tl;dr
Will the car run with the EGR tube removed, and either end on the EGR intake and/or the exhaust manifold sealed shut? If it does run, will this cause any problems?

Hi, I'm driving a 1988 Accord Lxi. The car was left to sit through the winter without being driven. I did not have sufficient antifreeze at the time when weather was first forecast to freeze, so I drained the radiator, but forgot about the water jacket around the block (D'oh!). I got lucky and the block did not crack, because one of the freeze plugs did it's job and popped out. the freeze plug was impossible to reach behind the exhaust manifold, I had to remove it. None of the nuts were too difficult except for the special 27mm(or 28?) nut which holds the EGR tube into the side of the manifold. I tried for several days to lubricate it with various oils. I tried doing hot squirts, differential heating and cooling, and various tapping and vibration methods to get it to come loose. Checking online, some people said the had to hacksaw it off. Eventually I resorted to a pipe wrench with a 6 foot extension bar to get it off. The threads on the nut are now stripped, and the faces of the hex are completely ruined. The nut apparently can't be replaced without replacing the whole tube. My car no longer needs to pass emissions because of it's age. Acquiring and installing a new tube or nut will be very painful. So is it possible to get rid of it completely? Remove the tube and cap both ends? Leave the tube attached to the EGR, but let it suck fresh air? Please advise me on how to proceed.

/edit
I have also read some differing opinions as to weather removing the functionality of the EGR affects engine performance. Some people have said that it helps cool the combustion chamber, and can cause minor ignition problems if removed, but also say this isn't an issue on older cars. IDK how this relates to my model specifically.

 

Will it run without it, yes. Will it run as designed, no.

IF you remove it, seal both ends...cool fresh air when the engine is expecting hot exhaust gas....can't think of how that would be a good thing for the engine in the long run.

Me, I'd find a bone yard and get a new pipe or at least the manifold fitting or the manifold with the fitting and an inch or two of pipe. There is high heat/silicone hose/egr hose that you could use to bridge the gap from the manifold to what is left of the pipe.

 

Thank you for the advise. However the threads on the manifold where the hose connects to are stripped. I also don't have good access to a junkyard. So replacing the tube and/or manifold is not a favorable option for me. I could try to re-tapped the threads, but that would mean finding a larger size nut which can be adapted to fit the manifold and tube. Either option will be very difficult to accomplish.

Further advisement on problems the car might have without EGR would be appreciated.

 

The Honda EGR pipe number should be 18717-PJ0-662 and the gasket should be 18721-PJ0-660. Cal your local dealer and see if there are any left.

 

EGR reduces combustion temperatures, which gives lower NOx in the exhaust.

Your car doesn't need to pass emissions, but the higher combustion temperatures might be enough to cause problems like sparkplugs & valves fouling more quickly? Lifespan of your exhaust valves?

 

I've seen arguments which suggest ERG can also improve fuel economy. How?

• Given exhaust gas is, for all intents and purposes, an inert gas, EGR effectively reduces the displacement of the engine.
• The reduced displacement can net out to a slight reduction in fuel consumption.

I'm not saying I necessarily buy the above argument as I find myself wondering if a pocket of exhaust gas might be able to isolate other pockets of end-gas from the flame front which in turn will cause an increase in fuel consumption. That said, I've had two otherwise identical vehicles, one with EGR and one without (CARB certified and non-CARB legal), and there was no apparent difference in fuel economy either way (the engine computers were different as well so simply removing EGR is probably not the best idea).

 

On "car-part dot com" - Gerry's foreign Auto shows a manifold with tube (I can only assume egr tube ) for $55 ?

Not sure of your exact location in WA but I took a stab at trying to help find one.

 

Thank you for all the advice, I think I can take car of it now. Cheers!

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out and which way you decide to go.