96/97 explorer EGR delete questions

[papy]

hello,

for those of you who are running the 96/97 explorer with the EGR elbow removed what have you all done to plug the hole either on the lower intake or upper plenum? i am assuming it is necessary to do so?


cheers

 

[hankjr]

howdy.

Im running EGR, but before going that route, i looked into this exact issue. I recall the prevailing best practice is to drill and tap the lower with a tapered plug (hex drive). the idea making this best practice is that the gasket is no longer pressured and wont fail. with EGR, the gases go through the upper and back into the system and pressure / heat build up is limited. plugging the upper may collect more heat/pressure at that location and the gasket is not designed to hold that long term. it might not be an issue, but it eliminates a potential failure mode for sure.

if you are worried about chips getting into the intake, you can stuff a rag down in before drilling and use liberal amounts of grease in the drill bit and tap to catch the chips. clean them off frequently then vacuum out and PULL THE RAG (a wire wrapped into the rag will make that easier.

Hank

 

[Timmy390]

I used a "freeze" plug on my lightning gt40 lower. I don't recall the side. I took a measurement and went to Advance and went through their behind the counter supply till I found one that would work. Used just a bit of high temp RTV around the plug before tapping it in.

Tim

 

[Timmy390]

if you are worried about chips getting into the intake, you can stuff a rag down in before drilling and use liberal amounts of grease in the drill bit and tap to catch the chips. clean them off frequently then vacuum out and PULL THE RAG (a wire wrapped into the rag will make that easier.

Hank

Shaving cream.....Fill the hole with shaving cream and once done tapping, use a shop vac and suck it out.......All the shavings should come out too.

I just did this when doing a intake gasket match on a installed head (Samurai). Buddy of mine told me about it. Said he uses it all the time when doing head work when installed on a engine already.

Seems to have worked......Sammy runs like a champ

Tim

 

[papy]

I used a "freeze" plug on my lightning gt40 lower. I don't recall the side. I took a measurement and went to Advance and went through their behind the counter supply till I found one that would work. Used just a bit of high temp RTV around the plug before tapping it in.

Tim

i am liking this idea just for the ease of installation. have you had any issues with it?

 

[JSmall]

I tapped mine

 

[Timmy390]

i am liking this idea just for the ease of installation. have you had any issues with it?

No issues in 2 plus years........I didn't have a tap big enough and the lighting intakes go for big bucks so I didn't want to tap it.

Mine is a cast iron marine version it that makes a difference.......

Tim

 

[papy]

I tapped mine

looks good. can you share some info on the tap size, thread size and type of plug you used in case i go this route?

 

[hankjr]

Shaving cream.....Fill the hole with shaving cream and once done tapping, use a shop vac and suck it out.......All the shavings should come out too.

I just did this when doing a intake gasket match on a installed head (Samurai). Buddy of mine told me about it. Said he uses it all the time when doing head work when installed on a engine already.

Seems to have worked......Sammy runs like a champ

Tim

this is brilliant!!!

 

[Bruners4]

Looking at the heads and lower intake manifold on my '97 donor, it reminded me of the old SBC intake manifold gaskets that had the heat riser block offs built into them. Has anyone seen these to fit our SBF intakes? This would then keep all of the hot exhaust out of the intake manifold. Also wouldn't need to modify the intake lower.

 

[jmhend]

Looks like BBK (part number 1506) makes a 3/8” spacer for $79.99 that is a bolt on option. Not sure if anyone is running it or if it causes any clearance issues.

https://www.amazon.com/BBK-1506-Phenolic-Manifold-Manifolds/dp/B000CIR9TU

 

[kurtboyd]

I have a 96 Explorer swap without distributor and I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to delete the EGR. I have an engine bridge that makes things tight in that area And don't want to run the mustang Egr. Ideally I would like to bolt TB directly to intake. is there any programming that needs to be done? What is the most recent consensus regarding how to plug hole? Any help would be appreciated thanks

 

[papy]

Hey dude, glad to help out however I'm on the road till about 2 PM today I will respond to your email with what I did as Best I can.

