Freelander 1 Can the EGR pipe be used to decarbonise the Turbo?

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Hard Drive

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Having learned of the effects of Mr Muscle Oven-Cleaner (Caustic-soda) decarbonising the exhaust inlet and rotating vane on a Turbo, I wonder if I might be correct in the following.

The EGR exhaust supply pipe has a direct link to the exhaust inlet-port on the Td4 Turbo? Therefore, if a suitable length of flexible tubing were used, might it be possible to inject the Oven Cleaning foam onto the rotating vane and further into the housing?

I wonder if those who have more information on this subject would like to comment and/or advise?
And might someone have a diagram of the exhaust manifold and turbo connections to provide a better insight of how it's all connected?

Thanks everyone.
 
The turbo exhaust housing won't be that dirty, as it runs at several hundred °C. This high temperature and high rotational speed keeps the turbine very clean. The thin layer of baked on soot it does have, won't be cleaned by Mr Muscle.
What are you hoping to improve?

If it has a delay in boost building, then the place to look is at the CAT, which can block with sooty oil deposits. ;)
 
recently watched a guy on you tube clean his daily out with snow foam!! he let the warm engine draw in a bottle then shut her down and let it soak for 10 minutes, and started back up again!! not sure i would do that. I got a carbon clean on my A6 -3L V6, and it was worth it - even though the injector seals are now shot!! - thats another story the engine head has holes to let the gunk out when the seals give, and when i googled to see where my oil leak was coming from there was alot of people had the engine out, new heads and everything!!! Glad i didn't accept that.
Did i go off on one there?
 
The turbo exhaust housing won't be that dirty, as it runs at several hundred °C. This high temperature and high rotational speed keeps the turbine very clean. The thin layer of baked on soot it does have, won't be cleaned by Mr Muscle.
What are you hoping to improve?

If it has a delay in boost building, then the place to look is at the CAT, which can block with sooty oil deposits. ;)

Thanks Nodge. Your answer helps a lot. The cat is on my list of to dos so that will be interesting.
 
Thanks Nodge. Your answer helps a lot. The cat is on my list of to dos so that will be interesting.

You only need to remove the nuts holding the down pipe to the CAT. You can then view the substrate, to assess its condition. Very often a diesel CAT will be very choked up, especially if the vehicle is driven for short journeys. If the vehicle is driven at motorway speeds for long periods of time, then the CAT will remain pretty clear.

The correct cure for a fouled CAT is replacement, but lots of people simply remove the substrate with a stout bar and a hammer, the broken bits can then be vacuumed up.
 
You only need to remove the nuts holding the down pipe to the CAT. You can then view the substrate, to assess its condition. Very often a diesel CAT will be very choked up, especially if the vehicle is driven for short journeys. If the vehicle is driven at motorway speeds for long periods of time, then the CAT will remain pretty clear.

The correct cure for a fouled CAT is replacement, but lots of people simply remove the substrate with a stout bar and a hammer, the broken bits can then be vacuumed up.
Now that sounds like a cure! Unless I get some grief from my wife (my cutting disk broke while grinding metal and hacked across my chest, perhaps nicking a couple of ribs with blood everywhere) guess what I'm doing tomorrow? A field dressing did the trick, by the way. Ouch.
 
Okay, the job is done and it took only 1hr 10 mins from start to finish - and that includes putting my car on & off ramps.

The hardest part was loosening the three nuts, as Nodge68 suggested. But with WD40 sprayed last night and again this morning, and an extension bar, they were soon cracked and unscrewed easily.

And I have to admit, I didn’t know the internal matrix went right through the cat, from one end to the other.

The tools I used are shown in the pictures, as is a few samples of the brittle matrix. It wasn’t difficult to force through.
DSCF1224.JPG Samples DSCF1223.JPG The tools (15mm socket).

How did my test run go afterwards? The car is an even faster rocket! Wow!! What a difference. It still sounds the same though.

I’ll take it for a longer test drive tomorrow, when we go shopping.

My usual curses while doing a job were, on this occasion... Ouch - Ouch - Ouch. lol
I'm adding that I used a vacuum cleaner too, as also suggested by Nodge68. The stuff came out a treat.
And another addition... the nuts on the bracket are 15mm between the flats, and seemed like a slim-line fit. I tested them onto a threaded-rod and the nuts in my tool-chest that fitted were 17mm, just in case you need to replace them.
 
