agree with dan, the EGR valve is not needed, and nothing but trouble. its the same with the V6 2.5. i cleaned my inlet manifold out, and it was a mess, took me two full cans of degreaser, and it still wasnt perfect. after re fitting it, it was like a different car. it ticked over better, was smoother to drive, and went a LOT better. blocking of the EGR valve is a good move IMHO. for what it achieves, against the problems it causes, there a waste of time, and do more harm than good.