Inlet manifold spares

[smitk032]

Evening all,

I’ve run into a few problems with my Passat b6 bmr and I need some advice, please.
Recently had the coil light come on at various intervals, especially when the engine hasn’t fully warmed up. And in the last few weeks I’ve had dpf light on, which I did manage to clear once but now I’ve got dpf, eml, coil and limp mode.
The garage have had a look and have advised that I replace the inlet manifold as the flaps are stuck open.
I can find loads of these parts but do I need to replace the manifold motor, too?
Still waiting to hear back from the garage so I thought I’d ask here.
Any other advice for before or after part is changed?
Any advice on sourcing said part? All massively appreciated.

Passat b6 bmr estate 170

[DMitch16]

I'd like to see the results of a fault code scan if it were me.

This would allow us to see whether the garage is loading the parts cannon or has actually diagnosed the issue properly. I wonder if they have removed the inlet manifold and not just wiggled the vacuum actuator lever and determined the rail is stuck from that? Note the swirl flaps on a BMR are vacuum actuated, there is no motor for them.

New manifolds are very expensive and therefore I'd want to be sure that the issue was being solved and not expensive parts thrown at what might not be the problem. I would be cautious with used manifolds as they may still have wear in the plastic at the rail rotation points which will accelerate over time unless you convert to the metal manifold or the non swirl plastic version. Some minor mods may be needed to avoid fault codes but an alternative choice nevertheless - I prefer to clean and do preventative maintainance instead which means I have not seen a lot of the more common niggling issues that could be prevented with such.

The DPF light is likely triggered because all of the criteria to initiate a regeneration has not been met and the soot collected by the DPF will just keep increasing instead of being burnt down to ash which is still held in the DPF (it will become full eventually often between 100 and 150k but not always in that range sometimes earlier, sometimes later depending on type of use). I would also ask for the Carbon Mass figure to be read to check how full it is so you can guage how long before the DPF needs cleaning / replacing.

Cleaning an inlet manifold is not a difficult job although it is very messy. Mine after 76k was pretty caked the first time I removed it and there was a lot of sooty mess on and around the swirl flaps and in their ports. I clean it around every 50k since then along with EGR valve and the anti shudder flap unit (the not a "throttle body" part but looks like one). Metal inlets can be subjected to heat cleaning unlike the plastic ones. The swirl flaps mechanism is rudimentary with plastic flaps moulded onto a metal rail rotating on a vacuum actuated plastic axis mechanism that can easily get stuck if the sooty goo becomes excessive. My car has the original manifold which has been removed and cleaned 3 times already in its 230,000 mile lifetime and the gaskets renewed each time. Also I have a piece of reinforced strong hose over the plastic stop peg to reduce the axis rotating distance and prevent the swirl flaps axis over rotating and getting stuck which at first used to be a common issue many years ago, but not for the past 6 or 7 years since adding the hose piece.

[smitk032]

Morning
Thanks for reply,
Quick answer to your question about codes is
P3138 (manifold flap control)
P0299 (boost pressure below limit)
P2002 (dpf faulty operation)

I don’t have the confidence (or a spare car, if I **** it up) to remove the manifold for a clean. If my wife gets her way it will be possible! I’m hoping to keep the Passat going.

[DMitch16]

Morning
Thanks for reply,
Quick answer to your question about codes is
P3138 (manifold flap control)
P0299 (boost pressure below limit)
P2002 (dpf faulty operation)

I don’t have the confidence (or a spare car, if I **** it up) to remove the manifold for a clean. If my wife gets her way it will be possible! I’m hoping to keep the Passat going.

Morning
Thanks for reply,
Quick answer to your question about codes is
P3138 (manifold flap control)
P0299 (boost pressure below limit)
P2002 (dpf faulty operation)

I don’t have the confidence (or a spare car, if I **** it up) to remove the manifold for a clean. If my wife gets her way it will be possible! I’m hoping to keep the Passat going.

P3138 is a code that applies to different parts of different engines. On a BMR it often relates to the swirl flap mechanism and vacuum actuation whereas on other engines it may relate to the butterfly valve in the intake shut off unit (I call it an anti shudder valve others call it a throttle body, which is technically incorrect for a TDI as it does not regulate air flow like on a petrol engine). Failures on the vacuum actuator can be the diaphragm inside, a leak in the vacuum hoses / system and failure of the vacuum solenoid nearby. As you have an underboost code P0299, this also could point towards a vacuum issue. The flap rail might not be stuck but has no vacuum to actuate it. P0299 can also apply to the vacuum actuator on the turbo, the vacuum lines there or an issue with the N75 valve that switches / meters the vacuum to the turbo although from memory an additional code might be applicable for a bad N75 valve and I stand corrected if this is the case.

The P2002 is as a result of the DPF being blocked or unable to perform the necessary regeneration as mentioned before due potentially to the current faults in existence and the continued accumulation of soot over the specified levels for either regeneration or replacement (if the maximum ash volume level has been reached in which case a clean or replacement of the DPF would be the only solution, let's hope not).

What is your present mileage?

[smitk032]

Morning

Thanks for the feedback re the codes.

The present mileage is 122k.

[smitk032]

Quick update…..

I ordered a new manifold from buycarparts
After a number plate search. It turned out to be from Germany!! Took ages to arrive after getting stuck in customs. And, surprise, surprise, I didn’t fit.
Not sure if a refund will be an option as I need to bear the costs of sending it to Berlin.
The garage took off the manifold and egr and cleaned them off. I’d asked them to do this initially but they wanted me to get a replacement part.
They did a forced regen on the dpf and all seems to be ok. Quite expensive mechanics in my area of Cornwall. I’ve been billed over £65p/h plus vat. Is that normal? This doesn’t include the diagnostics.
Thanks for all the advice. I’d definitely clean the manifold and egr myself in future. And it’s a big thanks to you guys for the advice
Cheers

[DMitch16]

Glad the issue seems to be resolved now.

The suitable and easily identifiable manifolds are the Metzger, Ridex (cheap as chips brand) and Vika versions amongst others but they are all over £200, you don't get a new BMR manifold for less than that. Buycarparts, carpartsonline, eucarparts and many other seemingly different parts suppliers often belong to the A u t o D o c group, based as you now know in Germany. This multi site method filters people to the same supplier capturing a bigger customer base. I order my parts from them and have had no issues with anything they have sent me over the past 10 years and the extended delivery times are mentioned on their A u t o D o c app which gives the biggest discounts, so I was fully aware of the delivery timescales. My LuK DSG Dual Mass Flywheel was only £268 which is a very good price for this particular part presently. You do have to make sure you are ordering the right part as they do parts for left and right hand drive cars plus the descriptions are not always sufficient enough to guarantee you pick the right part for your model / engine.

If in doubt just ask in here before you buy in future as there are quite a few of us with BMR engined Passats.

The average labour cost for an independent these days is higher than what you were charged. My local VAG specialist independent is £75 per hour now, they were £50 per hour in 2012 when I had my head replaced. Some around London are pushing towards £100 per hour mark. Dealers are almost double the Independents now.

PS My mother is Cornish from St Columb.