[thomascaswell]

Yeah my turbo is on a vacuum system (Euro 3). I guess I should plug both ends and finish my EGR blanking then and leave the hose in two pieces just sealed off?

 

[nicam49]

Yeah the end that goes to the 'inlet manifold' actually goes to the vacuum servos, which could be losing vacuum for the turbo actuator, so def. either block the end or replace the pipe.
Have you looked further at the boost pipes for possible split? I'm thinking as you discover one defect you'll uncover another.

 

[thomascaswell]

That lack of vacuum would explain so much…
To be honest I had the EGR half off (to inspect and blank off) when I noticed the severed line snd I was so dumbstruck that I hadn’t noticed it for over a month I went back home to update this thread and look online for some vacuum line blanking caps.
I’ll pull it completely off tomorrow and have a good inspection of all boost and vacuum lines

 

[nicam49]

Yeah, on some, the vac lines start and end as rubber, and change to brittle plastic which on mine, had split but not seperated so really inspect closely the plastic pipes, if they're fitted on yours. Looks like someone had actually cut that rubber vac pipe.... 🤔

 

[thomascaswell]

What led you to believe you had a vacuum leak? Was it acting up under boost like my car?
I agree, it does look rather tidy that split. The earliest photo I have of that part of my engine bay is the day I got stranded and it's clearly split in that photo so god knows when that happened!
I'll have a good look at that plastic housing on the manifold as well as all my other rubber bits, they all look as old as the car.

 

[nicam49]

Good question! My egr is on the side of the engine, and those vacuum solenoids are buried underneath the engine on my early version. I was troubleshooting a low vacuum fault and had bought a new vacuum pump and a vacuum hand pump and gauge also a spare set of solenoids, (2nd hand) and just stumbled across the split in the rigid plastic vacuum pipe by luck as it was right underneath the engine and hard to see. I was trying to reduce the exhaust smoke for the mot, else it didn't make that much difference to the performance. just seemed a little smoother once fixed.

 

[thomascaswell]

I've pulled my EGR off completely after capping off the severe vacuum line (to check the condition of it and the hoses) and the exhaust side was carboned up like crazy (surprise surprise) but there was a distinct lack of carbon in the EGR and intake and a LOT of oil in its place.
It might be hard to see but the rubber all looked a-okay but my god was there a lot of oil.
If you look at the photos there are little bits of non-magnetic metal where the hose joined the EGR (so I guess it's from that) and just a film of black oil on everything.
A mate said to pull the intercooler to see just how much there was but I can't reach anything down there without a jack.
No idea how long this has been oily like this but the air filter that came with the car was covered in oil (the one I put in a few months ago is still clean, however) so I don't know if its a clue.

So, the main questions.
Is this what could be leading to my misfire and smoke? if oil is being dumped into my intake under load. Note it doesn't smoke at anything other than high revs
Is the turbo seals completely gone and if so, is it with trying to replace it?

 

[PURPLE_2L_LX]

There maybe old pictures of the large EGR valve hole clogged worse than that. One somewhere thats
barely open enough to poke a finger in.

 

[thomascaswell]

Oh yeah I’ve seen ones where it’s just all carbon.
My worry is why there’s all this damn oil!

 

[nicam49]

It's not oil, it's tar and that's normal...(there's a breather from the rocker cover into the airfilter-to-turbo pipe, and oil vapour from it gets circulated. . wait till you decide to remove the manifold and give it a clean! However, oil on the airfilter....I really can't explain that, unless a previous owner thought he had to oil it like you do on K&N filters... 🤔

 

[thomascaswell]

Blimey I bet the whole intake and induction system is like a set of smokers lungs.
I don’t have any photos of the old air filter but it was very sooty, I assume from oil vapours coming back from the breather after shut off/ general age? Not a clue but it wasn’t like properly oily if that makes sense

 

[nicam49]

Have you read this fordwiki article on cleaning the manifold?

EGR Valve and Inlet Manifold Clearout TDCi - www.FordWiki.co.uk

www.fordwiki.co.uk

 

[thomascaswell]

I haven't seen that no but I'll be sure to save it for later as I want to give it a proper cleanout at some point.
As for the EGR, it's all tar and little carbon so does it need a good clean out or can I just blank it and block off the vacuum hose and clean it out down the line when I do the whole induction system?

When it comes to refitting, does the EGR bolts have a particular torque rating or should I just snug them down?
This might be a dumb question but which side of the EGR blanking plate do I fit the existing gasket?

 

[PURPLE_2L_LX]

The small EGR bolts are prone to breaking. Just nip them up with a small 1/2" ratchet or similar.

Its a rubber seal between the EGR and manifold so make sure thats in good condition. Seen a couple
with no seal. Assume they removed the EGR and the seal fell down and they didn't notice.

 

[thomascaswell]

I don't think I saw anything but I'll see if I can source some new seals online as my exhaust-EGR one looked quite rough.
I dont know if this is exactly for my car but I'm sure they're mostly the same?

Edit:
is this the EGR-Manifold one you mean?

 

[nicam49]

Best look on catcar.info for the part number... or nip into your Ford main dealer parts dept.
On mine, its a metal gasket!
Have you looked in your Haynes manual for the torques... thats the best source.

 

[thomascaswell]

Dont worry, I got a proper metal one as well for the exhaust-EGR joint as well, this was manifold to egr.
I'll have a good flip through of that, I totally forgot I have one!

 

[PURPLE_2L_LX]

Yeah manifold to EGR rubber gasket recessed into the manifold slightly. I replaced the gasket on my
2.2L (fully electric EGR) used a Jaguar part which was easier to get and cheaper.

Partly why some overtighten those small bolts I think? It seems like the gap does not fully close but the
rubber gasket fills the gap, just hard to see that in situ.

 

[thomascaswell]

Okay, I finally got an afternoon to work on my car (those seals I posted don't in fact fit, just a tad too big despite the website saying they do).

I've blanked off my EGR and reinstalled it and done everything uptight. I did a static leak-off test (don't have to time to do a proper one right now) and got a couple of inches in #3 & #4 but that's it

I must have gotten a little air in the system because it died a couple of times on startup but it doesn't cut out anymore.
But it runs like absolute dog dirt (I know new injectors take time to bed in but this sounds so so rough) and it almost dies when I rev it or put on the AC.
Not to mention there's a horrid intermittent grinding/ beeping type noise coming from the engine, my belts are fairly worn so maybe it's them and/ or the rollers? Hopefully, it isn't the pump...

I've stitched together some videos of it running here I'll be interested to see what you guys make of it

Edit: here are some photos (graph from leak-off test)

 

[nicam49]

Did you code in the new injectors?