Crafter 2.5 Particulate filter

[phaeton]

Seems I have been living under a rock, can someone link me to a thread or some info on what this whole DPF thing is and how your supposed to look after it (being that we are now driving a shiny new TDI with a DPF)??
Two or three days a week it will get a decent run but in reality the rest of the week it is stop / start traffic to the shops and back... Should we be doing something special?

Hi Aaron

One major tip is to use the correct oil specs which can be found in the manual I think there are only 2 or 3 oil suppliers that actually comply with manufacturer specs the Genuine Oil, Penrite & elf I think Transporter has mentioned.

Using the wrong oil will block the DPF.

Second tip read the manual

[The_Hawk]

The van is likely to only be serviced by VW (or a VW specialist) so oil shouldn't be an issue.

Second tip read the manual

As for the manual, I had a quick flip through pretty much all of it and didn't notice anything, but to be fair I wasn't having a good read. I'm planning to pull it out and have a proper read through, although everytime I go to grab it I realise my wife is out with the car (and the manual)

[Greg Roles]

DPF blockage occurs both from soot, and from oil ash. I'd HIGHLY recommend anyone with a DPF gets a Provent or similar high quality oil blowby seperator, and plumbs it inline from the tappet cover and inlet , as there is a lot of oil vapour entering the stock VW inlet. Since hobbling my oil blowby via a Provent, then into the exhaust ( illegal ) I've not had a single regen happen that I'm aware of. It's probably doing them automatically every several hundred kms or whatever the minimum default is, but before I was getting an obvious, higher idle one every week or so. Has to be something in that. Also, you HAVE to drive the thing hard enough to get the EGT's up, and thus burn off the soot from the DPF. An EGT gauge is a valuable tool there, for now I drive at higher revs, and avoid off boost sub 1800rpm at all times. I never hit 6th on the freeway, and am often in third at 50-60kph. Lugging it along sub 1800rpm is producing a TON of soot. Not sure how good the DSG box is at doing this.

From what I understand of the actual makeup of the VW DPF, blowing it out in reverse will be a temporary fix at best, and if you do indeed need to start getting DPF's replaced, would highly recommend looking into DPF delete tunes which give both more power AND more economy, or upgrading to a decent aftermarket DPF from specific manufacturers such as Donaldson. This is going to be a huge issue for the current gen of diesels, and it's why I've been going on and on about Provents for some time now.

[Transporter]

The van is likely to only be serviced by VW (or a VW specialist) so oil shouldn't be an issue.



As for the manual, I had a quick flip through pretty much all of it and didn't notice anything, but to be fair I wasn't having a good read. I'm planning to pull it out and have a proper read through, although everytime I go to grab it I realise my wife is out with the car (and the manual)

As Greg said, install Provent.
I suggest, drive normally, don't turn the engine off if you make very short trips (if possible), use premium diesel with the higher CN and use diesel fuel additive. I use Morey Diesel Engine Smoke Killer everytime I buy fuel and at every oil change I put bottle of WURTH CR Diesel additive or LiquiMoly Diesel SpeedTec in the tank.

[Greg Roles]

Absolutely, good point Miro, I'd NEVER run standard diesel in my DPF equipped car. BP Ultimate or
Vortex ( when BP not available ) for me.

[Cousin]

Absolutely, good point Miro, I'd NEVER run standard diesel in my DPF equipped car. BP Ultimate or
Vortex ( when BP not available ) for me.

According to the Caltex website they have 65 outlets with Vortex diesel (as opposed to diesel or biodiesel) in Victoria

Sadly BP have this on their website,

" Release date: 18 May 2010
BP Ultimate Diesel was launched in Australia in 2007 and since then it has become a favourite with many motorists in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

In late 2009 Ultimate Diesel was temporarily withdrawn from the market as BP developed changes to the manufacturing process.

These changes are now complete and a modified version of Ultimate Diesel is to be reintroduced to the market in Queensland and South Australia during May and Western Australia in June.

Results from BP’s in-house testing facility in Bochum, Germany, combined with local independent testing confirm that Ultimate Diesel still offers all the benefits you would expect from BP Ultimate advanced performance fuels. This includes improved fuel economy and reduced emissions compared to regular diesel.

Customers seeking more information should contact the BP customer service helpline 1300 1300 27.
More information from

Jamie Jardine,
Media Relations Manager: 03 9268 3534 or 0410 479 002 "


What seems to be the problem with NSW and VIC?

Might give her a call tommorrow.



M

[Cousin]

Txt Jamie asking when Vic will get Ultimate diesel, reply back "Next year, providing we can secure tank space".

Looks like Caltex is the only option for us Mexicans at the moment.


(and I think it's 'him' not her)



M

[Greg Roles]

I used Caltex Vortex the entire time BP Ultimate was out nationally, and didn't have an increase in my apparent lack of obvious DPF regens - so I'd rate it as good as BP soot wise, and didn't notice any performance difference swapping back to BP.

[Silver Caravelle]

I wonder if the ' bush mechanics' out there (including me) will eventually expand on the mentioned proposition of mechanically sucking or blowing out the contents when the DPF becomes blocked.

Makes me wonder whether the DPF could have an inspection plate cut in and added, so in the event of a blockage, the inspection plate could be undone and contents could be sucked out. Could this be possible? I hate this notion that something as solid as a DPF cannot be recondtioned and all those old bush mechanic and engineering skils are slowing disappearing!

Even if this had be done every 100 K or so, is better than forking thousands of dollars. Or as you all mention the DPF delete path.

Regards,

Scott

[goober]

I wonder if the ' bush mechanics' out there (including me) will eventually expand on the mentioned proposition of mechanically sucking or blowing out the contents when the DPF becomes blocked.

Makes me wonder whether the DPF could have an inspection plate cut in and added, so in the event of a blockage, the inspection plate could be undone and contents could be sucked out. Could this be possible? I hate this notion that something as solid as a DPF cannot be recondtioned and all those old bush mechanic and engineering skils are slowing disappearing!

Even if this had be done every 100 K or so, is better than forking thousands of dollars. Or as you all mention the DPF delete path.

Regards,

Scott

Scott, we tried that as well, we cut a piece the size of a packet of B&H extra mild 25's on the side of the filter then chisled out the contents.....ony problem once the hole was welded was the back pressure pipe could not register any backpressure and the ECU went back to limp mode, when we had the ECU recoded to accept the new parameter (told the dealer it was a sports exhaust without the DPF) the Crafter ran well except at idle it belched out blue smoke which generally means rings are buggered...........leak down test and compression test came up trumps, we put on a DPF that had been cleaned with wide flange oxy torch and compressed air..........no limp mode and no blue smoke.........thus after spending a week with my mechanics scratching our heads we reckon the simple solution is to burn the soot. Considering its a renter we cant expect every customer to abide by the instructions set out by VW.

All said and done, I still reckon it will be a problem down the track for anyone buying a used diesel with DPF or someone who doesnt always read the manual when taking delivery of a new one........and no the dealer/ salesperson doesnt go thru the finer points regarding this issue.

Isuzu is somewhat more insane in that the vehicle needs to be pulled to the side of the road and run for 20 minutes..........tell that to a renter!!!!....I had a 3 tonne tipper delivered and when told what needed to be done I told them to take it back as it defied logic and also breached section 74 of the trades practices act....not fit for its purpose. It now makes sense why Isuzu put all the bells and whistles on their trucks in comparison to Hino and Mitsubishi (who are yet to comply with DPF)...Isuzu needed to sell the DPF with toys.....wtf