Mitchthecabbie

I bought my second superb today. the sexy black Elegance estate.. its very nice.. Next week I will get it licensed and plated as a cab and then I will have to let my older Greenline go... Bless her, she has been a good cab and has now got 276 500 miles on her and still runs like a swiss watch, one of my colleagues is having her and I expect he will get the old lady up to 400k..

Sorry, I didn't take any 😞 but I can describe the internals--a mesh like filter matrix that is about 8 inches deep. this sits in the centre of the dpf. there is a second filter at one end, which we didn't touch, while the other end is just a steel dome with an outlet. The ends are seam welded to the centre. When we cut ours we followed the seam, and when we re-welded it, we welded along the seam. The intention we had when welding it along the seams is that a few people remove their DPF and reprogram their car to function without it which is illegal and an mot fail. I didn't want my one looking like it had been tampered with lest it be mistakenly thought that I had done this. so we took great pains to restore its outward appearance back to normal.

Yes I know there will be some degradation in the filters, but if I can get another 50k-100k out of it then its been a worthwhile exercise. I think it will last at least that long, and by then the car will have 300k on it and I will have probably retired it.

Well I fixed my DPF. After it got to the point that it was constantly re-genning, I gave in and went to Halfords and paid £85 for their cleaning service. That was £85 wasted, they couldn't clean it and told me it was 96% clogged. For just another £380 they would rebuild it for me however.. So having walked away from Halfords I went and visited my friend at four-paw racing. figuring we had nothing to lose we decided on a radical step. we took the DPF off, Carefully cut the ends off, taking care to keep to the lines of the original welds, then when the interior was exposed we power washed the matrix inside. for about 30 minutes water went in one end and came out the other tea coloured with the occasional chunk of cinder. Eventually the water came through without discoloration and so we then used and airline to blow dry the matrix. When this was done we welded the unit back together using the original seams so as to avoid the think looking chopped about. then re-installed it in the car. Ran the programmed diagnostic/DPF regen and success! the DPF registered as completely clean with no soot or blockage. I have since put another 2000 on the car and its not re-generated once, plus the fuel economy has risen by about ten mpg and I have not had one issue with oil pressure either... All in all this cost a damm sight less than a Halfords rebuild or a replacement and hopefully has bought my old lady (249000 miles on it now) another hundred K or more of driving.

LOL yup, I reckon your not wrong.

my 12 plate superb 1.6 diesel has about 240 000 miles on it now, its DPF warning light goes on whenever the fuel level gets low. usually filling it up and driving it fast for a bit fixes it, but I think the time has come to do something more longer lasting, is a Regeneration/cleaning by a garage worth the money? I am not keen on spending lots as the cars done almost a quarter million miles.

Yup, me too! if it wasn't my cab I'd be happy enough to trundle around on my pushbike, or heaven forbid, let the missus drive me while the garage take their time.

So far as I know it is in the back of the engine and according to my M.o.T. guy (whois a mate) it's easy to see, but very hard to get at. Parts price wise yes I could have bought a pattern part for as little as £10, but the garage insisted on vw only parts and the general consensus was that the pattern ones don't tend to last. Bearing in mind, I'm an independent taxi driver who has just the one cab and a stack of pre-booked work, when I need repairs done I need them to be done swiftly and ideally in a way that's not going to recur for significant miles. a breakdown for me can cost me a lot in lost work, so doing it right the first time is always the preferred option. Yes it costs me more short term, but the parts garaunteed and probably wont need attention now for the rest of the cabs life (im hoping for at least another 100k out of it )

Yup, I know I could have gotten a pattern part sensor for about a tenner, but they would only fit genuine vw parts and for me, time is money so I went with the expensive option.

I think he probably did! 😉

I honestly can't say, I know it was a genuine vw part and it cost about £80.

Ok time to wrap this thread up with some good news. I took mine in to a garage nearby and for once they were a professional crew. The diagnosed the issue as a faulty oil pressure sensor switch (its an all in one deal) and fixed it for me. It was pricey £285 for parts and fitting but its fixed the issue. Thankyou to all who chipped in and offered advice. happy motoring!

My superb (which is also a taxi) had its EGR fail back in December at 200 000 miles. Replacing it cost me £100 for a new egr valve and about £300 for fitting. its not too punitive and it definitively fixes the fault. mines done 23 000 miles since then without a peep of trouble form the egr or DPF, so just fix it. its better than faffing with a workaround.

Thanks Bigjohn, in that case---good news on the oil front, (ive been dipping the poor old girl every five minutes this week and its fine.) As to the garage not knowing,,,, well... what can i say? ;-)

My main problem at the moment is the mechanics I usually rely on and who have proven their ability in the past are all booked solid for weeks so I am scrabbling about looking for one who is both free and not a monkey, a very difficult combination to find. (im still aghast at the guy today trying to flog me an ecu). GAH!!! some free advice.. if you desire a stress free life, never, ever become a cab driver!