In-car intercooling and turbo cleaning?

[rob_bot]

Just a 'can it be done' question really.

I just cleaned my EGR and it was pretty clogged up. I want to clean the rest of the intercooler system, but don't want to remove everything really.

Is it possible to fill the intercooler system with 'a cleaning agent' at the top intercooler pipe (where the EGR fits) leave overnight, then drain repeat and flush?

Got a limp home problem and pretty sure it is the vanes or that N75 valve..

I was also going to fill (and soak) the exhaust side of the turbo with some oven cleaner to free the vanes, can this be done easily without removing the exhaust and turbo?

My car is a Passat 1.9 TDI 130 '52 with 167k on it. Not modded yet but am thinking about it now..

[Crasher]

Not practical as flushing the system though would be very difficult, requiring some pretty high power air movement. It is possible to clean the exhaust side internals of the turbo with Innotec turbo cleaner.

[snapdragon]

It won't make any difference, so I wouldn't bother.
Don't put more liquid into the intercooler just to flush out a smaller amount, it won't do any harm, but it will if you put more in and it injests some. Even one drip of water would cause a big pop sound if ingested into the running engine, and if you used a solvent, the danger is the engine would use it as a fuel and run away. I wouldn't put oven cleaner into the turbo either, it doesn't have that sort of deposits in it where that would help, and being a strong alkaline it wouldn't do the bearing any good. What's more, the oven cleaner will contain Sodium and Potassium which would poison the catalytic converter.

[rob_bot]

Thought so, but I thought I would check :)
I have heard of the Innotec turbo cleaner but wondered how easy it was to put it in with the turbo still the car.
Probably best to use that then rather than Mr Muscle.

[Crasher]

Thought so, but I thought I would check :)

I have heard of the Innotec turbo cleaner but wondered how easy it was to put it in with the turbo still the car.
Probably best to use that then rather than Mr Muscle.




You just drop the downpipe off the turbo and spray it in, very easy. I have it in stock for £57 plus £5 carriage.

[PeteK]

Just out of interest, is there any way of preventing the sticking turbo vane problem in the first place, i.e. giving the good car a good thrash every now and again to clean the deposits out?

[Crasher]

Cheap diesel is beginning to emerge as a cause, those people that run their car on Shell V Power diesel don’t appear to have this problem. To help keep them free a good thrashing does seem to work and when we service them, we exercise the vanes in Basic Settings 04, Main Group 011 and you should se the soot that comes out.

[PeteK]

When you mention about exercising the turbo vanes Crasher, is this done with the engine running or switched off? A friend of mine has a Passat TDi 130 which keeps losing boost but is fine when switched off and restarted. VAG COM shows a 'positive boost pressure deviation - intermittent' error. He only uses the vehicle mainly for short journeys and I suspect the VNT may be sticking.

I also found the following on the internet:

"The VW TDi engine is equipped, like many modern diesels, with a Variable Vane turbocharger. The problem is that if the car is not regularly run to 3,000rpm between gears or is 'babied' and 'coasted' along the road like an 'old mans driving' the VNT vanes, which are in the exhaust flow, get sooted up and without the exercise they eventually stick. The prevention is to never run the engine below 1,500rpm when driving and try to change gear at 2,500-3,000rpm when warm (try not to exceed 2,500rpm when the engine is cold unless you have to) and every now and then go full throttle to 4,000rpm. This blows the turbo through and gives the vanes some exercise as the revs and power increases they have to move from one extreme (full boost) to the other extreme (low boost). This exercise keeps them healthy."

It just goes to show that labouring the engine to get better fuel economy can end up costing you more money in the long run.

Apologies for hi-jacking this thread by the way ;)

[rob_bot]

A friend of mine has a Passat TDi 130 which keeps losing boost but is fine when switched off and restarted. VAG COM shows a 'positive boost pressure deviation - intermittent' error.


Mine is the same car and the same problem with the same codes and the same solution (try it a 70mph!). I am having the turbo cleaned on Friday so I will let you know how I get on.

I also pulled the hose off the EGR and put a bolt in the end to stop it opening and 'eating it's own poo' not been out in it for a long journey yet, but it seems better. Time will tell as not really put it on the motorway or up any hills. If so it could be the exhaust to EGR pipe all clogged up. I will look at that on Friday too.

I agree with the caning and I do it often..I think the excercising of the vanes would be with it running.

[rob_bot]

I suppose a late reply is better than nothing...even though I started the thread nearly 2 years ago!

Anyway since cleaning the turbo/EGR and removing the EGR vacuum pipe I have done about 50K and it has occured only a few times - on two occasions I remember I was towing a trailer with a 300Kg load on it going up a hill. The ignition off-on fixed it and there was a long period in between it happening again. Before the turbo cleaning it was almost a weekly occurrence.

I would say that the Innotec cleaner certainly helped and was an easy fix for the money.

My car has 198K on it now and it is still on the original turbo :)

If you want more info look here: http://www.innotecworld.com/c-1064-turbo-clean-set.aspx

A supplier is mentioned in this thread too :)

[passat 130 tdi]

i got innotec sprays , direct from the company iirc it was £40 delivered . small price to pay to keep your turbo soot free ,even if you did it once every 2 years . i now have the egr blanked off and use millers 4 sport in my derv . 109k on the clock and running sweet as a nut . 85 mph in 3rd gear and no signs of any black smoke, oh and thats uphill :D

[caldirun]

85 mph in 3rd gear and no signs of any black smoke, oh and thats uphill :D
I presume that is uphill on a test track!

[jammy86]

Just to add...

Modern VGT's with SREAs (Electric actuated vanes) mostly waggle the vanes when the engine is turned off to help prevent the carbon build up problem.

I found that getting a bottle of millars diesel system cleaner and taking the car out at night, getting it nice and warm, then booting it to redline and holding it at about 4k in 3rd gear for about 20 seconds at at time made alot of crap blast out the back and since then it's seemed cleaner when you boot it.

[passat 130 tdi]

I presume that is uphill on a test track!


maybe it was all just a dream , im not sure now .

[philipharmes]

'Modern VGT's with SREAs (Electric actuated vanes) mostly waggle the vanes when the engine is turned off to help prevent the carbon build up problem.'

On the VAG system, before the engine is started there is no vacuum in the system so turbo vanes will be at minimum boost position.
As soon as the engine starts vacuum will be at a maximum & turbo vanes will now be in the maximum boost position.
So surely every time the engine is started the turbo vanes get exercised, or am I missing something.

[Crasher]

The electronically actuated turbo’s are just as prone to sticking as the earlier vacuum operated units.