Perfect, what is the best material to make the plate from?

2 or 3 mm stainless steel.

Blanked my EGR on my 1.6L 2009 Mk2.5 today and the car runs much smoother now. It was quite fiddly inserting the plate but I used electrical tape to stop it falling down. Great guide Lenny, much appreciated!

In a couple of weeks I´ll get the Green Filter too.

It goes through the egr valve and heads onto the egr cooler

So as mentioned in my other post my egr cooler was always breaking due to vibrations. So today i decided to get rid of the whole loop. firstly i removed the hose connecting to the cooler and blanked the hole. i then presumed that because this was the direction of flow, there would be no problems. just like blanking the EGR, just further up in the line. unfortunately excess air was being exhausted out of the egr once it opened...no good!! So next step was to make a blanking plate for the EGR valve. this allowed me to remove the cooler and all the !Removed! inbetween. the car now works perfect, way more power. way more torque..job done.

Pictures are in the links below

This is where the air exhausts from.

This is the hose connecting the engine to the cooler. removed

I made a template for the hole

The plate fitted

i then made a simple egr plate and was good to go...

Hello guys...first of all thanks Lenny for taking the time for all the guides...u are a star...so...the story now...i own a 56 plate focus 1.6 tdci and i've just fitted a k&n filter ( the flat one direct replacement ) and i blanked the egr ... U cannot believe the amount of carbon in the inlet manifold....MASSIVE ... So if blanking the egr will prevent that carbon build up im happy...now...im feeling some changes the way the engine runs...im not completely sure what is the cause of the changes the egr blank or the k&n...the engine seems to rev faster but the car doesnt seem to move faster...its weird...revs faster but not power...a few times acted like the clutch is gone but its new it has 7000 on it...it revved way too much like i had the clutched pressed...any ideas? Remapping after blanking the egr and fitting the k&n its recommended? Its weird to rev faster but not move faster :(

By the way...i found a better alternative ( i think ) ....instead of removing the wipers and the pannel i removed the diesel filter and it wasnt very hard to slide it in...if u dont wanna remove the wipers and stuff try this method as well :) sorry i've just saw there were some more people writing about this method :)

Is the EGR in the same place as in the mk3 1.6 tdci and same blanking method? To those who have done it did the dreaded light come on the dash? Only asking coz it was very common in the 2.0 litre mondeo. Blimey Lenny you've got your fingers in many pies lol. Good onya tho and again I tip my hat to you.

Is the EGR in the same place as in the mk3 1.6 tdci and same blanking method? To those who have done it did the dreaded light come on the dash? Only asking coz it was very common in the 2.0 litre mondeo. Blimey Lenny you've got your fingers in many pies lol. Good onya tho and again I tip my hat to you.

Five years of evolution mate :)

The engine is identical on the Mk3 mate,

I don't think the Euro emissions system changed in the transition to Mk3 focus,

So you should be fine in terms of an EML (Engine Management Light) I've never had one on the 1.6TDCi and the engine doesn't have an inline pressure sensor like the 2.0TDCi does,

I also recommend upgrading your induction filter see guide:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/36783-green-cotton-performance-induction-filter-fitting-guide/

I'm going off thread now but when blanking a 2.0TDCi there's two locations the blanking plate will fit,

One of these locations is in the pipeline before the pressure sensor,

If blanked there it wont trigger an EML.

Cheers Lenny. I'll get round to doing it as I know blanking or bypassing works (did 7 years in my beloved MG ZT CDTI )

Am looking at my engine bay and it looks different to your mk2.5 Lenny. I'll try and attach a photo.

Ooooops no photo.

Let's try again but on computer later

I have purchased a blanking plug and about to fit to my daughter's car, but am having problems understanding the basic logic behind this mod.

The car is showing the fault code which indicates an EGR problem on OBD device but nothing on dashboard until, occasionally it shows engine fault on dashborad and goes into limp home mode. This can be cleared by switching off, waiting a few minutes then on again. Unfortunately have not been in a position to read OBD fault under this circunmstance, but I am assuming the two are connected.

