DPF and EGR advice

[garry10101]

Hello,

Apologies for another DPF/EGR thread. I have had my A4 '06 2.0tdi 170bhp for about 6 months now and have got to the point of EGR and DPF problems. I knew what I was letting myself in for as I did research before buying the car but I am having trouble to find a solution for my new problems.

Firstly my engine warning light came on and was diagnosed as an EGR fault. After a google search I came to the conclusion I was going to have a bash at cleaning the EGR valve and replacing the 2 gaskets and seal. Before I got a chance to do this my DPF warning light came on. I do a regular amount of motorway driving and thought this would be cleaned regularly, only to recently read that you should be sitting at 60mph in 4th gear for 15-20 minutes for this regeneration process to come into effect??? Anyway I went to try this that evening and kept on getting diverted off the motorway due to raod works so only had a 10 minute max run at it. The next thing the glow plug warning light starts flashing and the car is running in limp mode...

I am just an average Joe and not a mechanic and am looking for some much appreciated advice. When doing research I was under the impression the DPF and EGR could be removed/bypassed via a software update but when getting quotes I am told the DPF needs to be emptied out or physically cut out. And the EGR has to have blanking plates fitted.

All and any feedback and advice would be much appreciated. I am working away just now so the car has not been getting used since it went in to limp mode and I want to avoid using it until these problems are resolved.

Thanks in advance,
Garry

 

[pburv]

Hi Garry I can,t think of any names but there are companies that do the complete dpf removal and egr delete for around the £1,000 price .If I had a diesel that would be the route I would go for..

 

[Joe_Murphy21187]

Hi Gary,

the glow plug warning light may well be a completely separate issue to the DPF & EGR so I suggest you get these changed.

With regards to the DPF & EGR they can both be mapped out of the ECU, any reputable remapper will be able to do this for you. The EGR, if mapped out, will just remain closed and will never allow recirculated air to be passed back through the air intake. This will remove and worries relating to build up of nasties which can clog up the EGR valve. You do not HAVE to fit blanking plates, however you can if you wish. If the valve remains closed many think that blanking plates are not required (I have none).

The mapping out of the DPF removes the regeneration cycle which will stop the DPF warning light appearing on your dash. As a result of this any soot deposits within the DPF will never be burnt off, even under long motorway runs. There are 2 ways to physically remove the DPF (in addition to removing the ECU regen code). 1 is to have the DPF replaced with a straight through pipe. This can be fitted internally to the DPF box (after innards removed) or the DPF/2nd CAT removed completed and replaced with a decat pipe. There COULD be issues with regards to MOT regs in the future if they impose emission system checks in excess of what is looked at today, but for the time being this should not be a problem. The second option is just to have the innards removed from the DPF. This will have majoratively the same effect at fitting a decat pipe without the cost of additional hardware. This procedure consists of cutting open the DPF, removing the ceramic honeycomb contents and welding it back up again. The mapping out of the DPF will also remove and dash error which would have been thrown from an incorrect reading from the lambda sensor.

Hope that helps.

Also, while you're having the EGR & DPF mapped out, it would be well worth you having a stage 1 remap at the same time. As the ECU is already being flashed the price will be reduced and you will notice and instant performance in power, as well as MPG (if driven accordingly).

 

[Joe_Murphy21187]

The price of £1000 sounds very expensive for the work. Shop around, I got my remap, EGR mapping, DPF mapping and physical removal for about £400 all in...

 

[garry10101]

Thank you both for the advice. And thanks for the in-depth description of this jjmurphy21187. It is good to hear first hand from people as from comparing research to getting quotes people say different things. But obviously if you have had your EGR mapped out, it is possible, as opposed to a company who has told me it is not possible without fitting blanking plates.

I am going to try and tackle the DPF and EGR problems and cross my fingers that this will in turn resolve the glow plug problem. I understand this could be a separate issue, but from reading forums am I right to think it could possibly be related and in turn possibly be resolved by fixing EGR/DPF?

I would consider the stage 1 remap but am a bit hesitant with how it may effect my insurance. I know a lot of people don't declare it but I'm not sure if I would want to chance that.

As for prices I am being quoted estimates for around £450-£500 and more from other places of £700+ but have found a friend of a friend who says he could do what you have described jjmurphy21187, all in for £350.

