Hissing/leaking EGR cooler fixed!

you can't get the butterfly off the shaft. You would have to cut/grind the actuator shaft off where it connects to the butterfly shaft. After you make the repair you will have to weld the cut/ground off connection back together.

I noticed on mine when I took it off that the other side of the saft that holds the butterfly was wallering out the socket where it's held. So more movement would have been in the shaft.

I replaced my while cooler but many on here suggest blocking it off instead.

I have tried blocking off this pipe. It will instantly give you ZERO power at low RPM and HAMMER the crap out of your MPG..... unless you get the chip tuned at the same time. $$$$$$$$$

This problem develops like clockwork at about 50,000 miles, and VW will do nothing for you. In fact, they had a RECALL of 2001-2005.5 Jettas for this EXACT PROBLEM, but refuse to issue a recall now.

As for federal emissions..... VW has a federally mandated emissions warranty of 20k and 80k. All parts are covered for 20k, but only a handful of specific components are covered for 80k. So even though the EGR cooler is only on the car to control NOx emissions, VW flat out refuses to do anything but spit at the customer when this problem occurs after the VW 50k or 4 yr warranty expires. The parts covered to 80k are:

http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/warr95fs.txt
There are three specified major emission control components,
covered for the first 8 years or 80,000 miles of vehicle use on 1995
and newer vehicles:

* Catalytic converters.

* The electronic emissions control unit or computer (ECU).

* The onboard emissions diagnostic device or computer (OBD).


In any case, has anyone explored the possibility of REMOVING this valve, but leaving the pipe in? I disconnected the vacuum actuator from the valve long (100k mi) ago and wired open the valve. The result was..... no engine problems whatsoever. Numerous inquiries to VW (good luck..) asking about the purpose of this valve have not yielded a result.

It appears that the valve simply restricts EGR flow at idle. The microsecond the gas is hit, this valve throws open. I don't see any benefit.

I didn't have the time to do a final fix, which is removing the valve flapper and sealing the hole, but I do now, and so I'm reviewing the forum. (I've driven for 110,000 miles with that damn hiss....) Just sealing off the hole sounds like a much more simple fix than having a bushing made, etc., and it's free.

EGR Valve Part # and cost

Does anyone have the VW part number for the EGR valve? Any good sources for obtaining this part on the cheap?

if you make an extra bushing, I'll buy one from you.

Hi, if anybody makes an extra bushing, I'll buy one from you.
I just wonder does the bushing goes inside the EGR cooler or outside?
Thanx

My 2006.5 has 205k miles. I first replaced my EGR cooler at 100k miles, then again at 155k miles. Now at 205k it is leaking again. Hissing, and exhaust smell inside the car.
So far, this is about $1300 in repair costs, as the second replacement was done at a discounted price due to the short life.

Has anyone thought about a class action lawsuit, or something against VW on this? I just spent $2600 on this thing for TB, and DMF. Now am looking at another chunk of $. This may be my last VW.

I used a friend's lift today and looked at my leaking cooler. His cooler is also leaking. It is easy to access on a lift. Provided I can get bushings made I will be attempting to replace while installed. I have a couple questions for those that have done it.

Mine isn't welded but rather crimped on. How much did you have to grind and do you think you could just press it off with a well placed or modified vise grip?

Does anyone have leftover failed EGR coolers available for purchase. I would like to experiment before hand.

Hello. Boy this thread is old.

I ended up fixing this cooler once and for all by putting the flapper valve that is controlled by the vacuum actuator into the high flow position and then welding the shaft to the body where the leak is occurring. This both keeps the valve in the full open position and seals it from any further exhaust leaks.

The valve in the cooler is a flapper that selects between a high flow/ less restriction path and a low flow/ more restrictive path. I have no idea the purpose of the low flow path, but the car runs slightly better with high flow through the cooler. I have driven the car for thousands of miles with the valve wired in both positions and I cannot tell any MPG or performance difference.