Two questions :-

1) If the EGR is playing up and sending fault messages to the car computer then how will fitting the blanking plate prevent the EGR continue sending these messages to the car computer, resulting in limp home mode.

2) Is "remapping" important, how much and where to go. I have seen reference in this forum, that after a few weeks the system will "get used" to the blanking plate, but can the system really "learn" to ignore a fault?

Thanks to Lenny for guide but think the "remapping" issue should be included.

The basic logic is by blanking the E.G.R.V. recirculated waste exhaust gases can no longer clog up the inlet manifold, which then inhibit engine performance and also clog an unblanked E.G.R.V.

New E.G.R.V.'s are expensive, a blanking plate is around £5

Unfortunately Euro 4 onwards blanking tends to illuminate the E.M.L. which most people erase using an O.B.D. II reader periodically

A blanked E.G.R.V. should not trigger limp mode, if it does I suspect an underlying, possibly linked issue as the root cause.

The basic logic is by blanking the E.G.R.V. recirculated waste exhaust gases can no longer clog up the inlet manifold, which then inhibit engine performance and also clog an unblanked E.G.R.V.

New E.G.R.V.'s are expensive, a blanking plate is around £5

Unfortunately Euro 4 onwards blanking tends to illuminate the E.M.L. which most people erase using an O.B.D. II reader periodically

Many thanks, it is what I expected, eg the EML fault will still show and maybe this is not related to the occasional limp home mode.(note correction to my post, I now have the car and see that the EML warning light is always on.)

PS additional info - now I have the car I have just run the OBD thingy and full message is

"P0405 - Powertrain

Exhaust Gas Recirculation Sensor "A"

Circuit Low"

Is that code present before blanking the E.G.R.V. ? - If yes I suspect a partially blocked / faulty E.G.R.V.

Is that code present before blanking the E.G.R.V. ? - If yes I suspect a partially blocked / faulty E.G.R.V.

Yes it is.

As this is my daughter's car I have not got the day to day knowledge of dashboard warnings and limp home events. This morning I drove it and engine light was on, checked with ODB and code was present. Later, had car running in drive (stationary), no engine warning light showing but still code showing as current on ODB. Using "Torque" app on android device to read ODB and seems to be no way to delete fault.

I am going to fit blanking plate this afternoon but have little confidence of clearing fault code or preventing more limp home sessions.

I "look after" 3 ford cars in our family, maybe I need to invest in better ODB stuff? Any advice.

What car does she have ?

Fit the blank & drive the car & see what happens.

Any OBD II reader off ebay should be fine ( £15 approx. )

What car does she have ?

Fit the blank & drive the car & see what happens.

Any OBD II reader off ebay should be fine ( £15 approx. )

The car is a 2007 1.6 TDCI Estate,I fitted blanking plate and returned car to daughter. It seemed to run well, fault still shows on OBD and no engine failure light on dash, but that had disappeared anyway before fitting plate. Will see what happens in next few weeks.

Fitting dd not go well, here are some notes which may help others,

1. I managed to crack the windscreen when removing the top cover strip under the wipers. HOW? With all clips removed it just would not come away from one particular point under the windscreen, so extra force (not a lot) was used resulting in crack. On examination it appears some excessive mastic from under the windscreen had come out and stuck the cover plate to the screen. Even knowing this now, I am not sure there is anything I could have done different, insurance excess £75.

2. Fixing nut holding EGR cooler was very difficult to access and immpossible to see. A 10mm socket appeared to fit but when engaged with 1/4" adapter it keep slipping off, after some thought I realised the thread length was very long and interferred with end of adaptor in socket prevented proper engagement. Had to only slightly engage adaptor to give room for thread length and allow socket to fully engage on nut.

3. Blanking plate not symmetrical, you need to study manifold shape to determine direction of fitting, not easy as difficult to see. To aid visual access I lifted out the fuel filter (while still connected)

4. When finally fitted and clamped up I noticed some gasket 'hanging' out from the joint. Not happy and wondered if gasket wrongly fitted. I unclamped the joint, removed the plate, removed both clamping screws and moved the EGR valve away as far as possible to inspect the gasket. All was well, the gasket fully covered the mating faces and was oversize at one point, producing the overhang.

