[Cleybrooke]

Car broke down last week, (330d e91) Greenflag were less than helpful (long story) diagnosed the EGR was faulty. Tried to clean but eventually trailered back.

In trying to fix it, Mr Greenflag revved it like no tomorrow to try and shift the issue. Loads of smoke a fuel out the back. About two hours effort went into this process.

Mechanic came out and his machine came up with long list of error codes. Replaced EGR. Still ran like dog. Replaced the air mass sensors and breather pipe.

Each time an error code disappears.

Now the error code says the DPF is faulty. Took it out for a blast and it broke down. Back pressure stalled the engine.

Two Questions
1. Has trying to fix the egr at the side of the road killed the DPF (in which case I can argue with Greenflag)
2. Is it worth trying to clean the DPF first?

Quoted £1250 plus fitting for the DPF.

Any ideas?

[rasa bmw]

cleaning will set you back around £250..try bmchiptune on here,they sort them i think and maybe some more info..AA/RAC they are just basic mechanics..some good some hopeless,,they couldnt give a hoot,its a wonder they didnt try and sell you a battery.

[Cleybrooke]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

cleaning will set you back around £250..try bmchiptune on here,they sort them i think and maybe some more info..AA/RAC they are just basic mechanics..some good some hopeless,,they couldnt give a hoot,its a wonder they didnt try and sell you a battery.

Bad news is they're in Middlesex. Long way to tow the car from the Midlands.

[MrSweet1991]

Originally Posted by Cleybrooke

Car broke down last week, (330d e91) Greenflag were less than helpful (long story) diagnosed the EGR was faulty. Tried to clean but eventually trailered back.

In trying to fix it, Mr Greenflag revved it like no tomorrow to try and shift the issue. Loads of smoke a fuel out the back. About two hours effort went into this process.

Mechanic came out and his machine came up with long list of error codes. Replaced EGR. Still ran like dog. Replaced the air mass sensors and breather pipe.

Each time an error code disappears.

Now the error code says the DPF is faulty. Took it out for a blast and it broke down. Back pressure stalled the engine.

Two Questions
1. Has trying to fix the egr at the side of the road killed the DPF (in which case I can argue with Greenflag)
2. Is it worth trying to clean the DPF first?

Quoted £1250 plus fitting for the DPF.

Any ideas?

Not sure where your based but Paul and "The BMW independent Specialists Hinckley" mentioned he's cleared a DPF where others failed. Personally I wouldn't go down the route of a new DPF because of the costs. Ideally I'd take it to a BMW Specialist who has more chance of identifying what's caused all of this and to find the cheapest route possible, a new DPF would potentially be a quick fix but you could save a lot of money trying other things first.

[Maxlude]

After owning my 330d Manual for 9 years (125k miles, Koni FSD, EPK, remap), this is what I've found out.
Even if you get a new DPF, you will have to fix what caused the old one to block/fail. So you may as well try sort the one you've got.

1. Identify why your DPF has not been regenerating and thus become blocked else cleaning will only be a temp fix. It will just get blocked again.
Read the fault codes stored in DDE (BMW Diesel ECU) and go from there. Something like a C110 scanner/ Carly really useful. You will most likely have the 0480 - DPF heavily blocked (this is 1st stage and has no dashboard warnings) and 0481 - DPF back pressure above max allowed (this is 2nd stage and will generate a dashboard warning). There maybe some other codes hinting at other sensors/issues which need to be dealt with.
DPF will not regen with any related fault codes in the DDE.
But there will be reasons why these codes have been generated e.g. Exhaust gas temp (EGT) pre-DPF too low, EGT pre-cat (post-DPF) out of range, Glow plugs not operational. There's loads of info on internet re. all this. Even some great hacks like temporarily replacing your DPF back pressure pipe with one with a bleed hole in it. Thus fooling the DDE so that it can regen - which you may need.

2. Check coolant temps. DPF will not regen unless it is above 75C. Thermostats get stuck in open position on these cars and there are no warnings/errors or anything to tell you. 3 stats to check/renew. Main, EGR and Auto box cooler (if auto). You can check via hidden menu or use OBD scanner. Should be around 90C+ under normal conditions.

3. EGR Pressure converter. I have recently changed mine as it had been making the thumping noise for a few years and finally started quacking. I didn't do anything for few years cos car still drove ok and for ages I didn't know what was causing the noise. Once I found out what is was I realised its a PITA to get to (inlet manifold off job) but I believe that this may have kept my EGR open more than it should and thus lowered my EGT so that the continuous slow oxidation process that automatically occurs with no DDE intervention was not happening anymore. EGT needs to be above 280C - 350C for this to happen. So even long motorway drives (200 miles) were not cleaning out the DPF. I also think it killed my new EGT sensor after 10k miles as it was saturated in heavy soot.

4. Fix any intake air leaks. Swirl flaps leak. You can blank them out. You will lose say 25% low end torque (below 1500rpms) but gain high speed power and revs as both inlet ports per cylinder will be fully open all the time. I decoked the inlet manifold and EGR and replaced EGR pressure converter at same time as inlet manifold had to come off anyway. Blanking will probably create more soot at low speeds mind, but as long as you don't drive short trips all the time (if you do, get a petrol car) and DPF is regenerating it should be ok. To me it outweighs the black mess of oil/fuel p*ssing down the side of the engine onto my block paved drive.
I still have the red turbo/intercooler red pipe to replace. Not had time yet.

5. Run on decent fuel. I have noticed that on std Shell during an active regen, EGT gets up to 550C but on VPower it hits 600C+ for a deeper clean. VPower may also not create so much soot in first place.

