New Owner Needs Some Advice Please

[Co2slave]

Hi everyone , just picked up a bargain c max 1.6 TDCI (110) on autotrader it has done 33000 miles with 2 services from ford and the last one from the supplying dealer who is not a ford agent. Looking on the various forums it appears there are several things that may cause problems with the car so I would appreciate any advice on;

DPF issues - should I be running the car over a particular rpm for a certain time every so often ? Or do you wait for a warning light to come on before giving it a thrashing?

Eloys fluid- never heard of this should I be checking it ?

Turbo oil feed pipes and EGR - would it be a good idea to take these components off and check them ? If so how ?

I realize that these issues may have been covered over the last few years but sifting through would be nearly impossible.

The car is under warranty till July 2012 but as I understand it DPFs are not covered anyway

[Lenny]

Hi everyone , just picked up a bargain c max 1.6 TDCI (110) on autotrader it has done 33000 miles with 2 services from ford and the last one from the supplying dealer who is not a ford agent. Looking on the various forums it appears there are several things that may cause problems with the car so I would appreciate any advice on;

DPF issues - should I be running the car over a particular rpm for a certain time every so often ? Or do you wait for a warning light to come on before giving it a thrashing?

Eloys fluid- never heard of this should I be checking it ?

Turbo oil feed pipes and EGR - would it be a good idea to take these components off and check them ? If so how ?

I realize that these issues may have been covered over the last few years but sifting through would be nearly impossible.

The car is under warranty till July 2012 but as I understand it DPFs are not covered anyway

Hi Dez,

welcome to the forum,

if you are doing some driving on the motorway for around 10-15 minutes once every two weeks your dpf should be happy with that,

in regards to checking the level of the eloys fluid even ford cant check the level of it,

they just top it up on the 3rd service after they put it through a forced regeneration cycle and considering the last service wasnt done by a ford dealer i would question if the dpf fluid has been looked at mate,

the egr valve can clog up and their are various products on the market to assist in the cleaning of it,

my focus has 68,000km on it now and 3rd service done last week, i havent had any egr trouble or any type of trouble yet so i havent looked in to cleaning the egr yet mate,

here are some good products though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diesel-Air-Intake-EGR-Cleaner-Inlet-and-Manifold-Valve-Cleaner-500ml-NEW-/220956510029?pt=UK_Vehicle_Oils_Lubricants_Fluids&hash=item337208c74d

and

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JLM-DPF-DIESEL-PARTICULATE-FILTER-CLEANER-100ML-CHEAPEST-/180761753925?pt=UK_Vehicle_Oils_Lubricants_Fluids&hash=item2a163d7945

as for the turbo vain oil feed pipe,

once your car is serviced reguraly and the oil is changed in time with the manufactures specifications then the pipe shouldnt block up on you,

and as an extra precaution you could purchase a can of engine flush to help remove any stuck oil in your engine before the garage drain it out and fill it with clean stuff, simply put it in the oil and run it for 10 minutes before draining the oil form the engine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WYNNS-Engine-Oil-Flush-Petrol-and-Diesel-engines-425ml-/290136699222?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item438d7eb156

[Co2slave]

Thanks for the information I think you are right the eolys fluid has not been topped up.

Is it worth topping it up and leaving Fraud out of the equation ? I have read that if you top it up before the light comes on it will just keep on running ?

Am I right in saying that if the fluid runs out the dpf gradually clogs up and reduces performance and economy. The car is running fine at the moment and gives >50mpg on a long run.

The missus does do alot of 3-4 mile runs so I am thinking I will need to give it a fast run every 2-3 weeks

[Lenny]

Thanks for the information I think you are right the eolys fluid has not been topped up.

Is it worth topping it up and leaving Fraud out of the equation ? I have read that if you top it up before the light comes on it will just keep on running ?

Am I right in saying that if the fluid runs out the dpf gradually clogs up and reduces performance and economy. The car is running fine at the moment and gives >50mpg on a long run.

