Astra H 1.9 CDTi EGR Blanking Plates
Discussion
Hello,
I have been reading some people have had their EGR Valves blanked out on these engines (150BHP and 120BHP), I understand there are two parts to this process, the plates to blank it out and then the software to have this removed from the cars "brain".
Has anyone got any ideas on how much it is to have the software part done, quick Google search brings back horrible costs which all seem to include a complete remap, I just want the EGR bit cancelled out, not a full map?
finally, anyone know if it’s better with or without the EGR Valve part, what are the benefits to doing this and are there any negatives, emissions is an obvious one but apparently with a good working condition Cat is should be fine for the dreaded MOT etc
ultimately, is it worth the effort?
I have been reading some people have had their EGR Valves blanked out on these engines (150BHP and 120BHP), I understand there are two parts to this process, the plates to blank it out and then the software to have this removed from the cars "brain".
Has anyone got any ideas on how much it is to have the software part done, quick Google search brings back horrible costs which all seem to include a complete remap, I just want the EGR bit cancelled out, not a full map?
finally, anyone know if it’s better with or without the EGR Valve part, what are the benefits to doing this and are there any negatives, emissions is an obvious one but apparently with a good working condition Cat is should be fine for the dreaded MOT etc
ultimately, is it worth the effort?
Yes had all these on mine now + the M32 gearbox apart to do the bearings.
Clutch release bearing on borrowed time now too! It's not really acceptable for this sort of stuff to be going wrong with a modern car these days is it?
Overall pretty average VX ownership experience for me so deserting the brand for a VW next. We'll see how that goes.
Clutch release bearing on borrowed time now too! It's not really acceptable for this sort of stuff to be going wrong with a modern car these days is it?
Overall pretty average VX ownership experience for me so deserting the brand for a VW next. We'll see how that goes.
Edited by windy1 on Tuesday 22 May 18:27
Golaboots said:
if it were me I think I would just periodically take it off and clean it, no fuss.
It's swirl flaps, alternators and water pumps I would worry about on the 1.9 cdti.
Ha, swirl flaps, water pump and alternator (x3) already replaced! not a fun experience with this engine so far but it has got well over 150,000 miles on it so not doing too bad I guess.It's swirl flaps, alternators and water pumps I would worry about on the 1.9 cdti.
contemplating on getting rid very shortly but I actually like the car, apart from the engine niggles and gearbox of course with that dreaded 6th gear problem!
windy1 said:
Yes had all these on mine now + the M32 gearbox apart to do the bearings.
Clutch release bearing on borrowed time now too! It's not really acceptable for this sort of stuff to be going wrong with a modern car these days is it?
Overall pretty average VX ownership experience for me so deserting the brand for a VW next. We'll see how that goes.
Agree with you there chap, had two gearboxes in this now including new flywheel, cluth release bearing and clutch kit at the same time, not sure if its an upsell but I was told to get all changed as the gearbox was out it would save money in the long run! Clutch release bearing on borrowed time now too! It's not really acceptable for this sort of stuff to be going wrong with a modern car these days is it?
Overall pretty average VX ownership experience for me so deserting the brand for a VW next. We'll see how that goes.
Edited by windy1 on Tuesday 22 May 18:27
All in all I agree, I have enjoyed driving this car but the overall ownership has had its dark moments! I am leaving the VX brand soon as well, unsure what I fancy next though...
C.A.R. said:
The EGR failed on my dads' 150 CDTi at 9 months old (<10,000 miles)
Not good! At least it was under warranty.
heard a lot of this going on, it seems odd as usually a part like this is known for being faulty if it were to wear with age type of things, but the fact is they just seem to fail as and when they feel like it!Not good! At least it was under warranty.
I think it’s totally unacceptable to put a tiny gearbox in a car with that engine, it’s not the fastest or most powerful engine in the world but surely they should have known this!
6th gear bearing in a 1.9 CDTI Vauxhall is literally half the size of a bearing in a 1.6 petrol Golf, says it all really!
To be fair, the problems with the 1.9CDTI are due to Fiat's design. The M32 is just poor, too. Again, it's just an off-the-shelf box that goes with the engine.
I've just picked up another Astra, and after my previous Mk5 ownership (1.9CDTI), I went with the 1.7CDTI this time. Old Isuzu engine that's well proven, mated to the good old Getrag F23.
GM should have kept on with designing their own diesels, Opel did a fantastic job with the 2.0 and 2.2DTI. IF they'd stuck Commonrail injection on those, they'd have had a brilliant engine.
I've just picked up another Astra, and after my previous Mk5 ownership (1.9CDTI), I went with the 1.7CDTI this time. Old Isuzu engine that's well proven, mated to the good old Getrag F23.
GM should have kept on with designing their own diesels, Opel did a fantastic job with the 2.0 and 2.2DTI. IF they'd stuck Commonrail injection on those, they'd have had a brilliant engine.
