TDI is hissing and blowing air

My TDI (2006 Jetta TDI) is making a hissing sound and leaking air. Trying to figure out what I need to replace/fix. Below is a picture of the area/part that is leaking air. It hisses really loud especially when I press on the gas. It hisses a little when idling, but not nearly as bad. The part is kind of behind the engine (towards the rear)
Link for picture :
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rG7twpPUbRTNvriR9
Any help would be greatly appreciated

You’re real near the EGR pipe. Could it be that? If so, you could consider a EGR delete / cooler delete. Will require a tune to remove the check engine but no biggies. Also - maybe a video would be better than pic. Check all of the vacuum lines also the turbo and air intake.


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yup. I wonder if its this thing right here.... had mine fail, bought a new EGR pipe. had that one fail very shortly after, so I put in a home made EGR delete kit, wasnt strong enough and that just failed on me last week after 100,000 or so miles. when it gets really bad, your cabin will also stink like diesel fumes... gross and extremely harmful for your health. posting a video would help a ton





IF, its your lower EGR tube, continue reading.

you can see in these pics that my EGR tube has lost that little flex, accordion piece. twice that happened. I bet yours is starting to fail too, starts with a small hole, next thing ya know shes gone and you got NO boost anymore as no gasses are spooling the turbo.


the fix is very simple. note how thin my home made delete piece is?? DO NOT make yours as thin as I did. triple that thickness at least, the real kits are nearly 7mm or 1/4" thick as they are exposed to extreme heat and do not get sandwiched between the tubing like that.

you may also need to make 2 more of those plates for the upper EGR piping also. very easy stuff. a beginner can do it IMO. some bolts are a tad tricky to get at, but overall super easy.

someone please correct me if im wrong.

it looks like everything under there is covered in soot? could that also be hinting towards the EGR tube having a hole?

After a bit more research, I do believe you are right. Some part of the EGR is leaking. If it is just an EGR pipe that is leaking, could I put some sort of high temp gasket seal or QuikSteel on it to seal the hole. Or would that mess it up even more?

dahatchh2 said:

After a bit more research, I do believe you are right. Some part of the EGR is leaking. If it is just an EGR pipe that is leaking, could I put some sort of high temp gasket seal or QuikSteel on it to seal the hole. Or would that mess it up even more?

Click to expand...

Yeah, no.
You need another pipe, or delete it.
Definitely soot all over and you want to light up the back of the engine and take pictures of it to see where it's not covered in soot.
Make sure there's nothing crazy going on with the exhaust otherwise spewing soot as well. It's possible to have a boost leak and exhaust leak. That really does look like the EGR system is done though

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No silicone. I believe those gasses going through the egt are over 1000f and possibly a little pressurized. The delete is incredibly easy

fouillard13 said:

No silicone. I believe those gasses going through the egt are over 1000f and possibly a little pressurized. The delete is incredibly easy

Click to expand...

Not that high unless you're running really hard, generally between 300 and 800

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ohh ok. good to know.. I was just going off the EGT gauge on my 5.9L cummins which was pre turbo and would hit 1300-1800F depending how hard you were on er. either way, shes hot in there!! hot enough to melt a hole in my little 1/16th inch piece of tin siding! silicone is not the fix for this.


I personally wouldnt recommend another pipe. I went that route and within 6 months was back at square 1, hours from home, and $150 pipe ruined again. theyre famous for it. theyre junk, just delete it and never worry again.


there is VERY minimal downsides to deleting your EGR, and TONS of positives. one of the biggest downside is it wont warm up quite as quick in the winter... might take an extra 30 seconds, no big deal at all. I believe its mainly there to clean up your exhaust gasses a tiny bit more.. its an environmental, emissions thing but comes with a LOT of headaches and isnt worth it in the end. get rid of er!


little extra reading in here if ya want. general consensus is to delete the EGR, it does more harm than good: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=495449

Thanks for all the very helpful info. I really want to do the EGR delete, but worried it won't pass emissions. Where would I take it to have the the CEL tuned out? If I wanted to just replace the whole EGR Cooler, how hard is that? Dealership quoted me $1100 which is a lot.

Also, here is a video. Excuse my yelling in the video.


Video
https://photos.app.goo.gl/akfKdd2ajXhYJqfF6

ok maybe its not the tube, but rather that little EGR cooler valve... just like this guys:

you were right, I was wrong. sorry!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-25vD9tLfo0


some good info here regarding the cooler valve: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=283909


not too sure what the emissions test all consists of, if they can actually tell its deleted just by your cars fumes or not, but as far as the block off plates go and a visual... if you sneak some plates (thicker than mine) in between your EGR pipe flange and the header, no one would ever know

as far as you engine light, I referred to here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044


which gave me these guys:




seems like Anut is your guy: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=369222


contact info here: https://www.dieselland.net/




Email: support@dieselland.net
anuthee@gmail.com
Email is preferred
Phone: 303-578-0030

Address: 
16007 W. 5th Ave.
Golden, CO 80401

A very common problem on the BRM engines. The shaft for the the EGR cooler butterfly valve is leaking. Mine showed signs of exhaust leaking at 55K miles and at 185K miles It would hiss and was effecting drivabiity.
Frank Irving (Franko6) has a permanent fix that will not effect emission testing results.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=338526&highlight=egr+cooler&page=4

Thank you fouillard13 and others for all your input. It has been extremely helpful!

Thank you for the referral, Ol'Rattler. I appreciate it.