As you can see, I did not find this job particularly easy or cheap, maybe I am useless or maybe a bit unlucky.

Still unsure about these OBD devices, I read about some that will do some very fancy stuff, while mine does not even seem able to delete a basic fault code. Need to do more research.

Oh dear !

A bit of a mission eh ?

Let us know how the car runs blanked please :)

The car is a 2007 1.6 TDCI Estate,I fitted blanking plate and returned car to daughter. It seemed to run well, fault still shows on OBD and no engine failure light on dash, but that had disappeared anyway before fitting plate. Will see what happens in next few weeks.

Fitting dd not go well, here are some notes which may help others,

1. I managed to crack the windscreen when removing the top cover strip under the wipers. HOW? With all clips removed it just would not come away from one particular point under the windscreen, so extra force (not a lot) was used resulting in crack. On examination it appears some excessive mastic from under the windscreen had come out and stuck the cover plate to the screen. Even knowing this now, I am not sure there is anything I could have done different, insurance excess £75.

2. Fixing nut holding EGR cooler was very difficult to access and immpossible to see. A 10mm socket appeared to fit but when engaged with 1/4" adapter it keep slipping off, after some thought I realised the thread length was very long and interferred with end of adaptor in socket prevented proper engagement. Had to only slightly engage adaptor to give room for thread length and allow socket to fully engage on nut.

3. Blanking plate not symmetrical, you need to study manifold shape to determine direction of fitting, not easy as difficult to see. To aid visual access I lifted out the fuel filter (while still connected)

4. When finally fitted and clamped up I noticed some gasket 'hanging' out from the joint. Not happy and wondered if gasket wrongly fitted. I unclamped the joint, removed the plate, removed both clamping screws and moved the EGR valve away as far as possible to inspect the gasket. All was well, the gasket fully covered the mating faces and was oversize at one point, producing the overhang.

As you can see, I did not find this job particularly easy or cheap, maybe I am useless or maybe a bit unlucky.

Still unsure about these OBD devices, I read about some that will do some very fancy stuff, while mine does not even seem able to delete a basic fault code. Need to do more research.

Some cheaper diagnostic devices only have access to a specific set of ECUs/ in car systems. Whereas dealership systems have access to pretty much every system in the car

Thanks Lenny for the guide.

One question tough. I noticed that someone else had some question, but wasn't able to spot an answer from so many pages of messages. I did the blanking but now I started to think that there wasn't any gasket between the EGR and the engine. So I was wondering should I purchase a gasket and put it between the engine and the blanking plate? I mean is there a risk of failure if there isn't gasket there? Engine should just take clean air if there is some "gap", right?

Thanks Lenny for the guide.

One question tough. I noticed that someone else had some question, but wasn't able to spot an answer from so many pages of messages. I did the blanking but now I started to think that there wasn't any gasket between the EGR and the engine. So I was wondering should I purchase a gasket and put it between the engine and the blanking plate? I mean is there a risk of failure if there isn't gasket there? Engine should just take clean air if there is some "gap", right?

Hi,

No problem glad it helped,

You may like to view my full list of guides which can be viewed on my profile page:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/user/14733-lenny/

Or

If your using the forum App follow this link: http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/68214-full-list-lennys-guides/

Anyway back on topic :)

If only using the existing gasket like myself; id keep the gasket on the engine side between engine and blanking plate,

Then bolt tight because the egr valve would have the most precision surface its not likely to require a gasket next to the blanking plate surface.

Any slight imperfections which result in gaps will soon be filled with carbon,

If concerned though you could fit a second gasket, i didn't bother personally.

If the seal is not tight between the valve and the plate it could leak out exhaust gasses,

If seal is not perfect between the plate and the engine, it will suck atmospheric air inwards

In either case were talking minute quantities like a micron of imperfection.

Gasket either side would be guaranteed no leaks but no big deal just bolt tight.

Thanks Lenny for quick and professional reply! Now I've got a peace of mind and I can enjoy my EGRless Focus! :)