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      09-20-2015, 10:28 PM   #1
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Diesel Owners - Has your Exhaust gas cooler clogged yet?

Apparently a clogged exhaust gas cooler is common on modern clean diesels. Mine clogged at 9500 miles. From what I read it will happen again - just a matter of time. Let's hear from anyone else who has had this problem. How often does it happen and what cost can we expect out of warranty?
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      09-20-2015, 10:47 PM   #2
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Happened at 12k, warranty covered but it cost around $1500 to fix.
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      09-21-2015, 04:55 AM   #3
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Driven 43k no issues yet
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      09-21-2015, 05:33 AM   #4
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36,000 miles and no issues - second service due in 2k.
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      09-21-2015, 09:13 AM   #5
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i drove 70k in my last x5d before i had the issue. prior i had an egr sensor go as well. after the cooler i decide to trade for my 35i f15.
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      09-21-2015, 10:10 AM   #6
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I am trying to figure out why some go 100k miles and other 10k before getting this clogged. My guess as to what the factors may be:

• Fuel quality
• Driving pattern (short trips, long trips)
• Driving style
• Use of aftermarket piggy back chips

What else would cause this component to clog early?

BTW, lots of YouTubes on DYI cleaning of this component (on different BMW engines, but same concept).
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      09-21-2015, 12:26 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
I am trying to figure out why some go 100k miles and other 10k before getting this clogged. My guess as to what the factors may be:

• Fuel quality
• Driving pattern (short trips, long trips)
• Driving style
• Use of aftermarket piggy back chips

What else would cause this component to clog early?

BTW, lots of YouTubes on DYI cleaning of this component (on different BMW engines, but same concept).
My driving is a mix of city/highway and I average about 26 - 27 mpg. each day I run it hard up to rev limit after a warm up. I have not been using fuel from the majors (Exxon, BP, Shell etc) - but from the other large chains such as Speedway, Quick Check, Hess, WaWa. These are all big volume sellers.

I am wondering if there is a difference in fuel from say Exxon???

I am not using a piggy back tuning chip
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      09-21-2015, 01:00 PM   #8
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better off hitting the gas stations that have alot of diesel traffic and multiple diesel pumps.
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      09-21-2015, 02:16 PM   #9
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How did you find out it was bad, did the engine throw a code, or did you notice something else?
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      09-21-2015, 03:37 PM   #10
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try adding this to each tank....

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      09-21-2015, 06:10 PM   #11
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Quote:
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How did you find out it was bad, did the engine throw a code, or did you notice something else?
Yeah, the ECL comes on!
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      09-21-2015, 08:11 PM   #12
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Yeah, the ECL comes on!
Yes - I got a check engine light
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      09-21-2015, 08:12 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by X5Jouster View Post
better off hitting the gas stations that have alot of diesel traffic and multiple diesel pumps.
All the stations I go to are high volume sellers - lots of trucks and construction equipment - big users
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      09-21-2015, 08:14 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
I am trying to figure out why some go 100k miles and other 10k before getting this clogged. My guess as to what the factors may be:

• Fuel quality
• Driving pattern (short trips, long trips)
• Driving style
• Use of aftermarket piggy back chips

What else would cause this component to clog early?

BTW, lots of YouTubes on DYI cleaning of this component (on different BMW engines, but same concept).
We need one of those great MattBianco surveys
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      09-21-2015, 09:26 PM   #15
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wjbender I am humbled. I would be happy to do it, but we may not get enough data points, say, for another three years.
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      09-21-2015, 10:58 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
wjbender I am humbled. I would be happy to do it, but we may not get enough data points, say, for another three years.
well mine failed in about 8 months from delivery. This may turn out to be an expensive car to keep
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      09-21-2015, 11:10 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
I am trying to figure out why some go 100k miles and other 10k before getting this clogged. My guess as to what the factors may be:

• Fuel quality
• Driving pattern (short trips, long trips)
• Driving style
• Use of aftermarket piggy back chips

What else would cause this component to clog early?

BTW, lots of YouTubes on DYI cleaning of this component (on different BMW engines, but same concept).
You nailed it. The EGR to keep emissions in check gets clogged due to soot from the exhaust then sudden cooling from the engine coolant system - the fuel is not being burned completely just like gasoline cars running rich and leaving carbon in the exhaust. I removed the EGR from my pickup but that's not an option here. The only options are, high quality fuel, correct air fuel mixture, reduce time idling and turn down the fueling on the chip.

The EGR is not programmed to work full time however, and normally kicks in when the engine is at operating temperature. This is to reduce fouling. I haven't found an additive that improves the condition yet and you'll notice none of the additives mention EGR benefits.

