The diesel engine is a much more efficient engine than the petrol one and if you are not planning to exploit it to the limits, it will be no need to cool down the combustion chamber in order to lower the NOx.
In fact, the EGR is helping the engine to warm up faster by introducing hot exhaust through the intake....
And that hot intake air will age quickly the plastic swirl flaps and they may broke.

Thanks for all the replies. I had a V6 CDTi Vectra some years ago and this would flag up problems if the EGR was blanked. However, I found that putting a small hole in the blanking plate, to allow some exhaust through but to restrict the rest worked.

Not perfect but better than nothing. Perhaps this is the way forwards, reduce exhaust flow rather than stop entirely.

Out of interest, if the Freelander throws up an error due to (for example) EGR blanking, can this be cleared by turning off and removing the blank, or does it need to be reset by the dealer?

Cheers
Mark

The EGR system should be inactive until normal operating temperature is reached so I don't think that is correct!

I am not sure that is the case as people say that the engine warms up quicker without the EGR blanking, so it must have some effect at lower temperatures.

ok! Here's an exert from an article on the EGR operation. If the Freelander system operated differently then I'd be interested to know or if someone can point me in the right direction of a LR technical operations bulletin.

Indeed, at idle the EGR will not open until operating temperature. And even then, after a while the ECU will close the EGR.
BUT...
At light load, the EGR is opened a little even if not at operating temperatures, so the engine will warm up faster because of the recirculated hot gases.

It's hard to convince you about EGR operation...
You need to see an EGR map on a tuning program and that will convince you. You may search the web for it.

And that "engine running cooler means oil is cooler" is debatable when talking about light load...

But, hey... nobody says it must be blanked... Each to his own. If you believe that it's better with EGR, then it's better.
I, for one, I've blank it. And my observations are that the oil, between changes, is less contaminated with soot since I've blanked the EGR. Also the intake manifold is less contaminated with carbon deposits. Also the engine is more responsive and less exhaust particulate. And these are enough for me to convince me to keep it that way.

Well, you've convinced me

Alex, you obviously know your stuff. Please would you advise the following:

If the Freelander throws up an error due to (for example) EGR blanking, can this be cleared by turning off and removing the blank, or does it need to be reset by the dealer?

Many thanks
Mark

If the proper operation is restored, it may clear after a few cycles of driving.
It's needed for the engine to reach the operating temperature, when the ECU will have the occasion to test the proper functioning of EGR.

To be honest I can't tell you for sure, because when an (non blanked) EGR is malfunctioning, the user will have it repaired and then the garage will clear by default the error codes in order to see if the error is still persisting.
You wont see a garage that will leave the MIL lit there and then tell the user: drive it and it will eventually extinguish by itself after a while...

But the default ECU error handling functions behavior is to test each time the error and, if not there anymore for several cycles, to mark it as Historical and extinguish the MIL. But the error will remain in the ECU memory in order to be retrieved when needed.

Thanks Alex. Do you know if it goes into limp home or is it just a light?

I am thinking of testing what blanking/ restriction works with the egr.

Many thanks.

Hi Spatch, please can you update your profile; we don't know any details if your Freelie ie year and model.
.
Kind regards from Fred.
. 2010GS Auto ex Celeb, Santorini Black, 2011 facelift , spoiler, spats, mudflaps, LED footwell lamps, Witter detach,
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Profile updated.

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Thxs Alex, not that I'm being hard to convince just trying to understand the reasons for doing so.
In my case i purchased a diesel Freelander 2 coming from a V6 petrol Freelander. My reasons for a diesel this time was purely economy, driveability as I live in the CBD with short commutes and believed this was a better choice than the Si4. But now i'm worried as this type of driving is exact;y what leads, ive been led to believe, to EGR problems so its of interest to me to possibly get rid of this device rather than have continual problems with it.
I'm only 5 months into my MY15 Freelander, no DPF luckily here in Australia either (phew)!
So how did you remove yours without triggering the ECU?
Again, thank you for your information, its really useful.
Regards

Stuartc: I think Alex drives an older model than yours. As he wrote earlier, the older models can be blanked.

My thoughts on egr: It's designed to cut NOx emissions. These are killing thousands of people in London alone: I don't want to be, even slightly, a murderer. I haven't had an egr problem on either of my Freelanders. The egr on my TD5 did jam open, and seriously affected the running, so I blanked it off. This restored running to normal, but the car did lake longer to warm up, which presumably affected the mpg, although I didn't check that. If I had a similar problem on the FR2, I assume it would be fixed under warranty, extended or otherwise. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.

Thxs Past Master. I'm a believer of "if it ain't broke, don't touch it" school but there seems to be a lot of talk about the EGR and how it can make a nasty mess of your intake manifold and it would seem the type of trips that i'm doing make mine a prime candidate.
At this point in time I have no interest in removing or playing with it rather educate myself in the event I do have a problem and so can better inform my repairer of the issue. Better to be informed than have eyes shut!  MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Surround Camera System
InControl Apps soon to be replaced with CarPlay (WIP)
Meridian Premium Surround Sound
Digital Audio Broadcast
Timed Climate
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Follow Me Home Reverse
Extra Features Menu
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