FL1 TD4 Auto vacuum hose issues

Good morning all,

I’ve recently purchased a fl1 td4 auto.
Having fixed the major problems, deleting the EGR, and fitting the upgrade crankcase breather, I am now looking to get some MPG back. Just filled her up and got 21MPG from 5/8 of the tank (not ideal). I have an incredibly gunked up inlet system which definitely adds to that shocking economy.
My main issue at the moment is, I think, a dodgy MAF and IAT sensor and vacuum hoses that seem to be wired up wrong. Having deleted the EGR, I’ve blanked off the hose that was connected, this hose goes directly to the pump which I believe is incorrect. I also have a 180 degree metal pipe to the side of the MAF which I’ve seen connected to something in people videos. I’m attaching colour coded pictures and shall explain each colour below, I’d love some feedback on where each one should go from anyone who knows where to hook them up to.

Dark red (burgundy I suppose): EGR hose pump -> blanked off.
Yellow: pump -> round thing on vacuum hose
Blue: vacuum hose -> big rubber thing (air tank?)
Green: somewhere -> I believe the turbo solenoid (this may also be the yellow one but I’m not sure)
Purple: that 180 degree pipe that I’ve seen connected.

As far as I can see there are two hoses on the turbo solenoid that look correct.
Any tips on things to save diesel and clean everything would be immensely appreciated.

Absolutely love this community and all the info on here has been really useful.
Many manys, Phil

20MPG is a bit low, I'd expect to see 28 to 30 MPG on the auto.

Here's a drawing of the vacuum lines for the turbo, note pipe 4 is longer that the picture shows, as it goes right across the top of the engine between the accumulator and turbo control solenoid.

Yours doesn't look correct as it should be connected exactly as the picture, and the pipes need replacing anyway, as even the tiniest of leaks will cause trouble.
The pipe marked with purple shouldn't be connected to anything as that's the IRD breather.

You definitely need to clean out the inlet manifold of goop, but deleting the EGR won't necessarily increase MPG, often it reduces it, and can cause an MOT failure too if it's spotted.

Nodge68 said:

20MPG is a bit low, I'd expect to see 28 to 30 MPG on the auto.

Here's a drawing of the vacuum lines for the turbo, note pipe 4 is longer that the picture shows, as it goes right across the top of the engine between the accumulator and turbo control solenoid.

Yours doesn't look correct as it should be connected exactly as the picture, and the pipes need replacing anyway, as even the tiniest of leaks will cause trouble.
The pipe marked with purple shouldn't be connected to anything as that's the IRD breather.

You definitely need to clean out the inlet manifold of goop, but deleting the EGR won't necessarily increase MPG, often it reduces it, and can cause an MOT failure too if it's spotted.

View attachment 302677

Click to expand...

Thank you Nodge for the fantastic diagram.

Yeh I'd be happy with 30 odd MPG, I have a new thermostat going in soon and am replacing the vacuum hoses with silicone replacements (which I've heard good things about).

Been looking at some more videos and pictures I now see where the vacuum pump really is, still unsure about what the EGR pipe is going to as it seems not to exist on other FL1s that I've seen, is this an auto thing?

On the absolute grottiness of my inlets how would you reccommend I clean them? I can get a pressure washer on the intake manifold but the inlets into the cylinders on the block are a bit of an issue. I've seen videos of people putting each cylinder at TDC to close the valves to then just scrape and hoover everything out but I don't have power in my garage and the weather at the moment makes taking the inlet manifold off on the driveway a slight impracticality. Had some redex from the old car that I hadn't used up and chucked that in and also, now that I've run the tank through a couple times, I've popped some Wynn's diesel cleaner in there and maybe that will shift some of it. Of course without the EGR I feel like it would be able to clear itself up with long runs at temperature and some cleaner in there. Have also seen reviews hyping up these hydrogen carbon cleans but I'm not sure how effective they can actually be. I'll attach pictures of my inlets so you can see but they are less than half the size with all that crud, this picture was right after I bought it and was deleting the EGR, possibly looks better now without the EGR...

Many thanks Nodge, your replies on other threads have been most illuminating in my FL1 venture.

Nodge68 said:

20MPG is a bit low, I'd expect to see 28 to 30 MPG on the auto.

Here's a drawing of the vacuum lines for the turbo, note pipe 4 is longer that the picture shows, as it goes right across the top of the engine between the accumulator and turbo control solenoid.

Yours doesn't look correct as it should be connected exactly as the picture, and the pipes need replacing anyway, as even the tiniest of leaks will cause trouble.
The pipe marked with purple shouldn't be connected to anything as that's the IRD breather.

You definitely need to clean out the inlet manifold of goop, but deleting the EGR won't necessarily increase MPG, often it reduces it, and can cause an MOT failure too if it's spotted.

View attachment 302677

Click to expand...

One more thing, do you think that the thing in front of my engine could possibly be the turbo solenoid that was relocated to this position as from pictures of that solenoid it looks exactly the same (at least the bits that I can see).

The goop in the inlet manifold needs scraping where possible, and a good soak in a solvent like petrol, kerosene or diesel, then more scraping and ideally a steam clean or a soapy pressure wash out. The goop in the intake ports needs removing too, so scraping and a vacuum out with a workshop vacuum will normally work there, followed by a good blast with carb cleaner.

The turbo solenoid has 3 ports, and is located by the turbo. The EGR control solenoid has 2 ports and is located below the inlet manifold, near the starter.

The vacuum pump is on the RH end of the cylinder head, as it's driven by the inlet cam.

You show us light when we see but darkness, Nodge.
Saw some things about the EGR solenoid how it is basically the same as the turbo solenoid but with a different connector, which at least explains my misunderstanding.
Will try and clean up that intake a bit over the weekend, installing new vacuum lines and a new vacuum tank (as I managed to break one of the hose nipples off), clean the MAF as that’s throwing up a code.

Cheers mate