[pitrack_1]

New DPF, ash level and regen count

Read out params yesterday, post the new DPF install.

Odo 171798 km
Ash 0%
Regen count (completed) 455

 

[charliehorse]

Ok, Had first regen since DPF wash.
I noticed the soot was 61% and was near the motorway with feck all else to do so away with me.
As soon as I hit the ramp the DPF regen light came on.
Drove her for about 15 minutes up and 15 minutes back at 2500 rpm min.
Temp went to 600c but soot did not go below 32% during regen. REgen count 210.
It did go to 19% after the light went out but its back around 32% now.
I did remember it going to 0% before while regening so maybe I have some Hard soot
that did not get cleaned off in the wash.
I have some cans of Wurth DPF cleaner. Does anyone know which hole to spray it in?
If I look down at the DPF, I can see two connections. One is on top and one to the LHS sort of on the end.
Maybe its not Wurth a F@@k but Wurth a try.

 

[DieselForry]

Hello!

This is my first post in this forum!

I Have a Diesel Forester that was first registered in November 2010. Serviced at the Dealer only. It had 132 000 km when I bought it in November 2016 and I have been looking after DPF with Torque app since buying. I have been using premium diesel fuel every time.
When I got the car it had 292 regens (42% ash) and when I was driving I was getting around 3-4 full regens on every 2 tanks of fuel. And as mentioned earlier in this thread, things got different with warm weather...
Now I am driving 100km from home to work and back, 80% on highway at 90-100 kmh each day, and now I have one full regen every two days! Once I even noticed two regens in one 50km trip...
On highway regen I usualy drop to 4th gear to keep revs up and increase flow in the dpf and soot burns off to about ~15% and the next morning soot stays at 0% and starts climbing. I cannot understand why soot climbs when coasting.
On highway I have tried 5th and 6th gear, both seem to add soot the same, but on 6th DPF temp is higher at around 350 degrees.

I removed rubber elbow after intercooler to see if it has any cracks or splits - none, but it was quite oily.. Intercooler also had some oil in it. Turbo-to-intercooler pipe should be ok since I didn't see any oily residue outside of it, so I shouldnt have any boost leaks.
What else to check? Has anyone installed something like oil catch can to keep oil out of intake (Does it come from PCV?)?

I had this idea to block off EGR with a blanking plate hoping to rise exhaust temps and lower soot accumulation rate, I even made a blanking plate, so I have to test it and post results. Does anyone know if ECU checks performance of EGR and could it trigger check engine light? Only DTC's I found regarding EGR performance are for Gasoline engines (DTC P0400 EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION FLOW)

Anyway, I have been reading this topic even before I bought my subaru and I wanted to thank you for your work and experience sharing.

 

[svkforester]

I also started to think about blocking EGR, so I'm really interested in the test results. Actually it looks like warm weather causes more regens and also regeneration itself is problematic. I also noticed that on highway I have problem to finish the regeneration with 0% of soot. At winter time I barely notice that I have DPF. For some reason summer time is not friendly to DPF, but I didn't see the reason. Maybe EGR is a reason, so please keep us informed ;-)

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[pitrack_1]

Hi all,

a few ideas and observations come to mind:

Charliehorse:
Your observations and experience with the DPF regen only getting down to about 33% tally with mine. I think quite early on dpm may have posted a query about this too. Good luck with the cleaning fluid, let us know how it goes!

DieselForry: Welcome and I hope the vehicle works out for you! If you've read my thread you know what to lookout for: glow plugs, broken pipes (I see you're watching already, good move) and A/C compressors. In my opinion your regen and ash numbers look good for now. I too have noticed the soot climb whilst coasting downhill- to the point of initiating regens. I believe the soot level is inferred from the pressure differential across the DPF and if the system isn't temp calibrated properly this can be the issue. Also perhaps even as temp decreases the DPF core material contracts and pore sizes decrease causing a rise in pressure differential and therefore soot readout level. Others can probably help you with the EGR blank if you wish to go that route. Having a look at some other sites e.g. Subaru Outback related ones may also assist. as they have essentially the same engine.

svkforester: I had very similar experiences with the seasonal DPF regen variation. I suspect it is related to fuel blend in Oz where in winter around Canberra and into the Alpine areas only we get an alpine blend fuel with a lower cloud point. I believe this is the issue because if I have the alpine blend fuel and go to a warm area (e.g. Sydney where it can certainly be mid 20s, even towards 30C) the issues don't occur. But 'cold' days in Canberra with 'summer' fuel still have soot/regen issues. And the behavioural switchover was on the tank fill between the two blends. Note Oz 'alpine' blend may very well be regarded in Europe as a 'shoulder season' blend - and perhaps for Scandinavia it'd be close to a summer fuel.

