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SDI Air Intake Box Removal (and any other advice for an SDI newb)


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Good Evening All

Been reading as an unregistered user for a few days and decided that this is where the wisdom is to be found. ;)

 

First of all...

Can someone let me know how to remove the air intake box from the the in-manifold so that I can clean all the gunky grime out of it and the restrictors?  I tried last weekend and, after removing the five bolts and pipes, I was able to move the box left, right, back, forward and up by a couple of inches but couldn't actually lift it off, making the rubik's cube look easy.  I know that it's full of crap because i could just about get my fingers inside feel it. (this stuff's still embedded in my fingerprints after a week of washing).

 

I need to clean all the intake because over that last couple of weeks the SDI has gradually lost pulling power (after pulling like a train for the first few weeks i owned it).  It got so bad that I'm unable to drive it on the road because I cannot get it to get much over 2k rpm in 1st or 2nd gear, let alone 3rd 4th 5th! And hills! Forget that!  Also, it would belch out black smoke and give a sound like that classes tractor diesel knock if i pushed the pedal down.

 

I suspect it's being strangled of air and/or fuel when it's being asked to do any kind of work (it starts and idles perfectly, by the way. no smoke, nothing!).  There were a lot of bubbles in the clear fuel pipe from the fuel filter which have disappeared since putting a new filter on.  I've also changed the air filter (which was very clogged).

 

There's no cross-contamination from oil-to-water (or vice vera) so the h-gasket seems sound enough, and the cam belt is in good nick.  So, is there anything else i should be looking for?

It's done just over a quarter of a million miles - so only just run-in, in my book ;)

 

i used to be an avid cinquecento/punto fan and this is my first lupo SDI (my first VW for a long time, actually) and i love(d) it - i'd hate for it to be over so soon.

 

Thanks all

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Update...

 

Today:  Wynns Injector Cleaner in the tank and also directly into the fuel filter and still no-go.  In fact, it actually got worse; It would start beautifully and then conk out after 3 seconds.  Before the Wynns, it would start and tick-over perfectly, but the engine wouldn't spin over 2k RPM no matter how far the pedal was pushed, so was totally undrivable anyway!

 

I've done a lot of swotting on the wonderful ClubLupo forums and read stuff about the EGR Deletion.  

 

So, willing to try anything, I went back outside to the Lupo, utterly depressed and armed only with a WTF attitude and a socket set, I disconnected the flexi exhaust intake to the EGR.  Sat in the driver's seat, cranked it up and, f*** my old boots!.. It started and kept running. Not only that!  It revved all the way up to red!  (i ignored the plume of exhaust smoke that plumed into the air from the engine bay) :rolleyes:

 

So basically (hopefully) i've diagnosed a stuck-open EGR valve.  

So my dilemma is... I can either A: Clean it.  Or B: Delete it. 

Having read what i have on ClubLupo, I would rather delete it (hoping it won't fail emissions next MOT).  

 

So now i need one piece of advice... WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO REMOVE THE LOWER BOLT ON THE EGR ??????!!!!!!!  Mole Grips?  Pipe Wrench?...  The designer must've had a wicked sense of humour!  This thing is just a small rod, threaded at each end and with nothing to get a good grip on.  Pure Genius!

 

 

I'm hoping a lot of you guys and gals must done this operation already, so PLEASE HELP ME,  IF YOU CAN.

 

Thank you all

 

 

 

 

 

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First I apologize for my English, but I hope you'll understand:).
There are several possible causes for your problem:

  • EGR valve blocked  open or which closes not ok. The causes for this are:
    - clogging of EGR (rare cases): for check,  connect a piece of fuel hose to EGR and simulate the vacuum ( pull air with mouth); the EGR's diaphragm must move and when release the vacuum you must hear a "clamp"
    - vacuum when is not necessary. For this is responsible N18 solenoid. Check the air filter ( arrow 1 ) if it allows air to pass (if not, vacuum will permanently be present at the EGR valve, this will permanently be more or less open and you can't accelerate the engine over 2-2.5k). Second check the N18: disconnect the power plug ( arrow 2 ) and remove the hose from EGR valve ( arrow 3) ; start the engine and at idle should not be vacuum at hose of EGR.That apply 12v to the N18 solenoid by means of 2 wire directly to the battery ( polarization is not important but be careful not make any short circuitit is recommended  put a fuse on a wire ). In this situation the vacuum must be present

