DPF Cleaner

GTR-35

Active member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Location
Alamogordo, NM
TDI
2009 MKVI
I hope this is right here :)

Does someone know where I could get a Diesel particulate filter cleaner like these in the US?





Peter
 

waltzconmigo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Location
chicagoland
TDI
none
what are you trying to accomplish? not much discussion here about these products. you could try idparts or cascade german parts (formerly bora parts).
 

GTR-35

Active member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Location
Alamogordo, NM
TDI
2009 MKVI
I want to clean my DPF ;)
saw some videos on German Youtube and it works pretty good.

Thank you, I´ll have a look.
Otherwise we´ll have some visitors from Germany in September... :)
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Everything I've read about the type of cleaning process you've posted say that the results are questionable. The ONLY way to fully clean a DPF is to remove it and have it flushed/backwashed, etc. etc.

Have you checked your DPF ash volume? AFAIK, a clogged/compromised DPF would be the only reason to "clean your DPF".

If you DON'T have a high ash load, I'd recommend saving your money and leaving it alone.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Just read the blurb on the Wurth, a company with a solid reputation. While it all sounds very promising, they do go to great lengths with their disclaimer, which would make me nervous.

So: GTR-35: Are you willing to find the product and take a before and after VCDS ash load reading? I might even be willing to send you a few bucks for you to do a true "field" test. (not sure how your friends from Germany can transport this stuff for you...)
 

Alchemist

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
TDI
'04 ALH Golf
I used a similar product from GAT in Germany on a 2012 Golf with >50grams of soot load. It had gone past the max that would allow a forced regen, and replacement was the only known cure. Having nothing to loose, I tried it and found that after a spirited drive, the soot load had gone to 0.

It worked well for soot, but I don't think it would help for ash.
 

GTR-35

Active member
Joined
Mar 9, 2016
Location
Alamogordo, NM
TDI
2009 MKVI
Just read the blurb on the Wurth, a company with a solid reputation. While it all sounds very promising, they do go to great lengths with their disclaimer, which would make me nervous.



So: GTR-35: Are you willing to find the product and take a before and after VCDS ash load reading? I might even be willing to send you a few bucks for you to do a true "field" test. (not sure how your friends from Germany can transport this stuff for you...)


I don't have VCDS.

I just want to help the engine to breath out a little better.

We'll see.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
I used a similar product from GAT in Germany on a 2012 Golf with >50grams of soot load. It had gone past the max that would allow a forced regen, and replacement was the only known cure. Having nothing to loose, I tried it and found that after a spirited drive, the soot load had gone to 0.

It worked well for soot, but I don't think it would help for ash.
That's what I'm thinking. The ash has already been incinerated, and needs to be evacuated somehow.
 

joewilhite

Active member
Joined
Apr 30, 2016
Location
TUCSON
TDI
2OOO TDI
i work on the big dodge trucks and nothing will clean them, you can only regen it, at the time it burns the soot to ash it holds the ash. then down the line it gets full of ash and the dpf has seen its life expectancy and is no longer any good,if it blows out that means it overheated and burned holes thru the honey combs, i think some companies have tried to refurbish them with out any luck, on the trucks i work on the 07 to 12 they burn out on average 150k ., any type of cleaner you use if not water base will plug the dpf
 

tikal

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2001
Location
Southeast Texas
TDI
2004 Passat Wagon (chainless + 5 MT + GDE tune)
Here is another product that I have read on European blogs (particularly popular in Spain for some reason):

http://www.xenum.com/product/in-out-cleaner/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B3J5kaA1Mg


I do not have any first hand experience with this product as it is not available in the North America (you can buy it via Ebay from the UK I believe). Also you need to run this product while driving 60 Km or so at above 3000 rpm.


In any case I agree that you need to be very pro-active and if the ash levels are high then none of these products will help bring your DPF back to life.
 

wensteph

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Location
Savannah
TDI
2011 Touareg sold to VW 2014 Audi Q5 re-programmed
i work on the big dodge trucks and nothing will clean them, you can only regen it, at the time it burns the soot to ash it holds the ash. then down the line it gets full of ash and the dpf has seen its life expectancy and is no longer any good,if it blows out that means it overheated and burned holes thru the honey combs, i think some companies have tried to refurbish them with out any luck, on the trucks i work on the 07 to 12 they burn out on average 150k ., any type of cleaner you use if not water base will plug the dpf
I agree with Joe. I think some of you confuse soot with ash. Think of your fireplace. At some point it gets full of ash(es) and needs to be cleaned. Same with a DPF. Some of the OTR cleaning places claim to be able to clean consumer DPFs http://fsxinc.com/Clean/home.html . I'm sure they can't get it as clean as a new one, but it does kick the can down the road a bit. When mine fills up I think I will try them first.

My V6 CATA engine has 155,000 non 507.00 oil miles and my ash load is in the upper 70s%. I'm probably good to 175,000 miles. FWIW.
 

cevans

TDIClub Enthusiast, TDI Parts Ninja Vendor , w/Bus
Joined
Sep 24, 2002
Location
Hingham, MA
TDI
2015 Beetle Conv. TDI 6-Speed & 2006 E320 CDI
I agree with Joe. I think some of you confuse soot with ash. Think of your fireplace. At some point it gets full of ash(es) and needs to be cleaned. Same with a DPF. Some of the OTR cleaning places claim to be able to clean consumer DPFs http://fsxinc.com/Clean/home.html . I'm sure they can't get it as clean as a new one, but it does kick the can down the road a bit. When mine fills up I think I will try them first.
My V6 CATA engine has 155,000 non 507.00 oil miles and my ash load is in the upper 70s%. I'm probably good to 175,000 miles. FWIW.
Exactly correct.

These products help with the regeneration process. They help convert soot to ash. Sometimes normal regenerations don't fully convert soot to ash. If the car has been interrupted during too many regens it is possible that soot will create blockages in the ceramic media. These cleaners help those blockages get broken down and then processed properly.

NONE of these cleaners will address ash load. Ash is the final end stage of this carbon process - it can no longer be chemically or thermally altered. It cannot fit through the DPF filter, and it will stay in the DPF forever. As noted above the DPF must be removed and physically cleaned (pressure washed, basically) to remove the ash. There is no chemical reaction that takes place at the DPF - it is just a ceramic honeycomb, a DPF can be restored to like-new condition through professional cleaning.

The main contributor to ash load is motor oil, which is why the new categories of oil (VW 507, Mercedes 229.51, BMW LL-04) are all low-ash oils. The lower the ash number in the oil the less ash will end up in the DPF.
 
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