begbie

Newbie
Sep 4, 2006
78
0
Guys,

Looking for a wee bit of advice here. My Reference Sport was in for its second MOT two days ago and a couple of problems were picked up. One of them was a "sooted-up flap" :shrug: (service manager's words, not mines) that controls the throttle. They found this after I reported the engne management light coming on a couple of weeks ago. The car has been running fine so I was in no rush to get it fixed immediately, especially as I knew it was being MOT'd this week.

Anyway, the guy told me that this flap is all sooted-up and isn't closing fully, hence the light on the dash. He said it's not closing by only a fraction of a millimeter but enough to alert the car's computer. He said that I would need to buy a new assembly as the flap is not a single part that can be bought alone - it will cost £381 + VAT!!! Rather than lay out that kind of cash, they've put engine cleaner into the fuel to hopefully clear the soot. I've to run the car for a couple of weeks and if the light doesn't go out, I'll have to bring the car in to get the part fitted.

So my question is, can I continue to run the car with this problem if the engine cleaner doesn't work, without any further damage being done to the engine?

If I sell the car, obviously I'll need to get it fixed but if I can run it for another six months to a year, that would be ideal as the MOT cost me £562!!

Cheers.
 
Guys,

Looking for a wee bit of advice here. My Reference Sport was in for its second MOT two days ago and a couple of problems were picked up. One of them was a "sooted-up flap" :shrug: (service manager's words, not mines) that controls the throttle. They found this after I reported the engne management light coming on a couple of weeks ago. The car has been running fine so I was in no rush to get it fixed immediately, especially as I knew it was being MOT'd this week.

Anyway, the guy told me that this flap is all sooted-up and isn't closing fully, hence the light on the dash. He said it's not closing by only a fraction of a millimeter but enough to alert the car's computer. He said that I would need to buy a new assembly as the flap is not a single part that can be bought alone - it will cost £381 + VAT!!! Rather than lay out that kind of cash, they've put engine cleaner into the fuel to hopefully clear the soot. I've to run the car for a couple of weeks and if the light doesn't go out, I'll have to bring the car in to get the part fitted.

So my question is, can I continue to run the car with this problem if the engine cleaner doesn't work, without any further damage being done to the engine?

If I sell the car, obviously I'll need to get it fixed but if I can run it for another six months to a year, that would be ideal as the MOT cost me £562!!

Cheers.

140pd diesel i presume?
 
i took mine off and cleaned it after engine management light came on,still off a year later. does your engine shudder to a halt when you switch it off?
 
i took mine off and cleaned it after engine management light came on,still off a year later. does your engine shudder to a halt when you switch it off?

I wouldn't even know where to start if I wanted to clean it! If it's possible, why doesn't the dealer offer to do it, other than to get more money?!
 
the throttle flap housing comes off with 3 allen bolts,remove inlet pipe and electrical connector plug,sprayed a few times with electrical solvent cleaner and refitted.The reason the engine shudders is because the throttle flap doesn't shut completely and therefore doesn't strangle the engine.
 
the throttle flap housing comes off with 3 allen bolts,remove inlet pipe and electrical connector plug,sprayed a few times with electrical solvent cleaner and refitted.The reason the engine shudders is because the throttle flap doesn't shut completely and therefore doesn't strangle the engine.

So is the throttle flap located inside the inlet pipe, on the engine block? Is that why you need to remove it along with the electrical connector plug?
 
Thanks for your help ;)

Rua1r1,

You seem to know what bmb is talkng about - could you answer my question above? I'm not really a car enthuiast to that degree, i just like driving! :D

I will give the procedure a go but just want further clarification before I start.