disabled EGR, now throwing code

[dchriste]

i have a 98 camry, 5s-fe and its always been really sluggish.. last time i had the emissions test it passed with flying colours, so i decided to disable the egr.. all i did was disconnect the vacuum line that opens the valve, everything working great and its got alot more power in the top end .. only problem is its throwing a code.. i dont have a code reader so i cant say for sure what code but if i pull the efi fuse and hook up the egr again the code doesnt come back until the egr is disabled again(takes about 30km's of driving to light up the check engine light again0 any suggestions on disabling the egr without having the check engline light come on would be really helpful.. i already tried disconnecting the egr vsv instead of disconnecing the vacuum line and plugging it. thanks again

[trickyazn]

you get more top end from doing that?.. anyone can prove this?

[BUNNYz]

EGR stands for exhaust gas recirculation.
meaning taking some exhaust gas back into the combustion chamber to lower the combustion chamber temperature. which can reduce Nox.
EGR is there to reduce emission.
EGR doesn't occur during WOT. EGR usually occurs cruise, decel, maybe idle.
I would suggest you to connect the vacuum line back.

[dchriste]

well all i did was disconnect the vacuum line that opens the egr valve and there was instantly VERY noticably more power in the higher rpms around 4000-5500rpm, nothing else was done to the car at the time and the cel hadnt come on until the next day so it couldnt have been anything with air/fuel mixtures or timing retarding... jeez i mean if they remove the egr valves on LT1 camaro and corvette motors all the time it must just be because it doesnt make more power at all right? thanks for the pep talk about reduceing emissions but thats not what i was asking. any way to stop the cel from coming on? ive heard things about using a resistor to emulate the egr working but any more detail into where, how?

[newbie212]

Why dont you just clean the egr ports yourself and the IAC and throttlebody? I think you'll be alot happier with the "power" that you might get.. Disconnecting the EGR valve is not a wise idea. It's there for a reason...

[JetspeedCamry]

Originally Posted by dchriste

i have a 98 camry, 5s-fe and its always been really sluggish.. last time i had the emissions test it passed with flying colours, so i decided to disable the egr.. all i did was disconnect the vacuum line that opens the valve, everything working great and its got alot more power in the top end .. only problem is its throwing a code.. i dont have a code reader so i cant say for sure what code but if i pull the efi fuse and hook up the egr again the code doesnt come back until the egr is disabled again(takes about 30km's of driving to light up the check engine light again0 any suggestions on disabling the egr without having the check engline light come on would be really helpful.. i already tried disconnecting the egr vsv instead of disconnecing the vacuum line and plugging it. thanks again

Disconnecting the EGR system WILL NOT give you "power". I think either your imagining it, or, there was a big problem and youve just covered it up.

[chronoti]

http://toyotanation.com/forum/t43319.html

and to what jetspeed was saying there something wrong with the valve you might need to take it off and clean it, i dont know how to clean it, mine still off it been off since i wrote that post how ever long ago. also the code your throwing is the same as mine. the car has a sensor (later modles have 2) that lets it know what the flow is and how to adjust for it.

[brnyrd]

i also will say disconnecting the EGR is not ok. it ok if ure only driving short distances. not hard or anything. EGR is there to 1. reduce emissions 2. in turn u wont burn out your CAT or any other expensive peice of ure exhaust system. im sure u wouldnt wanna kno how much a new cat is for this car. anyone here wanna clarify that??? here, its 2800 bucks for a new one.

pull the vavle off, spray it with a 'kleen flo' intake manifold cleaner. its very similar to brake cleaner, as it evaporates quickly. dont let it sit in a bucket of cleaner, cuz the diaphram on the valve piston can be eaten away by the cleaner. so spray it, let it dry, and reassemble. too easy. just ordered my new one. 200 bucks canadian, shipped.

dealer wanted 400. plus shipping.

connect the EGR, or say bye bye to ure exhaust...

[88 LE]

Originally Posted by dchriste

all i did was disconnect the vacuum line that opens the valve, everything working great and its got alot more power in the top end ..

Originally Posted by JetspeedCamry

Disconnecting the EGR system WILL NOT give you "power". I think either your imagining it, or, there was a big problem and youve just covered it up.

EGR valve is closed under WOT (wide open throttle). So saying that theres alot more power, is nonsense.

[Luckynumber5]

Any power you are "feeling" by disabling the EGR is psychological, reconnect your EGR and wait till you have a 3s-gte swap to say you can "feel" any difference.