Stevey Y

Hi the trail starts thus, Air intake to filter box then in to MAF which registers the air temp coming in, the filter element is made of a cotton/paper mix with a porous surface of microscopic holes, thousands of them, when the material is past its best the engine vacuum will be greater than normal to reach its optimum flow rate this in turn deforms the pores in the filter material thus allowing larger parts of foreign matter into the air intake which then goes through the MAF sticking to the diode surface which as I said is constantly heating and cooling the bigger particles of matter will heat up and burn the diode surface which is covered in a heat proof lacquer which perforates and gives false readings, the last line of defence is the MAP sensor which picks up the extra air from the leak and reports that the MAF sensor readings are corrupted and the ECU needs to up rate the duration of the duty cycle of injection [more diesel] to cope withe the extra air it has logged, allied to the lost boost pressure this creates an over fuel situation which is what clogs the DPF, BTW if an air leak exists or boost pressure is lost the ECU suspends the regeneration process that naturally occurs as a safety protocol until the sensors have sorted out the communication problem this is to stop emissions from going up further, the situation you describe with petrol engines only existed with carburettor fuelled engines as the carb fuel flow rate was not monitored by the ECU where as the advent of fuel injection gave the ECU the facility to raise or lower injection cycles, most petrol engines from the early nineties with a blocked air filter would show a code for airflow threshold lower than expected and an EML, that came on when the ECU had exhausted its paramiters for cutting injection amounts, the MAF is upstream this designation is made from the calculation that the airflow comes into the box is filtered then passed to the MAF which creates circular used air into the turbine this stops air friction from warming the air as it travels in whilst creating negative vacuum to pull the crankcase gas through the system into the turbo intake, where boost pressure is lost the crank gasses do not mix efficiently with the intake air and start to atomise properly which also clogs the intercooler and DPF. Steve

Hi your problem is where the pipe goes in to the turbo the rubber seal is compromised thats why its letting all the CR@P from the PCV get blown out before it goes into the engine to be burnt, this also works in reverse as it allows air in which the MAF won't have registered and you will also be loosing boost pressure, you also completely defeated the object of the whole exercise as leaving the ducting off creates the same problem as it will draw extra air from all over the surface of the air filter rather than just through the ducting which is the prime source, if I were you I would add a DPF cleaner to the fuel and give it a forced regeneration before you total the DPF and the CAT, I change my air filters about six times a year or every 9k for what they cost its a no brainer and I wouldn't mind betting thats whats killed the MAF, they are very sensitive inside to dirt as if the filter has stopped working properly it allows tiny particles of dirt into the intake system which sticks to the diode inside the MAF, the diode goes into super heat when you turn the engine off this process cleans the diode of any oily film but if you have larger contaminants it will heat up and burn holes in the protective coating on the diode which causes it to read incorrectly, whilst running the diode constantly heats and then reports the cooling time to the ECU which gauges the ambient temperature of the in comming air and adjusts the injection ratios according to the latest information from the MAFF,MAP correlation. Steve.

Hi it could be a wiring connector to cylinder 1 coil pack or a faulty injector or an air leak on the air intake, provided you have not fitted a sports air filter check the ducting for loose joints other than that try a can of injector cleaner in the fuel. Steve.

Hi the air leak syndrome is well documented as a cause of DPF failure as extra air is getting in to the system that the MAF is not aware of because its getting in after the MAF, this in turn causes overfuelling because the MAP sensor has reported a higher than expected oxygen pressure to the ECU which then calls for more fuel to rectify the imbalance, the extra fuel won't burn as well so it creates more soot and blocks the DPF. If you are going to do an Italian tune up add a cleaner to the fuel like a bottle of Wynns DPF cleaner as this has a more aggressive content of Hydrocarbons which melts soot. Steve.

Hi it sounds like massive overfuelling and you have removed the obvious candidates that have had codes which brings me to the last possible options, the fuel metering solenoid on the end of the fuel rail where the HPFP in feed line comes in, I don't think these are monitored by the ECU and if its jammed open that will cause problems with excess fuel supply, the other one is the MAP sensor but they will normally throw a code when failing, check the fuel rail pressures on live data and see if the fuel rail pressure rises above standard demands when revving the engine. Steve.

Hi Canbus is the the electrical carrier to components on the car, Canbus error is when it senses something has been changed or altered from what it has been programmed to accept, Canbus error free means whatever you have changed will be sending back the right signal even if you have changed it for something different so it fools the module that controls it. if you understand the wiring diagram it should not be above your pay grade. Steve.

Hi see Roy you keep telling us your useless but look at how far you have come with just a little determination, keep going. Steve.