I made a video of some pressurized air I blew through the cooler to show the difference in restriction, but it's not in my phone anymore. I now cannot remember which flapper position is which. Doesn't matter, you can move the flapper to the 'middle' of it's travel and weld the sucker without taking it off the car, if you're careful not to burn your face off waving a hot stick around in that tight space.

Otherwise, remove the cooler, pull off the vacuum actuator assembly, figure out which is wide open flap (or just middle of travel), and weld the shaft at the circular indented point. You should put so much stick into the opening that the outer part of the shaft melts off and there's a lot of metal plugging that hole. Then put the cooler back in and forget about it forever.

Be sure to plug the vacuum line with something.

Also, the cooler is held to the block with four bolts behind it. Good luck. They are a bear to get to. You might have to remove the exhaust "L" bracket bolted to the block with I think four bolts. You also must remove the turbo oil return line, and obviously dump the coolant and unbolt the exhaust inlet and outlet. You might also have to pull the drive shaft off to the passenger wheel. I was doing a transmission clutch job, so my transmission was out at the time.

This should give you some indication that you should weld the damn thing and not repair/replace it. If you feel like dropping the CV joint, the oil return line, and messing with the four bolts, the exhaust bracket, dumping the coolant, and trying to get stuck exhaust bolts in and out every 50,000 miles, have at it. I'll never have to touch mine again.

I have mad skillz and crazy bendy elbows...Not to mention a sweet low profile Allen driver. I will either repair it on or off the car. Thanks for the input.

Ha ha! Good!

By the way, I drove that @#$%^& car with the exhaust hiss for I can't tell you how many thousands of miles. I went from people telling me they could hear me coming two miles away to...... silence..... sweet silence......

Mine has been leaking since the day I got it! Well it had 137000 miles on it and now it has 187K so I'm at 50K of hissing.

I pulled the actuator off and capped the vacuum line. Tried using exhaust repair stuff to seal it and it's a lot better but still get smell in cabin and noisy but a lot better. Haven't crawled back under (no lift) to see if the sealer cracked or just shrunk as it dried/cooked. It's supposed to be good to something like 1000ºF continuous, 1500ºF intermittent so I think if I can get it to seal it will last.

If I can't get it to seal I'll be blocking off the cooler and getting a tune.

egr fix

I made the bushing to fix the egr cooler i also made 10 extra on a cnc lathe i have repaired my wifes car with this bushing and it works great if interested contact me at stan@haxtuntel.net

stanley kk: emailed you about the extra bushings... I have a similar problem. Getting it up on a lift tomorrow morning so I can fully diagnose the opportunity

Thanks everyone for all the information, guides and solid experiences.

I just installed my bushing. I wasn't a fan of modding the clip so I made a bracket that went between the two actuater bolt holes and retains the bushing. I just need to weld the arm back on.

John,
I also have the EGR cooler hiss - it seems to hiss until the turbo spools -then is completely quiet.
My car also had the EGR flapper motor (plastic gear) fail - I took it apart, reversed the plastic gear and superglued it back on with no issues. Saved $400+ labor.

If I weld the actuator mid way like you say - do I need to get the car tuned? Will it affect the performance or mpg? Or is it just weld it open, no more hissing, and forget about it?
Thanks

slidewayz said:

John,
I also have the EGR cooler hiss - it seems to hiss until the turbo spools -then is completely quiet.

If I weld the actuator mid way like you say - do I need to get the car tuned? Will it affect the performance or mpg? Or is it just weld it open, no more hissing, and forget about it?
Thanks

Click to expand...

-----same question-----??
getting ready to do the DMF replacement.might be a good chance to address the EGR problem.

140k I'm starting to get exhaust smell and a little hiss. EGR #2 on the way out. Replaced the first one at around 80k.

philip_g said:

140k I'm starting to get exhaust smell and a little hiss. EGR #2 on the way out. Replaced the first one at around 80k.

Click to expand...

That is not very encouraging. Mine has been leaking for a while, and as long as I don't get stuck in traffic and get fumigated, I can handle the hissing. It seems some days are worse than others for the hissing noise.

