29 replies to this topic

[TDCiST]

I'm sure RS Tuning can map out the EGR on this engine...

[Timty]

I am beginning to agree that EGR cleaner used with the valve in situ is probably useless. I borrowed a boroscope today and had a look inside the inlet manifold and it is quite dirty. Thanks for all the information and advice. I don't know whether the EGR is Euro3/4/5/ etc. but I will block it. I intend blocking it at that point just above and behind where the rubber hose connects to the inlet manifold (i'm referring here to the hose that I would have disconnected in order to spray cleaner into the manifold). Anyone know of a source for a plate to block this port and is there a gasket required? As an aside I must say I'm so happy this car doesn't have a DPF as well!

P.S. Having just discoverd how to do so, I've attached a photo of the point where I hope to block the EGR, can you confirm I'm correct with this please  DSCN0693.JPG   123.25K   7 downloads

[martyntdci]

unsure, i was told to block mine of there, and mentioned to you the same place. but as from last week mine has being blocked the other end of the pipe, when you look at the engine its on the right hand side behind the block, so ive cut of the cooler all together.... look at the cooler, the entry on the right, then follow that pipe down where it joins mine is now blocked there, with a home made 3.5mm galv plate. machined to the same fitment...... if you look on the bay they approx 3-4 quid, but everybody says it throws the eml light up, wich on mine it doesnt......

[Timty]

martyntdci - thank you very much for that clarification. Thinking about it, blocking the gases from ever entering the cooler sounds more logical. Fantastic if it doesn't bring on the eml light.

[FOCA]

unsure, i was told to block mine of there, and mentioned to you the same place. but as from last week mine has being blocked the other end of the pipe, when you look at the engine its on the right hand side behind the block, so ive cut of the cooler all together.... look at the cooler, the entry on the right, then follow that pipe down where it joins mine is now blocked there, with a home made 3.5mm galv plate. machined to the same fitment...... if you look on the bay they approx 3-4 quid, but everybody says it throws the eml light up, wich on mine it doesnt......

Thats interesting - does the engine pick up any better?, theoretically blocking the EGR closer to the exhaust manifold should help the turbine spin up faster, less exhaust (heat) energy should be lost, less heat is transferred to the intake - the improvement may be small though

Ditching the junk (EGR pipe/ cooler) will increase reliability of cooling system (no cooler to split) and of course exhaust/ inlet and (now non- existant) EGR systems

the only disadvantage i can see is the cooler not only cooled the exhaust gasses before they reached the EGR valve, but also the heat from the exhaust manifold helps to heat the coolant before it goes to the heater matrix, so helping to maintain temps and helping to warm the engine coolant up quicker - again i dont know how significant this is - its a small cooler and probably does not heat the coolant that much - the cooler being connected is probably only an advantage in the winter and a disadvantage in the summer

I would be interseted to know if the engine seems to take longer to warm up?

Thanks in advance

[Timty]

Blanking plate ordered. To be safe I've ordered the one with the 10mm hole in it, but when more confident (hopefully!) will try the fully blanked plate. From what FOCA suggests, does it also imply the turbo will be running hotter for longer than intended with reduced bearing life etc?

[FOCA]

Blanking plate ordered. To be safe I've ordered the one with the 10mm hole in it, but when more confident (hopefully!) will try the fully blanked plate. From what FOCA suggests, does it also imply the turbo will be running hotter for longer than intended with reduced bearing life etc?

Ive got to tell you the ones with the holes are a complete waste of time because -

1 - It cannot "fix" a faulty/ leaking/ sticking EGR valve or faulty EGR system - a solid one can

2 - the hole allows gasses through to cause flat spots etc and contaminate/ coke up the inlet manifold

3 - it completely negates the point of the blanking plate, might as well not bother

Best to fit a solid,(no holes to let gasses through) stanless steel (mild steel rusts, alloy can melt) blanking plate of a decent thickness (3+ mm) 5mm if you can get one

The turbo is lubricated by the engine oil - the boost is controlled buy the actuator - the turbo may spool up quicker but it is probably quite subtle (probably the engine will just feel a little bit sweeter/ stronger)

more peak boost is not produced, (it will be the same as before) because the actuator backs it off, if the peak boost is reached sooner, and the efficiency of the engine is increased (because the engine is running on clean air instead of exhaust fumes) it may pull a little bit better so you don't have to use quite so much throttle, - so there may be less stress on the turbo

i blanked my EGR valve years ago - i belive this has HELPED long term reliability

I also have some SERIOUS modifications - ive never blown a turbo or had any bad engine problems

(Overall blanking the EGR (with a solid plate, no holes) tends to make the engine more reliable)

[Timty]

unsure, i was told to block mine of there, and mentioned to you the same place. but as from last week mine has being blocked the other end of the pipe, when you look at the engine its on the right hand side behind the block, so ive cut of the cooler all together.... look at the cooler, the entry on the right, then follow that pipe down where it joins mine is now blocked there, with a home made 3.5mm galv plate. machined to the same fitment...... if you look on the bay they approx 3-4 quid, but everybody says it throws the eml light up, wich on mine it doesnt......

Does your car have a Euro 4 EGR. My understanding is that a vacuum operated EGR is Euro 3 while motorised is Euro 4? The solid blanking plate should bring on the eml light on a Euro 4 .. as I understand it anyway. Did this happen with you?

[lofty690]

hi all , just wondering if any of you have had your tdci remapped , i was thinking if there is problems with your EGR because of fouling is it not over fuelling that causes this ~? i might try mine when i get the new engine fitted (cam-box failure) to try and reduce the fuel and give it more air .