FoundOnRoadside said:
To be fair, the problems with the 1.9CDTI are due to Fiat's design. The M32 is just poor, too. Again, it's just an off-the-shelf box that goes with the engine.
I've just picked up another Astra, and after my previous Mk5 ownership (1.9CDTI), I went with the 1.7CDTI this time. Old Isuzu engine that's well proven, mated to the good old Getrag F23.
GM should have kept on with designing their own diesels, Opel did a fantastic job with the 2.0 and 2.2DTI. IF they'd stuck Commonrail injection on those, they'd have had a brilliant engine.
You clearly know your stuff with this, wish I had know some of this before purchasing. I've just picked up another Astra, and after my previous Mk5 ownership (1.9CDTI), I went with the 1.7CDTI this time. Old Isuzu engine that's well proven, mated to the good old Getrag F23.
GM should have kept on with designing their own diesels, Opel did a fantastic job with the 2.0 and 2.2DTI. IF they'd stuck Commonrail injection on those, they'd have had a brilliant engine.
Dont get me wrong, I love the car and the engine is nice and its the longest I have ever kept a car for but if the 1.9 cdti didnt have the gearbox issues and some of the smaller niggles on the engine I would keep it until its death, but now as its all working I need to get shot as the next time something goes wrong I cant justify, no matter how small or big!
Will be a shame to see it go, I was wondering about the EGR valve bit mainly becasue I think mine is on its way out and wanted to rid this problem before the misses finds out I need to spend another £100 on getting that replaced
Oddly, GM fitted the Vectra 1.9CDTI with the F40 until 2008, then they got the M32 too. But, it's different somehow to the Astra M32. Still blows up, but it's next to impossible to get a Vectra M32. Oops.
The EGR blanking is hit and miss, some can be blanked fine. Others can be blanked and throw the EML, and drive fine. Others throw the EML and go in to limp mode. When I had mine remapped, the remapper tried to map out the EGR, but it kept going in to limp mode. He did managed to map the EGR functions down, so the EGR rarely opened.
It's worth doing if you can, because a new inlet manifold is usually £600-800 fitted. It's a massive job, a full 8 hours for one mechanic. I help a mechanic friend do one on a Vectra (bigger engine bay so easier access than the Astra), and it took us 5 hours.
The EGR blanking is hit and miss, some can be blanked fine. Others can be blanked and throw the EML, and drive fine. Others throw the EML and go in to limp mode. When I had mine remapped, the remapper tried to map out the EGR, but it kept going in to limp mode. He did managed to map the EGR functions down, so the EGR rarely opened.
It's worth doing if you can, because a new inlet manifold is usually £600-800 fitted. It's a massive job, a full 8 hours for one mechanic. I help a mechanic friend do one on a Vectra (bigger engine bay so easier access than the Astra), and it took us 5 hours.
Edited by FoundOnRoadside on Wednesday 23 May 12:57
FoundOnRoadside said:
Oddly, GM fitted the Vectra 1.9CDTI with the F40 until 2008, then they got the M32 too. But, it's different somehow to the Astra M32. Still blows up, but it's next to impossible to get a Vectra M32. Oops.
Brother had the 1.9cdti 2006(06) Vectra, he didnt seem to have the same issues with the gearbox (with over 100,000 miles on the clock) but could be luck of the draw I guess. he had a lucky escape too, it had some manifold issues and was needing to be fixed/replaced at some cost he was told...but a day or two before he was due to take it to the garage someone crashed into it, insurance paid out more than he would have asked for on the private market, lucky b**ger!just a quick one seeing as you seem to know a bit about these Vauxhalls if you dont mind me asking! my engine all seems fine apart from two bits that are starting to worry me.
1. when at idle the revs seem to idle up and down, the engine doesnt sound rough but the rev needle will go up and down not stay at a steady constant.(between 700rpm and 1000rpm)
2. on the motorway, in all gears it pulls strong and without much delay, but when I'm in 6th and give it a bit of a kick, you can feel a 2 or 3 second lull in power before it all kicks in, what would this be, Sticky EGR?
As I said, the Vectra has the F40, which is a far better box (as used in the Vectra VXR, Insignia 2.0CDTI, etc), and only very late Vectras had the M32.
The lag you describe is pretty normal, mine did it too. I think it's a torque limiting function. 1st and 2nd have torque limiters so you don't trash the box at low speed, I suspect there's one in 5th and 6th as well. There's also a 140mph soft limiter on those engines too. If it's removed, and the engine is cranked up to 200hp, they're good for a shade under 150mph on GPS.
You lumpy idle doesn't sound right. Maybe the flywheel is giving issues? Any lumpiness felt through the clutch pedal?
The lag you describe is pretty normal, mine did it too. I think it's a torque limiting function. 1st and 2nd have torque limiters so you don't trash the box at low speed, I suspect there's one in 5th and 6th as well. There's also a 140mph soft limiter on those engines too. If it's removed, and the engine is cranked up to 200hp, they're good for a shade under 150mph on GPS.
