Issues Removing Anti-Shudder Valve to Replace EGR Valve

**vipergrm** · 08-09-2019,01:37 PM

Hi folks,

I've recently purchased a 2007 B6 Passat Estate 2.0 TDI BKP. I've had a few issues with it. At the moment it is billowing smoke intermittently, rough on idle and has a terribly strong fume smell on the exterior. From what I understand, the most likely cause is the EGR valve. I've already bought a new one and I was going to have a go at replacing it myself however, I can't get one of the bolts removed from the Anti-Shudder Valve to get access to the EGR valve. I've attached a photo. Does this bolt look threaded or is it just a different size from the other two? It's really awkward to get at too. The first two bolts came off no problem. There's also an issue with the air intake pipes seemingly very loose. I doubt it should be like that. Sorry for the noob questions. I've already spent £600+ on repairs/service parts since I got it, so would like to do it myself to save a few quid. Thanks all!

Should this be secured by a bracket or something???

**dekhelia** · 08-09-2019,08:42 PM

Yeah, that airbox is loose. It's supposed to be held down in two places, one at about 1 o'clock and one at about 5 o'clock. Have a look at these positions and you will see - hopefully - the lugs that push over fixed posts on the bodywork. The lugs should have sturdy rubber grommets in them, which push down over the posts. It's not the end of the world if either or both of these don't work or have broken - you could tie-wrap the box in place if necessary.

Regarding the bolts you need to undo - are you using the correct M10 keys for these? They're not torx, they're spline triple square.

**vipergrm** · 08-09-2019,09:44 PM

Originally Posted by dekhelia

Yeah, that airbox is loose. It's supposed to be held down in two places, one at about 1 o'clock and one at about 5 o'clock. Have a look at these positions and you will see - hopefully - the lugs that push over fixed posts on the bodywork. The lugs should have sturdy rubber grommets in them, which push down over the posts. It's not the end of the world if either or both of these don't work or have broken - you could tie-wrap the box in place if necessary.

Regarding the bolts you need to undo - are you using the correct M10 keys for these? They're not torx, they're spline triple square.

Thanks a million @dekhelia !!! I'll check for the lugs and see if I can get the airbox secured. I'll use ties otherwise.

You are spot on. I wasn't using the correct bit. I couldn't find anywhere what bit to use except for a video on YouTube which said to use a 5mm torx bit I think. This was probably for a different engine, although it looked absolutely the same as mine.

I've ordered a small spline set with 75mm length bits which should be long enough to get access to that last bolt. The other 2 came off easily so maybe they're just torx? Should be here Wednesday. I'll have a go at removing that last bolt and let you know. Really appreciate the help!

**DMitch16** · 09-09-2019,02:09 PM

Originally Posted by vipergrm

Thanks a million @dekhelia !!! I'll check for the lugs and see if I can get the airbox secured. I'll use ties otherwise.

You are spot on. I wasn't using the correct bit. I couldn't find anywhere what bit to use except for a video on YouTube which said to use a 5mm torx bit I think. This was probably for a different engine, although it looked absolutely the same as mine.

The other 2 came off easily so maybe they're just torx?

They are all likely to be Torx for the EGR / Anti Shudder unit and it is possible that any hard to reach bolt may have been stripped by someone else using the wrong bit or size. A similar size 'spline' may hammer in and sort the issue then replace the bolt. It is easier to take the whole thing off as a joint unit (has an o ring seal in between the two) as there is a long bolt that goes through both at the back if I recall.

Before you keep spending the cash the best way to limit your expense is to a) have VCDS or access to it so you can scan for faults / read engine data etc. which will help narrow problems down b) be very sure in your diagnosis or seek help from those who will most likely have had the same or similar issues before you commit the cash.

**vipergrm** · 09-09-2019,04:41 PM

Originally Posted by DMitch16

They are all likely to be Torx for the EGR / Anti Shudder unit and it is possible that any hard to reach bolt may have been stripped by someone else using the wrong bit or size. A similar size 'spline' may hammer in and sort the issue then replace the bolt. It is easier to take the whole thing off as a joint unit (has an o ring seal in between the two) as there is a long bolt that goes through both at the back if I recall.

