Passat B8 140tdi DPF help

[Cutch42]

After doing a bit more research and guided by your answers I decided against replacing the DPF for now and instead doing a full clean out of that and the EGR module.


I downloaded VAG DPF (fantastic app!) and it showed ash levels at 40g (~50%) and differential pressure around 12-17hpa at idle, so a little high but not too bad



For the DPF clean (oreilys autos on youtube has heaps of vids on this) I used JLM's DPF cleaner and flush kit with a fluid transfer pump into the DPF pressure sensor hose (they make a gun style tool specifically for this but the fluid pumped worked just fine)


First step was pumping in the cleaner, letting it sit for a few minutes, then running the engine at 1.5k rpm for 5 mins. I unplugged the MAF sensor before starting to ensure the EGR valve stayed closed. Half the flushing fluid was then pumped in with the engine running and revs up, given time to clear out and then repeated with the other half. Momentarily I had the world's most expensive bubble machine


After letting it clear out for a bit longer I took it for a test drive and instantly the car felt more responsive. After resetting the ash level via VCDS I took it for a longer drive until a regen was completed and now the differential pressure as around 4hpa at idle - seems to have worked pretty well I think


The next step was to take the EGR cooler off and give that a clean as the original fault codes were relating to EGR flow. This was a prick of a job due to access, so first I removed the air intake components, charge pipe, battery and moved some other lines out of the way to clear space up top


Most of the job was then done from underneath - removed the undertray and front section of the exhaust so I could start pulling hoses off the EGR from below. Basically every hose had welded itself on to its pipe due to all the heat back there so a selection of picks, patience, swearing and a heat gun were needed. I didn't take any photos from underneath because I wasn't planning on this post at the time so apologies. Finally I could snake out the EGR from up top and it had definitely collected some soot


So I gave that a good clean, got everything back together and the car is running great - fingers crossed it stays that way.

Thanks again for your help guys and hopefully I've avoided paying the $9k originally quoted... all up this job cost me about $500 (DPF cleaner, remote hose clamp tool (essential), new seals/gaskets/clamps from VW) so at minimum buys me some time but pretty happy with how it all went

[Lucas_R]

Great result - funny you mention O'Reilly autos on Youtube as I watch his videos too. I went looking on his channel the other day to see if I could find a similar issue to yours but couldnt find one.

[Cutch42]

Great result - funny you mention O'Reilly autos on Youtube as I watch his videos too. I went looking on his channel the other day to see if I could find a similar issue to yours but couldnt find one.

Yeah he's great, no nonsense and knows his **** when it comes to DPFs. I found one he did on a skoda octavia with a similar enough engine to mine (both EA288's) so that helped heaps

[benough]

Mad respect!