Ford Ranger / Mazda BT50 PJ Ute - EGR Removal

There are many things wrong with Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) for diesel engines, not the least of which is the fact that eventually the corrosive hot exhaust that is being recirculated will eat through the coolant jacket and your engine coolant will disappear out the exhaust pipe. This can be quite rapid: I found my engine coolant level went from full to almost empty in just 10 minutes and the temperature gauge was right at the top. If I hadn't stopped the car, let it cool and filled it up again my head would have been wrecked (unless the computer shut down the engine to protect it...)
Other problems with EGR include: worse economy, (forcing the car to burn more fuel and create more CO2 pollution in order to reduce NOx emissions), dirty intake mixing with fuel to clog up your intake manifold and stop your sensors reading correctly, dirty mixture in the cylinder head adding particles to the sump oil... It really is a STUPID idea!
Anyway I solved my overheating problems by disabling the EGR solenoid valve and rerouting the coolant tubes connecting the input directly to the output and bypassing the EGR cooler altogether. Success!
You can't just leave the EGR off altogether as shown in this video, you will need to make a steel blank to mask off the exhaust port, or you can just put the cooler back on to cover the port but leave it bypassed.

[@warrenmars]

I've got the same problem poiterism, 400km to a tank, although I am carrying a 1 ton canopy. Changing the fuel filter made a small improvement. Also you should clean your MAP and MAF sensors with spray cleaner. Your MAP sensor will probably be full of black jelly thanks to the damn EGR. After sensor cleaning it takes a day or two for the car to adapt, so you will get VERY bad economy until it does. Just drive it a half hour or so for the first day and you'll have no worries.

[@XsnipxrmainX]

Just got a ranger and so glad this job was already done

[@saxongreen78]

Tops! Got an old E2000 I'm overhauling...EGR gets hurled into a deep ravine along with the crappy AIR manifold - extractor!

[@lewisjeffreys9175]

Great vid Warren doing it myself very soon. Can you please give more details on how you modded the cooling hoses?

[@dajakaal]

Your video doesn't really show how you bypassed the EGR, you can't see the hoses in video but I get it, looked at some other vids, Thanks for the info and your perspective!

[@zenhnry2593]

Hi Warren! Having a few issues on my 3.0 2011 bt50 , cleaning out the egr is easy as sinking water through it?

[@Nick41622]

I did this on my 2006 Mazda BT 50, but I had to revert back because the engine ran too cool. It was lucky to reach 60°.

[@Lank871]

Hey there Warren, I have a pk ranger and I've put the screw in the hose you talked about. I have noticed though that it makes the egr solenoid valve (near air cleaner) viabrate and struggle with the suction. I'm assuming this is a bad thing for that part. Did you too experience that?

[@CarsWaifu]

Sorry I’m late but yeah that’s normal

[@jamesdunbar6921]

I have a 2008 2.5 diesel with 110,000 k when should I change my timing belt. Removed my egr cooler and piping too and installed 2 steel covers, plugged vacuum hose. Also cut off the catalytic converter on the exhaust it was full of black dust. Now have more power and much better fuel economy. I live in Thailand my service book is in thai so my concern is on the timing belt and valve adjustment.

[@warrenmars]

Ford say that the timing belt and tensioner should be changed every 120,000 kms. That's for the 3L engine.

[@poiterism]

thanks heaps for the info Warren i have a ford ranger 2009 model its getting bad fuel economy best of 400 ks to a tank i cant get any help on this just wondering if you would know something any help would be appreciated .cheers Pete

[@fleettech3570]

can you post a video on how too replace the diesel filter on either Mazda bt50 or Ford ranger with the 3.2 turbo diesel engine

[@UTPP]

Hey Wazzo im hopping you can diagnosis a problem on my 2008 BT-50 4x2 freestyle T/D manual ute. Problem : when i push the vehicle on the H/Way (120-125), or up a hill, it begins to over heat. If i turn the heater on the vehicle will cool down again. Do you know what might be causing this? Cheers

[@warrenmars]

Could be a lot of things, including blocked radiator core, dodgy thermostat or most likely; an air pocket in the heater. I'd read up on how to get rid of heater bubbles. If all else fails you could try reading my soap box rant on the problems of placing the thermostat at the radiator outflow instead of its intake. It doesn't sound like the source of your problem but you might find it interesting... warrenmars.com/soap_box/miscellaneous/thermostat_placement.htm

[@UTPP]

Hey Warren do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of the engine light coming on du to bipassing the EGR? I've had it cleared with a scan tool but it came back on after about 5 minute of driving.