Thrashing the engine when the DPF is heavily blocked will not help and could blow more seals. DPF active regen does not need high speed to work as the DDE will inject additional fuel to create the heat required. You do need a constant speed run above 38mph, around 50-60mph is best for about 30mins once the regen has kicked in. This is of course once all fixes have been applied.

My exhaust backpressure at idle was around 65mb and at 2krpms about 250mb before that last round of fixes. EGT pre-DPF was not getting above 220C.
It went down to 3mb at idle after a couple of full regens. Then I thrashed it to clear the exhaust and its at 25mb at 2krpms now. EGT pre-DPF reaches 300C+ easily once cruising past 40mph.
So a heavily blocked DPF can be recovered.
Mine never stopped the engine from actually working though but it did begin to feel very sluggish.
Good luck.

[ShoCk_]

Wouldn't this be a perfect opportunity to have the DPF gutted, EGR blanked and a remap ? It's the first thing I did when I bought my 330d. Completely transformed the car.

[Cleybrooke]

Originally Posted by Maxlude

After owning my 330d Manual for 9 years (125k miles, Koni FSD, EPK, remap), this is what I've found out.
Even if you get a new DPF, you will have to fix what caused the old one to block/fail. So you may as well try sort the one you've got.

1. Identify why your DPF has not been regenerating and thus become blocked else cleaning will only be a temp fix. It will just get blocked again.
Read the fault codes stored in DDE (BMW Diesel ECU) and go from there. Something like a C110 scanner/ Carly really useful. You will most likely have the 0480 - DPF heavily blocked (this is 1st stage and has no dashboard warnings) and 0481 - DPF back pressure above max allowed (this is 2nd stage and will generate a dashboard warning). There maybe some other codes hinting at other sensors/issues which need to be dealt with.
DPF will not regen with any related fault codes in the DDE.
But there will be reasons why these codes have been generated e.g. Exhaust gas temp (EGT) pre-DPF too low, EGT pre-cat (post-DPF) out of range, Glow plugs not operational. There's loads of info on internet re. all this. Even some great hacks like temporarily replacing your DPF back pressure pipe with one with a bleed hole in it. Thus fooling the DDE so that it can regen - which you may need.

2. Check coolant temps. DPF will not regen unless it is above 75C. Thermostats get stuck in open position on these cars and there are no warnings/errors or anything to tell you. 3 stats to check/renew. Main, EGR and Auto box cooler (if auto). You can check via hidden menu or use OBD scanner. Should be around 90C+ under normal conditions.

3. EGR Pressure converter. I have recently changed mine as it had been making the thumping noise for a few years and finally started quacking. I didn't do anything for few years cos car still drove ok and for ages I didn't know what was causing the noise. Once I found out what is was I realised its a PITA to get to (inlet manifold off job) but I believe that this may have kept my EGR open more than it should and thus lowered my EGT so that the continuous slow oxidation process that automatically occurs with no DDE intervention was not happening anymore. EGT needs to be above 280C - 350C for this to happen. So even long motorway drives (200 miles) were not cleaning out the DPF. I also think it killed my new EGT sensor after 10k miles as it was saturated in heavy soot.

4. Fix any intake air leaks. Swirl flaps leak. You can blank them out. You will lose say 25% low end torque (below 1500rpms) but gain high speed power and revs as both inlet ports per cylinder will be fully open all the time. I decoked the inlet manifold and EGR and replaced EGR pressure converter at same time as inlet manifold had to come off anyway. Blanking will probably create more soot at low speeds mind, but as long as you don't drive short trips all the time (if you do, get a petrol car) and DPF is regenerating it should be ok. To me it outweighs the black mess of oil/fuel p*ssing down the side of the engine onto my block paved drive.
I still have the red turbo/intercooler red pipe to replace. Not had time yet.

5. Run on decent fuel. I have noticed that on std Shell during an active regen, EGT gets up to 550C but on VPower it hits 600C+ for a deeper clean. VPower may also not create so much soot in first place.

Thrashing the engine when the DPF is heavily blocked will not help and could blow more seals. DPF active regen does not need high speed to work as the DDE will inject additional fuel to create the heat required. You do need a constant speed run above 38mph, around 50-60mph is best for about 30mins once the regen has kicked in. This is of course once all fixes have been applied.

My exhaust backpressure at idle was around 65mb and at 2krpms about 250mb before that last round of fixes. EGT pre-DPF was not getting above 220C.
It went down to 3mb at idle after a couple of full regens. Then I thrashed it to clear the exhaust and its at 25mb at 2krpms now. EGT pre-DPF reaches 300C+ easily once cruising past 40mph.
So a heavily blocked DPF can be recovered.
Mine never stopped the engine from actually working though but it did begin to feel very sluggish.
Good luck.

Awesome - thank you sir.

Will feedback on what where I get to.

[Benskett]

Basically everyone with a DPF needs a OBD reader and Torque App.

Get a Brodit phone mount and anytime you use the car, make sure Torque is running and watch the bloody coolant temps.

I have mine running with boost, dpf temp, coolant temp, egr % and intake temps.
Everything that you need to know that BMW should have shown on the dashboard in the 1st place!

[matt_s]

1. Not sure that thrashing an engine with a blocked dpf is the ideal thing to do, how did Mr Greenflag diagnose the EGR, by a code or by head under bonnet?

2. I wouldn't/didn't buy a new dpf, rather I fixed the underlying issue (in my case glow plug controller) preventing the regen, I then got it cleaned, on the car, using a two stage cleaning process using "BG Products" cleaner getting rid of any soot and ash. I'd highly recommend but they're in Doncaster, so a bit of a trek for you.
A new dpf would provide temporary relief but it's just clog again. Fix the underlying issue. I *personally* wouldn't have it gutted.