Hi all new starters since about 1970 have the Bendix attached to them as standard it comes as a sealed unit which can only be tested and replaced by a specialist reconditioner as the unit is new the starter Bendix would be new as well. Steve.

Hi some pictures may whet an appetite but the unfortunate thing with the Tax is its not transferable, also a ball park price is even better. Steve.

Hi well done, what are friends for, all nice and cold now? Steve.

Hi give it a good hosing with release agent WD40 or similar then push it in a couple of times to get the crud moving then give it a little wiggle from side to side when pulling out with the tab compressed. Steve.

Hi even post Brexit all cars sold in Europe are required by law to have the right gas in them, therefore there is no such thing as wrong gas as if you don't use it your system fails in record time as the wrong gas won't work and will trash the seals on the system, its feature in the new gas to prevent old gas being used in later cars. Steve.

Hi any garage that does regassing will have the appropriate gas for your model and the newer machines pressure test the system for leaks before they try and regas the system. Audi only use the expensive version which is the same as any other garage but theirs is cheaper there is no Royal Gas its all the same. Steve.

Hi if you get the car scanned for faults it should tell you which part is playing up its normally a bad connection on either of the front seats where they get pushed backwards and forwards, for a start take the seat connector blocks on the seats off and clean them with contact cleaner it may well solve the problem. Steve.

Hi welcome to the world of error free, well done. Steve.

Hi its not the rack, probably a top mount bearing been bashed to death by the lack of damping. Steve.

Hi the item I was banging on about is the springs I have never used the shocks I only ever fitted Bilstein B4/B6s but for your average mile owner the choice is unlimited. Steve.

Hi these systems are dangerous its like Google and their driverless cars around New York, thats all gone very quite, I hate to point out the obvious but there is no quicker means of processing information than that of the human brain which is programmed by repetitive experience to preempt a possible danger these systems work on mono logic which in simple terms means Its spotted a perceived problem so it jams the brakes on, human reaction I have spotted a potential problem, scrub off some speed and move to another lane and go past it. Steve.

Hi if you replace the shocks and top mounts the springs are a must Kilen or KYB are good units I have used both on my taxis and they all gave excellent milage about 100k, and possibly get some new tie rods and ends, you will soon see where the extra money went with vastly Improved handling and the extra life you get from the tyres, in fact there is no way of checking spring compression rates without specialised equipment which none of us mere mortals possess and if you start with all new they will wear nicely as a set. I can honestly say that over the 970,000 miles I have covered between four vehicles whenever I have changed my suspension the difference in ride has been like night/day and well worth the money as its like driving from new again. If you eventually get to do the backs just replace the shocks as rear springs get less of a hard time its only damper failure that snaps them I often watch other cabbies on the motorway where the rear wheel springs bounce over the bumps like Zebedee where the shocks are knackered and should only bounce once or twice instead of going up and down like crazy because the spring is doing all the work, nothing is making the spring compression gradual. Steve.

Ahh so your in the same industry as me, an abuse focus for over opinionated Dweebs that all know their rights even if they are wrong, me, I am a cab driver, I feel for you. Steve.

Hi it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to work out that the shocks/springs are toast, after the amount of years the car has been running and the corrosion on the shocks I would get the units changed on principle, if you ask most manufacturers of suspension components most use time/milage as a rule of thumb when advising on possible replacement. Steve.

Hi nothing wrong with TRW as they were fitted O.E. along with brake callipers and a ton of other stuff. Steve.

Hi not entirely as I have noted in the past that the presence of a code or EML is entirely the interpretation given by the software writer for that model its all about the monitoring system, I.E. my Mondeo used to die and then be ok once restarted no light just a code, my daughters Q3 just threw a code for the throttle position sensor on the pedal which very rarely give problems so I changed the valve on the engine side and no codes or anything for the last 20k and the major problem is that most of the time if the fault its random it will drive cycle out quickly and leave no fault, some of these Generic code readers like my guys £5000 Snap on unit won't pick up the codes thats why I am a fan of OBD Eleven and VCDS as they pick up everything because they are manufacturer specific, for the sake of stripping the unit off and inspecting/replacing/cleaning its worth a shot as you have just about replaced every other component that would give trouble. Steve.

Hi sounds like the boost control valve on the turbo is not set quite right, but the question is why do you need so much power to drive on Jersey or is it for drag racing on the 40mph bits of road. Steve.

Hi I don't think the ignition barrel would cause the cutting out/limp mode it sounds more like a couple of plastic teeth missing off the gear that opens the throttle valve. Steve.