Cleaning out a TDi inlet mani of gunge - * update - EGR blank done *

I've finally got round to taking off the inlet manifold from the Passat daily for a clean up of all the ****e that comes in via the EGR valve.

Question is, cleaning the inlet up is fine (gonna take ages, but I can at least bin the gunge), but what about all the crap in the inlet ports? A bodgery scrape out, vacuum to finish and risk a few bits through the engine....

... or leave it be?

Ain't having the head off, that's for sure!

TIA

 

could you use some sort of carb cleaner on it

 

Initial scrape, then carb cleaner and a washing up brush I reckon... mop up what you can, but don't panic about the bits you don't get, as long as they're soft gunge rather than stones and metal.

 

I'd still not want any of that gunk near a combustion chamber

either leave it, scrap bit's out while a hover nozzle on it and/or back off the cam carrier bolts to shut the valves for sure

main issue is the inlet/erg valve to be clean /free flowing

HINT- building it back up putting a plate between the pipe & inlet valve to close off the flow will keep it clean, and improve the performance

 

Good principle, keeping the engine clean, but bits of that gunk have been falling randomly into your combustion chamber for years... never caused a problem before.

 

Cheers for the tips - going to be great fun tbh with the inlets pointing at the bulkhead...

How far down will the gunk go towards the valves? All the way?

Like this





^^ FFS.

A lot of swearing and "which idiot invented the EGR valve?" later....

Got to really - jeez that was outrageous. Got the inlet to do in the morning. Shall make up a plate over the w/end and stick that EGR out of business.

Still, least it should be passing 1.8T's from now on - that's the main thing

 

Mr. Muscle - the stuff that gives you huge weeping burns on your arms. That and a scrubbing brush, then hose it down with carb cleaner. Your engine will digest it soon enough...

 

all the way to the valves

guess that why mine felt SO much better after ported/polishing the Mk 1,s engine
blocking off the egr combined with a catch tank will keep the arteries spotless

 

Well fook me. Pics of the head before the clean up operation:





Gobsmacking. 136k miles, probably never touched (no sign of anyone having been in there).

Cleaned it all up, took all day. Had to scrape the stuff upwards with a ring spanner and wipe with a rag. And repeat, and repeat etc etc. And the same for the next 3 cyls. All because of some c***ing EGR valve. Unbelivevable.

Forgot to take pics of the cleaned up version - never mind, but you can imagine.

Started it up with a couple of things in the back of the mind - some carb cleaner will have seeped down into the cyls so I kept that to a minimim, and also some gunge would have been sat on the back of the valves waiting to drop it. No airline to hand, so it was going to happen, much as it goes against everything I'd think was acceptable.

Started it up. Couple of seconds of really noisy diesel knocking - thought I'd ruined it.

Gave it a few quick revs to try to blow any gunge out, bit of smoke, then stalled. Tried to restart, thought it sounded low on compression, and feared the worst. Slammed door.

Then tried it again, idled fine.

Ran it up the road, and what can I say? Eager response, far less throttle required - immediate difference. Same at higher speeds. The car is night and day different - though it's not fecking surprising now it's not running a small-port gunged-up head. Jeez.

EGR valve block off plate being made up later and MPG test to follow....

 

This is a problem I didn't have even though the car goes like crap. My EGR and whole inlet tracks are sweetly clean, but still no go!

 

The old girl's Pishrat TDI must look like that too. Every time I take it (about once a month) and give it a good hiding, it blows loads of dirty gunky smoke out the back when I give it any revs. Then it clears up, and after I give her the keys back she asks me if I "changed the oil or something", it runs so much smoother now. Women and diesels are daft, yet I own one of each. So I am doubly daft.

 

Actually I have two diesels, I forgot about the Caddy. Triply daft.

 

Lovely... looks like you've doubled your intake area by cleaning that lot up.

 

such an annoying design

if the breather wasnt so good at coating the entire intake system in oil, im pretty sure the egr would make so much gunk

 

just goes to show how benifialy a oil catch really is on a tgi, with so much positive pressure in the block/cam area

looks like i might be getting a mann-hummel diesel oil catch tank to keep all the gunk down

 

erm what engine is this on?
slightly worried that my passat(2001 130 tdi) might be in a similar state. to be honest i do as little to that car as possible as i need it to run every other day for work. however if it's an easy job and improves things then i might sort it. can't be as bad/hard a job as doing the water pump on it. honestly what was wrong with an external water pump that can be changed in an hour inc a tea brake?

 

if your 130pd still has a functional egr and no catch tank, it will probably be like that.

mine was

the oil also coats the intercooler which makes that leff efficient too

the breather also causes the n75 issues too lol

 

matt, i dont really get all the above, should i be doing anything?

 

yours only delivers power like a diesel, but doesnt actually run on the stuff, so nothing for you to worry about

 

ah i didnt know if it was only diesel to be cleaned or if mine has any of the same parts that need cleaning thanks