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Okay, the job is done and it took only 1hr 10 mins from start to finish - and that includes putting my car on & off ramps.

The hardest part was loosening the three nuts, as Nodge68 suggested. But with WD40 sprayed last night and again this morning, and an extension bar, they were soon cracked and unscrewed easily.

And I have to admit, I didn’t know the internal matrix went right through the cat, from one end to the other.

The tools I used are shown in the pictures, as is a few samples of the brittle matrix. It wasn’t difficult to force through.
View attachment 211932 Samples View attachment 211933 The tools (15mm socket).

How did my test run go afterwards? The car is an even faster rocket! Wow!! What a difference. It still sounds the same though.

I’ll take it for a longer test drive tomorrow, when we go shopping.

My usual curses while doing a job were, on this occasion... Ouch - Ouch - Ouch. lol
I'm adding that I used a vacuum cleaner too, as also suggested by Nodge68. The stuff came out a treat.
And another addition... the nuts on the bracket are 15mm between the flats, and seemed like a slim-line fit. I tested them onto a threaded-rod and the nuts in my tool-chest that fitted were 17mm, just in case you need to replace them.

The ribs sounds flipping sore! If the nuts were 15mm AF and went onto a bolt that is 17mm AF hex, then they are m10 thread. Ususally nuts and bolts of the same thread size have the same spanner size, but auto makers tend to skimp on the metal in the heads to shave fractions of a penny off every fastner, soon adds up over a production run of hundreds of thousands or even millions of vehicles.
 
Okay, the job is done and it took only 1hr 10 mins from start to finish - and that includes putting my car on & off ramps.

The hardest part was loosening the three nuts, as Nodge68 suggested. But with WD40 sprayed last night and again this morning, and an extension bar, they were soon cracked and unscrewed easily.

And I have to admit, I didn’t know the internal matrix went right through the cat, from one end to the other.

The tools I used are shown in the pictures, as is a few samples of the brittle matrix. It wasn’t difficult to force through.
View attachment 211932 Samples View attachment 211933 The tools (15mm socket).

How did my test run go afterwards? The car is an even faster rocket! Wow!! What a difference. It still sounds the same though.

I’ll take it for a longer test drive tomorrow, when we go shopping.

My usual curses while doing a job were, on this occasion... Ouch - Ouch - Ouch. lol
I'm adding that I used a vacuum cleaner too, as also suggested by Nodge68. The stuff came out a treat.
And another addition... the nuts on the bracket are 15mm between the flats, and seemed like a slim-line fit. I tested them onto a threaded-rod and the nuts in my tool-chest that fitted were 17mm, just in case you need to replace them.

So was the CAT blocked then?
 
So was the CAT blocked then?
Hi Nodge. When inspected the outward facing grid was as black as night. But perhaps that was normal.
My impression was, the grid that faced me was pretty-well sealed with carbon.
The inlet holes are small enough, as they are, and what I saw looked between 70 - 85% blocked. Probably more-so.
The black carbon seemed like a thick impenetrable layer, with only minute pin-pricks here-and-there left to pass any exhaust.
And that was my initial impression. I did have several looks, just to make sure of what I was looking at. I was convinced. It was clogged.
If I thought the grid looked okay I would have left it alone. But, the blackness was all engulfing. It was almost solid.
I ripped through it with ease, and it was worth the effort.
The car runs all the better. I initially didn't think there was any difference in sound, but there is.
I ran the car in my garage and the engine was barking. Even my wife said it sounded more alive, "Like a Tiger after prey", she added. And that says lots!
If my Lander fails on the CAT's emissions I'll replace it. Pass the MOT then refit my Modified unit. I aint gonna lose what I have just gained, no way.
 
That looks like new compared to what I saw. I had no doubts about digging through.
Also, good news about the emissions test. Nodge, you've just made my day.
I'm off out in the car later so will monitor its performance, etc.
I'm home and pleased to announce the car goes better with a central hole through the Cat. It sounds good too. Varoom.
Now to the injectors... fitting new ones.
 
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