2010 - EE20 Diesel Shudder Under Acceleration

I couldn't hear anything from the video and the camera shake didn't help. But if during this issue the car goes "thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk" etc. on the order of approx 1/2sec between thunks, then this may be similar to an issue with the 2010 Forester diesels. Ours only occurred once or twice very early on in its' life. Is yours a EURO5? If so, then there should have been a software update to fix the issue- at least I think this was the fix.

Hello and thanks for replying.. The car doesn't make any strange noises as such, but that's me holding the camera still and you'll see the rev meter bouncing when I'm trying to accelerate just after 2.500RPM. I believe mine doesn't have the DPF on / off setting in torque which make it a Euro 4 engine if I'm not mistaken as it was registered in November 2009 making it a "59 plate" here in the UK.

The car's done 70,000miles or 112,000km's if that makes any difference...

Thanks again!

Earlier this year I had a mammoth session sorting a long standing problem with apparent fuel starvation. It was very intermittent and felt similar to hitting the rev limiter, but anywhere between 2500 - 3500 rpm. What appeared to fix it was a sticking pivot on the turbo variable nozzle linkage. Access is very difficult, but not impossible while the turbo is still fitted.

I was amazed at just how clean the exhaust was from the cylinders through the turbo and into the DPF. There was absolutely no clogging / restriction of the turbo vanes. By contrast the EGR valve was well and truly clogged up.

Thank you! This sounds like the answer, do you have any diagrams where I could find both the turbo variable nozzle linkage and the EGR valve?

Thanks again!

Btw, welcome to the forums @Rossk12345... And glad to see you're getting an assist on this...

The 1st two pics show the Vacuum Actuator, although not the actual pivot that sticks. It may be possible to spray WD40 (or equiv), which needs the under tray to be removed.
As for the EGR valve, remove the engine cover and the intercooler. There are clear photos available somewhere in this Forum, but I can't remember where :crying:.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VGcqrGHwpwhqeJmDA

PS: let me know if this link works.

@R5oss

Hey!
Sorry I missed this reply, could you possibly send me it again?

@Rossk12345 The link works; not sure what you are asking?

Kevin said:

@Rossk12345 The link works; not sure what you are asking?

Click to expand...

Sorry I couldn't get the pictures to load on the link last night. They are working now though. Do you know where this piece of equipment is located?

@R5oss post above describes what needs to be done i.e. "It may be possible to spray WD40 (or equiv), which needs the under tray to be removed.
As for the EGR valve, remove the engine cover and the intercooler."

So the first part is under the vehicle and the second part is accessed from above.

Hi all, i have the same issue. 140k kilometers. Anywhere between 1800 and 2700rpm the engine would jitter and the rev counter will jump all over the place very fast. Definitely not normal acceleration. This only happens if i accelerate slowly. If i punch the gas pedal then it will accelerate strong and fast without issues.

Please tell me Rossk12345 have you been able to fix the issue? What was the cause? Are there any other ideas? And also, English is not native to me, i don't understand at all what "sticking pivot on the turbo variable nozzle linkage" means. Is it possible somebody could explain it plainly and maybe with a yt video/diagram or something? Is it a possible DIY job?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and help. This problem is driving me crazy.

Astral said:

Hi all, i have the same issue. 140k kilometers. Anywhere between 1800 and 2700rpm the engine would jitter and the rev counter will jump all over the place very fast. Definitely not normal acceleration. This only happens if i accelerate slowly. If i punch the gas pedal then it will accelerate strong and fast without issues.

Please tell me Rossk12345 have you been able to fix the issue? What was the cause? Are there any other ideas? And also, English is not native to me, i don't understand at all what "sticking pivot on the turbo variable nozzle linkage" means. Is it possible somebody could explain it plainly and maybe with a yt video/diagram or something? Is it a possible DIY job?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and help. This problem is driving me crazy.

Click to expand...

Hello, my issue was under hard acceleration and i suspect that it is due to the injectors! However, I did have another issue with the EGR valve sticking but that made the engine warning light go on etc. I don't know if your issue could be the same! In order to fix it, you'd need to remove the engine!

So you didn't fix your issue yet? Sorry i didn't understand why i need to remove the engine? For injectors?

Astral said:

So you didn't fix your issue yet? Sorry i didn't understand why i need to remove the engine? For injectors?

Click to expand...

My original issue was the judder around 2,500rpm which I highly suspect is the injectors, but only under harsh acceleration. It drives fine normally.
I also had another issue with the EGR valve which I have recently sorted.

Astral said:

Hi all, i have the same issue. 140k kilometers. Anywhere between 1800 and 2700rpm the engine would jitter and the rev counter will jump all over the place very fast. Definitely not normal acceleration. This only happens if i accelerate slowly. If i punch the gas pedal then it will accelerate strong and fast without issues.

Click to expand...

We had this issue early on with our 2010 diesel. It was solved by the dealer and I believe it was a software update. I'd suggest you check which ECU software version you have and update to the latest for your model.

Hi, thanks for your reply, but a software issue out of nowhere? The car is 8 years old. Why would it suddenly have a software issue?

Anyway, today i did a little digging around the engine, took of the top mounted intercooler and found that the intercooler pipe running directly to the EGR valve has a huge crack in it. I suspect this is the issue.
The part is fairly expensive, about $100 and also hard to find so i may have to order from ebay. Those seem to be cheaper but are most likely not genuine. I'll check tomorrow. For the time being i used duct tape to seal the crack

The EGR valve i cleaned, it wasn't that dirty really, but the inlet manifold is full of gunk, black soot, however you want to call it. Looks really bad. I think i will have to take it off at some point and clean the hell out of it. Tomorrow i can post some pictures if anyone's interested.

Astral, please post your pics. I don't think that the IC connects to the EGR valve, it feeds into the plenum chamber where the ERG also feeds. So this is where the mix of soot & oil produces the evil gunge, and lots of issues.

Here are the pics: https://app.box.com/s/t10fahoepm6af9kpy78gkt0i0txhnvrv

Maybe i got my terminology wrong but the IC is connected to the EGR directly via this cracked pipe and then after EGR comes the plenum chamber (not the inlet manifold as i wrote previously, my bad).

Edit: I seem to have mixed up the EGR valve with the throttle body. Sorry, new to all this.

Hi Astral,

good spotting of the crack. We also had one of our induction hoses crack, maybe the same one (can't remember).

If you can find a good aftermarket silicone one that fits it may be better and cheaper.