A Couple Of Questions

[Danielson]

Hi everyone. This is my first post and im hoping someone can help me with a couple of issues.

About 2 years ago i got the limp mode and fault codes associated with a dpf problem. Didnt even know what one was at the time but when i checked it turned out my car was fitted with one and, being at around 60-70k was about the right time for it to go !Removed! up. I decided like most to get the thing removed. Took it to a garage and he used the method of taking the CAT/DPF off the car, cutting a hole in it and smashing out the DPF filter, then welding the thing back up. It then got a remap to erase the thing from the computer. The results where instant, quite a bit faster than it had been before it had gone into limp mode. The guy that fixed it had said after test driving it that there was a broken pipe on the intercooler system somewhere as you could hear air hissing when you put your foot down and there was black smoke. This was all true and i replaced the pipe, which improved the situation BUT....

I still have black smoke. Just not as much. It only happens when i put my foot down but it can be a real big thick black plume at times. Ive checked the air filter and its barely even dirty, although it is a cheap and nasty jobby off eBay. Could it be that this crap filter is restricting the air coming in, causing it to run too rich? Are there any recommended filters if so? FYI, I also blanked off the EGR but that actually seemed to make it better. Could this have actually had an adverse effect?

A separate issue altogether is that i now have exhaust gas leaking from around the heat shield mounted on the CAT and i'm convinced that the weld this guy had done (not very well albeit!) has split. Again, i can hear air hissing. When I picked the car up after the DPF removal, I asked him if he had to drain all the coolant and stuff as i've read in the Haynes manual that that's the procedure for CAT/DPF but he said no and looked at me as it to say 'did i F**K!' What im after is a way of getting the thing out to get it re welded without removing headlights/intercooler/fan etc etc. He did the whole job in about 2.5 hours so there must be a way.

Thanks guys, sorry for the long post.

[FOCA]

If the air filter is clean it is unlikely to be restricting the airflow significantly

if you are hearing hissing its likeley to be the exhaust and likeley to be the boost hoses

the (re)map may be too rich causing the smoke, or carbon is building up on the surface of the CAT

Your problems may not be directly connected to the DPF removal, and it may not be nessesary to drain the coolant or remove headlights etc to work on the DPF - you usually get at it from under the car (on most cars)

A proper solid EGR blanking plate will help the car run better, reducing smoke etc, it is not the source of your problems

Your DPF problems started 2 years ago - when was the DPF removed? (and a timeline for the other things would be helpful)

[Danielson]

Thanks for the speedy response FOCA!

Yeah its a stainless steel blanking plate on the EGR.

I've been worrying that the remap may have the air/fuel mix set incorrectly but was hoping it wasnt tbh!

When you say boost hoses, could you elaborate on that a little please?

I drove the car in limp mode for a month or so as i don't do many miles, and i was trying different things like filling up the dpf fluid amongst other things to no avail. I then got the DPF removed and since then (roughly 2 years ago) it's never been perfect. As i said its only when i give it lots of gas, i could creep up to 80mph slowly and there would be no smoke but thats not always possible of course.

[TomsFocus]

The DPF on the 1.6 is right at the front of the engine, not sure why there'd be any reason to drain the coolant before removing it.

If there are no boost leaks (between the turbo/pipe/intercooler/pipe/inlet), it's possible the MAF sensor (mass air flow) is failing, the ECU over compensates and causes the excess smoke.

The remap may not be the best...they're not easy to get perfect, and unless it was done a professional mapping company it's likely that it could be better...

[FOCA]

Thanks for the speedy response FOCA!

Yeah its a stainless steel blanking plate on the EGR.

I've been worrying that the remap may have the air/fuel mix set incorrectly but was hoping it wasnt tbh!

When you say boost hoses, could you elaborate on that a little please?

I drove the car in limp mode for a month or so as i don't do many miles, and i was trying different things like filling up the dpf fluid amongst other things to no avail. I then got the DPF removed and since then (roughly 2 years ago) it's never been perfect. As i said its only when i give it lots of gas, i could creep up to 80mph slowly and there would be no smoke but thats not always possible of course.

The boost hoses connect the outlet of the compressor housing (the cold or inlet side of the turbo) to the intercooler to the inlet manifold (into the engine inlet) -

They are the hoses that are pressurized by the turbo and if there are leaks you may loose boost- the hose(es) between the airbox and compressor are not pressurized (so if there are any leaks you dont lose boost)

Hissing usually means a leak in the boost hoses, or associated component between the compressor and manifold (gasket, join, the intercooler, turbo resonator etc) or the manifold and its gaskets too - often there are specific boost hose(s) that seem to fail first and are known to owners/ forum members