Best way of looking after these? By that I mean keeping them clean / working. Or is dismantle & clean the best way?
I know they can be blanked off & turned off via the ecu - a reputable tuner would be able to do this, but not sure of any harm on this? Have heard that this may raise (Intake?) temperatures, and may affect the Turbo, and the manufacturers, but not sure how correct this is. Also not sure of any other affects - does it affect MPG. Some state that this may increase fule consumption - but by removing the egr valve (or turning it off at the ecu) shouldn't this actually improve mpg?
Any thoughts welcome.
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Surely the only way to look after these is to use good quality fuel?
Trying to blank them off or otherwise tamper with them would cause countless sensors and ECUs to throw a collective wobbly and is not advised.
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I have driven diesels since 1979, the only EGR I have had problems with was a known fault with a Ford which has not recurred since the EGR was replaced and software updated at Fords expense.
One problem in 30 years on many makes of car, not one to loose sleep over.
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As someone else has said, good quality fuel is important, I also think that prolonged periods of 'overun' at high motorway speeds should help to keep the EGR free of much gunk..
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It is generally accepted that most modern diesels enjoy hard work, even if it's only occasionally. It helps keep things free and clear of soot, and is said to help keep EGR valves working properly, as well as turbo vanes and other gunk-prone items moving freely.
Some manufacturers have a routine built into the engine management software to drive the EGR valve through its complete range of movement every time the engine is switched off. This strikes me as quite a simple solution to the problem.
When I hear about diesels playing up, they tend to usually be cars run on short journeys or driven overly gently. The hard driven high milers tend to keep on going.
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I drive my cars hard but with sympathy, using the full rev range several times a week. After the software was upgraded on my 2.0 Focus you can hear the EGR cycling after engine stop.
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EGRs are likely to soot up quite quickly no matter how you drive the car or what type of fuel you use, it's unavoidable due to the nature of what is pumped through them.
If you check out the EGR articles on the Mondeo site it's quite oapparent how much gunk gets stuck in them, many owners feel that simply taking it out, cleaning it with carb cleaner and putting it back every 10K or so keeps it working well, but equally as many prefer to blank it off altogether although this is not possible on the later models without lighting up the ECU light.
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In 120k miles of diesel driving in the last 6 years, mostly on cheap supermarket diesel I have never had an EGR problem.
It has to be said, I drive my diesels hard, hitting the rev limiter quite frequently when its hot.
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Yes, diesels definitely benefit from a regular Italian tune-up, as prescribed by Doctors DP and Altea Ego.
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Thanks Blue - that?s what I mean. I use Shell Diesel - close to home, and usually same prices supermarkets. I do use the whole rev range a few times a week, so this is ok. My egr valve and turbo boost controller was replaced at approx 95k ? the change in performance was night and day. Now on 104k, but again car does not feel as quick - feels lack of torque. Still quickish but not as quick as it was. I have seen the gunk that the egr valve recirculates (especially on a diesel). On the many diesel forums people are having the same issue. If the egr is turned off by the ecu - normally ok. As the egr is in open mode on light / constant 'throttle' only, it is closed off when you but your foot down - so essentially it is blanked off at that point. No mater how you drive - the egr valve will gunk up - sludge like tar substance on the valve, and intake system for example:
forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=210706
My car is an Alfa 156 JTD not a vw tdi - but this affects all tdi's. Sometimes not noticable to owners as they get used to the slightly diminished performance.
ore extreme example:
uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/200112.aspx
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That's strange, I was going to say that most VAG diesels seem to have more robust deigns but obviously I was wrong!
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