EGR Blanking plate

[J&M]

4 hours ago, wicklamulla said:

2002 MK6 Transit 2.4 Durotorq,  I removed the inlet manifold (quite an involving task) and spent a lot of time de-coking / de-greasing and cleaning it out,  inspected it internally with a bore scope afore refitting the same and twas mint inside.  Also cleaned and blanked the EGR valve at the same time. Removed the intercooler and it's associated hoses and degreased the same while i was at it.

Recently we carefully cut open the 'CAT' and gutted it and welded it back together so it looks stock,  this makes the exhaust note 'whistle a bit' but it does improve 'drivability' somewhat.

 

I imagine there are a lot of us trying to maintain older vehicles which have to work hard for a living. Cleaning the intercooler and de-coking the intake manifolds is a great way of recovering lost performance, oil is a thermal insulator and drastically reduces the effect of the intercooler. However, after going to all of this effort I would always suggest giving a thought to the source of the oil that has caused these problems. Oil in the intercooler can only have come from one place - the turbo.

 

If there is more than just a light film of oil in the hose between the turbo and the intercooler, the oil seals in the turbo have failed. Minor oil leaks from the turbo bearing seals won't greatly affect performance in the short term, result in turbo damage or any visible smoke but the fouling of the rest of the system is detrimental.

 

The economy solution is a new turbo cartridge. This is the central bearing and vanes only, for fitment into your existing turbo casing. If the casings are in good nick this will be very nearly as good as a new turbo at a fraction of the cost. It's a technically simple job; just keep everything spotlessly clean, handle the cartridge carefully so you don't damage the vanes and don't forget to pre lubricate the bearing with engine oil before re-fitting. (Expect to pay about £110-120 for a common fixed vane turbo like the one on the ford 2.4).

 

For many trucks I see, clearing all the mud and dust out of the outside of the intercooler also helps.