot too?

adjusting valves tomorrow (if needed) since I’m replacing valve cover gasket + plugs + wires + coil packs

 

Yeah I have a champion radiator......almost twice capacity over the denso

I really hate the crimp top radiators......would never buy a denso

they do slowly corrode up over time......starting with half capacity one sounds like a bad deal

 

yup!! I show people this pic each time. Only 155k on the clock when I replaced it too and it looked NASTY

check out the fuel filter they say is a “lifetime” part too…how it even got fuel idk

new injectors, and fuel pump just because of what I saw for peace of mind

 

How do you recommend cleaning EGR valve/modulator, throttle body cleaner?

Or should I just replace it? Have it off right now looks like a good amount of carbon built up - gaskets were were almost melted on so looks like OG from 2000.

 

I just replaced with a generic.....standard intermodal, or something like that

I would give the ports in the plenum a good decarbonating....
but with all the super heated crap going thru the egr.....it would just gum up again in record time

if it were to stick closed.....that would be a bad deal
probably wouldnt even notice it for a long time

 

If it sticks open she won’t idle. Will choke down and the only way it’ll run is if you advance the throttle. Would stumble when changing gears even. At least that’s what happened to me. You can check it easily (and actuate it to unstick it) with a brake line vac pump. I cleaned mine when I cleaned intake. Have had it stick open once since and need to do another cleaning. I was checking plugs, vac lines and the like till I thought of egr. Watched a vid that said to invert it and spray carb cleaner in it, let sit like that, to get it the cleanest. I just sprayed up into it and flushed mine. Old silver knows stuff.

 

Yup i let it soak with some MAF cleaner I had on hand. Jesus these o2 sensor studs/nuts are rusty as fuck. May have to soak them in vinegar because I can't find a part number to save my life...do the dealers carry these? Feel like they should with how common this is

 

Being able to reuse and recycle stuff is really vehicle dependent

age and how it was taken care of in early years....

with neglect.....or over time be coming oil users would make everyone's situation unique

And only partially correct........I know a lot about 2rz/3rz.......5vz's I'm not a fan of....I'd jump to tundras with the small 8 in it before I'd get one of those


if you want to see what happens to a '17 turbo lexus with zero oil changes up the mid 60K's......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPUbmJQ-AK0&t=1210s



Just because its toyota motor corp......doesnt mean it runs on magic dust....
still has to be maintained.........its not a 'One and Done' deal
....if your not careful, you can get a bad one

 

Getting oem parts for everything touching the engine is really important, especially as that part ages.

This is the one of very few where I broke that rule.

As they get older and those piston rings start leaking oil......its really important to check/clean that egr system.....with the biggest is the plugging up of the port going the intake plenum passage for egr and that temp sensor

fortunately there is a CEL for egr inefficiency


got a feeling why so many over 200K blow their head gaskets

after 150K 1st clean......I'd repeat that every 60K afterwards....maybe 75K if its not using oil

 

I get it - I'm super OCD about OEM stuff myself. Cleaned EGR out as best I could - port at intake doesn't look clogged, just black from carbon. No codes, just had it apart to check so if it gives me trouble I'll replace it OEM. New OEM gaskets going on, old ones toast. Doing fresh O2 sensors too since I'm down there replacing gaskets with LCE header.... luckily this isn't a CA truck so they're cheaper and identical front and rear o2

 

And be weary........breaking apart those cooked gaskets ....is a real bitch......especially the old old originals from the factory

worst I've ever seen

just be prepared for those yet to pleasure this


And dont take that back bolt off at mid' tube....what ever you do
unless its forever
......its impossible to reach from below.....tranny is just way too big

 

Had to in order to get the pipe out of the way for new header...it's alright, fuck that bolt!! EGR tube is light anyways, so unnecessary IMO and a huge pain reaching down. Yeah those gaskets were COOKED, put it in the vice and gently used a flat head as a much then super fine grit sand paper to get down to bare steel.

 

thought you might like this… looking very clean