E60 530d swirl flaps warranty claims ??
Discussion
...I have a 51 reg 530D Sport Auto/Tip. My father owned this car from new and has now passed it to myself, (he opted for a new "smaller" 320i Sport Coupe...)
It started to missfire one day (which was a simple electric loose plug connection - thank god!). However, as I was researching the missfire on the forums I found out about the BMW Diesel (AUTO) swirl flap issues.
(Interestingly, I belive that it is only the AUTO's that have these flaps).
I opted to have my (trusted) garage remove them and re-assemble the manifold.
I did buy a blanking kit (£100 ish), but we didn't fit the blanks - We simply removed the butterflies etc and re-assembled the manifold as original. There was no problem with the blanking components, it just did not appear beneficial to use them on inspection of the manifold.
Anyway, after reading the worrying posts and noticing the amount of failures, I thought that I would rather risk having to spend £500 on a new-revised manifold (or fit a new manifold from a Manual vehicle) should the removal of the flaps from original manifold not work.
Also, I gain peace of mind as opposed to running the risk of catastrophic total engine failure - This was not an option.
- The car drives the same.
- The car smells the same, and as far as smoke goes I can not see a difference!
- Also MPG has not been comprimised, to my knowledge!
It went straight through the MOT (always has!) and so no emissions probs experienced.
I have heard questions raised regardiong a loss of low down torque with swirl flaps removed - I did not notice ANY difference and as I say, we ordered and specced the car and have owned & driven it from Day 1.
Keep us posted,
Best regards,
Gallen
It started to missfire one day (which was a simple electric loose plug connection - thank god!). However, as I was researching the missfire on the forums I found out about the BMW Diesel (AUTO) swirl flap issues.
(Interestingly, I belive that it is only the AUTO's that have these flaps).
I opted to have my (trusted) garage remove them and re-assemble the manifold.
I did buy a blanking kit (£100 ish), but we didn't fit the blanks - We simply removed the butterflies etc and re-assembled the manifold as original. There was no problem with the blanking components, it just did not appear beneficial to use them on inspection of the manifold.
- I still have the kit which is unused if you or anybody are interested
Anyway, after reading the worrying posts and noticing the amount of failures, I thought that I would rather risk having to spend £500 on a new-revised manifold (or fit a new manifold from a Manual vehicle) should the removal of the flaps from original manifold not work.
Also, I gain peace of mind as opposed to running the risk of catastrophic total engine failure - This was not an option.
- The car drives the same.
- The car smells the same, and as far as smoke goes I can not see a difference!
- Also MPG has not been comprimised, to my knowledge!
It went straight through the MOT (always has!) and so no emissions probs experienced.
I have heard questions raised regardiong a loss of low down torque with swirl flaps removed - I did not notice ANY difference and as I say, we ordered and specced the car and have owned & driven it from Day 1.
Keep us posted,
Best regards,
Gallen
Edited by Gallen on Tuesday 21st April 17:36
Hi Gallen I am a new member and very interested in your blanking kit as I intend to do the job on Thursday 18th June is it still available and how much where are you situated, I cannot email you yet as I have only just joined but you should be able to email me thanks Chris
Edited by chrisf-1 on Sunday 14th June 19:37
This should help. Or like me it might make you spend £110 on a set of blanking plates.
£110 or 9k for a new engine...which do you prefer.
http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/swirl_flaps.pdf
£110 or 9k for a new engine...which do you prefer.
http://www.pmwltd.co.uk/swirl_flaps.pdf
AFAIK its the 2.0 Diesel and 3.0 Diesel Automatics.
I have heard you can do any of the following:
- Fit an Inlet manifold from a Manual car
- Fit a later "rivised" manifold for your vehicle from BMW
(although BMW say there was never a problem in the first place... go figure)
- Remove swirl flaps yourself
- Fit blanking plates
I have heard you can do any of the following:
- Fit an Inlet manifold from a Manual car
- Fit a later "rivised" manifold for your vehicle from BMW
(although BMW say there was never a problem in the first place... go figure)
- Remove swirl flaps yourself
- Fit blanking plates
Edited by Gallen on Friday 4th December 09:39
Why would u throw away money buying blanking kits when all you have to do is remove the metal plate from the spindle(x6) then put the shaft back in as normal,then connect up the linkage but remove the vacuum unit or block off the pipe going into it, then put 2 or 3 cable ties around the linkages to hold the spindles in place because without this the boost pressure will pop em out i have done this my self on a 320d and a 530d never had a problem after doing it, performance, smoke , fuel wise i saw no difference.its so worth doing for piece of mind.
BMWJim said:
Just had my swirl flaps removed, car running as sweet as a nut, no blanking kit required, and the mechanic removed swirl flaps last week from a manual car, it seems swirl flaps are present in auto and manual cars.
Thanks for sharing - I thought it was just Auto - I stand corrected 
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