 

[Springer*]

Yes mate, I think if you shop around you should be looking at a total cost of around half what you have been quoted. This would be for EGR delete, DPF removal and replacement with straight through pipe and ECU remap. £1,000 does sould a heck of a lot for the work.

J

 

[garry10101]

Yeah thanks, got another quote through, this one at £350 but not including removal of DPF internals. Every source also says about the stage 1 remap. Just don't want an insurance premium increase...

 

[T3nnant]

Yeah thanks, got another quote through, this one at £350 but not including removal of DPF internals. Every source also says about the stage 1 remap. Just don't want an insurance premium increase...

When you car is "remapped" They cant physically tell as there is no trace... there for no need to tell them.
if you get it "chipped" you are leaving a plug nd play box attached so there is a trace.

It may sound silly not to tell them but thats the way id go as most dpf removals also include the remap as the package.
Could always ask an insurer first to see what they say if you dont fancy not declaring it

 

[garry10101]

Ah I never knew that there was no trace of this. I thought it was something that could be plugged in and checked if it was remapped.

As I say the DPF removal is my main concern. I just did a comparison insurance search and it is £200+ more expensive with engine modification.

 

[A_C4mby]

As far as untraceable goes, I'm not to sure on this. VCDS has a function to indicate the number of flashes, date of last flash, and a programmer code. However, it could be said that the reflash was an audi update during a service?

 

[Joe_Murphy21187]

As far as untraceable goes, I'm not to sure on this. VCDS has a function to indicate the number of flashes, date of last flash, and a programmer code. However, it could be said that the reflash was an audi update during a service?

Correct. There is a 'checksum' which is left at the end of the ECU code, so IF an insurance company decided to check your ECU code they could potentially prove it had been altered. What they can't prove it:

How it was altered - could have been an economy remap
Power Increase - each model from the factory is slightly different
The ECU was altered whilst you were the owner of the car

I admit there is a chance of this happening, but I seriously doubt an insurance company paying out less than £15k will go to that extent of investigation...

 

[S3AMK20VT]

try fr-rtuning.com have used/recommended many times with no problems. Think they charge around 350 for gutting dpf and coding ecu, little more for power increase. heres a youtube video of one with dpf removed and remap makes 200+bhp and 400+nm torque! Audi A4 B7 2.0TDI DPF Removed and Stage 1 ECU Remap fr-rtuning - YouTube

 

[Brodster]

When you car is "remapped" They cant physically tell as there is no trace... there for no need to tell them.

Im afraid your wrong there. There are many tuning companies online who state that their remaps are "undetectable" and this simply isn't true. While it may not be apparent it is relatively easy to find out by comparing the contents of the ECU with a standard one, by verifying the checksum (a value calculated against the contents of the ECU), and by taking the vehicle for a test drive and taking some logs of the data provided by the ECU. Remapping is NOT undetectable, and don't let anyone tell you different. Would an insurance company check to see if your car was remapped????? Who knows.

 

[garry10101]

Thanks for all the feedback and input from folk on everything, including stage 1 remap info. Also thanks for the recommendation S3AMK20VT. But I stay in Scotland so there is not a franchise close enough to visit really.

I did a wee bit of reading on the flashing glow plug. I need to stop reading and wait for a diagnosis when I'm back from work, convincing myself it'll need new injectors now, hopefully won't. But from what I read I would hope it would be covered in the recall that I have been reading about...

This all serves me right for changing from my reliable workhorse of a Laguna to something quality and solid! Love my car but I'm paying for it.

 

[Rick @ Unicorn Motor Dev.]

Thanks for all the feedback and input from folk on everything, including stage 1 remap info. Also thanks for the recommendation S3AMK20VT. But I stay in Scotland so there is not a franchise close enough to visit really.

I did a wee bit of reading on the flashing glow plug. I need to stop reading and wait for a diagnosis when I'm back from work, convincing myself it'll need new injectors now, hopefully won't. But from what I read I would hope it would be covered in the recall that I have been reading about...

This all serves me right for changing from my reliable workhorse of a Laguna to something quality and solid! Love my car but I'm paying for it.

Hi,

W have done countless DPF and egr removals on these. Drop me a line if you want any specific information. The glow plug light isn't related to the glow plugs... It means you have a fault which is not directly causing an obd2 emission falt. There are legal require menus for setting of the MIL lamp set out in the obd2 standard. The glow plug light is used when it isn't one of these faults.

Thanks, Rick