Vw T6 102 EGR swap?

[Thom.milburn]

Hi guys,

I've got a T6 102 which is showing an EGR fault on Carista but nothing on the dash.

driving - under load at 60/70 when holding the throttle at a set point, after a minute or two the van will begin to lose power. Simply lifting off and back on the throttle clears the issue, as does swapping gear.

I believe this all points to an EGR valve issue and we’re also down to 33mpg average (swb camper converted van)

does anyone have any experience or even better a how to in order to replace the EGR? I’m tempted to go buy the unit but have no parts numbers for the valve/cooler and gaskets as well as any pipe work I may require.

cheers guys

 

[DXX]

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[Spaghetti]

Hi guys,

I've got a T6 102 which is showing an EGR fault on Carista but nothing on the dash.

driving - under load at 60/70 when holding the throttle at a set point, after a minute or two the van will begin to lose power. Simply lifting off and back on the throttle clears the issue, as does swapping gear.

I believe this all points to an EGR valve issue and we’re also down to 33mpg average (swb camper converted van)

does anyone have any experience or even better a how to in order to replace the EGR? I’m tempted to go buy the unit but have no parts numbers for the valve/cooler and gaskets as well as any pipe work I may require.

cheers guys

I had mine done. Worth a scan to make sure it’s the EGR. I was getting an engine light, with insufficient flow. Also caused an AdBlue fault as the NOx was too high due to low EGR flow and increased combustion temperature.

Was about £522 for the part, but you also need the new gaskets and the new front and rear pipe, new coolant etc. All in was just over £1100 fitted.

 

[Paynewright]

I had mine done. Worth a scan to make sure it’s the EGR. I was getting an engine light, with insufficient flow. Also caused an AdBlue fault as the NOx was too high due to low EGR flow and increased combustion temperature.

Was about £522 for the part, but you also need the new gaskets and the new front and rear pipe, new coolant etc. All in was just over £1100 fitted.

Did you ask for the old one back so you can clean it at your leisure ready to swap over next time?

Ian

 

[Spaghetti]

Did you ask for the old one back so you can clean it at your leisure ready to swap over next time?

Ian

I did. I have it here and have opened it up. It’d need a new metal gasket between the cast exhaust valve and the cooler body as there is a common water jacket between the two. If it were to leak, the engine might ingest coolant!

 

[Paynewright]

I did. I have it here and have opened it up. It’d need a new metal gasket between the cast exhaust valve and the cooler body as there is a common water jacket between the two. If it were to leak, the engine might ingest coolant!

Any pics? A ‘haynes’ style write up would be useful. (Apologies if you’ve already posted this elsewhere).


This will be my plan of attack if it fails out of warranty.
Regards
Ian

 

[Thom.milburn]

Thanks gents, currently I am researching just what is required.

I've got the P0401 generic fault code with nothing showingon the dash. I’m going to have a thorough look at the two metal pipes tonight to see if these are blowing at all and see if I can test the actuated valve on the EGR itself. If these are fault free I’ll be whipping in a new egr/cooler. I can get a valeo unit for about £220 and believe this comes with the relevant gaskets.

also, it doesn’t appear that in the T6 it requires front end removal

 

[Paynewright]

It looks all on top of the engine - almost as if it were designed for an easy repair!

 

[Spaghetti]

Any pics? A ‘haynes’ style write up would be useful. (Apologies if you’ve already posted this elsewhere).


This will be my plan of attack if it fails out of warranty.
Regards
Ian

I didn’t do the work myself, but I have the cooler assembly and valve here if you need any reference photos etc. I’ll grab some at the weekend if you need any.

 

[Spaghetti]

Thanks gents, currently I am researching just what is required.

I've got the P0401 generic fault code with nothing showingon the dash. I’m going to have a thorough look at the two metal pipes tonight to see if these are blowing at all and see if I can test the actuated valve on the EGR itself. If these are fault free I’ll be whipping in a new egr/cooler. I can get a valeo unit for about £220 and believe this comes with the relevant gaskets.

also, it doesn’t appear that in the T6 it requires front end removal

Not sure on your model but my Euro6 2017, it’s a front end off job as it sits to the side of the block just above the gearbox.

