1991 1.9l EGR problems

[Rxeightguy]

I have a 1991 Tracer (Same as a Escort) with the 1.9l engine. The engine recently started to idle really rough and the brakes started not working real well. I discovered that the tubing from the EGR valve to the exhaust had corroded and broke. I cannot get the fitting off of the exhaust to put a new tube on and a new exhaust system is worth more than the car. I noticed that if I plug the tube going to the EGR the idle on the car goes back to normal. Can anyone tell me what problems I might encounter if I plug the EGR tube permanently?

[Intuit]

Check engine light, failed state inspections, unlawful modification of vehicle emissions system; which is a Federal offense.

You can pick up replacement parts from any junkyard. I wouldn't expect that they'd be in anywhere near bad of condition, that you've described; though possible that the EGR diaphragm may be a little stiff or internally corroded. You can test them with a vacuum pump of course, before purchase.

[denisond3]

I dont recall if the twin cities has emissions inspection, nor do I know if a 91 would turn the Check Engine Light on for a disabled EGR setup. The car uses Ford's EEC-III or -IV, emissions control, which is not as fully featured as the OBD-II system the Escorts got in 1996.
I have a 91 with that same setup. The EGR pipe runs almost straight down from the EGR valve on the back of the intake manifold, to the fitting in the exhaust pipe. I needed to get it disconnected as part of removing the engine for a rebuild. I had to unbolt the EGR valve along with the catalytic converter to wiggle both of them out of the car - still attached to each other. Once on the bench I used my oxy-acetylene torch and an impact driver with a crowfoot wrench to unscrew the fitting where the EGR tube fits into the exhaust pipe, and into the EGR valve itself.
When I reassembled things I used a lot of permatex's antisieze compound on all of the parts of that EGR tube & its fittings.
While it is against the federal Clean Air Act & its amendments to disable parts of the cars emissions system - I have never heard of a private owner being bothered about what he did; though if it fails the emissions test, you probably cant get or renew the annual registration. Most all of the provisions of the Clean Air Act have been referenced into legislation at the state level too.
I -have- heard of businesses that had done 'converter-less' modifications being fined $10k for each of many instances of doing so.

[Intuit]

Okay so the '91 is pretty different from the later years. Friend's 91 pony didn't have an EGR at all.

[Rxeightguy]

Thanks for the reply's. So to make a long story short, instead of trying to disable the EGR I tried to put a sleeve on the EGR tube. I don't think I have it sealed all the way or my EGR valve is bad. The car had 5 inch pounds of vacuum with the broken tube and now has 10 inch pounds at an idle and normal at 1100 rpms. I'm thinking that the EGR valve or ECM unit is actually bad. Either way I've decided to give up on the project as the rest of the repairs would be more than the car is worth.