I have 126k and change on mine, and it probably started hissing 20K ago. I really don't want to have to put one of these things in every five years, but then again, I don't really want to delete the EGR either.

Blah, I just can't decide what to do.

FYI. I simply beveled the lever and used a hammer and punch to hammer over the shaft end. While not ideal its has been holding fine. I will weld it someday.

No cooler removal needed. Just pull the actuator. Dremel the lever until you can pry off the lever. Make sure to use an extension as a fulcrum. Otherwise you may bend the shaft. If you do just slip a 1/4" deep well over the shaft and straighten it. Slip on your fabbed bushing. Take a thin piece of aluminum or steel drill a pair of holes to match the actuator and clearance it for the shaft.

So basic sockets, a drill, and a dremel. Should take the slowest person 2 hours. Pay a garage and it costs you $200 plus a bushing.

People have been PM'ing me on my weld job.

After about 30,000 miles, I have had no issue with the cooler. I forgot about it completely.

You do not need to tune anything or mod anything. Just weld it shut as I instructed and that's it.

I'm interested in seeing how long the upgraded bushing lasts that some are installing. How long has anyone had one in so far?

Hello yet another one with the egr cooler problem. I started out with no problem, then got my oil changed and the service tech told me my air filter was dirty, I refused the change and went home to DIY the air filter. Before I changed the air filter the egr cooler began leaking. But that was all that was wrong. I decided to change the air filter, all ok. Went to work the next day and I was losing power and had a hard time getting up to speed. I pulled the rock panel off the bottom and checked and found the leak at the egr cooler. Still had the power loss problem, I took it to the VW Dealer and they told me I had a bad n75 valve and that was the leak I was hearing. I told them the leak was under the back side of the engine. (At that time I did not know it was the egr cooler) They then said I had a code for transmission upper and lower limits bad. So I agreed that the n75 valve could cause the Turbo not to run thus no power. I let them change the n75 valve and it did not help at all. By now I have read this whole thread about the cooler and the n75 valve. After the n75 valve change $355.60 dollars later they decided it was the egr cooler, I laughed at him and refused to allow anymore work. I then brought the car home and the next day relooked the engine compartment over. I found that the vacuum line going into the air filter box was pinched (by my own hands). So after freeing up the hose, which goes to the n75 valve, I fixed the problem. I am still getting the Yellow check engine light and the Emission workshop warning. I did the reset for the light but the warning and light is still on. What is the process for resetting the limits in the DSG Transmission? The shop wanted to do it for $300 dollars but I am not falling for their &%#@ again. Help?

john_tsouris, nice fix. you have me sold. my actuator is leaking vacuum so im going to plug the line and wire the valve to the middle of the travel today. if all is well in a week i will weld it. thanks for your follow ups

bengone1 said:

FYI. I simply beveled the lever and used a hammer and punch to hammer over the shaft end. While not ideal its has been holding fine. I will weld it someday.

No cooler removal needed. Just pull the actuator. Dremel the lever until you can pry off the lever. Make sure to use an extension as a fulcrum. Otherwise you may bend the shaft. If you do just slip a 1/4" deep well over the shaft and straighten it. Slip on your fabbed bushing. Take a thin piece of aluminum or steel drill a pair of holes to match the actuator and clearance it for the shaft.

So basic sockets, a drill, and a dremel. Should take the slowest person 2 hours. Pay a garage and it costs you $200 plus a bushing.

Click to expand...

Do you have any pictures of what you did.
Thanks,
mark

A down and dirty "fix" in a few minutes...

Hiss started a few weeks ago and I knew where to find the problem. I had a bit of spare time, removed the belly pan, and had a look. Sure enough a bad bushing. So what to do temporarily?

With nothing to lose and not much time right then I did a temporary fix. (I don't want anyone here to think this is the way I usually repair my vehicles.)