The missus does do alot of 3-4 mile runs so I am thinking I will need to give it a fast run every 2-3 weeks

im getting around the same mpg as you mate at 58mpg so that sounds about right since yours is a 110bhp c-max and mine is a 90bhp hatch back,

id wait till the 3rd service mate and take it to a main dealers, the eloys isint due a top up until the 3rd service anyways,

and its nasty stuff to be handling yourself mate it would burn the skin if in contact so best left to the professionals.

im not sure about the topping up of the dpf having an effect on the operations,

but i know if the dpf runs dry it clogs up and its end of story for it,

ford will charge you a fortune to replace the unit with another one because once it clogs up dry, its like a brick around the mesh.

[Co2slave]

Hi Lenny

thanks for the input - I have just re-read my first message and I have realised that I have misled you.

I should have said that it's had 3 services -the first 2 from Ford, the last one from the dealer .

So the 3rd service has been done -I have spoken to them and the Eolys fluid has not been topped up.

so it just an matter of time before I run out :(

I have a local guy who is prepared to put in the fluid (with kid gloves of course) I just need to know if the ECU needs resetting , as I have read that if you do it before the light comes on ( I am guessing there is a low level switch in the eolys tank)then you are OK.

[Co2slave]

Just had a quote from my local dealer Furrows £105 + VAT to fill up the tank and reset

that sounds pretty fair to me?

[Lenny]

Just had a quote from my local dealer Furrows £105 + VAT to fill up the tank and reset

that sounds pretty fair to me?

yes mate, you cant put a price on some piece of mind,

and as far as i am aware;

the system requires resetting after is has been topped up.

the resetting sets the time than the DPF goes in to regeneration and is usually at the same mileage the car is due its next service, because the waste fluid from the DPF gets put in to the engine oil but ford flush it out then at the service because they give it an oil change. the waste dpf fluid in the oil also helps reduice any sludge in the engine oil from blocking the vains in the turbo.

but it is not recommended to drive too much miles over the specified mileage for service set by the dealer. if the car has not been serviced because your oil wont be as consistant as it once was and the level of it will also be higher.

i have not seen this happen myself but i have read about it on the forum.

[Co2slave]

I will definitely be going to the garage soon to get the peace of mind.

Not sure how the waste eolys fluid gets into the oil though as the 2 systems are not connected at all. As far as I understand the eolys fluids is dosed in small quantities every time

you fill up, it is activated by the fuel flap being opened and shut. The eolys fluid then mixes with the diesel and makes the soot burn at lower temps than it would otherwise ie it makes regen possible at lower speeds and temps etc. that is why the DPF clogs up when the eolys fluid runs out because the soot in the filter can't burn off because the exhaust temperature is not high enough. Other manufacturers (VW for example) do differently by injecting excess fuel into the cylinder bores which then raises the exhaust temp high enough to cause regen.

Please correct me if I am not understanding this properly ??

[bottletree]

My God what a !Removed! joke this dreaded dpf system is. I got rid of my last car(focus) because of this very thing. If you don't do much motorway mileage I recommend 15 to 20 mins run getting the revs at around 3000 to 3500 revs. This is because it has to get hot enough to force a regeneration. I did this with the Focus and the car ran perfect afterwards. Do this at least once a month to keep the filter clear.

You think thats bad. My car went into limp mode due to a blocked dpf and I had done 600 miles previously on the motorway. THREE different garages said to me that in 5th gear and doing 2200 revs is not going to get it hot enough or cause a regeneration. I stuck it into 4th gear and kept revs high and it worked a treat.

[Co2slave]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have decided that I will basically wait until the light comes on then I will get the EOLYS fluid topped up straight away. Has anyone done this?

I presume that is ok to do ?

Once the dpf is ready for replacement I think I will remove the dpf altogether and enjoy the improved performance and economy.

Thank again for all your comments