S40 (New) General : DPF Removal

[daleoran]

Hi Folks, first post so please be gentle
I recently purchased a 2008 S40 1.6D and a few days after the purchase the engine management light came on. My son plugged his computer in and the error was related to DPF regeneration. This is my first diesel car so knew nothing about DPFs

To cut a long story short can I have the DPF removed, still drive the car after it has been removed and refit the DPF when I have had it cleaned? There may be a few weeks between removal/cleaning/refitting.

I'm not interested in the ethics of removing it - it's not that I won't be refitting it, I will be, I'm just afraid of really damaging it if I continue to drive it at the minute.

Many thanks in advance

[Clan]

Originally Posted by daleoran

Hi Folks, first post so please be gentle
I recently purchased a 2008 S40 1.6D and a few days after the purchase the engine management light came on. My son plugged his computer in and the error was related to DPF regeneration. This is my first diesel car so knew nothing about DPFs

To cut a long story short can I have the DPF removed, still drive the car after it has been removed and refit the DPF when I have had it cleaned? There may be a few weeks between removal/cleaning/refitting.

I'm not interested in the ethics of removing it - it's not that I won't be refitting it, I will be, I'm just afraid of really damaging it if I continue to drive it at the minute.

Many thanks in advance

you will be wasting your money getting it " cleaned" i have seen this before and they fail again in a short period..
It will be far better and reliable for many years if you just get a new one ...

If you understand exactly how and where the soot particles get trapped inside a particle filter you would realise that they cannot effectively be "cleaned" ... They have a very different exhaust pathway to a catalytic converter , through a minute maze-like pathway on their way through until the particles get caught in a corner.. ....

[daleoran]

Many thanks Clan. But in the meantime is it possible to have the DPF removed, drive the car for a while, then get it cleaned or as you suggest replaced?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by daleoran

Many thanks Clan. But in the meantime is it possible to have the DPF removed, drive the car for a while, then get it cleaned or as you suggest replaced?

I don't know how you will drive it with no dpf /catalytic converter unit , it is an integral part of the exhaust system and you need a working one now for the MOT since last year . you will be attracting attention with the puffs of black smoke out the back , very unpopular these days ...

[daleoran]

Thanks Clan. As I said new to diesel cars and very much appreciate the advice

[daleoran]

Just a wee update
I put some DPF cleaner in the tank and drove a couple of 50 mile journeys in 4th gear. Then got my son to turn off the engine management light. Thankfully it has stayed off, 3 days so far
Feels like a new car. It was in 'limp mode' , if that's a term, wouldn't go above 3000 revs, when it hit 3000 it would back off. Absolutely no power or lift. Now the power and the lift are unbelievable, compared to before.
So very happy and hopefully my style of driving, long motorway journeys, will keep the DPF happy

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by daleoran

Hi Folks, first post so please be gentle
I recently purchased a 2008 S40 1.6D and a few days after the purchase the engine management light came on. My son plugged his computer in and the error was related to DPF regeneration. This is my first diesel car so knew nothing about DPFs

To cut a long story short can I have the DPF removed, still drive the car after it has been removed and refit the DPF when I have had it cleaned? There may be a few weeks between removal/cleaning/refitting.

I'm not interested in the ethics of removing it - it's not that I won't be refitting it, I will be, I'm just afraid of really damaging it if I continue to drive it at the minute.

Many thanks in advance

DPFs generate a lot of soot which absolutely can be cleaned and bring the filter back up as good as new. DPFs also generate ash for which there is as Clan says little you can do to renew.

In your situation I would be tempted to avoid any short journeys for the next 200 miles and when driving ‘use’ the engine .i.e faster flowing speeds and without the use of top gear.

Doing this will clean out any soot and ensure little soot is generated. It is possible this will resolve.

If the DPF is full of ash then you are a bit stumped. How many miles has it done and do you know it’s hostory? Generally ash would present in cars used for short journeys over high milers.

[daleoran]

Many thanks for the advice. I bought the car of a neighbour and I know his daily driving was mainly short trips around town and to work. My first diesel so knew nothing about DPFs until the engine management light came on lol.
My driving involves a short trip to work but I also drive my wife to work 3 or 4 days a week and this involves two 50 mile round trips each of those days so the 200 miles you suggest will be done in the next 2 days

[bugsb]

this may help it helped me on another ford engine plus it works out much cheaper than the one shot additives , if you do use some read the instructions so you put the correct amount in every tank full , and yes being an old git and seen many snake oils i was very skeptical and let others try it first on the jag forum
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371680538...84.m1436.l2649

[Dastardly Diesel]

I removed the DPF myself on my olde Peugeot 4007. Stripped, soaked overnight, and jetwashed through the following day. My Sister now has that car, uses it for her horses, and 80,000 miles further on it's good as gold.

This idea that a properly cleaned DPF will fail in short order is baseless. The "new" DPF that most dealers sell will in fact almost certainly have a recycled matrix that's been cleaned, inspected, and reused. That's why they'll give you some money back if you hand in you old one as an exchange.

Provided it isn't so far gone that it's like a lump of coal it's perfectly feasible to clean them. If you don't feel like doing it yourself they're are companies that can clean it for you. They use a rig which pumps hot water through at very high pressure. The unit does have to come off the car for this - these in situ cleaners are next to useless for clearing clogged DPFs.

Fortunately, the Italian tune up seems to have worked for you, so your was likely not that bad at all.