So... A tube of gasket cement usually reserved for my wood stove and a wad of tinfoil. Very low tech! First I worked the gasket cement into the ring area around the failed bushing. Next a ring of foil mixed with the cement. Then a dull tool to pack everything in place.

I expected to possibly reduce the hiss at best and hoped for a day or two of relief before I got serious about a real fix. I'm surprised to relate that my patch has far exceeded anything I might have expected. Obviously the gasket cement is intended for high heat applications. It sets rock-hard. The foil was merely packing material intended to hold everything in place while the cement dried. I ended up with a sort of "poured in place" bushing.

Now at 1,000 miles and all is still well. Whether it will stand the test of time I can't say. What I do know is that at least on a temporary basis this is a fairly easy and quick remedy to diesel fumes and the dreaded hiss.

Maybe this will help a number of you folks with limited tools or funds. And if it works over thousands of miles, then we have a real winner!

Hey Everyone -

This thread has been around a long time, and I've got the hiss now too. I'm wondering if there has been any focus or consensus building as to which fix is better (brass bushing or plug the hole completely). I know lots have done both successfully, and probably plenty more since the last posts to this thread, so I'm curious to know the long term durability of the brass bushing, and also if the true OD question was ever answered.

Thanks for the input!
Gus

Just changed my EGR cooler, took me six hours with a lift, wanted to give up, shout and cuss, got it back in without breaking anything, only lost the metal
gasket on the turbo oil return line. im surprised the dealer ship does not charge 1000 dollars to change

Replaced daughter's cooler w/out removing exhaust, not fun. How many are reinstalled w/out the upper/right mounting screw?

pdavison said:

Replaced daughter's cooler w/out removing exhaust, not fun. How many are reinstalled w/out the upper/right mounting screw?

Click to expand...

It's not that hard to get to that upper right bolt if you just drop the exhaust. It doesn't add much extra time to drop the exhaust, just make sure you have the metal gasket for it and put it back in correctly.

Last week got a Malone 1.5 and blocked it off. Man what a difference. Runs better (Chip) and quiet. Smells better at stop lights also.

All for about what the cooler cost. I'm very happy now.

nord said:

A down and dirty "fix" in a few minutes...

Hiss started a few weeks ago and I knew where to find the problem. I had a bit of spare time, removed the belly pan, and had a look. Sure enough a bad bushing. So what to do temporarily?

With nothing to lose and not much time right then I did a temporary fix. (I don't want anyone here to think this is the way I usually repair my vehicles.)

So... A tube of gasket cement usually reserved for my wood stove and a wad of tinfoil. Very low tech! First I worked the gasket cement into the ring area around the failed bushing. Next a ring of foil mixed with the cement. Then a dull tool to pack everything in place.

I expected to possibly reduce the hiss at best and hoped for a day or two of relief before I got serious about a real fix. I'm surprised to relate that my patch has far exceeded anything I might have expected. Obviously the gasket cement is intended for high heat applications. It sets rock-hard. The foil was merely packing material intended to hold everything in place while the cement dried. I ended up with a sort of "poured in place" bushing.

Now at 1,000 miles and all is still well. Whether it will stand the test of time I can't say. What I do know is that at least on a temporary basis this is a fairly easy and quick remedy to diesel fumes and the dreaded hiss.

Maybe this will help a number of you folks with limited tools or funds. And if it works over thousands of miles, then we have a real winner!

Click to expand...

I tried that with the Exhaust repair goop. Lasted maybe a month. I think there was too much vibration and I didn't get the surface cleaned enough. When I did the blockoff last week there was no trace of the stuff I put in there. It had all crumbled away. I didn't think of fireplace stuff it might stay flexible and not crumble.

Also unhooking the vacuum to the actuator doesn't not throw a CEL if you cap it off. Then you wont have the constant opening/closing wearing the gasket away.

Does anyone have a link to a sound clip or video of this hissing sound in question? I'm having something going on with no idea what it is... My guess is the EGR cooler as well. I've replaced the actuator on the turbo already so I know for a fact that its not that.