 

[DieselForry]

Installed EGR block plate today and went for a spin.
Drove ~20km, 10 in city speed, 10 on highway. First what I noticed - EGR stays open at 70 degrees all the time where in normal conditions it would be at around 20-40 degrees, so it is trying to do its thing.
EGT was close to temps that were before blanking plate, but I had too little time to judge. Managed to get 395 degrees on hard 2nd, 3rd gear pull on flat surface.
Soot was 33% on startup, dropped to ~15% shortly after startup (had a regen day ago), climbed to 48% while driving and dropped to 34% when returned home, so far so good.
Car felt very responsive and accelerated without problems.
And whats most important - no check engine light (yet)...

Will continue to monitor how it goes.

 

[DieselForry]

Update!

After ~250km check engine light together with stability control light came on. Got code p0401 EGR Flow insufficient Detected... so blocking off egr wont work without reprogramming the ecu.
I think I will drill a 10mm hole in the plate to allow some recirculation an see how it goes. All this time soot climbed really slow and I think blocking egr helped alot.
Had one regen in city stop and go traffic and soot dropped to 0% and climbed to 18% 50km of highway later.

Pitrack_1,
I checked glow plugs in winter. One was dead completely and very tip of it broke off when i removed it. One was at 2 ohms and two at 2.5ohms. Still within specification. At that time I changed only 2 of them(the dead one and 2ohm one), those who were on that side where it is easier to get to them. I have 2 new ones laying around, so I will have to change rest of them later...

 

[pitrack_1]

Well I hope they've swapped over to alpine diesel in Canberra. The last three nights (well actually mornings, min's usually around 7am) have been -8.7C, -8.2C and -7.1C which is pretty sharp, for Oz at any rate. But the air's been so dry only the lightest hoar frost has been deposited, not even enough to slip on.

The Forester has no problem starting and running smoothly at those temps without glow plugs. And yes the car is started around 7am after cold-soaking outdoors all night.

 

[DieselForry]

Time for another update.

After I triggered CEL 2 times (1 after 250km and 1 after ~100km) I was going to drill a hole in blanking plate. Before drilling I removed EGR to give it a good clean, since somewhere I saw someone saying that made a nice difference in the way the car behaves. Cleaned and installed without blanking plate and the car drove like crap (or - like before)... throttle unresponsive, consumption increased, DPF had 2 regens in around 150km.. Shaft on EGR moved freely btw.
So I blocked (completely) EGR again - car again came back to life - throttle super responsive, consumption dropped, have not had a regen for around 350km now and soot stays at ~45%.
Called local chip tuner to ask for quote for DPF removal + remap and I think I'll go for it..

 

[DieselForry]

NEWS!

I had DPF removed last friday. The guy who did that told that car puffed could of white smoke on first start up, so it looks like often regens were not because of dpf going bad, but because car smokes too much...
He told me that this could be injector lieaking or something, so I am not quite happy how this came out...
On warm engine and full throttle I can notice very little black smoke before boost kicks in.

Looks like a trip to dealer

 

[Tvilleguy]

Pitrack... that's bad news about your DPF! It has me worried now as I'm up there at the same KMs as you (160K'ish)... but my completed regen count is over 600... soot level at 64%. I regularly use a DPF cleaner additive in my car which does seem to help. Do you know which aftermarket DPF brand you had installed?

I'm looking at trading my vehicle up for a MY15 XT Premium. Found one locally with low mileage and am taking it for a test drive on Saturday morning... the diesel has been pretty good to me but I'm living in town now and not doing the highway kms... considered getting a dual cab but the size of the Foz is perfect for my needs.

Keep us informed how the new DPF behaves... good luck!

