Treatment to prevent Turbo Carbon Buildup in the future

[Pakman]

Hi, and Merry Christmas people!

I have just fixed my limp mode!!!! but.....

I am looking for a good regular use product I can use to prevent my turbo and the actuator from clogging back up with carbon. Does anyone have any ideas; will standard Redex treatments or Wynn's diesel smoke products help and if so, how often do you think they should be used?

I've spent the last 3 months trying to fix limp mode on my Seat Leon 1.9 TDI and tried a whole manner of things to no avail, although i must admit the things we have done will obviously have a positive effect on performance and maintenance. I recently purchased the Innotec 3 stage turbo cleaner which (touch wood!) has done the trick and we also free'd up the actuator in the process. Although this was success, i would much prefer not doing this 3 stage clean again any time soon as it was a real bind getting the turbo pipe off as it is located at the bottom of the engine and was a bit epic to do! although i admit once free the actual treating of it was easy...

any help on what product and frequency would be most appreciated as i would like to prevent this happening again

i highly recommend the Innotec product to anyone having troubles by the way because it solved my problem (hopefully!)

many thanks

 

[1ns4ne1d10t]

Hi, and Merry Christmas people!

I have just fixed my limp mode!!!! but.....

I am looking for a good regular use product I can use to prevent my turbo and the actuator from clogging back up with carbon. Does anyone have any ideas; will standard Redex treatments or Wynn's diesel smoke products help and if so, how often do you think they should be used?

I've spent the last 3 months trying to fix limp mode on my Seat Leon 1.9 TDI and tried a whole manner of things to no avail, although i must admit the things we have done will obviously have a positive effect on performance and maintenance. I recently purchased the Innotec 3 stage turbo cleaner which (touch wood!) has done the trick and we also free'd up the actuator in the process. Although this was success, i would much prefer not doing this 3 stage clean again any time soon as it was a real bind getting the turbo pipe off as it is located at the bottom of the engine and was a bit epic to do! although i admit once free the actual treating of it was easy...

any help on what product and frequency would be most appreciated as i would like to prevent this happening again

i highly recommend the Innotec product to anyone having troubles by the way because it solved my problem (hopefully!)

many thanks

Hello...

Redex tends to be more of an injector treatment rather than a fuel cleaning additive and wouldn't really do anything to stop the VNT clogging up with sooty trash again. I tried running Redex for several weeks in my 1.9 150 and it does nothing at all. You'd honestly be better off ditching the cheap supermarket diesel and getting the higher octane Shell V max or BP Ultimate diesel which contains more octane and less rubbish especially if you have it tuned or remapped. Mine was black smoking on supermarket diesel between 3,500-4,000 revs in 4th gear and I noticed that under normal driving the engine carbonated itself very quickly requiring a thrash boot-out every so often to clear all the carbon out of the turbo and stop the vanes sticking. Since switching to higher quality Diesel I havn't had to do this so much.

Having failed that...

The Americans use a product called Seafoam which you can either A: feed in via the PAS hose or B: through the fuel tank like conventional Redex to de-carbon the engine (Don't feed it through the oil filler cap) Seafoam is pretty much a one off treatment lasting 50,000 miles or more and it pretty much breaks down all the carbon deposits and blasts the rubbish out of everything and de soots the engine all the way through cleaning exhaust outlet valves, exhaust manifold, injectors and so on. Its apparently supposed to be very good stuff and the Americans are always running seafoam through their cars. Its definately a product worth considering and thinking about.

The only downside to seafoam is that it billows out white smoke from your exhaust which looks like a headgasket failure when it isn't and you might have to change the oil again after running it through.

Its just a thought...

 

[Pakman]

Hi,

that is most useful actually and i suppose you are right when it comes to fuel; you get what you pay for. i shall investigate my options when i am next at the pump then. i don't always do long miles in my car so always conscious of having a good thrash so that nothing gets too sooted up....

i will investigate this Seafoam product as well. i noticed it when i was googling products but wasn't sure if it was the right thing for my needs, but now you have mentioned it, i will investigate a bit further. white smoke = okay... and maybe change oil... got it!! ha!

thank you so much

 

[sssstew]

Get rid of the EGR and CCV systems.

 

[rallynut]

keep us posted on this Seafoam stuff if you use it

 

[Pakman]

hey Rally nut, sorry for the late reply. i didn't use the seafoam in the end. i did however, start buying decent fuel again which has helped. alas, it appears i did not fix my limp mode! i have tried another product since that is called revive which is sprayed through the air intake. it worked, but i think my turbo is just cooked to be honest, because i have nothing left to try! not sure i can manage buying a new turbo and fitting it with my pennies!

 

[explodingcarrot]

"Proper" diesel makes a huge difference. My turbo was giving up on my first Toledo after 3.5k revs in higher gears, more often. Did a combination of Redex, V-Power from Shell and once I put 4l of petrol in the tank too.
Good speeds on the motorway and some decent low gear country road action got the whistle back on track and no more cutting out. It take a few months of persistence but it worked out.

 

[Seatmann]

Your right foot also helps stop the build up of carbon, add some weight to it so it pushes the pedal down further once in a while

 

[explodingcarrot]

Have considered these products for my "new" Tolly (53 plate) but I'm not that confident in taking the turbo apart to clean it. I am suspicious of my vanes...

Will get new fuel filter and carry on with the gently gently approach for a couple of months. See how I go. More concerned with the wet carpet tbh!

 

[explodingcarrot]

My right foot is wearing a lead shoe

 

[Pakman]

Hi exploding carrot, was the 4l of petrol intentional and what purpose does that serve? Thanks for getting back to me. I have only just realised the importance of starting with the MAF sensor so replaced that and am waiting 30 miles to see if it helps. Did an ECU RESET too which I found off a link on here. Fingers crossed! Found a useful link on an Audi site if anyone needs it for limp mode on TDI engines. Most mechanics aren't interested in helPing me out so on me own! Next job is pull turbo off and have a good look at the impellers and am told the inter cooler can get cracked??

