Same old EGR problem

[sri150]

Hi guys, now I know this has been done to death but.....I have had intermittent power loss/cutting out etc so this weekend did the how 2's to clean the throttle body, clean the EGR and the solenoid, and clean the boost valve. Now I have just been on a test drive and at the moment the intermittent power loss doesnt seem to be there, but what is now there is no power below 2000 rpm until the turbo kicks in. This is definitely worse than it was before I cleaned the various parts.

In the ideal world I know I should have done one job at a time so that I could then have known which job caused the problem, but it was easier to take the EGR and throttle body off at the same time.

Having read the posts there are numberous causes but is it likely that I could have created this problem from the jobs I have done or could the EGR have now just totally failed?

The diagnostic light is on but I need to get this read again as cant remember the code.

I have also noticed that the swirl connector bar on the manifold is also completely detached.

very annoyed

[the-wizard]

fix the swirl bar first there's a fix in the 'how 2' section, remove the egr & check the hole in the manifolds clean, make sure the egr elec plug goes back on right, recheck the boost sensor & plug, you could do with getting the light cleared & then go from there.

[zafira]

Mine cdti 120 was exactly the same, no power under 2000 revs after cleaning EGR, boost sensor and trottle valve. It was like that in about two days before it was normal again.

http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120777

[sri150]

fix the swirl bar first there's a fix in the 'how 2' section, remove the egr & check the hole in the manifolds clean, make sure the egr elec plug goes back on right, recheck the boost sensor & plug, you could do with getting the light cleared & then go from there.

Will try the £1 fix next weekend then on the swirl bar! I had noticed that it has been off before, but never had any problems with loss of power under 2k, until I cleaned out the EGR and throttle body.

Time to sell I think, but unfortunately need this problem sorting before otherwise it will be an embarassing test drive!

Got a 100 mile round trip to work in the week so even better if it sorts itself like "Zafira" said.....but that would be too easy!!

[felixx]

Hi guys, now I know this has been done to death but.....I have had intermittent power loss/cutting out etc so this weekend did the how 2's to clean the throttle body, clean the EGR and the solenoid, and clean the boost valve. Now I have just been on a test drive and at the moment the intermittent power loss doesnt seem to be there, but what is now there is no power below 2000 rpm until the turbo kicks in. This is definitely worse than it was before I cleaned the various parts.

In the ideal world I know I should have done one job at a time so that I could then have known which job caused the problem, but it was easier to take the EGR and throttle body off at the same time.

Having read the posts there are numberous causes but is it likely that I could have created this problem from the jobs I have done or could the EGR have now just totally failed?

The diagnostic light is on but I need to get this read again as cant remember the code.

I have also noticed that the swirl connector bar on the manifold is also completely detached.

very annoyed

I noticed that you said you did the solenoid repair,how did you seal the hole in the plastic end you drilled through to get the piston etc,out?.FELIXX.

[sri150]

I noticed that you said you did the solenoid repair,how did you seal the hole in the plastic end you drilled through to get the piston etc,out?.FELIXX.

I lost the light so havent yet, but was just planning on putting a bit of silicone over the hole - its only 3mm so wouldnt have thought it would cause any issues? But I could be wrong???

[felixx]

I lost the light so havent yet, but was just planning on putting a bit of silicone over the hole - its only 3mm so wouldnt have thought it would cause any issues? But I could be wrong???

That,you will probably find,is the problem.When the valve opens to draw exhaust gases into the manifold the hole is creating a negative pressure,(or something like that),
because of the hole,even though it is quite small.I had a very similar experience and sealed the hole with a bolt and rubber washer as a temporary repair.I then went to a DIY shop and bought a pack of kitchen shelve plastic screw plugs and used one of those instead.(They are just like plastic screw head covers),which you can use as an alternative.The car ran fine after sealing it up. FELIXX.

[felixx]

I forgot to add.As a plug,try to use something you can remove on a regular basis etc,so you can give it a shot of cleaner/lubrication every so often to keep the piston clear.FELIXX.

[sri150]

That,you will probably find,is the problem.When the valve opens to draw exhaust gases into the manifold the hole is creating a negative pressure,(or something like that),
because of the hole,even though it is quite small.I had a very similar experience and sealed the hole with a bolt and rubber washer as a temporary repair.I then went to a DIY shop and bought a pack of kitchen shelve plastic screw plugs and used one of those instead.(They are just like plastic screw head covers),which you can use as an alternative.The car ran fine after sealing it up. FELIXX.

Guess what I will be trying tonight then!! Thanks Felix for the advice, and I have some of those screw plugs. Fingers crossed and I will report back!!

[sri150]

I had high hopes that sealing the hole would work but unfotunately not I used the end of a rivet as that provided the best fit.

There may be a slight improvement but not much. I did poke around the inlet manifold as the rail is completely off and this did seem to make a bit of a difference. Will try the £1 fix this weekend and see if that works.

Thanks for the advice!