Surprise under engine cover

[doc_777]

So yesterday afternoon I lifted the engine cover on the Alltrack as I was looking at the connections used for the crankcase breather. Thinking about catch cans and all that...

Anyway, one of the reasons i was thinking of a catch can was to stop the Intercooler becoming an oil trap.

so wasn’t I surprised to discover that the 140TDI has a water to air Intercooler, which is an integral part of the intake manifold! The angle it’s mounted at makes it impossible for any oil to build up in the Intercooler. The issue of oil mist mixing with egr gasses remains however, so a catch can is still on the list as a possibility.

i wonder what other little surprises these things will present me with in future.

[Just_Westy]

If it's not building up in the intercooler I assume it's going into the intake manifold ?

[doc_777]

Logic says yes. Hopefully being combusted without too much egr particulate mixing with it first, and setting into a nice crust inside the valve runners...

[doc_777]

My surprise was that it was a high-mounted water-to-air intercooler, not a conventional front-mounted air-to-air intercooler.

[Just_Westy]

My surprise was that it was a high-mounted water-to-air intercooler, not a conventional front-mounted air-to-air intercooler.

I never even bothered to check and just assumed it was air to air.

[Kachingg]

I never even bothered to check and just assumed it was air to air.

So did i was a big surprise to me 2 was thinking about a intercooler upgrade lol that put the nix on that good news is that the water/air intercooler is good for any power upgrade you want to do unless you go crazy
As far as egr is concerned i will be getting a clean done on intake/maf sensor every 2 years( about 45k) to limit build up as i intend to keep car for a long time

Don't know what i will do when dfp eventually craps out tho

[doc_777]

I think the DPF is one of those things that, when it eventually dies, will be simply an expensive maintenance item.

I was looking this morning at the short crankcase breather pipe. Wondering if something as simple as a gravity loop of hose would stop a LOT of the oil. Won’t stop as much as as a catch can, but will do a decent job I reckon.

i do like your idea of cleaning the manifold every couple/few years. I’ll admit - I haven’t yet investigated the EGR routing. Depending on where the recirculated exhaust gas enters the intake charge, will determine where any buildup will start to occur... (will go out and poke my head under the bonnet now before it starts raining down here.....will report back my results)

Do do you know of any sites like REALOEM - their BMW parts diagrams are brilliant - show the full breakdown and assembly basics.

im not sure how long I’ll have this car for. Being the only one in Tassie (Alltrack Wolfsburg in Crimson Red) i’m inclined to keep it for novelty value if nothing else. I want to buy my wife an M2 before they cease production in ~2020. I don’t reckon you’ll get something quite as cool as a twin turbo 6 in a car the size of a 2 series coupe in years to come. I think however that the Alltrack would make a very comfortable, useful second vehicle if we upgrade her b8 comfortline sedan to an M2.

[Kachingg]

Yeah i think the alltracks will be held onto by a lot of owners they just drive so nice

[doc_777]

K...so the diagrams at Volkswagen > VAG ETKA Online > Nemiga.com are ok. Not as easy to navigate as realoem, but tolerable none the less. You do need to know what engine types are applicable when getting into some of the specifics, because different configurations have vastly different hardware setups within the same engine family,

anyway, what have I learned about egr on the 140TDI in the Alltrack...the egr cooler is around the bac kid the engine right next to the turbo. All good. Cooled gasses are then directed around to the egr valve, which is on the side of the intake manifold. So the major buildup of carbon from recirculated exhaust gas mixing with oil mist from crankcase ventilation will be in the intake ports. Due to heat cycling, and gas velocities, I don’t think it will build up much at all (unlike buildup which occurs in intake manifolds, where the egr is at the start of the intake manifold).

air mass sensor is right up behind the air filter housing. If it ever gets an oil coating, there is something drastically wrong.

[doc_777]

K...so the diagrams at Volkswagen > VAG ETKA Online > Nemiga.com are ok. Not as easy to navigate as realoem, but tolerable none the less. You do need to know what engine types are applicable when getting into some of the specifics, because different configurations have vastly different hardware setups within the same engine family,

anyway, what have I learned about egr on the 140TDI in the Alltrack...the egr cooler is around the bac kid the engine right next to the turbo. All good. Cooled gasses are then directed around to the egr valve, which is on the side of the intake manifold. So the major buildup of carbon from recirculated exhaust gas mixing with oil mist from crankcase ventilation will be in the intake ports. Due to heat cycling, and gas velocities, I don’t think it will build up much at all (unlike buildup which occurs in intake manifolds, where the egr is at the start of the intake manifold).

air mass sensor is right up behind the air filter housing. If it ever gets an oil coating, there is something drastically wrong.

[Kachingg]

i have been told a catch can is unnecessary on current model tdi so your explanation agrees with that just need to do a clean every 45k or so with a spray down the inlet to clean the carbon up

Thanks for your research

[Just_Westy]

Going to lift the cover on mine tomorrow and get brother to have a look. If it's not going to be a benefit I won't bother adding a can.