DSC07712-2.JPG

  • intake manifold flap change-over valve -N239 blocked on closed The role of this flap is:at low engine speeds the vacuum in the intake manifold is not sufficient to ensure correct functioning of the exhaust gas recirculation system.Therefore to increase vacuum the throttle valve remains closed up to approx. 2200 rpm after starting the engine. For check: remove the intake hose and observe if you increase the engine speed to over 3000 rpm the flap will be completely open. If the flap  is not closed at all times at idle is not an issue.

DSC08327.JPG

  • obstructed intake manifold, like this
  • DSC08334.JPG
  • DSC08337.JPG

    to clean the intake holes I have used this home made tool and after this  I aspirated the dirt fallen on valves

  • DSC08343.JPG

  • a combination of the above causes
I do not remember exactly how I removed the intake box, but I seem to remember that I rotated to right first, I'm not sure.

The most common method of EGR delete (if the EGR is not blocked on open) is to remove the hose (arrow 3) and plugging it with a screw.

Edited by lupo 1.7sdi
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Thank you so much for your help and advice.  This is how my weekend panned out...

 

I eventually managed to remove the air intake box by disconnecting the main air inlet hose that attaches to the lefthand side of the intake box and sliding the box backwards so i could remove the restrictor trumpets.  Once the restrictors were out, i could lift the box off the manifold.  The restrictors and the box were all covered in thick black tar.  I was able to clear most of the mess out of the box and pipes using some heavy-duty paper towels.  There is still a thin layer of the tar all over the inside of the box and some in the pipes which i couldn't quite clear out.  I intend to get all of this cleaned when I get a nice weekend.  So that was my first job (half) done.  With everything back in place, I started the engine.  It ran for 2-3 seconds and died!

 

Next, I decided to blank the EGR and its vacuum hoses. (at this point I assumed I had nothing to lose).  I eventually removed the lower bolt that holds the EGR and also the dipstick with some penetrating oil and a pair of heavy mole grips (and some offensive language).  The EGR was so caked in exhaust crud that i was unable to move the valve with my thumbs.  I decided to just blank it off rather than clean it and have it poison my intake for a second time.  I made a crude blanking panel by taking the EGR gasket into the kitchen and used it as a stencil to draw round on the bottom of a cake tin.  Then snipped a new gasket (minus the hole) out of the cake tin and reinstalled the original gasket together with the new blanking gasket between the EGR and the manifold.  I also blanked the exhaust inlet with a 2 pence piece and tightened it all back together.  (after all this, I also elephant-modded the CCV with a dishwasher waste hose).

 

So, expecting nothing good to happen, I sat in the driver's seat and turned the key.  It started running roughly and, after a minute, calmed down and started ticking over normally.  After 2-3 minutes, most of the smoke had died away and I decided to see if it wanted to actually move.

 

It pulled away very reluctantly, stalling a couple of times but kept re-starting and getting more and more revs and distance after each start up.  Then it just carried on going and the smoke gradually disappeared completely after about a mile.  I drove back home to check my work.  Both the front-end and back blanks on the EGR we holding firm and airtight, with no leaking gasses and the elephant was still in position.

 

Since Sunday afternoon i have driven about 90 miles and the Lupo drives like a new car!  Much more pull than before and what looks like better MPG.  I really need to remove the inlet manifold completely and give it a damn good clean because there's still some of the EGR/CCV crap in the holes which i didn't want to try and clean while the manifold is in position incase I drop any of it into the valves.  And also because the lack of CCV vapour might cause the sludge to dry out and pieces of it to break off and get sucked into the engine. I don't actually know if that's possible???????

 

To conclude... I wouldn't have had the knowledge or confidence to do what I did if it wasn't for ClubLupo, so thanks for creating this brilliant website!!!!!

 

BTW - does anyone have a step-by-step walk-through guide on an SDI cam belt change???

 

Peace! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 3
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  • 2 weeks later...

