MAF sensor replaced to cure hesitation, but now it's back :(

[adon30]

Well mine is somehow fixed and I have done virtually nothing to the car. Well nothing as far as replacement.

I was toying with the idea of the charge pipe replacement. Complete set of pipes for £70 seemed ok. Not done it yet though.
I first decided to find what the pipes were so put my hand into the wheel arch and just touched the pipe. Got my fingers mucky so stopped there.
Then I fiddled with the pipes on the DV. I have since read somewhere that the little pipe on the top can cause issues if not connected. I didn't notice any problems or splits though.
Next, as I've had my engine covers off since replacing the PCV pipes many months ago, I noticed the top of the engine had a mucky oil/ dirt coating on it. So I cleaned and reseated the oil filler cap.

Drove home and car felt a lot better..... what had I done?

Car was like this for a week and a half and then went in for a service on Tuesday. Drove to work after and problem was back.... ummmm.

So took the oil filler cap off cleaned it up and also put an extra 1mm of gasket behind it. Car has done 107K so the cap rubber is a little worn. Nice snug fit again.
Car back to feeling good again and driving ever so smooth with all it's power back.

So looks like one of two things. Either the oil cap has been leaking or I've disturbed a blockage in the DV pipes.

I do plan to take all the DV pipes off and clean them through incase it's the latter. But for now all seems good.
Also a replacement oil cap is only £5 . Cheaper than the £60 I spent on an unneeded MAF sensor.

 

[nd-photo.nl]

People are quite jumpy to buy something that "might" fix their issue. Its better to diagnose properly before anything is bought.

The little pipe on top of the DV is a vacuum lead, this must be connected properly! If not, the DV will not open correctly, which can damage your turbo eventually.

Always get your car scanned first, big chance the error(s) will point you in the right direction.

 

[adon30]

As I said. I haven't bought or replaced anything since replacing the PCV valve some time back.
The cracks in the oil cap rubber and the deposits on the engine were a clue to the oil cap and all I've done is added a bit of gasket behind it to aid compression.

Just completed an ECU and throttle body reset so fingers crossed everything is good.

Never had an error code show on the car, even when the breather pipe had a massive split in in.

 

[nd-photo.nl]

Breather pipe split could give the: System too lean error (I had this error).

Fingers crossed!

 

[kpm197]

funny you mention running lean, i just had the P0171 (bank 1 too lean) code pop up. i'll be outside this afternoon checking all the pipes over. with the engine running should i be able to feel something sucking if i run my hands over the pipes?

 

[kpm197]

i checked under the bonnet yesterday and the air intake pipe was disconnected from the airbox/maf! not sure how it happened as the jubilee was tight. i've still got the original problem however. i checked the dv pipes and no splits, might take them off for a good look.

 

[adon30]

Seriously though, have you checked the oil filler cap and even the dipstick holder? I can't believe the difference mine has made. I've had the problem for months and only noticed the oil seep on top of the engine in the last month.
All I did was put an additional 0.5-1mm of rubber behind the existing one.

I have noticed with the dv pipes that the large one gets quite soft when engine is hot. I think there are replacements from creation so will do it when I get chance.

However not currently focusing on this problem as need new front discs & pads, new front arms and a cv boot. Plus on top of that the rear brake is catching so looks like a new calliper.

 

[kpm197]

I went away for a week with work and when I came back the car was great for two days.

Would this be a split pipe?

Ref the post above, I checked the DV pipes and oil filler cap and all appears normal.

Thanks

 

[kpm197]

Finally went to a garage last week, they reset the throttle body and all was great for a few days but slowly creeping in again. Mechanic remarked it may need a new throttle body. It's booked in again for 18th Sep for a couple of days.