You lumpy idle doesn't sound right. Maybe the flywheel is giving issues? Any lumpiness felt through the clutch pedal?
FoundOnRoadside said:
As I said, the Vectra has the F40, which is a far better box (as used in the Vectra VXR, Insignia 2.0CDTI, etc), and only very late Vectras had the M32.
The lag you describe is pretty normal, mine did it too. I think it's a torque limiting function. 1st and 2nd have torque limiters so you don't trash the box at low speed, I suspect there's one in 5th and 6th as well. There's also a 140mph soft limiter on those engines too. If it's removed, and the engine is cranked up to 200hp, they're good for a shade under 150mph on GPS.
You lumpy idle doesn't sound right. Maybe the flywheel is giving issues? Any lumpiness felt through the clutch pedal?
not really checked but the flywheel was repalced about 1.5 years ago as it had what he called "Play" in it (12 months warranty so no luck on claiming that back), is this something that will go wrong instantly or something I can live with for a short period as its going in 2 months, would rather not expense this if I dont have too? The lag you describe is pretty normal, mine did it too. I think it's a torque limiting function. 1st and 2nd have torque limiters so you don't trash the box at low speed, I suspect there's one in 5th and 6th as well. There's also a 140mph soft limiter on those engines too. If it's removed, and the engine is cranked up to 200hp, they're good for a shade under 150mph on GPS.
You lumpy idle doesn't sound right. Maybe the flywheel is giving issues? Any lumpiness felt through the clutch pedal?
b
d car was playing up again this evening. I thought my fix the the swirl flaps was broken but checked it and it was OK. Very lethargic when pulling through to 2000 rpm so figured the EGR valve was stuck - correct in my assumption - when I took it off there was a great clag of soot wedged in the pintle. All cleaned up and back on performance restored. No fault codes which surprised me.
d car was playing up again this evening. I thought my fix the the swirl flaps was broken but checked it and it was OK. Very lethargic when pulling through to 2000 rpm so figured the EGR valve was stuck - correct in my assumption - when I took it off there was a great clag of soot wedged in the pintle. All cleaned up and back on performance restored. No fault codes which surprised me.windy1 said:
bd car was playing up again this evening. I thought my fix the the swirl flaps was broken but checked it and it was OK. Very lethargic when pulling through to 2000 rpm so figured the EGR valve was stuck - correct in my assumption - when I took it off there was a great clag of soot wedged in the pintle. All cleaned up and back on performance restored. No fault codes which surprised me.
thats what worries me, no faults codes, i was told by Vauxhall if it was the EGR it would log a fault, so many people saying it doesnt. d car was playing up again this evening. I thought my fix the the swirl flaps was broken but checked it and it was OK. Very lethargic when pulling through to 2000 rpm so figured the EGR valve was stuck - correct in my assumption - when I took it off there was a great clag of soot wedged in the pintle. All cleaned up and back on performance restored. No fault codes which surprised me.I have a slight problem if I wanted to clean mine again, on my last effort of cleaning it (it wasnt actually that bad either), when putting it back on, you know the two bolts top and bottom on the left (if your facing into the engine bay from the front of the car), the two that holds the vanity cover bracket aswell, I sort of snapped one of them when screwing back in, half of it is still holding in in place, the other half fell off! how the hell do I get that out next time I want to tackle this???
Fault codes only generally get stored if there is an electrical fault or a symptom that causes a sensor to give a bad reading. I was expecting at least a low boost fault or air leak detected with the pintle stuck open. I guess the parameters were not met for that to happen. I did clean the boost pressure sensor yesterday at the same time. It was caked in crap which wouldn't have been helping.
HELP please, Typical, I am bored and decide to medal with the boost sensor, took it out and gave it a good clean, all appears to be fine. 2 seconds to get off etc.
Problem being while putting it back in and then I put the screw in its place, the screw driver torque was obviously too hi and I have not snapped the screw but re-threaded it, now the screw doesn’t "Screw" back in and the sensor isn’t secure so to speak.
two things, can you re-thread the bit on the engine (the hole) as I think that’s the bit rethreaded and two, will the sensor be ok driving while not secure, it seems to pop in nice and tight and won’t go anywhere but I didn’t want to take it anywhere until I clarified what’s best to do, taken one of the parents car today as thought best not to drive mine until I fix the screw issue, any advice on what best to do guys?
Problem being while putting it back in and then I put the screw in its place, the screw driver torque was obviously too hi and I have not snapped the screw but re-threaded it, now the screw doesn’t "Screw" back in and the sensor isn’t secure so to speak.
two things, can you re-thread the bit on the engine (the hole) as I think that’s the bit rethreaded and two, will the sensor be ok driving while not secure, it seems to pop in nice and tight and won’t go anywhere but I didn’t want to take it anywhere until I clarified what’s best to do, taken one of the parents car today as thought best not to drive mine until I fix the screw issue, any advice on what best to do guys?
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