Ravensthorne, thank you for this, in the past I'd made a rather pathetic attempt at blocking the EGR, but failed at removing that damn fixing that the dip-stick attaches to.  However, today armed with your WTF attitude and a newly purchased industrial sized pair of mole grips, I attacked the damn thing.  There'd been a sort of 'misfire' on constant throttle for a few weeks, which was steadily getting worse (thought it was injectors or similar) but having read your thread I though sod it, lets get this EGR valve sorted.  I did almost exactly as you, but didn't even check the state of the valve, just stuck the blanking plate in place.  Job done, no more missing and (although it's probably the placebo effect) the old girl seems to pull better, that said I suppose she should as she no longer has to re-digest part of her own effluent!

Haven't done the 'trunk' mod yet, but that will happen shortly too!

Cheers

Ian

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  • 6 months later...

Sorry to revive this old thread, but i'd've thought that everyone with an SDI has done this? And also block off the breather pipe vent, adding a flexi 20mm cable duct going under the car to simply dump any fumes. If you can get a diesel engine to breath clean air, it'll last longer, give better fuel economy and obviously more power. In addition, it'll fly through the mot as the particulate emissions will be so much lower... My SDI passed the other day with 0.16 measured. Better than new engine!

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  • 4 years later...
On 4/19/2016 at 9:28 PM, ravensthorne said:

Thank you so much for your help and advice.  This is how my weekend panned out...

 

I eventually managed to remove the air intake box by disconnecting the main air inlet hose that attaches to the lefthand side of the intake box and sliding the box backwards so i could remove the restrictor trumpets.  Once the restrictors were out, i could lift the box off the manifold.  The restrictors and the box were all covered in thick black tar.  I was able to clear most of the mess out of the box and pipes using some heavy-duty paper towels.  There is still a thin layer of the tar all over the inside of the box and some in the pipes which i couldn't quite clear out.  I intend to get all of this cleaned when I get a nice weekend.  So that was my first job (half) done.  With everything back in place, I started the engine.  It ran for 2-3 seconds and died!

 

Next, I decided to blank the EGR and its vacuum hoses. (at this point I assumed I had nothing to lose).  I eventually removed the lower bolt that holds the EGR and also the dipstick with some penetrating oil and a pair of heavy mole grips (and some offensive language).  The EGR was so caked in exhaust crud that i was unable to move the valve with my thumbs.  I decided to just blank it off rather than clean it and have it poison my intake for a second time.  I made a crude blanking panel by taking the EGR gasket into the kitchen and used it as a stencil to draw round on the bottom of a cake tin.  Then snipped a new gasket (minus the hole) out of the cake tin and reinstalled the original gasket together with the new blanking gasket between the EGR and the manifold.  I also blanked the exhaust inlet with a 2 pence piece and tightened it all back together.  (after all this, I also elephant-modded the CCV with a dishwasher waste hose).

 

So, expecting nothing good to happen, I sat in the driver's seat and turned the key.  It started running roughly and, after a minute, calmed down and started ticking over normally.  After 2-3 minutes, most of the smoke had died away and I decided to see if it wanted to actually move.

 

It pulled away very reluctantly, stalling a couple of times but kept re-starting and getting more and more revs and distance after each start up.  Then it just carried on going and the smoke gradually disappeared completely after about a mile.  I drove back home to check my work.  Both the front-end and back blanks on the EGR we holding firm and airtight, with no leaking gasses and the elephant was still in position.

 

Since Sunday afternoon i have driven about 90 miles and the Lupo drives like a new car!  Much more pull than before and what looks like better MPG.  I really need to remove the inlet manifold completely and give it a damn good clean because there's still some of the EGR/CCV crap in the holes which i didn't want to try and clean while the manifold is in position incase I drop any of it into the valves.  And also because the lack of CCV vapour might cause the sludge to dry out and pieces of it to break off and get sucked into the engine. I don't actually know if that's possible???????

 

To conclude... I wouldn't have had the knowledge or confidence to do what I did if it wasn't for ClubLupo, so thanks for creating this brilliant website!!!!!

 

BTW - does anyone have a step-by-step walk-through guide on an SDI cam belt change???

 

Peace! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry mate I know its 5 years old this thread but is the exhaust inlet and ccv you sorted both on the EGR CHEERS

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