[mickb1982]

Hi,

I have recently bought a 2003 320d Touring that has done 94000 miles. I have been reading about the swirl flap issue and I am a little concerned. Ive read a number of posts on a number of web sites and some say its nothing to worry about, others say removing them and blanking them off has no affect on how the car runs. Blanking them off would give me piece of mind knowing that my engine is not going to become damaged in the future but on the other hand will removing them cause other problems such as increased emissions or decrease in performance and fuel economy. Any advice or experience that anyone has in this matter would be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Ronnie]

http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/f18/2002-320d-se-accoustic-panels-t6831/

PM Ray or he may answer in this thread :cool

 

[mickb1982]

I looked at rays thread and decided to go ahead with the modification. Im glad I did because the flaps had quite a bit of sludge on them and one was quite loose. The whole job took me about 3.5 hours.

 

[simon2312]

Just to add to the list of things to do i would also change the crankcase breather filter. I presume its the same motor that i have in my 320d se, i may be wrong, but i only had my car a month or so and the breather was clogged leading to turbo failure. Ive had a nightmare on my hands for a couple of months getting it fixed and it still isnt right. Hope this advice is useful.

 

[mickb1982]

Thanks for the advice Simon. Where is the crankcase breather filter? Is it a big job to replace?

 

[mickb1982]

Is part no.11 in the following link the filter that requires replacing?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AS72&mospid=47635&btnr=11_3312&hg=11&fg=15&hl=17

Also ive been reading about an EGR valve, where abouts is this and will it just need cleaning?

Thanks :thumbsup

 

[ray t]

Yes mate, number 11 is the breather that most people replace fot the new vortex type. Around £35 from dealers I believe. Sorry I didn't in touch reference the swirls, I have only just found this thread. Well done on a good job, at least you now have piece of mind that the engine will not pop due to an ingested flap.

As for the EGR valve, people say remove it and clean it out. Apparently, this will cut down on smoke output and also slightly improve responsivness and power curve smoothness. I havn't actually carried out the EGR clean yet as the one time I tried it, I struggled to get the jubilee type clamp off. It appears to be spot welded on

 

[mickb1982]

Thanks Ray, Il get one of them this week.

I cleaned out the EGR valve today, I managed to get it off ok. On my car the clamp that holds the two metal parts together is attatched to the jubilee clip, I unscrewed the jubilee clip as much as I could and it just slid over the flange on the exhaut part. The problem I had was with the small pipe at the right hand side, It would not budge so I had to cut it and scrape it off the valve with the stanley knife, luckily there was about 2" slack so there was enough spare to re-fit the pipe.

Mine was not clogged up too much, it had about a 2mm coating of thick black oil on the far side, I cleaned this off and cleaned all the main valve in the middle. Im not sure how it is suposed to work but on mine I pushed the screw driver down the exhaust side and the valve pushed open. It was like a really strong spring. Id guess that when they go faulty the valve gets clogged up and either does not open or gets stuck open.

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks Ray, Il get one of them this week.

I cleaned out the EGR valve today, I managed to get it off ok. On my car the clamp that holds the two metal parts together is attatched to the jubilee clip, I unscrewed the jubilee clip as much as I could and it just slid over the flange on the exhaut part. The problem I had was with the small pipe at the right hand side, It would not budge so I had to cut it and scrape it off the valve with the stanley knife, luckily there was about 2" slack so there was enough spare to re-fit the pipe.

Mine was not clogged up too much, it had about a 2mm coating of thick black oil on the far side, I cleaned this off and cleaned all the main valve in the middle. Im not sure how it is suposed to work but on mine I pushed the screw driver down the exhaust side and the valve pushed open. It was like a really strong spring. Id guess that when they go faulty the valve gets clogged up and either does not open or gets stuck open.

They are meant to be really stiff to open :thumbsup

pics? :rofl

 

[p4paco]

the EGR (exhaust gas recycle) valve, mixes dirty exhaust air back into the engine.
all Manufacturers install this to help lower exhaust output at specific rpm levels to help make the car look good on paper and to help meet certain government criteria ie polutant levels at certain RPMs for example idle speed.

But it does not actually help make an efficient combustion process, rather then hindering it. So how can it help, after the car has rolled off the assembley line and is in use.

 

[p4paco]

i've had an EGR bypass fitted for over 2 years, and my 183kmiler 1999 e46 320d runs sweetly, as originally intended and passes MOT with plenty to spare on emmissions.

so there.
so now all you guys go find an EGR bypass valve and have a neat job.
Actually the EGR bypass, is not a vavle, its a dummy which looks the same, and ties up all your loose ends like i did.

BTW (mine is m47)the same engine is in similar aged Rover 2litre TDs,
and i found out about EGR bypass from a Rover forum no less, & bought the part from one of them thru Ebay.

 

[xXNealXx]

i've had an EGR bypass fitted for over 2 years, and my 183kmiler 1999 e46 320d runs sweetly, as originally intended and passes MOT with plenty to spare on emmissions.

so there.
so now all you guys go find an EGR bypass valve and have a neat job.
Actually the EGR bypass, is not a vavle, its a dummy which looks the same, and ties up all your loose ends like i did.

BTW (mine is m47)the same engine is in similar aged Rover 2litre TDs,
and i found out about EGR bypass from a Rover forum no less, & bought the part from one of them thru Ebay.

Problem is that your turbo will spool up more and so you will need to adjust the wastegate limit, otherwise you risk premature turbo failure. Not good in the long run as you really need to protect your engine from overboost.

 

[Ronnie]

the EGR (exhaust gas recycle) valve, mixes dirty exhaust air back into the engine.
all Manufacturers install this to help lower exhaust output at specific rpm levels to help make the car look good on paper and to help meet certain government criteria ie polutant levels at certain RPMs for example idle speed.

But it does not actually help make an efficient combustion process, rather then hindering it. So how can it help, after the car has rolled off the assembley line and is in use.

EGR also helps to keep internal engine temperatures down which improves turbo life e.t.c.

But EGR also ruins oil quicker. :frown

i've had an EGR bypass fitted for over 2 years, and my 183kmiler 1999 e46 320d runs sweetly, as originally intended and passes MOT with plenty to spare on emmissions.

so there.
so now all you guys go find an EGR bypass valve and have a neat job.
Actually the EGR bypass, is not a vavle, its a dummy which looks the same, and ties up all your loose ends like i did.

BTW (mine is m47)the same engine is in similar aged Rover 2litre TDs,
and i found out about EGR bypass from a Rover forum no less, & bought the part from one of them thru Ebay.

On early 320d(m47 136bhp) you can fit a bypass/blanker and it won't flag up the emissions light.

Later e46 diesels(m47n 150bhp e.t.c upwards) will flag up the emissions light if you blank off the E.G.R, but you can fit a restrictor to stem the amount.

Also the M47 engine fitted to your car is more powerful than the equivalent Rover lump and has some different parts. :thumbsup