 

[Paynewright]

I didn’t do the work myself, but I have the cooler assembly and valve here if you need any reference photos etc. I’ll grab some at the weekend if you need any.

I think there are enough pics around generally of the EGR part. I was interested in the clean up operation. I’ve watched the youtube clips using Mr Muscle oven cleaner!

 

[Spaghetti]

I think there are enough pics around generally of the EGR part. I was interested in the clean up operation. I’ve watched the youtube clips using Mr Muscle oven cleaner!

Absolutely. I cleaned the rear pipe up with oven cleaner and it’s spotless inside and out. Haven’t cleaned the cooler yet but I will do. The front pipe was leaking and I think that didn’t help things. It was covered in soot.

 

[Thom.milburn]

Well gents I’ve been out and undertook a fair inspection, also checked the operation of the valve actuator itself and operated this a couple dozen times to ensure it’s free moving.

I can’t detect any hint of soot Escaping the EGR pipe work (which is a shame as that’s an easy enough fix!) and the actuator works fine.

I think it’s time to remove the EGR and swap it out

as for how - I think it will be possible to remove the EGR (mine is a 66 plate t6 102 euro6 model) from above without removing the front of the van. Assuming the EGR unit is only held on with three nuts I can see two and feel the third but it’s going to require the coolant expansion chamber to come out as a minimum. Once I order the part I’ll know better and will update here in due course.

 

[Loz]

T6 & T6.1 - EGR Cooler removal

Workshop manual section with an overview of the EGR valve and cooler. This also includes the removal and fitting instructions.

www.t6forum.com

 

[Thom.milburn]

T6 & T6.1 - EGR Cooler removal

Workshop manual section with an overview of the EGR valve and cooler. This also includes the removal and fitting instructions.

www.t6forum.com

hi Loz,thanks for the link- it was that which you shared yesterday which encouraged me to ‘go premium’!

still really struggling to buy a refurbished part however. The part on my van is 04L131512T but the usual online parts companies are quoting completely different part numbers for my reg. not sure what to do for the best?!

 

[Thom.milburn]

I can confirm that after a discussion with a very helpful lad at Pullman VW Durham; my original part (04L.131.512.T) has been superceeded by 04L.131.512.CF.

I have found reconditioned units online but in the end decided I wasn’t comfortable fitting a reconditioned unit if I couldn’t tell what changes had been made between old and new modules. As such I’ve gone for a brand new VW item on back order from Germany.

cost for the EGR module is £522.43 plus any flexi pipes, stretch bolts and gaskets (it appears I need three gaskets and one O-ring)

Total cost with all new VW parts will be approx £700 and I’ll fit it myself.

 

[Paynewright]

Can I request photos and write up?

 

[Thom.milburn]

I’ll do my best

 

[Thom.milburn]

Further update (not sure this is interesting to anyone but myself!):

there appears to be a great deal of variation between T6 builds, even VW dealers were struggling to pin down exactly what turbo/EGR combination were on my van even though
I supplied build codes, vin, reg etc.

the solution was to go inspect my original part numbers and compare with VW.

my 2016, t6 102 swb van is installed with the following, all presumed to be standard original fitment from factory:

EGR - 04L131512T
Short EGR pipe - 04L131521H
Long EGR pipe - 04L131521AG

To replace the above (I’m just replacing them rathe rthan cleaning for now due to time constraints and possibly upgraded versions) I’ve ordered the following parts which superceed those above:

EGR - 04L131512CF (ordered from VW dealer - £522.43)
Short EGR Pipe - 04L131521BH (ordered from eBay - £63.70 inc postage, significantly upgraded part to the original with a cast section)
Long EGR Pipe - 04L131521R (ordered from VW dealer - £39.92)

To ensure there are no gas leaks once reinstated the gaskets between the EGR pipes and mating surfaces should be replaced, and in my opinion the O ring on the male end of the ‘long pipe’. VW manual states to change thenuts and bolts too as these are of the stretch variety but the VW tech I spoke to suggested they don’t unless warranty work so long as they appear okay to the eye. These do however have specific torque settings that must be followed to avoid trashing the bolts or gaskets and ensure a correct seal.

the only other thing to order is coolant - I’m anticipating having to remove the expansion chamber as a minimum and I suspect there may be coolant pipe work I need to disconnect also.

