OBD Code scanner.

[Old Peter]

Thanks, Mick.  Would Terraclean do the job without taking it out?

 

Peter.

[msmicksmith]

I'm not sure Peter. I've heard good reports about Terraclean but I've not read up on it.

It may be worth a call or an email to ask them that question. 

[Old Peter]

Hi Mick, 

 

I rang an indy garage this morning and got a surprising reply from one of their technicians.  He said that Terraclean would do a great job on the engine and would clean the EGR valve, but he also said that a better solution for me would be to find out the cost of either cleaning or replacing the unit.  Reassuringly, he did not even suggest that I take the car to his garage to get the job done.  I took the car out today for a trip into Shropshire - circa 80 miles - and had no problems.  I will need an MOT in June as well as a service and I will ask my mechanic, who I have used for 13 years, to give the EGR valve a clean out.

 

I was also told by the garage I contacted that Terraclean is great for an engine clean up particularly if you have fuel and emission problems.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[msmicksmith]

Yes I've heard great reports about Terraclean. If memory serves me, I also saw Ed, the mechanic from Wheeler Dealers, do a show about it a while ago.

The whole point of Terraclean is to remove carbon deposits from the engine without dismantling, so I can't see why it wouldn't clean an EGR valve, I just don't know enough about it to say for sure.

I've never had to fully replace an EGR valve yet, just removed them and given them a damned good seeing to with paraffin and a brush after scraping as much as I can off with a tool of sorts. The only thing you can't do properly without removing it is the intake manifold. I've opted for using a rag to clear what I could and then spraying where I can with Carb Cleaner. Usually results in clouds of smoke when I restart the engine, but that doesn't last more than a few seconds and after that it's kept clean by a combination of Millers addidive and a good thrashing every now and then.

Terraclean is supposed to get all of this clean without the need to take it apart. It's also, allegedly, good for cleaning the injectors too. If you, or anyone else, uses Terraclean, I'd be interested to know the results and might even give it a go myself. 

[msmicksmith]

Found it!!! 

And interestingly, it's on a Jaguar! 

 

[msmicksmith]

Hello again Peter,

I just trawled the Terraclean website. It appears they have a specific EGR and DPF cleaning system separate to the actual Terraclean system, so I assume that to mean that the standard Terraclean doen't clean the EGR.

 

I also just emailed my local dealer (The Terraclean website has a locator service on it). I expected a reply tomorrow at the earliest but received it within 20 minutes!! The cost is £89 +VAT. I consider that to be pretty good value given the reports I've heard about it.

I'll be booking in a couple of weeks 

[Diddler]

Chips are summat you have with Egg and Sausage.

From a Yorkshire man.

[Diddler]

Peter. Saying your OBD scanner is duff, is not good for your street cred.

[Old Peter]

Chips are summat you have with Egg and Sausage.

From a Yorkshire man.

And from a Lancashireman, add Black Pudding.

[Old Peter]

Peter. Saying your OBD scanner is duff, is not good for your street cred.

True, Stan.  I will have to try it out on another car.

[Old Peter]

Hi, Mick.

 

On the topic Terraclean [a separate topic],  Jim has used it on several cars and thinks highly of the service.

 

I have been put in touch with a local Mobile Terraclean mechanic, and have asked him about the EGR valve cleaning service.  I have also said that I am interested also in a full diesel Terraclean in a couple of months.  It seems to do wonders with the emission issues on a diesel.

 

I am waiting for his email, and will let you know that result.

 

I have relooked at the Ed China video, and the product does seem something that is useful.

 

In my first few years of car ownership I used to do my own servicing, on both mine and my wife's various cars with a fair amount of success, but when the Company car came I was required to use a dealer while they were under warranty, and as they were changed annually that was all the time.  You get out of the habit and after I retired my wife sold her Red EFI Escort Convertible, so I didn't have a car I understood to play around with.

 

Now with my 80th Birthday coming up, I don't get oily hands or get underneath cars any more.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Diddler]

Its not just the getting under, its the getting back up.

[msmicksmith]

At 79 I think you've earned the right not to get your hands dirty anymore Peter ;-)