[@warrenmars]

Only reliable way is to get your computer reprogrammed, aka ecu tune.

[@WillieJu]

I have a 2008 3.0 Tdci Ranger and what I did was put a blanking plate in between that exhaust port and EGR pipe. It stops any exhaust gas from coming in through there. Should I also remove the vacuum pipe and blank it off?

[@CarsWaifu]

I own 2.5L same engine One stupid mechanic didn’t screw the EGR valve position sensor properly and it took the car for wash so all the water went inside the position sensor I took it for run 2-3 days no engine light came on but today it’s throwing P0404 n P0401 code so what ya think it’s the position sensor or the clogged EGR ? Taking off the EGR is quite tricky for me And I don’t think position sensor can get bad with few sprinkle of water right ???

[@dallikansid3501]

Hello sir! I have 2016 BT50 Mazda 3.2L diesel. Overheating and blowby already overhauled and still overheating. What’s your diagnose sir? Thanks!

[@georgewn3780]

Hi Wazzo I have a 2007 Mazda BT50 2.5 LT turbo diesel that ejects coolant into collector bottle approx 1 litre every 200 km of constant driving ( Added a second bottle ) But ok when driving around town on and off any ideas ? Plus any additional info or links for Blanking EGR cooler like vacuum lines etc... pressure checked cooling system for leaks it is ok

[@UTPP]

I have the same issue, are you saying just take the whole thing off?

[@warrenmars]

You can buy blanking plates via ebay which you can place on each side of the unit, or you can take it off and block the ends with steel. You must reroute the water hoses as well. There's lots of stuff about it online and in FB.

[@GrozOutTV]

Is it good for long time egr fix?

[@jakerehn2224]

After you block the valve hose is it essential to swap the cooler hoses on the egr? If so can you take a close picture of the hoses to swap? Cheers

[@richardgriffin2724]

+jake rehn struggling to understand what you mean by this Jake

[@pablonumero3563]

would have been good to se how you joined the hoses

[@Plarx_]

This is so Australian ahaha. Gold! Nice vid

[@warrenmars]

A tad hard to be anything else...

[@Plarx_]

@@warrenmars legend, keep doing your thing!

[@crismorning7578]

Sorry mate quick question I know this is a old video. After disconnecting the vacuum tube and putting a screw in it do you need to remove the EGR itself/join the intake and outake hoses? or can u drive safe just putting the screw in the vacuum hose.

[@warrenmars]

The most important thing is to disconnect the water hoses from the EGR cooler and bypass it, that will save your block from cracking. You don't need to remove the cooler itself but you should block it off with metal plates to be on the safe side.

[@stefrianophunkudouwds9021]

Hey boss, can the engine run if its blocked off?

[@mrcarexpert20]

What about the whole on the exhaust manifold u cant leave it open

[@warrenmars]

Blocked it off with 2 steel plates.

[@DeadstarRyn616]

hey mate, do you know where the thermostat housing is located on these ?

[@warrenmars]

It's towards the bottom of the block on the passenger side, right where it it's extremely hard to get to. You need a long extension bar to undo the bolts.

[@DeadstarRyn616]

Thanks Waz, tried it myself and eventually gave in to a mechanic, but cheers anyways

[@rosesolon9243]

pyjama Model hahah PJ Isn't that a PK Model lol

[@joshuaking-smith2801]

does this method set off the engine light?

[@warrenmars]

Of course. All EGR disabling sets off the light. The only way to avoid that is to hack the Engine Control Unit. There is a mob that will do that for you but they charge almost $1000.

[@RyanPotat]

this is mighty old comment, but if you put the vacuum port from the EGR into your DPFE reference port (fords), it will trick the ECU into thinking the exhaust isn't pressurized, and won't open the EGR - so it should never figure out you removed the EGR, as it never tries to actuate it.

[@warrenmars]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the PJ Ranger doesn't have a DPFE port. You sure you're not confusing the Pj Ranger, which is actually a rebadged Mazda BT50, with the USA truck which is an entirely different car?

[@RyanPotat]

Warren Mars ah you're right. I assumed it was some newer ranger, different from mine... not a whole different vehicle.

