[gazz c]

swirl flaps fell off and wrecked my engine,dont listen to anyone saying it wont happen to you,90k car full service history,driving down motorway when heard a pinking sound started missfiring,towed into bmw 2 pistons wrecked valves etc new engine required and poss turbo,worst thing was i was gonna remove the flaps but was advised "there ok leave them alone" gutted to say the least:frown

 

[steve23002]

Sorry to hear that mate..:frown

 

[gazz c]

thanks mate,cant believe it i was gonna remove them aswell and then someone said there ok leave them alone so i took there advise.

 

[steve23002]

Its too late to say it now but i would always remove them to be sure. :mad
Whats the plan with it now? :confused

 

[gazz c]

its in bmw stripped,they might be gonna help me out as good will gesture but still gonna be expensive and turbo could be damaged aswell

 

[steve23002]

Push and push for a goodwill gesture. There is obviously a problem that they know about. Its worth it even if they pay for the parts or labour :cool
Keep us posted how you get on with them, sometimes they can be stubborn but sometimes they can give in straight away :confused

 

[Ronnie]

Damn Gaz, sorry to hear also, that's why I advise everybody that they are known to go on all BMW engines :frown

You need to hold your ground on the goodwill gesture, they should budge from the first offer :thumbsup

 

[ose1665]

swirl flaps is there a how to?

Er, not something I have heard about before
Wot's the low down, should I be worried, and how and where are they?
Sounds like a very expensive thing to ignor.

 

[redadair]

ooohhh man, sorry to hear the bad news Gazz and I have a 2005 530d.....

Holy crap, it's insane that something like this can ruin the engine and more....

Good luck to you mate. Red

 

[Deano16v]

thats real sjhit luck Gazz, not good news at all. hopefully BMW will do the decent thing and stump up the majority of the repair costs.

Ose, theres plenty of info on here about them mate

 

[Ronnie]

Er, not something I have heard about before
Wot's the low down, should I be worried, and how and where are they?
Sounds like a very expensive thing to ignor.

Here http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f3/e46-320td-320d-swirl-flap-replacement-t15571/ and here http://home.tiscali.nl/luuk60/ or http://tinyurl.com/r6cee3

 

[johdal]

I have been thinking about doing this too. It seems that the only downside is an increase in emissions when idling. However, I would worry that this might cause the car to fail its biennial emissions test.
I'm wondering why nobody is suggesting just replacing them, say, every 30,000 miles rather than removing them altogether. Surely they are only prone to failure after high mileage?

 

[SlowTech]

I have been thinking about doing this too. It seems that the only downside is an increase in emissions when idling. However, I would worry that this might cause the car to fail its biennial emissions test.
I'm wondering why nobody is suggesting just replacing them, say, every 30,000 miles rather than removing them altogether. Surely they are only prone to failure after high mileage?

The problem is that you cannot buy the Swirl Flaps separately from the inlet manifold, so its £400 just to change them, every 30,000 miles :eek

 

[coogsyrsv]

I have been thinking about doing this too. It seems that the only downside is an increase in emissions when idling. However, I would worry that this might cause the car to fail its biennial emissions test.
I'm wondering why nobody is suggesting just replacing them, say, every 30,000 miles rather than removing them altogether. Surely they are only prone to failure after high mileage?

biennial??? what emissions test do you get every 2 years or ?? pull them out, it wont fail emissions tests!!

 

[johdal]

Fair enough. Out they come...

 

[Bumer5]

I have replaced mines one month back, they were in a good shape. A friend of mine followed me and today took his manifold off(02 e39 530dSport) - on one flap rod was broken at the very "base":jaw-dropping so flap hanging literally in the air in the almost closed position!Miracle it didn't fall down! and 2 screws were loose on 2 other flaps.
So if you dont have a warranty do it ASAP

 

[bip78]

Had mine my 55reg 525d done on Friday by PMW!

Mine had the new design - still cover in carbo

Glad i did, sorry to hear about your bad news.

 

[318is-joe]

The problem is that you cannot buy the Swirl Flaps separately from the inlet manifold, so its £400 just to change them, every 30,000 miles :eek

Thats not entirely true

The flaps can be changed, in the same way blanking plates are fitted.
disconnect the actuating rod, and each flap can be removed with it's supporting bush. 2 X torx screws hold each flap assembly to the manifold.

I ampputated my flaps months ago, I found one that was working loose from it's axle, car had 104K at that time. I cut the axles from the bush, and plugged the hole with an M6 bolt, Nylock nut on the end then distorted the bolt overhang in a vice, and re-fitted the flap bushes in the manifold. Disconnected the EGR also, and run a better quality / slightly lighter oil 0W 40 to keep the turbo flushed at low temperatures, and journals flushed at high temps also. Has passed emissions also BTW.
Sorry to hear abouit the thread originators woes - it's simple - get rid of them, before they strike.

 

[Bumer5]

Thats not entirely true

The flaps can be changed, in the same way blanking plates are fitted.
disconnect the actuating rod, and each flap can be removed with it's supporting bush. 2 X torx screws hold each flap assembly to the manifold.

I ampputated my flaps months ago, I found one that was working loose from it's axle, car had 104K at that time. I cut the axles from the bush, and plugged the hole with an M6 bolt, Nylock nut on the end then distorted the bolt overhang in a vice, and re-fitted the flap bushes in the manifold. Disconnected the EGR also, and run a better quality / slightly lighter oil 0W 40 to keep the turbo flushed at low temperatures, and journals flushed at high temps also. Has passed emissions also BTW.
Sorry to hear abouit the thread originators woes - it's simple - get rid of them, before they strike.

I think the question was whether he can BUY NEW SWIRL FLAPS or not:thumbsup

 

[318is-joe]

I think the question was whether he can BUY NEW SWIRL FLAPS or not:thumbsup

Ah - My Bad - :duh

Overall though I thought it important to stress the importance of removing them, and share my findings that it had not affected idle emission levels.