[stef123]

hi all , just wondering if any of you have had your tdci remapped , i was thinking if there is problems with your EGR because of fouling is it not over fuelling that causes this ~? i might try mine when i get the new engine fitted (cam-box failure) to try and reduce the fuel and give it more air .

the EGR valve feeds exhaust gas back into the inlet side of the engine so naturally it will contain soot and will clog things up eventually

The only way you are really going to get more air into the engine (mind diesels are also free breathing) is to replace the standard air filter with a performance one and uprate the intercooler to one with a better flow

[lofty690]

ok alrite , so what about the remap ? has anyone remapped a tdci ?

[Timty]

Well, since I started this post my car flew through its first N.C.T. test (M.O.T. in Britain) with flying colours. The smoke test limit is 1.5 somethings per something or other and mine read 0.6. Today a work colleague's 2009 Mondel 1.8 TDCI failed at 5.5!! That said, I've got to go from Cork to Dublin tomorrow, a 160 mile motorway blast and I'm not confident the car will make it without dying (Misfire, Engine malfunction light on, engine idle rpm only, no throttle response, turn off, turn on and away we go again, no codes stored). I have also fitted the 'sort of blanking' plate i.e. the one with the 10mm hole. Is there anything worse than a car that you have no confidence in getting you from A to B and back again.
Anyway, in reply to Newbie I have little interest in re-mapping it, I'd be delighted if it would just stay running on what Mr. Ford gave it first day! Happy Valentine's Day to all .. and ok ... I wish the same to my '!Removed!' of a TDCI

[Timty]

Oh! No!
The latest update. I took the car on a motorway drive today to Dublin. At exactly the same point on the road as on 2 previous events (after 60 miles of steady 65mph) the Engine Malfunction light came on. However, this time, no loss of power. About 20 miles before this I saw the rev counter and speedo drop to zero and immediately go back to where they should be. I was driving with my OBD code reader connected, hoping to catch the error if it happened. Guess what .. when I tried to read it the screen had more or less gone blank, barely readable but I could see it displayed a loss of connection to the ECU!! Between the previous engine malfunction (mis-fire, light on, no power, engine at idle, no response to throttle, turn off turn on all ok again) and this event (no mis-fire, malfunction light on, no loss of power) I have fitted a blanking plate on the EGR (the one with the 10mm hole). I wonder have I proved my theory that the EGR is sticking open? I did the scan using the Reset button on the column and it came up with D900.

That said I tried 4 Ford dealers today to have a scan done and they are all too busy! I have the car booked in for next wednesday. The service manager there suspects an over pressurisation by teh high pressure diesel pump or maybe an injector fault. He says there should really be an OBD code but I've never found one. He will do deeper diagnostics.

[FOCA]

As you probably already know, EGR blanking plates with holes are of limited use (if any) - the EGR has to be working properly for them to work, and they don't block the flow of gasses (defeating the purpose) a solid plate (stainless steel) will "fix" a leaking/ faulty EGR valve, as well as completely stopping the unwanted flow of exhaust gasses

Fit a solid plate and let us know how you get on



The correct "domestic" (cheap) OBD11 code reader that is designed to read the Ford OBD11 protocols does 99.9% of what the "expensive" (pro) code readers do

So which code reader are you using? does it have the Ford- specific protocols?

the plug can come loose, it helps if you support/ push to inner part of the socket tight against the plug when you push the plug in



I personally, would not waste my money on putting my car to a garage/ dealer to get my codes read (but i have a Bluefin handset that reads all my codes) -

As far as im aware, by Bluefin handset can read all the codes the garage can, and reset the codes, and the only thing the Bluefin CANT do and (some) garages can, is recode the injectors

[Timty]

Thanks FOCA. My code reader is an Autel Maxiscan MS509. It was highly recommended in 'Car Mechanics' magazine in 2011, that's why I bought it. I wonder did the code reader go faulty while it was connected and cause my 'Engine Malfunction' warning today or did the car generate the warning and in some way or other (voltage spike?) damage the code reader. Major portions of the code reader lcd are missing. That said when the fault occured I was able to discern this from the lcd: U1040 'Lost communication with the Body Control Module' U0001 'High Speed Can Communication Bus' and U2005 'DTC Definition not found' . I still don't know what that last one is for.
I've ordered a Gendan GCR25 off ebay an hour ago, feel 'naked' without a code reader!
You are absolutely correct in what you say about the blanking plate with the hole. I do have a solid one and will try that. However, in fairness, while I got an MIL light today I did not lose power. This is an improvement! Have I got an EGR issue but the restricted plate did not allow the cylinders to 'flood' with inert gas? Who knows! Is there anything worse than an intermittent fault that does not store a code. Is there anything worse than actualy calling to 4 Ford main dealers in the area and not one of them in a position to put the car on a scan unless you book it in, take a morning off, arrange alternative transport etc etc.

I've had a mercedes e270 cdi for 9 months, 3 of which it spent its time in the garage having torque converters replaced! My mate has a '07 Audi A4 2.0tdi that ate its cam followers, cost 1300 euro to repair and is still not right. My work colleague, with a low mileage 2009 1.8 tdci Mondeo just failed the MOT with a smoke figure of 5.5 (limit 1.5). My neighbour's Peugeot HDi has just had a new clutch/dmf fitted. BUT ... my daughter's 1999, 1Litre Petrol Polo with 140,000 miles never gives trouble!! Conclusion - buy a petrol car.

Ok, rant over, the wine is beginning to work now. I think I will suffer it and take the car to the dealer on Wednesday and see what they might find. I'll let you know what happens. Tomorrow I will attempt to go to Dublin again but this time I am much more hopeful of getting there ... because I'm taking the train!!

Tim