Once you get the CEL stating EGR failure, it has to be replaced since nothing can un-clog it. People who will have better luck are those who drive longer distances so exhaust temps will stay high and soot will burn more completely. City driving, stop and go, will accelerate the problem. Gas engines see something similar with carbon fouling in the combustion chamber and exhaust valves, so no engine is immune to modern emissions controls.
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      09-22-2015, 12:49 AM   #18
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It is a rare day I nail anything 42pilot. I am going to make a diary entry .

Perhaps in a couple of years this forum will be full of cottage industry fixes for the N57 EGR. After market bypasses are available for older BMW diesel engines, but I am not sure if they would be a good idea (Link). Those who have done it also needed coding to turn off the fact that the EGR was gone.

I take it your diesel trucks have fewer sensors and feedback loops and removing the EGR does not produce alerts and errors like it does for these finicky machines.

My rudimentary knowledge of all things physics and mechanical is that there is no free lunch. And that the by pass would pass more particulates towards the DPF and the selective catalytic converter, which are both even more expensive to replace.

There are a bunch of sprays out in the market as well, like these:





I have to admit, I created these sprays long before they existed while playing around with my dad's 300d back in 1981. I used to open up the throttle body and find all kinds of black and green cruddy stuff in there. Then one I day I took it upon myself to to spray some carburetor cleaner in them. The engine reved up just like it does in this video:


.....well no exactly. In fact, the first time I did it, I had already done some cleaning and a whole bunch of the spray was sitting there waiting to be sucked in. It reved up so high for about 10-15 seconds I thought the engine was going to blow up. It felt like minutes. But the rpm quickly came back down. Soon I figure out how to do quick burst that increased RPM but not to a level that made me run away from the car the first time I did it. Gosh, the joys of being young and stupid.

I also experimented with pure gasoline to clean the gunk. That worked too. In fact, it worked better.

At the end, everything was clean, but I wanted the damn diesel to go faster, so then I got the crazy idea to put about 4-5 spoons of gasoline in the diesel tank before a fill up. I used a turkey baster.

The car went for 300k miles before we sold it, but in retrospect I am shocked I did not blow up the engine.

Note to others....never do to your X5 any of the things I did to that old 300d during my teen years.
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      09-22-2015, 11:39 AM   #19
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Lol, that's a good story Matt.
Squirting gasoline into a diesel tank, that does sound "young and stupid"
Good thing the engine didn't fail. 300K is amazing for any car.
Has anyone actually tried any of the EGR cleaner in their X5 diesel yet ? Wonder if it helps. Not sure if we can apply the same procedure to our car as that youtube video. Nowadays these new cars are so much more complicated, where do you even find the throttle linkage? They're all throttle by wire aren't they?
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      09-22-2015, 01:05 PM   #20
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Quote:
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Lol, that's a good story Matt.
Squirting gasoline into a diesel tank, that does sound "young and stupid"
You read it! True story and young and stupid summarizes it well.
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      09-22-2015, 04:27 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cobra006 View Post
Lol, that's a good story Matt.
Squirting gasoline into a diesel tank, that does sound "young and stupid"
Good thing the engine didn't fail. 300K is amazing for any car.
Has anyone actually tried any of the EGR cleaner in their X5 diesel yet ? Wonder if it helps. Not sure if we can apply the same procedure to our car as that youtube video. Nowadays these new cars are so much more complicated, where do you even find the throttle linkage? They're all throttle by wire aren't they?
I wonder if the EGR valve and Exhaust Gas Cooler are covered by the 100K mi emissions system warranty?
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      09-22-2015, 08:20 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wjbender View Post
I wonder if the EGR valve and Exhaust Gas Cooler are covered by the 100K mi emissions system warranty?
Yes they are. They are called EGR valve and the EGR. The EGR valve is the only thing you can clean. The EGR valve opens and diverts exhaust gases into the EGR which then cools the gases and reintroduces the exhaust back into the intake for continued burning in the combustion chamber. This ensures complete burning of hydrocarbons. Of course, the EGR cannot overwhelm the fresh air coming into the intake or you will lose most or all of your power and the engine will stall.

I hate this design but it's accepted as the best cost effective emissions control. Effectively, it introduces everything you don't want in your engine:

1. increases intake temps by diverting hot exhaust gases (sometimes up to 1400 degrees) into the EGR then the intake - so much for a cold air intake system for a diesel.

2. decreases power by diverting hot exhaust exhaust gases into the intake

3. increases coolant temps by using the coolant to cool the hot exhaust gases

Not to mention you have another sensor to deal with. On my pickup, I removed the EGR but left the EGR valve in place which is located on the intake manifold. So, the EGR valve can do whatever it wants but since the EGR is gone (blocked off), nothing happens.

Below is what an EGR looks like on my Powerstroke and you can see it cannot be cleaned with sprays or any other methods. It is buried in the engine, as part of the exhaust system, and on the exhaust side of the cylinders (thus negating the use of a spray in the intake).
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