 

[pitrack_1]

Hi Tvilleguy,

good to hear from you again. I doubt you will have too many issues for a while unless you
a) Keep driving the vehicle in totally unsuitable short trips
b) Ignore a DPF light 'cos you know what it means
c) Drive the car until it stops because of a blown turbo hose
d) Have the NRMA get you going again and drive the car until it stops again and has to be towed.

It wasn't me I might add.

Your completed regen count is higher and that may be a good thing.

If I can find out the DPF maker I will let you know.

Good luck with the XT Premium! I think you may find the boot area is smaller but the cabin area larger. Since you've had a relatively trouble free run with the diesel it's probably a good idea to quit whilst you're ahead and move on. Let us know how you go!

 

[Tvilleguy]

Well I took the XT for a spin... and I absolutely LOVE the vehicle! Unfortunately the car salesman was a complete jerk and attempted to bend me over a barrel on the trade in price... so for the time being I'm holding off until I find another one in similar condition... I'm even considering going thru a broker for a better deal and getting a 17XT prem... will see what happens. Buying a new car SHOULD be a pleasant experience... unfortunately used car salesman get their reputation from people like I dealt with...

 

[pitrack_1]

Well I took the XT for a spin... and I absolutely LOVE the vehicle! Unfortunately the car salesman was a complete jerk and attempted to bend me over a barrel on the trade in price... so for the time being I'm holding off until I find another one in similar condition... I'm even considering going thru a broker for a better deal and getting a 17XT prem... will see what happens. Buying a new car SHOULD be a pleasant experience... unfortunately used car salesman get their reputation from people like I dealt with...

Hi Tvilleguy,

well they have to make a profit. It's the changeover drive-away price that matters. If you're worried about it look to sell your car yourself and simply look to purchase the new vehicle outright yourself.

If they don't get you on the price, they'll get you on the trade-in, or the finance, or the dealer delivery or the... you get the idea.

If you're in Townsville and there's only one dealer, there's no competition. If there's two, are you sure they don't have the same owner? Happens in Canberra I think! So you need to give yourself an edge, or better, edges.

It's approaching the end of the month, so you have some hope. If you can stomach his style (and repetitive haranguing), have a look at John Cadogan's "Auto Expert- How to beat a dealer at the end of the month" (putting the URL in causes a HUGE Youtube video to appear). In particular the "main game" is from about the 7:00 to 8:30 minute mark.

In the end if the local dealer doesn't wish to play, it's probably worth your while to ring a few dealers in Cairns or SE Qld , find a good deal, take a couple of days off, a plane ticket, pick the car up and have a holiday with your new car driving home!

Case in point- a couple of years ago my parents were looking to buy a Mazda 2. By looking at the Central Coast online instead of Sydney they saved at $2000 on a $18000 car (better than 10%) simply by driving 40-50 mins up the freeway. When they picked the car it was buried so far down the back in stock up they had to convince the dealer they had it by showing them the ad and stock number so they could go find it! And it was the slightly upmarket model too.

Oh and Subaru have been advertising "deals" down here recently on the Outlook/Forester which they haven't really before- so perhaps they are starting to feel competitive pressure from other makes. Certainly in ACT/NSW until recently they have been able to ask the RRP or close to it, this may be changing.

Good luck, look forward to seeing the new car should you get one!

Cheers,

 

[Subyroo]

Unfortunately the car salesman was a complete jerk and attempted to bend me over a barrel on the trade in price.

He either knows how hard it might be get rid of, or he knows the 2nd hand car yards will not pay a good price for the diesel.
Most New Car dealers ring around the Used Car yards to see who will offer the best price and that is what you get.

 

[Tvilleguy]

Hi Tvilleguy,

well they have to make a profit. It's the changeover drive-away price that matters. If you're worried about it look to sell your car yourself and simply look to purchase the new vehicle outright yourself.

If they don't get you on the price, they'll get you on the trade-in, or the finance, or the dealer delivery or the... you get the idea.

If you're in Townsville and there's only one dealer, there's no competition. If there's two, are you sure they don't have the same owner? Happens in Canberra I think! So you need to give yourself an edge, or better, edges.

It's approaching the end of the month, so you have some hope. If you can stomach his style (and repetitive haranguing), have a look at John Cadogan's "Auto Expert- How to beat a dealer at the end of the month" (putting the URL in causes a HUGE Youtube video to appear). In particular the "main game" is from about the 7:00 to 8:30 minute mark.

