About 3 years ago, I heard a loud bang from the back while cruising down
the highway. Actually I wasn't cruising, but hobbling at 35mph because
there had been a sudden and distinct loss of power 20 minutes before and the
oil temperature gauge had gone way up; it was getting dark and it started
to snow and I wanted to reach the next town which was about 30 miles away.

I stopped and checked things, but couldn't see anything. Since the engine
was still running, I resumed the odyssey, dropped the bus off in front of
a garage that Saturday night and came back the following Monday morning.

Turned out that a valve (don't remember which one) on cylinder #3 was
tight. That was all. As for the loud bang, apparently it was the EGR
filter, the flat box connected to the exhaust system, that had blown off.
The mechanic told me not to worry about it and that I didn't need a new
one. He just plugged the end of the broken pipe at the exhaust, but not
the end going up into the engine compartment. 

Who can solve this mystery? Why would a tight valve cause the EGR filter
to fly off? Maybe there is no causality relation here, just pure
coincidence? (Did I tell you about the time three (3) things broke down
within one minute: Engine, turn signals, and steering? Those *were* related
and whoever guesses what the problem was gets to call him/herself Vanagon
Stud/Studette of the Week.)

Second question about the EGR system: for all I know, my EGR stuff may
still be working although it is now sucking in fresh air and not exhaust
fumes. Could that be a problem? What would you do?

Thanks!

-- 
Sami Dakhlia
Dept. of Economics
Washington-University-in-St.Louis	In theory, communism works. In THEORY.
dakhlia@wuecona.wustl.edu				-Homer Simpson