Before you keep spending the cash the best way to limit your expense is to a) have VCDS or access to it so you can scan for faults / read engine data etc. which will help narrow problems down b) be very sure in your diagnosis or seek help from those who will most likely have had the same or similar issues before you commit the cash.

Thanks @ DMitch16 I didn't know there was a single bolt holding them together. Wonder how easy it is to access?

I use an app called Carista which is pretty decent along with a Bluetooth dongle but I would like to start using VCDS. Will start off with the lite version first. Thanks!

**vipergrm** · 11-09-2019,08:18 AM

Ok, getting somewhere (I think). I've almost removed the whole ASV/EGR unit. Just one pesky screw I can't quite grab. There's not enough clearance below it for my ratchet and that exhaust pipe thing below it will hardly budge even when those bolts have been removed. Can that be moved somehow? If I can get that bolt off I'm pretty confident I can get the last bolt holding the EGR valve off. By the way, I'm amost certain now it's a T30 bolt. Got a set of those spline triple square heads anyway as I'm sure they'll come in handy.

**DMitch16** · 11-09-2019,05:04 PM

The EGR pipe is rigid when bolted up and normally needs to be loosened both ends to move it away from the covered bolt. The back end of the pipe is connected on the bulkhead side of the engine where it connects to the EGR gas cooler. Bit fiddly to get to under the air intake pipework.

**vipergrm** · 12-09-2019,06:47 PM

Thanks again @DMitch16 I had another look at it today and it seems too awkward to get to the other side of that EGR pipe to the bulkhead. I'm just going to ask my mechanic to swap it out. I'm going to ask him to change the oil for me as well. I've done everything else including replacing all the filters and today I had to replace the battery. It's died twice on me in the last week. Anyway, hopefully when I get the EGR valve swapped out it'll sort the issue. Cheers!

**vipergrm** · 14-09-2019,07:17 PM

Don't know how I didn't spot this earlier, but I had one final attempt at removing the EGR valve and it seems like there isn't one! See photo below. Those additional screws were the EGR valve connects to clearly have nothing in them. What is the significance of this missing EGR valve?

I took the car back to the dealer I bought it from yesterday for what I thought was going to be a full ODB scan of errors etc. I'm really not happy with the fumes/smoking. The guy brought out this rubbish looking ODB scanner that looks like it cost a fiver from Ebay and told me there were no error codes and he didn't see anything wrong with it. I ran a fault check there and then with my Bluetooth dongle and Carista app and it clearly shows several errors. Only one concerns me which is P1264 - related to the injector, which I'd arranged on the phone with him to check. He told me his friend had a proper VW code reader and if it's the injector then they would replace it no bother. It was my understanding that this was to be done on my visit, which it wasn't. Complete waste of a 40 mile round trip. Said he would book me in with this guy next week. I mentioned about the EGR valve (before I discovered it was missing) and he mentioned something about them being deleted, but didn't explicitly say it had been removed from this car.

I'm really at the end of my tether with this car and I don't know if it's worth getting Trading Standards involved, or if this is just a waste of time. Only got it towards the end of July. The fact that the drop links were welded on, a wrong sized bolt that had been hammered in at the bottom to hold the gearbox on and sheared bits of bolt which took my mechanic all day to fix, missing EGR valve and the air filter box lying loose with missing air duct at the front of the engine bay says to me that no possible safety checks were carried out on this car before sale. The tyres also only had 2mm of tread left which apparently is illegal to sell, but I've replaced them all now. Sorry that this has turned in to a bit of a rant, but as you can tell, I am extremely frustrated by all this. Thanks to @dekhelia and @DMitch16 for their input so far. Really appreciate it!

EGR valve looks to be missing

Drop links clearly welded together. This seems extremely dangerous to me

Sheared bolt removed from the gearbox which was extremely loose (engine was aggressively raising/dropping before this was fixed). Took my mechanic all day to fix this. This was completely and totally the wrong size of bolt.

**DMitch16** · 14-09-2019,09:21 PM

Sounds like it has not been looked after properly, bodged fixes to get by and possibly more things lying in wait for you. Just really annoys me that people risk safety over money or can't be bothered to do anything properly.