I have a problem with this 'block off plate' fix. You may have blocked off the exhaust gasses from the manifold to EGR pipe, but you have done nothing to stop the boost leak coming from the other way. You will still leak boost through both the EGR to manifold pipe and the leaking seal from on the EGR cooler's butterfly valve, which is the main culprit. We know that a major portion of the boost leak will still happen, which is degrading your engine performance. BTW: The circles in Fouillard's pictures, showing the areas of exhaust gas leaks are 1/2 right. The Bellow on the manifold pipe are broken, but the other circle, showing the vacuum diaphragm, is incorrect. The exhaust gasses are leaking on the butterfly valve, directly under the exhaust pipe. So, Fouillard, I'm thinking you are wrong.

I am also going to guess that the reason the exhaust to EGR pipe broke is because not all the screws connecting the EGR cooler to the back of the block are tight. If the EGR cooler is shaking, that is the usual reason the pipe's bellows on one side or the other, fail.

We can get a replacement exhaust pipe and make a repair to the EGR cooler and that fixes the problem and restores the operation of the engine. The reason we make the EGR cooler operate; it heats the antifreeze, helping your engine to warm up more efficiently. We think that is a good idea in Denver, as it can get very cold. You'll need the EGR's ability to heat the engine's coolant.

We keep a steady supply of our repaired EGR coolers in stock, with the proper installation parts. We also buy back your broken EGR cooler, if it is a repairable core.

Questions? Feel free to call.

yeah im definitely wrong, my bad. the thicker circle was the OPs guess as to where its coming from, he was more right than I was whereas I figured it was leaking from the EGR pipe, like they all do. I dont know enough about these and really dont even know why I was commenting, I was bored I guess. talk about the blind leading the blind. oops!! sorry.

I read through your post with the fix, and the cali fix too, and all your other posts. you truly are a god amongst men Frank!! really wish you were on the west coast. if I was the OP I would be calling you ASAP!

Finally had time to take a closer look at the EGR. Just as mentioned before, it is leaking from the actuator valve on the EGR cooler. I have seen a couple of posts where owners would just weld the valve in an open or partially open position and plug the vacuum line. But not many people have done this and there are limited results as to if this actually works. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? In simple terms, I know the basic functions of the EGR cooler, but in specific, what does this valve do? What would welding it open affect?

Here's one of the few posts where the valve welding was discussed. It was performed by member "john_tsouris@hotmail.com"
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=234986&highlight=EGR+Hissing&page=5

EGR Cooler Valve Pics
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bUnoFFdxiGcUQSh47
https://photos.app.goo.gl/UMdsxyKaGcjoAQYf8

I know that welding the valve closed would probably slow the warming process of the engine, but would there be any other downsides?
This method seems to solve the leak/hiss problem while still staying on the legal side of things (won't have to delete the EGR cooler). Not to mention its a cheap fix!

I'm not very experienced or knowledgeable when it comes to EGR system, so I'm probably missing some obvious downside or side effect. Any thoughts on this method would be great!

yes the delete will TECHNICALLY cause the engine to warm up slower during the first minute or two of idiling in the morning, but for the most part, most agree that its insignificant and not even noticeable. theres a good discussion going on about it here:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=495449

even the last page of the thread you just linked has some good info... and guess who its from? Franko6. seriously. give him a call, he knows more than anyone about these things and seems to have the EGR system mastered. for only $125 too which is dirt cheap compared to the $1500 quotes guys are getting from the stealerships to replace this system that inevitably will fail again in 2 years. his isnt a delete either I believe so it keeps the system intact and the exhaust gasses flowing at full speed through your intake (ew)



what im curious about is that if you were to buy his fixed EGR cooler.. there is still the chance of that stupid lower EGR pipe failing every year and causing problems right? so could you do his EGR fix AND a delete? or how does that work? might be something to look into. just call him and all your problems will be solved in 5 minutes. be sure to report back and keep us updated!

do those of us with a deleted EGR need to worry about the cooler valve that youre having problems with?

Our shop has been making a kit for the EGR repair. The EGR cooler itself, we get $85 for our guaranteed EGR, after we buy back your old EGR core. As a Kit, we sell a set of gaskets which not only replaces your bad gaskets, but there are a couple that have 'legs' which snap into place, making the repair easier.

In California, we understand the State is looking for EGR deletes and will keep the car from being licensed until repairs are made. The EGR repair we make for Cali looks like it should, only it can't leak or cause the regular known issue of the butterfly valve leaking. It's a Stealth Unit. It's a bit of a bother to make it like that, but it will not make a check engine light, just the same as our other units.

There is one reason for the EGR bellows to go bad and crack. Not all the bolts for the EGR where it attaches to the back of the block were installed. That will allow the EGR cooler to shake and crack the bellows on the Manifold to EGR Cooler or the EGR cooler to EGR valve to crack. There are 4 bolts that hold the EGR cooler in place and they all need to be installed to keep the bellows from cracking.

Our EGR cooler method has been in process for about 3 years. We have not had a single one returned or had any complaints. One of our customers had replaced the EGR cooler 4 times. Then he installed ours. I haven't heard back from him. Must have worked...

As for whether EGR coolers help, I'd say they don't hurt. Years ago, I came from L.A., where you could see the brown, dirty air and it came with Smog alerts. The EGR system helps lower NOX. It also helps warm the engine. It's supposed to be there. We fix the 'design obsolescence' built into the product, without affecting it's performance as a smog reducing device. In every case, I think 'Leave it better than you found it' works for me.