EGR/cooler is Stuffed. New one or delete? Please real all first

[indiedog]

Hi All,

Been a while. I have a 2003 WG which had a rebuilt engine put in it less than two years and 12000km ago. Had some issues with temperature spikes and on advice from my main mechanic who did the engine swap, I got a local mechanic to replace the thermostat. Problem went away but reappeared last weekend. Local mechanic has done testing and suggests the EGR valve and cooler are shot causing coolant and exhaust gases to mix which then results in a slow loss of coolant. He is leaning towards this over the head gasket as there is an apparent mixing of gas/coolant when the engine is dead cold and turned on. His explanation is that the cooler can corrode internally until there is a small hole allowing mixing of recycled exhaust gases and coolant.

I've now found the part number for the cooler which is A665 090 00 37. It appears that it is part of the inlet manifold and not a separate part.Local mechanic has not been able to locate a new EGR valve. Jeeepart in Hervey Bay gave me a part number of 05080465AA however this is not looking correct when I look online. I've got a blurry photograph of it and the number I can sort of make out is 28243100. I looked in the Everything 2.7 thread but did not see a part number for it. Does anyone have a part number for the valve?

Talking to the local mechanic he says it's worth trying some head gasket sealer and that this should fix the problem short term regardless of whether it is the head gasket or the cooler. I'd like to know what the problem is so I'm looking at carrying out the following steps;

1. Deleting the coolant route through the cooler by re-routing the pipes.
2. Flush the system and then re-test to see if there are exhaust gases in the coolant.
3. If there are gases present then it's the head gasket. If it removes the gases then it's the cooler
4. If it's the cooler I'll complete the EGR delete (as shown in the thread on this site). My understanding is that with this the EGR valve stays closed and from that we really don't need to cool the cooler anymore. So hopefully we are all done.

If it's the head gasket I will use the liquid head gasket sealer for a short term fix. Probably will buy a new car, at least temporarily, as I am now down to the WG after selling my KJ. I'd then either pay someone to replace the head gasket or do it myself. Local mechanic told me it's probably cheaper to replace the motor than to replace the gasket. Seriously? For a motor that is less than two years old. I'm checking with the mechanic who did the engine swap but I think the original intake manifold/cooler was used so not an issue with the new motor.

Thanks for your input in advance.

Brad.

[Adrian D]

I'm in a similar boat...my old WG used to pressurize the cooling system and slowly lose coolant. Sold it as having "head/headgasket" issues and now the buyer opened up the engine, only to find it's all ok. So now he's also blaming the EGR cooler.
You are correct that with an EGR delete will no longer require the cooler.
Bypassing the EGR cooler is not easy, just today I saw a photo online of someone attempting the same thing, the inlet to the cooler is part of the intake manifold and you would have to cut off the cooler and weld a barbed fitting so that you can connect it to the hose originally connected on the intake.

[5oclock]

If you cut the manifold up in situ, as per AdrianDs picture, it is now real easy to remove the manifold since the main loom is now not trapped by the egr cooler. Then its a great time to 1: clean the manifold, 2: clean the muck out of the cylinder head intake area, and 3: rip the bloody stupid swirl flaps out of the manifold. 4: weld the exhaust part of the manifold up, 5: cut out the heater intake pipe off the old egr bit and weld it on above the exhaust bit you just welded shut. Now its pretty easy to reinstall the beatiful clean manifold and test drive! Just be careful, the improved performance may see you rear ending prados and other such soccer mum tractors as you take off from the traffic lights. Fuel use doesnt get hurt either since the old 2.7 is now breathing through BOTH inlet valves vs one partly choked and the almost completely choked. Of course everyone will wonder why that Jeep driver has got a big stupid grin on his face as you fly down the road, but dont panic, after about a week it will slowly go away.
Or at least thats what happened when I did mine a couple of years ago, an the old girl still goes like a champ at 320,000km. Good luck ,I hope you do it, you wont be sorry.

[JeanLuke]

Hi All,

I've now found the part number for the cooler which is A665 090 00 37. It appears that it is part of the inlet manifold and not a separate part.Local mechanic has not been able to locate a new EGR valve. Jeeepart in Hervey Bay gave me a part number of 05080465AA however this is not looking correct when I look online. I've got a blurry photograph of it and the number I can sort of make out is 28243100. I looked in the Everything 2.7 thread but did not see a part number for it. Does anyone have a part number for the valve?