[@rayells1]

check this out dig

[@davidtansley3822]

I would strongly advise that this is a very bad Idea because the engine computer is a hell of a lot smarter than the guy doing this video. It knows that you have blocked off the Exhaust gas recirculation valve and also if you take the cooling off the cooler because it is leaking. If you have a code reader, you will find a PO4O4-OO, A p04040-FF a P0401-00, a P0401-FF error code and a few others including turbo boost errors. What does this mean. It means numb nuts that the computer has reduced the power output of your engine to compensate for the higher temperatures in the combustion chamber. They are a compression ignition engine, you squash the air in a bike pump, you burn your fingers, Modern high speed diesel engines are designed right on the limits of metallurgy, first squeeze the air with a turbo charger, it gets hot, so they put through an inter cooler, then it goes into the cylinder and it gets squeezed to a minimum of 16 to 1 and as high 25 to 1, as its volume gets smaller, again it gets hotter, to a point where it get so hot that when you push diesel fuel in, it instantly burns, no spark plugs (glow plugs are for another rant), ever tried to get diesel to light without a wick very hard because of it very high vapour temperature - (DO NOT TRY THIS, you WILL get burnt and have to go to hospital and be bandaged up like the dude in Catch 22 ) (It is technically an oil). when it burns in the cylinder, the temperature goes even higher. it gets even hotter and heats everything inside the cylinder, pistons and valves included. The only thing that has a cooling water jacket is the cylinder walls, the valves and the pistons do not. (keeping diesel pistons cool is a big issue such that some manufacturers spray oil on the underside to cool them down and then cool the oil). And why would your humble brainiac box (PCM) want to reduce the power (by reducing the amount of fuel it pushes into the engine and reducing the turbo bust), so you don't melt the pistons or have the valves heads drop of the stems and the point where they friction weld the stelite head to the hardened steel stem l(you know that horrible expensive sounding bang followed by a clatter) and have a rod come out the block. As one guy traveling in the outback with his V8 land Cruiser found out when the valve heads fall off in number 3 cylinder, it cost him in the ballpark of $30k to fix plus towing at $8 per kilometre to fix. The EGR feeds a small amount of cooled exhaust gas into the cylinder under certain fixed parameters to limit the combustion temperatures and the NOx (you know that poison that makes people die of lung cancer etc) that comes out the exhaust - Good not Bad! You will not improve you fuel milage! Cutting out the EGR is about as smart as chipping the engine or jumping head first into a tree chipper with your Ranger tied to your right foot. The engineers who design these engines spent millions of dollars and years with them bolted a dyno revving the living SH&^T out them against rev limiter to see how long they would give reliable service before going bang. They know a lot more that a guy with a screwdriver. If you want the Maths, PV = Mrt and the thermal efficiency of a reciprocating internal combustion engine is directly related to the compression ratio, not the peak temperature. The manufacturer put an EGR on for a reason, Leave it there, you can buy a new EGR cooler for a PJ and PK from eBay for less than $200. It takes 15 minutes, 6 bolts and to hose clamps and some minor four letter adjective to remove and replace. Numb Nuts can do it and you won't have the MIL(Malfunction Indication Light, that little yellow engine shaped light in the instrument cluster) staring back you constantly, so when something actually is really going wrong you pay attention. (the codes come up if there PCM detects the same fault over 2 driving cycles and if you replace the EGR cooler it will clear itself. ) The reason that Engineers put computers all over the car is to try and put the idiot out of the equation. They might just know just a tiny bit more than you. As for the bullet in the brain, the designers, they don't need it, they did the right thing. I would suggest a more sticky solution for those who recommend the removal of the EGR system, give their name to a greeny some where and let them paint the offender with honey and tie them naked to a meat ants nest somewhere in the hot sun, a lot slower and gives them time to consider their sins against the planet. (P.S. If you MIL starts flashing, that's bad, Stop and turn the engine off - It's in the manual, that book in the glove box, the thing with lots of info in that no one ever reads and can be guaranteed to be the one pristine item in the most battered old clunker.)

[@JoshDK-]

I did the egr block off 10+ years ago, my ranger is still going strong with 600,000km on it and I get average 7lt to the 100km. You may have the “facts” but I have the reality. Sorry to disappoint you.

[@baseddoggie]

The only errors I have ever encountered on any vehicle after blocking EGR (inc. this 3.0 in the video) are related to EGR checks or intake air ambient temperature. Your power codes are completely unrelated to the EGR. The computer does not give a rats if you have exhaust gas in the intake or not.... it cannot tell. It checks usually by measuring the intake air temp.. on the rare occasion the computer gets upset you simply add a resistor thats usually between 10 ohms to 4.6kohms on the wire that goes to the ambient temp. sensor part of the MAF. EGR is and always will be garbage, tired of seeing this sort of fear mongering over it. I have had EGR blanked on every car Ive owned and reliability and performance have always increased.