The O ring, gaskets, long pipe and 2litre of coolant came to circa £70. This bringing the parts cost for a full EGR replacement to approx £650.

you can buy an EGR for approx £200-£300 but it’s refurbished and a good chance it isn’t the latest VW spec, which will be fine I’m sure but in my mind if they havesuperceeded the removed part there is good reason for this and I wouldn’t want to risk installing an ‘old’ spec, refurbished part.

additionally the pipe work is fine to reuse but is prone to failure (splitting) causing engine management faults and potentially toxic has to enter your cab. For the cost of parts it made sense to get these awkward parts swapped out for the upgraded standard whilst undertaking this task.

finally, there appears to be a good supply of used parts, both EGR and pipe work online. I’ll remove mine, clean them and sell them on eBay to recoup some of the costs. Pipe work appears to fetch anywhere from £30-£100 for a pair and an EGR is anywhere from £50-£150.

I’ll update net once my parts arrive

 

[Thom.milburn]

Right guys.
To start - let me tell you this is not a job for the feint hearted and to was very close to throwing in the towel here simply due to the fact the almost every bolt was hidden or inaccessible and every pipe clip and similar fought me. Job was started yesterday at 1030 and was completed by 1800 so call it 8 hours.

I did not need to remove the front of the van but I do wonder if I had been confident doing this if the job would have been easier/quicker.

I had intended to do a thorough pictorial guide but my phone died and my frustration grew so that went out of the window!

Long story short -

1-disconnect battery and isolate safely.
2- remove battery heat shield plastics.
3 drain coolant via lowest point (I removed the temp sender
4 remove coolant expansion xhamber
5 remove coolant return pipe work between firewall and expansion tank
6 get your first look at the EGR from above and unbolt the 13mm bolt (top left of EGR) and the two nuts on the top right and bottom right of the EGR. It’s also easier to remove the EGR by removing these studs also (5mm socket).
7 fish around underneath the bottom left side of EGR until you can feel the next 13mm nut - good luck. I had to disconnect a hidden metal coolant pipe which is secured in the same place using a torx bit (all working blind) and a larger torx bit to the rear of the engine near the cat.
I also had to remove the starter to facilitate access...
8 - remove inrercooler front hose and protect inlet with bung/paper to preventing dropping anything into the engine.
9 - with hose removed you’ll have marginally improved access to the EGR long pipe into inlet. Held on with two torx screws one of which requires about a foot long extension bar on a 3/8” ratchet to access. remove the two torx bolts onto the EGR and now remove long pipe. Note the O ring at the inlet side which should in my opinion be replaced.
10 Remove rear EGR pipe (easy)
11 in principle the EGR should now be free but you’ll need to unbolt and disconnect various connections, two sensors and a coolant hose. Now you should be able to lift clear but this took me circa 5 hours due to how fiddly access was and the fact this is a largely undocumented procedure. I reckon I could reduce this by two hours simply by knowing how it goes together.

note on the rear of the EGR the push fit double male ended plastic coolant fitting which you’ll need to clean up and fit to your new EGR.

fitting is reverse of removal and is even more fiddly... it’s a lot easier removing a hidden bolt than refitting them!

you’ll need approx 5litres of coolant I found, the EGR, inlet o ring and I replaced both EGR pipes as these are slightly different to the originals.

pic show contrast between old and new - mine originals were not heavily fouled but replacement has cleared my P0201 (EGR low flow) fault code and dodgy running/spontaneous loss of power.