You are right. You can usually pass emissions easily without your EGR. The
ERG system is designed to lower the oxides of nitrogen produced under
load/acceleration. At idle, (such as during most smog checks), the EGR is
closed, and doesn't perform any role.

While I am all for improvement to reliability, performance, and emissions,
I would be more cautious than to follow "standard advice" or other
shade-tree practices prescribed by local mechanics. VW engineers possess
roughly double the high-level education/experience of most local wrench
spinners.

While it is convenient and cheap to follow ingenuous "helpful" advice (like
telling you to pinch off the EGR tube), for the long-term performance and
reliability of our Van, I bet on the philosophy: "if the cheapskates at VW
designed it into the vehicle, it needs to be there, working properly."

Happy trials,

G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
www.bulley-hewlett.com
Cary, NC USA
888.468.4880 tollfree

-----Original Message-----
From:   Richard A. Jones [SMTP:jones@COYOTE.COLORADO.EDU]
Sent:   Thursday, July 22, 1999 10:52 AM
To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject:        Re: EGR, was Smoke in Cockpit

>Tom Young wrote:
>However, I don't agree with some of the things you said about the EGR
system:

I'm with Tom on this.  When I was keeping my '81 EGR system
going, I never had the EGR pipe in the engine compartment too
hot to hold.  I could feel it go from cool to warm when the
engine was held at mid-rpm, but never hot.

Then about rebuild time the EGR "filter" rusted out.  Standard
advice here in Boulder was to just seal it off and abandon
the EGR system.  This was done on mine by pinching the tube
just below the EGR filter.  That was 3+ years ago.  My bus
still passes emissions, with no EGR and an empty cat.

                                Richard A. Jones
                                Boulder, Colorado
                                '81 Vanagon, Mr Bus