I do not think you can use the MB part number for the Jeep intake manifold. If I recall correctly, the intake manifold is a point of difference between the OM647 Merc engine and the ENF in the Jeep. The Merc engine has a separate EGR system while the Jeep's is part of the intake manifold.

The Jeep EGR valve is part number 05080465AA. The Merc one is quite different. The Jeep is vacuum actuated while the Merc is direct electric.

Your best bet for these parts might be some of the UK or EU wreckers.

EDIT: I just realised AdrianD has the same issue and he's in EU somewhere - so looking at UK/EU might not be such a good idea. eBay UK was my "go to" when I owned a WG. The other place where there seems to be parts is Latvia. I have no idea why.

[Adrian D]

We've got a TON of grands being parted out here in Romania. If I were in this situation, I'd chop off the egr cooler and forget about it.

Latvia was a source because someone had enough brains to ship internationally

If needed, I could arrange FedEx shipping for a manifold.

[indiedog]

Hi Guys, thanks for your replies. Is the manifold alloy? I would have to take it somewhere to have the welding done. This is currently my only car so can't pull it apart and not have a car. So I'm thinking I'll source a second hand manifold and modify that then it's a straight swap of new chopped version for old. Wreckers I frequently use quoted me $175 plus shipping, so that's not too bad. Hopefully I don't go through all the effort to find it's the head gasket!

5o'clock, I assume you also did an EGR wiring delete to avoid getting the check engine light?

[Adrian D]

$175 plus shipping is decent. I found some around $65 locally but with shipping it's going to end up at a similar price.
It's aluminum, you can chop off the nipple where the hose to the viscous heater connects (with the surrounding aluminum) and weld that over the water port.

As for the EGR, get an MPPS13 cable and you can sort out an EGR delete and some extra oomph. To remove the solenoid you will have to measure it's resistance and plug a resistor in its place, otherwise the ECU will go into limp mode. Of course, you can also delete it electronically only with the resistive divider to drop the MAF signal.

Before jumping in, wait a couple more days, the guy I sold my old car to is working on this as we speak. He took off the head, did not find damage and if he decides to put it back together instead of swapping the engine, we will find out. If not, I'll ask for the old manifold and test it. At least we will know if the EGR cooler can be the culprit or not...

[5oclock]

Yes I did the simple EGR delete circuit. It is easy to do if you can solder and just make up a small circuit and it can hide in the wiring in a small container even. What AdrianD is suggesting would be a better solution with the programing, but you could do the simple fix to get the car back on the road and later program the ECU. By the way dont throw the old EGR electric solenoid away, it is the same as the turbo control solenoid, so can be kept as a spare. You need to do a swirl delete also if it hasnt been done. The swirl flaps in the manifold are brittle and can come off the spindles and go through the motor and possibly do damage, so best got rid of.The swirl spindles that the flaps are attacted to also leak manifold pressure and oil when they are a bit worn, and are mostly ripped out with the flaps and the holes in the manifold can be plugged with taping a thread and bolts. Or they can be welded up when the other bits are. There is a mixer "venturi" for the exhaust gas in the manifold behined the little side cover that can go in the bin as well. Heres hoping the egr cooler is the problem...
PS where abouts are you Brad, are you in Melbourne, I am near Traralgon , if AdrianD uncovers that the EGR cooler in his old rocket was the cause of that problem I might be able to weld a manifold up for you and change it over for your old one. Wait and see what Adrian comes up with.

[indiedog]

I'm in Brisbane. Appreciate the offer. Also spoke to my mechanic and he seconded the idea of buying another intake manifold and modding that before changing them over. He did confuse me telling me the oil cooler is also connected to the EGR cooler. Would be good if I could locate a video on YT relating to the full removal of the EGR cooler. Mechanic suggested to look for this using Mercedes Sprinter in the search bar instead of Jeep but no luck so far.

Adrian, are you talking about something like this for the MPPS13? https://www.amazon.com.au/MPPS-Cable.../dp/B08L8NKFFR