EGR valve safe deletion?

[ah29]

Hi,

Car has the CFHC engine.

I've had to clean out the throttle body twice in the past 18 months and replace (by a garage) the EGR valve about 12 months ago. Car has had the emissions software done which, from what I understand, makes these two things block up much more often? My question is, can the EGR valve be deleted in such a way that the DPF regens will still happen? Also is there anyway of reversing the emissions software upgrade (I use the word upgrade very much with tongue in cheek!)?

Thanks for any info you can give me.

[pikpilot]

Dig around on the internet and you will find people who used to offer reversion to original factory shipped software.

Most have gone since the conclusion of the successful claim against VW but finding someone who used to do it is a starting point.

 

[J.R.]

Yes and yes!

 

For the former there are EGR emulator/simulators available on Ebay, I have had one for 3 years and 50K miles now and it does what it says on the tin, no more clogged up intake tract and less DPF particles.

 

Unfortunately after the emissions fix the regens will still carry on very frequently even when the DPF is hardly getting any ash load as the algorithm trips the regen on estimated/calculated load and not the actual measured load.

 

Which brings me to the second "Yes" which I have also instigated on my vehicle, an "emissions rollback" to the original pre "fix" ECU software, I might hear the fans running for a regen now once or twice a year instead of every journey less than 20km unless I carried on for another 5 or 10km simply to let the completely unnecessary regen complete 😒 (pun intended)

[J.R.]

Mine is same engine.

 

Your posting has made me decide to check the throttle body again after 50K miles without EGR, there is no loss of power or economy and I expect it to be as clean as a whistle this time, I will bookmark this thread and post the outcome.

Edited 18 October, 2023 by J.R.

[J.R.]

My rollback was done by Celtic Tuning in Newquay Cornwall, if you have a remap done there they will do it for free, or at least thats what they offered me back then, trouble was I could not make or plan in advance the journey due to Covid restrictions.

 

Finally I went there for a funeral and dropped in on the slight off chance they could help, I only had 40 minutes spare but they sorted me out, not cheap but great service and the resultant driving experience was worth every penny.

[ah29]

Hi JR,

Any chance you could post a link to the simulator. I've found only one so far for around £150 or so but a £500 postage charge from Poland! Was it fairly easy to install the simulator?

Thanks for your info so far by the way.

[J.R.]

It was 3 years ago and Ebay have locked me out of my account by dint of having corrupted mine and thousands of others phone numbers so I cannot get the text message with the security log in code, and you cannot contact them by any means until you have logged in 😒 yet another non contact organisation 😒

 

So no, I cannot find the article, it was a Polish seller, £99 and free delivery to UK.

 

OK I have found one for yours, £106 but yes £500 postage to the UK, I would say the seller has got burned by a UK customer maybe through import charges, Paypal refunded them & he didn't get the package back, sounds like he wont deal with the UK any more yet postage to France and other EU countries is £19.99.

 

I would message him and see if you can work something out.

[ah29]

That's fantastic. Thanks for your help and advice.

[Guest]

There are lots of used ECUs and remap/modifying options on the bay.

 

Buy a used item already doctored or have yours modified.

[ah29]

Hi JR,

Is the attached screenshot the emulator you have fitted to your engine? Any idea what the difference between the two kits are? I'm guessing one is if the valve is defective and is stuck in a position and the other is if the valve is still operating correctly?

Sorry for pestering.

[J.R.]

You need to get the correct item for your engine as the blanking plates may differ.

 

I did not use any of them but have kept them in case.

 

To the best of my memory if your EGR is functional and in the closed position it will remain there so you dont need to use the single blanking plate (higher up and easier to access) to stop gases flowing.

 

If the heat exchanger has failed and leaking exhaust then you need to use the pair of blanking plates to isolate the EGR, if there is a water leak the hoses need to be capped, I dont think that comes with the kit but read the listing as it should explain all.

[ah29]

Hi JR,

Sorry to keep bothering you. Did you fit the emulator yourself and if so how fiddly was it. I'm a fairly competent person but obviously the egr valve is a real pain to get access to hence why I left the egr valve replacement I had done fairly recently to a garage!

[J.R.]

Yes I did, connections at the top end to the throttle valve and MAF sensor were easy, the one to the EGR you have to do blind and by feel and is quite a challenge, it pays to practice on an accessible connector of the same type.

 

You can see the connector with a long handled inspection mirror to see what you are up against but once you put your arm down there you can see nothing.

 

I have removed and refitted it since, I did so for the software rollback in case it caused a conflict, it was much easier the second time round knowing what had to be done, the emulator works fine with the original ECU software.

 

With some thought you can hide all traces of the emulator and its connections so as not to have problems at MOT, the new connections to the visible throttle valve and MAF sensor are identical to the OE ones and the new sub-loom has identical wrapping to the OE, the modification is then invisible.

[ah29]

JR,

Cheers for all your help.

[ah29]

Hi JR,

Could I please ask you to check this link and confirm for me this is the correct emulator?

 

https://tafmet.pl/english/search?controller=search&s=CFHC+egr+emulator

 

Pretty sure it is, but would be nice if somebody else could just confirm it. I'm hoping going direct to the supplier will avoid the £500 postage🤞. 

Thanks so much for your help.

[J.R.]

It seems to be and looks identical to mine.

 

Well done on finding their direct website.

 

It's possible the item is out of stock, Ebay sellers often raise the price to something silly to keep a listing active and save having to relist it all over again, he might be doing the same with postage although it came up us £20 to France.

[J.R.]

I started to remove my throttle valve today to inspect but chickened out as 2 out of the 3 fixing bolts are really inaccessible and could easily drop & become lost, too much at stake for no real return, I choose my battles carefully these days!

 

Power and economy undiminished so I think it is still clean, it has only been exposed to filtered air since the emulator fitted.

[ah29]

Hi JR,

Thanks again for all your help. It's been much appreciated.

[ah29]

Got the rollback done this week. So car is now on 140hp pre emissions scandal software so should do much fewer regenerations. The tafmet emulator has now arrived. So next step is to fit that so it looks untampered. Got mot middle of this month so tempted to leave till after that, then it gives 12 months for the new connector on the maf to " weather in" a bit.

[J.R.]

What did the rollback cost if I may ask?

[ah29]

£195 with vat already added. Not too bad.

For a power increase would cost £100 more. 140 bhp is enough for me plus didn't fancy the possible increase in insurance costs.

The roll back was done at Celtic Tuning. Luckily don't live to far from Newquay.

[J.R.]

That was who did mine, they charged me more, maybe £250 but as I dropped in completely on the offchance with 20 minutes to spare before my stepmothers funeral and I would never be there again I am not complaining.

I had their remap to (allegedly) 184hp but done through an agent in surrey, had I gone to them at Newquay they would have included the rollback for free but it was during Covid, there were travel restrictions, they were booked up months in advance, I was travelling from France to Sussex so it was impossible.

 

I am very very pleased with the remap but I only started with 108hp, with 140 I would probably keep it stock, I think I probably have the standard VAG 170 mapping but with the smaller turbo, its a good combination.

[ah29]

Fitted the Tafmet egr cheat device and all seems okay 🤞. Took car for 70 mph dash down the local dual carriage way and no eml's so that's good! Hopefully is all hidden well enough underneath the air intake box.

[J.R.]

Well done you!

 

Its a very well produced product dont you think?

[ah29]

It looks oem. So hopefully with 12 months of under bonnet sh!t, it'll look like it's always been there 🤞! Looking forward to no more fretting over blocked throttle or egr valves.