 

[explodingcarrot]

The petrol was a suggestion from a friend to get a bit more octane into the system and clear carbon deposits (?). My first diesel car and I was open to cheaper suggestions than a new turbo at the time.
What does the MAF sensor do? Forgive my ignorance, I'm still figuring bits out!

 

[Pakman]

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=179589 I was ignorant until my car had these problems so getting an expert! The MAF sensor (mass air flow) measures how much air comes in from the intake and adjusts parts in your car accordingly such as turbo and is resPonsible for all sorts of power problems. The link explains it better. Replaced mine for £28 so wasn't a big cost. Have nearly reached the end of my tether...

 

[Seatmann]

Test the maf before replacing, vacuum leaks and dodgy egr valves and bad earths can all affect the maf.

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a4/MAF-sensor-testing-VW-cleaner.htm

Petrol? In a diesel? I wouldn't, really not worth the risk of damage tbh. The tdi is such a high compressing engine there's just no room for anything else. They work by compressing air till it's red hot then fire in the diesel which explodes on contact with the super heated air. Adding petrol runs the risk of ruining the fuel pump and injectors at the least.

All you need to do first is to get the vnt lever moving it's full length. You don't even have to strip anything down, just get your hand in there and work it back and forth, use something like WD40 to help. Once it's free take the car for a decent burn up the motorway. A sustained rev of around 3500 for a bit should do wonders.

 

[Pakman]

Test the maf before replacing, vacuum leaks and dodgy egr valves and bad earths can all affect the maf.

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/a4/MAF-sensor-testing-VW-cleaner.htm

Petrol? In a diesel? I wouldn't, really not worth the risk of damage tbh. The tdi is such a high compressing engine there's just no room for anything else. They work by compressing air till it's red hot then fire in the diesel which explodes on contact with the super heated air. Adding petrol runs the risk of ruining the fuel pump and injectors at the least.

All you need to do first is to get the vnt lever moving it's full length. You don't even have to strip anything down, just get your hand in there and work it back and forth, use something like WD40 to help. Once it's free take the car for a decent burn up the motorway. A sustained rev of around 3500 for a bit should do wonders.

I have to admit Seat Mann, i did wonder about that so i googled it and some fuel expert reckons they don't mix and it can do damage to newer engines and the petrol reduces diesel combustion...

i have just changed the MAF sensor and the leaflet that came with it says that it can take up to 30 miles for the changes to take effect, so i am waiting to see if it has cured my limp mode... do you know if this is accurate?
i am lucky that i have a hill that limp mode always happens on so a good gauge of the results. i think my mate had been getting a crowbar down into the engine and getting a part to move down by the turbo,; is that the VNT lever do you think? maybe we should get under the car and work it with WD40 as you suggest? if this is not it your help with location would be most helpful. i am more knowledgable than i ever was since buying this 110 TDI but i am still learning bits. really wish i had thought of the MAF before now. done my second Revive treatment and i have used inotec and change pressure valve sensor on the say so of a disinterested mechanic. mechanics don't seem to want to help, i suppose i understand why as it is a lot of trial end error when there's bread and butter work that can earn more? (that is not a dig to mechanics by the way, just my exposure to it these past six months) i have had it pressure tested and plugged in too. removed the EGR valve and plugged the pipe to test it and this was not the direct issue.

thanks

 

[seat_rich]

300ml of two-stroke oil per tank. Make sure it's at least JASO-FB spec, and it'll help the engine run better and the added lubrication should extend the life of your fuel pump (apparently a big problem since they reduced sulphur in the fuel).

 

[Pakman]

300ml of two-stroke oil per tank. Make sure it's at least JASO-FB spec, and it'll help the engine run better and the added lubrication should extend the life of your fuel pump (apparently a big problem since they reduced sulphur in the fuel).

oh right, good to know mate, thanks for posting this. i will check it out. i tend to sue premium Diesel because i can't be doing with more clogging, but you can't odds it if they lower the sulphur.

 

[Seatmann]

The maf usually just causes permanent low power, it should also cure the problem immediately. Some of the cheapy mafs don't really work well though even when new.
Always better to try and get a bosch one if possible.

As for the turbo I think it might be easier to get from below, I can't remember off hand.

Do you have any faults stored for the limp mode?

 

[Pakman]

300ml of two-stroke oil per tank. Make sure it's at least JASO-FB spec, and it'll help the engine run better and the added lubrication should extend the life of your fuel pump (apparently a big problem since they reduced sulphur in the fuel).

anyone interested in the two stroke phenomena, our culinary friends at vegetable oil diesel have added this (link below) and i am sold on it!! razzleultra, what is the significance of JASO-FB SPEC so i can start looking? thanks

http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/forum/viewthread.php?tid=27243&page=1

 

[Pakman]

The maf usually just causes permanent low power, it should also cure the problem immediately. Some of the cheapy mafs don't really work well though even when new.
Always better to try and get a bosch one if possible.

As for the turbo I think it might be easier to get from below, I can't remember off hand.

Do you have any faults stored for the limp mode?

not really seatmann, the guy just said that it pointed to the turbo pressurte valve but i may be better off getting it plugged in proper with a VAG-com if i can find someone interested in the work. i bought the cheaper MAF from a company who work very closely with Bosch and NGK and other brands and they were very sure that they are good quality MAF's i am interested in what you say though because it sounds like i may have been had!

yeah, i may get it up on ramps and get under there and have a look then at that. i think we have been moving the right part but maybe as you say lube is the law!!!