123ashleyp Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi All, Just some advice if possible...... The Engine management light and the words ENGINE SYSTEMS FAULT has displayed on the dash which has activated the 'limp mode'. When plugged into a computer it shows as fault code P242F Diesel Particulate Filter Restriction Ash Accumulation. I have tried Wynn's DPF fluid from Halfords to try and clean it and thrashed at 3000 refs up motorway. I was wondering if there are any other tricks/ ideas or a way to clean the filter yourself. I am not sure if the filter has been changed as I have only had the car for 5 months. I would love to hear from anyone who has had the same DPF problem and had fixed it themselves. Ford has quoted £1000 + and claim its only Ford that can reset the computer. An idea I have is to buy a new DPF online and have a mate fit it and get Ford to reset the computer for £114 Thanks! Ash (Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI 2006 Ghia ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 i dont have one of these fitted, but i know they have to be at a certain temp level to re-gen, burn the rubbish inside.... hence the thrash up the motor way... one junction should of been sufficient in 3rd and fourth.. round town stop start driving is a no no, and should be thrashed quite often.... is the elios fluid level ok? the majority of members on here have had them removed, blocked of the egr valve and had the car re-mapped. I would of thought the removal and remap should be around the 400 mark..... the egr valve a fiver.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_bound Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree with the above - get rid of the dpf at a cost of about £350-400, including remap and all fault codes cleared. Be sure to phone around and pick a reputable specialist as there are a quite a few places who have set themselves up without knowing enough. This was evident when I called them and went into the details of exactly what they do and how they do it, and the bs is easy enough to spot. The car is a great drive since I had it done, and went through the MOT next day no probs. What is your mileage, as dpf is up for renewal at about 75k miles anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123ashleyp Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi when you say - get rid of the DPF. Does that mean getting rid of the software. I see several companies that can 'delete' it from the software on the car. Its done 104,000 miles. Also how do I get rid of it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 take it off the car and replace it, or have it cut open the insides removed and seam welded back up again. if it was me tbh id remove it and have a stainless pipe fitted. a re-mapper will delete the software from the ecu so this will never cause you any more problems.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123ashleyp Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Oh I see - and it will be fine with an MOT ? fumes etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 yes, as far as im aware (plz correct if im wrong members) my previous statement is wrong about the full removal, but you can take the insides out and have it welded back up.... Read :- https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263019/diesel-particulate-filters-guidance.doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123ashleyp Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 On the gov website it says from Feb 2014 they will check if there is a missing DPF - If so its a failure ;/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 if the full canister is missing...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 excessive smoke is currently the only test on a diesel car. a proper DPF removal removes the hardware (DPF itself) and the software from the ECU, however, the MOT is becoming more stringent and if the MOT tester believes that it has been interfered with, this can result in a failure of the MOT. Normally they look for the canister itself, and a clean removal will be hardly noticeable at all, however, if its unclean and looks anything more than factory, this can give enough grounds to fail the MOT, or further investigation could be carried out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_bound Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Sorry, should have been more specific - what I suggested is to have them: 1. remove the cat and dpf section from the front end of the exhaust. On the Mk2 this involves removing the air box and intercooler pipe and a few other bits as well to get access 2. use a disk cutter to make a hole in the side of it 3. break out the dpf with a hammer and chissel 4. weld back the hole over the empty part of the canister 5. replace back into the exhaust system 6. delete dpf from the software 7. reset codes and remap When you see that the dpf section on a Focus is within the engine compartment, hidden between the engine block and the radiator, covered by a heatshield and also with the plastic tray underneath it, you will see that an MOT tester is never going to be able to see any evidence of this work without spending loads of time stripping stuff out, which he is not authorised to do and won't want to either. So imo not a big risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123ashleyp Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 I have found WURTH DPF PARTICLE FILTER 400ML SPRAY. Looks like the accached hose goes into the DPF sensor and sprayed in releasing the soot and ash. Any thoughts? - worth a go? £42 eBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Given how far away the DPF is from the end of the exhaust I dont know how well it will go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 would there be a sports dpf on the market... like say a stainless free flow cat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyntdci Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 a chepo dpf :- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Focus-1-6-TDCi-Replacement-Diesel-Particulate-Filter-DPF-New-/190798422314?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2c6c78e12a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123ashleyp Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Martyn - if I replace the DPF with the one from eBay - would it automatically reset the cars computer to register it has a new one fitted with no blockage - or does it still need to go to the garage to have it reset? Ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 You might need to turn the car over a few times for the error to clear. Easiest way is to fit the new filter with the battery disconnected. Then when you reconnect the battery it hopefully has forgotten the error codes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_bound Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Personally I wouldn't waste effort on trying to clean the old one or even replacing it - £200 to buy, a couple of hours labout to fit and maybe a trip back to Ford to reset the computer. I assume you have the additive tank (Eloys?) which will probably need a top up and computer reset as well. Thats getting towards the £400 to say goodbye to dpf for good and no problems ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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