In the end if the local dealer doesn't wish to play, it's probably worth your while to ring a few dealers in Cairns or SE Qld , find a good deal, take a couple of days off, a plane ticket, pick the car up and have a holiday with your new car driving home!

Case in point- a couple of years ago my parents were looking to buy a Mazda 2. By looking at the Central Coast online instead of Sydney they saved at $2000 on a $18000 car (better than 10%) simply by driving 40-50 mins up the freeway. When they picked the car it was buried so far down the back in stock up they had to convince the dealer they had it by showing them the ad and stock number so they could go find it! And it was the slightly upmarket model too.

Oh and Subaru have been advertising "deals" down here recently on the Outlook/Forester which they haven't really before- so perhaps they are starting to feel competitive pressure from other makes. Certainly in ACT/NSW until recently they have been able to ask the RRP or close to it, this may be changing.

Good luck, look forward to seeing the new car should you get one!

Cheers,

Yeah I can appreciate that they have to make a profit but the trade offer for my car was not going to get a sale out of me lol... I'll advertise mine privately and if my car sells in time and that one is still there I might approach them. As for dealers there is only one here in Townsville... they're actually not too bad but the XT I drove is 2nd hand and was at another used car dealership. The next closest one is Rockhampton (8 hrs drive south)... or Cairns (4hrs drive north)... not much of a choice of dealers locally. As for what you said about your parents saving some $$... same here... a girlfriend of mine recently bought a CX5... got priced here and also down in Ayr (about an hour south)... saved a few grand and had such a great experience with the sale and changeover with the salesman... I went down with her to pick up the new car and he was the first car salesman I've actually liked lol... straight up and honest.

Will keep you updated on what happens

 

[pitrack_1]

Sorry I thought you meant New-new (i.e. off-the-boat-new).

It's a shame you don't have too many dealers and I keep forgetting Qld distances. I drove Sydney - Cooktown (and back again)...once! And one thing I remember now: Ayr snow!! :icon_biggrin: (and yes I'm totally off topic now)

Let us know how it goes, good luck!

 

[DieselForry]

It has been 2 months after I had DPF removal, EGR block and Remap (~180hp and ~400Nm iirc).
Car drives beautifuly, pulls like mad, but still sometimes puffs out white smoke on startup completely randomly.
Best fuel consumption I have achieved - 5.66 l/100km and that is 80% highway, 20% city.

About white smoke - Talked to 2 different Subaru mechanics (one was dealer, other was local ''Subaru-Joda'') They both said that it is completely normal for this engine... both of them said that injector problems are very rare and leaking injector would be noticeable with rough idle, smoke or fuel consumption.
Just had 150k service at the dealer.

 

[rattler]

That white puff of smoke you're seeing - me too. Ever since DPF delete. I can only conclude that this happens all the time with these engines but the DPF usually sucks up the smoke so we don't see it. It's burnt oil - that's for sure. You can smell it. Somebody with Suburu experience told me it's because of crankcase oil fumes building up in the inlet. It eventually coats the inlet runners and tends to hold oil after engine shutdown. Which goes through engine when next started.

But it's totally random. Ours will sometimes start perfectly clean. Other times you'd think the engine was on lits last legs. But it always clears up straight away.

My plan is to remove the inlet manifold and give it an inspection/clean and then fit a catch can.

If anyone else has any clues about this I'm all ears!

 

[John_Cheshire]

Hi,

I have searched for answers to this but can't find anything definitive.

I have been having DPF issues and thought I'd try to check out the measurements as suggested by Subdiesel and pitrack but have got nowhere.

I have MY2010 Diesel Forester (UK)
Torque Pro
Bluetooth adapter

In fact I've tried 2 different bluetooth adapters with the same results - I can connect and read basic parameters such as rpm etc. However the extended ones (DPF soot etc) all return no data.

I know some ELM327s may just read basics but I've tried 2 OBDs, with the latest one being amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B071CQGLBN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - (sorry, can't seem to get hyperlinks to work properly?). I've used torquescan and there's no extra PIDs showing.

Sooo,

1) have I just been unlucky and got 2 readers that don't read the extended PIDs?
2) done something stupid?
3) do UK cars restrict access or have different PIDs?

thanks

John