 

[jamesroney]

I have a 96 Explorer swap without distributor and I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to delete the EGR. I have an engine bridge that makes things tight in that area And don't want to run the mustang Egr. Ideally I would like to bolt TB directly to intake. is there any programming that needs to be done? What is the most recent consensus regarding how to plug hole? Any help would be appreciated thanks

This thread is about plugging the EGR port in the Explorer lower intake, which is different than deleting EGR.

What throttle body are you running? Fox Mustang, or Explorer? If you are running Fox TB directly on intake, you will need to figure out how to mount the throttle cable, because the Fox EGR spacer is also the throttle cable mount.

I run the 96 Explorer GT40 upper and lower with an 88-93 Fox 5.0 throttle body with a 1/4 inch throttle cable bracket. It blocks the EGR port at the throttle body. Then there is no need to plug the lower.
I also run a distributor so that I can keep my stock EEC-4 computer. No one has convinced me that coil packs are superior to a distributor. My Fox 5.0 computer is stone stock, and has never been reprogrammed.

So you could say that I'm running a 96 Explorer with some Fox stuff...or you could say that I'm running a Fox 5.0 with some Explorer stuff.

 

[kurtboyd]

This thread is about plugging the EGR port in the Explorer lower intake, which is different than deleting EGR.

What throttle body are you running? Fox Mustang, or Explorer? If you are running Fox TB directly on intake, you will need to figure out how to mount the throttle cable, because the Fox EGR spacer is also the throttle cable mount.

I run the 96 Explorer GT40 upper and lower with an 88-93 Fox 5.0 throttle body with a 1/4 inch throttle cable bracket. It blocks the EGR port at the throttle body. Then there is no need to plug the lower.
I also run a distributor so that I can keep my stock EEC-4 computer. No one has convinced me that coil packs are superior to a distributor. My Fox 5.0 computer is stone stock, and has never been reprogrammed.

So you could say that I'm running a 96 Explorer with some Fox stuff...or you could say that I'm running a Fox 5.0 with some Explorer stuff.

I have the original TB off the 96 Explorer. what I'd like to do it mount it to the intake. I have an engine bridge (as I stated) that will interfere with things if I get carried away with spacers, etc. basically trying to keep things as small and simple as possible. I'm a bit confused about the tb cable but I'm confident I can sort a bracket out. I do a lot of fabrication work so making a bracket isn't a big deal.

 

[kurtboyd]

Hey dude, glad to help out however I'm on the road till about 2 PM today I will respond to your email with what I did as Best I can.

That would be great, thanks

 

[DirtDonk]

Just for those of us not quite sure what that is, what is an “engine bridge” exactly? And do you have pics?

Thanks

Paul

 

[papy]

howdy.

Im running EGR, but before going that route, i looked into this exact issue. I recall the prevailing best practice is to drill and tap the lower with a tapered plug (hex drive). the idea making this best practice is that the gasket is no longer pressured and wont fail. with EGR, the gases go through the upper and back into the system and pressure / heat build up is limited. plugging the upper may collect more heat/pressure at that location and the gasket is not designed to hold that long term. it might not be an issue, but it eliminates a potential failure mode for sure.

if you are worried about chips getting into the intake, you can stuff a rag down in before drilling and use liberal amounts of grease in the drill bit and tap to catch the chips. clean them off frequently then vacuum out and PULL THE RAG (a wire wrapped into the rag will make that easier.

Hank

Shaving cream.....Fill the hole with shaving cream and once done tapping, use a shop vac and suck it out.......All the shavings should come out too.

I just did this when doing a intake gasket match on a installed head (Samurai). Buddy of mine told me about it. Said he uses it all the time when doing head work when installed on a engine already.

Seems to have worked......Sammy runs like a champ

Tim

I tapped mine

That would be great, thanks

kurtboyd,

i did exactly this! filled the hold with shaving cream, tapped it ( i filled/vacuumed shaving cream 3 times) and used a hex plug like JSmall. I also purchased a throttle cable bracket from JSmall

 

[kurtboyd]

Just for those of us not quite sure what that is, what is an “engine bridge” exactly? And do you have pics?

Thanks

Paul

 

[kurtboyd]

Here is another shot. The purpose of the bridge is to stabilize the shock towers.