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I wanted to remove my EGR system myself, but I don't have any special machines such as a welder, lathe, mill, etc. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money to get rid of something. So I came up with a cheap ass solution to removing the EGR while keeping the factory intake elbow. It's ugly, but it's easy to make with simple tools. Tge only tools I used other than wrenches was a bench vise, an angle grinder, a metal file to clean up burrs, and a hand drill. I also suggest a flexible stick magnet for those who want to work anywhere near the intake valley of the engine. There's a lot of spots a bolt can fall into that are very hard to reach. It's the best $10 I've ever spent. A word of caution, though: if you decide to copy my method, do so at your own risk. This is certainly not the best way to delete an EGR, but it is pretty cheap. I still have to put the coolant back in tonight and let it get to operating temperature to test for leaks. The RTV needs 24 hours to cure. I'll post an update on how that goes.
All the materials needed cost me about $100 US and was sourced from a few hardware stores nearby. Some of you may already have this laying around, so you could spend less. The list of materials is as follows: 3/4 inch ID fuel hose, 3/8 inch ID fuel hose (any hose that can withstand the heat and pressure will do, I just couldn't find heater hose), 3 inch wide flat bar of 3/16 inch steel (1/8 would've been fine and eadier to work with, but it's what the hardware store had) a brass tee fitting, 2 90° 3/4" brass barbs with threads, a 3/8" barb with threads, RTV gasket maker, hose clamps, 6 M8x1.25-30mm bolts and 6 M8x1.25 nuts.
To start off, drain your coolant into a clean containter. The moment you get a steady stream from the petcock, stop twisting it. The petcock valve screw doesn't take much past this point before it pops out. Then you'll have a huge, smelly mess of coolant everywhere. I speak from experience. Go ahead and remove your EGR system, intake elbow, and intake manifold. I'm not showing you how to do this because it's a lot, but I'll link the service manual at the end of this post. Keep the three metal gaskets from your EGR system and note where they came from. I now that everything is taken apart, you're ready to start creating block off plates.
Take the metal gaskets and draw the outline of the gaskets onto your steel. Also do this with the metal retqiner flange from the small coolant line that attaches to your intake elbow. It looks like a tab from a soda can. Carefully cut these shapes out with your angle grinder and file away and the burrs. Drill your holes to the appropriate size, which I don't remember, and clean the block off plates with some brale cleaner to remove the oil used while drilling. Using the 6 M8 bolts and nuts, fasten the two triangle plates to thair pipes with the factory metal gaskets. Keep 4 of the factory bolts that were used for these triangle flanges, you can use them for the intake elbow. For the coolant return hole that gets blocked with your homemade soda can tab, apply some RTV gasket maker compound and then fasten it. Follow the instructions on the tube carefully to ensure a good seal.
For the intake elbow, take a few measurements, draw your bend line and cut about halfway through along that line with an angle grinder. This provides a weak spot to control the bending point. Bend a 90° angle into your steel. I used my bench vise and a big ass crescent wrench for this. Heat can help with this to provide a clean bend, but the only torch I have is propane, and that's not doing anything to steel. My short side of the bend, the side not in the vise, was sligtly round. I flatened that by crushing it in the bench vise. It worled better than I expected. Use the metal gasket with 4 holes to seal the plate against the side, and a generous amount of RTV to seal off that weird tube with 2 O-rings (I don't know what it's called). Don't start the truck until it cures according to the tube instructions. For the bolts on this plate, you'll have to use some washers since they'll bottom out.
Finally, the coolant. Use the 2 angled barbs and 3/8" barb to assemble some ugly contraption. Use a pipe thread sealer such as teflon tape. I used the angle grinder to cut the two coolant pipes and deburr the edges. Flush these pipes out with water before installing them. Cutting them will put a lot of debris in them. Slide your 3/4" hose over them with your clamps, then slip the other ends into the barbed fittings. Tighten the clamps very well after you install it in the truck and get everything where you like it. Afterwards, install your 3/8" tube between the tee and resevoir. This tube helps to burp air from the cooling system.
Slap everything back together and once the RTV has cured, put your coolant back in and run the truck to test for water or air leaks.
Service manual: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals
All the materials needed cost me about $100 US and was sourced from a few hardware stores nearby. Some of you may already have this laying around, so you could spend less. The list of materials is as follows: 3/4 inch ID fuel hose, 3/8 inch ID fuel hose (any hose that can withstand the heat and pressure will do, I just couldn't find heater hose), 3 inch wide flat bar of 3/16 inch steel (1/8 would've been fine and eadier to work with, but it's what the hardware store had) a brass tee fitting, 2 90° 3/4" brass barbs with threads, a 3/8" barb with threads, RTV gasket maker, hose clamps, 6 M8x1.25-30mm bolts and 6 M8x1.25 nuts.
To start off, drain your coolant into a clean containter. The moment you get a steady stream from the petcock, stop twisting it. The petcock valve screw doesn't take much past this point before it pops out. Then you'll have a huge, smelly mess of coolant everywhere. I speak from experience. Go ahead and remove your EGR system, intake elbow, and intake manifold. I'm not showing you how to do this because it's a lot, but I'll link the service manual at the end of this post. Keep the three metal gaskets from your EGR system and note where they came from. I now that everything is taken apart, you're ready to start creating block off plates.
Take the metal gaskets and draw the outline of the gaskets onto your steel. Also do this with the metal retqiner flange from the small coolant line that attaches to your intake elbow. It looks like a tab from a soda can. Carefully cut these shapes out with your angle grinder and file away and the burrs. Drill your holes to the appropriate size, which I don't remember, and clean the block off plates with some brale cleaner to remove the oil used while drilling. Using the 6 M8 bolts and nuts, fasten the two triangle plates to thair pipes with the factory metal gaskets. Keep 4 of the factory bolts that were used for these triangle flanges, you can use them for the intake elbow. For the coolant return hole that gets blocked with your homemade soda can tab, apply some RTV gasket maker compound and then fasten it. Follow the instructions on the tube carefully to ensure a good seal.
For the intake elbow, take a few measurements, draw your bend line and cut about halfway through along that line with an angle grinder. This provides a weak spot to control the bending point. Bend a 90° angle into your steel. I used my bench vise and a big ass crescent wrench for this. Heat can help with this to provide a clean bend, but the only torch I have is propane, and that's not doing anything to steel. My short side of the bend, the side not in the vise, was sligtly round. I flatened that by crushing it in the bench vise. It worled better than I expected. Use the metal gasket with 4 holes to seal the plate against the side, and a generous amount of RTV to seal off that weird tube with 2 O-rings (I don't know what it's called). Don't start the truck until it cures according to the tube instructions. For the bolts on this plate, you'll have to use some washers since they'll bottom out.
Finally, the coolant. Use the 2 angled barbs and 3/8" barb to assemble some ugly contraption. Use a pipe thread sealer such as teflon tape. I used the angle grinder to cut the two coolant pipes and deburr the edges. Flush these pipes out with water before installing them. Cutting them will put a lot of debris in them. Slide your 3/4" hose over them with your clamps, then slip the other ends into the barbed fittings. Tighten the clamps very well after you install it in the truck and get everything where you like it. Afterwards, install your 3/8" tube between the tee and resevoir. This tube helps to burp air from the cooling system.
Slap everything back together and once the RTV has cured, put your coolant back in and run the truck to test for water or air leaks.
Service manual: https://www.nicoclub.com/nissan-service-manuals
