Blocking the EGR Valve

[Hodge]

I'm a newbie here and think this is a great thread with great info, but after reading all the differences between 2.8, 3di, 3crd and 4.2 I am probably more confused now than I thought I was (i'm no mechanic but want to do the best by my truck).

I think I might need to PM you Ferret (hope thats ok) to get the definitive on what to do to my 2012 3L CRD, but am thinking I don't want a blanking plate with a hole in it, would be like having a new bucket with a hole in it eh??

So I am thinking a blank plate (no hole) and a scan gauge connected to my OBD2. The bit I don't get is the stuff about turbo boost levels and Dawes valves and VNT (do I need that??). Sorry if that sounds a bit dumb but I just want a simple fix without having a cab full of gauges etc. I am hoping the scan gauge can give me the readings i need.

If there's an idiots guide for us CRD owners I'd be most appreciative.

I've read the thread a couple of times and just hope I'm moving in the right direction, cheers all, Mark

G'day Bindi. I'll tell you what I know and what I've done from my experience, as I've been in the exact position as you after I bought my CRD.
First thing I searched was, do CRD's need a EGR block. I searched this forum as well as a few other forums and lots of googling, and most answers were, yes it does. But then there were a few people saying no it doesn't as it does nothing on a CRD for various reasons. So I sat on it for ages, deciding whether I should or shouldn't blank it.

What really kicked things into motion for me, is when I seen a bunch of CRD's at wreckers opened up, and at around the point where the EGR enters the block, was all caked up, and the cylinders near by, 3&4 from memory, were a completely different shade of color due to heat from the EGR.

So I decided to just get it done and while at it, I'll get the dawes and needle valves fitted. After installing it all, I began kicking my self for NOT doing it earlier. The whole power scheme of the car changed. It had plenty more power and a nice smooth turbo spool up. The EGT's drastically dropped, because the EGR was blocked and there was now more boost flowing through system. The fuel efficiency changed too. Happy times all around!

Some issues I've had...
After blanking out the EGR, my car stalled several times for few hours after fitting the plate. But then it fixed it's self. Cannot explain why that happened, and as far as I've researched nobody else around here had such an issue.
The car now throws out an error code P0401. This is because EGR is blanked. The engine light doesn't come on, but P0401 comes up on my scangauge. I don't bother resetting it, because it only comes back minutes after I turn the car on again. And as far as I know the codes doesn't alter anything, it's just there to let you know something is up. No harm done.
My car has power mood swings. It's had this before and after fitting all that up. It's something with the turbo spool up, which I'm yet to work out. But, Mudski helped me out here heaps in fiddling with the needle valve to get it spot on. It's now been a week since we tampered with it last, and the car is still going good. Fingers crossed.

My personal advice is get that thing blocked asap. At minimum get in touch with mudski and get the boost control bits sorted out, the patrol will thank you for it. He is the man to talk to. The only other thing I should mention, is, your patrol is 2012, so I'll assume it still has warranty. If and ever you need warranty stuff done, I'm not sure how nissan will react if they see the bits you've tampered with it, especially the EGR block as it is after all, illegal.

My 2c !