reasons. I'm not well-versed on its operation, but I dont believe it would leak if the pipes get clogged up, but rather if it gets stuck in a certain position. U probably dont need to keep it, except for looks. Can bypass it and still pass emissions, just leave it installed for the visual inspection. OR if you really want to keep the EGR, then just replace it. They all seem to malfunction at some point, so this should be a maintenance item anyway.