I have a coolant leaking the valley (around the EGR coolant area

Dealer wants 4954.00 to repair - thinking of tackling the job myself
Engine Oil Cooler: p/a oil cooler assembly, EGR cooler assembly, shut off valve in valley, coolant fitting under EGR cooler, all gaskets in valley, intake manifold gaskets, fuel rail pressure sensor on left side fuel rail. Valley is full of coolant and oil from oil cooler, EGR coolant and fittings leaking. Coolant level is low and leaking down front of engine. Bottom of engine also covered in oil. Recommend fixing this leak first and cleaning off engine. May still have other oil leaks possible upper oil pan.

Looked online that people are deleting the EGR on the 3.0 TDI - would this be good advice?

THis is the package they are referencing

2013-2015 Audi Q7 & Porsche Cayenne V6 3.0 TDI EGR Delete, SUSTDI Kit

JPJM

 

JPJ, If you're in an area that will allow for EGR delete, then YES, do it. The EGR system on these is only really good for clogging up the intake system in short order.

Here's a thread we use to talk about all things valley coolant leak related.....

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...urvey-3035876/

 

I would do it too. SUSTDI is in the Seattle area. I was going to order block off plates from him but the tune I got shuts the EGR off. FWIW, I had my EGR replaced under warranty the month before I bought the car and about 3 years later, It was replaced a 2nd time under warranty. It was not a leak though. I don't know the 1st repair history on what part of the EGR failed but the 2nd was not a leak. You'll want a Malone (tunezilla) tune to code out the EGR. You might even want to look into swirl flap removal. Kits out there too.

 

Fixing it is definitely doable by most folks. If you're looking at doing just an EGR delete, be warned that may negatively impact your DPF and downstream components faster. Many of the delete advocates will suggest your also delete DPF/SCR etc at the same time. I'm certainly tempted to remove EGR after seeing the inside of my intake tract. If I went through the hassle of cleaning all that out, I'd want to get rid of the EGT to avoid recreating the same crud situation.

 

Dunno, I don't agree with EGR delete equals a negative impact to the other downstream emissions components. The primary impact of the EGR delete is your engine warms slower and in Winter, if it gets cold-cold where you live, you'll definitely notice that you deleted the EGR. There's still an electric booster just for the HVAC heater loop (be sure it's turned on in MMI under A/C settings, but a cold TDI engine is not a happy TDI engine.

IMHO it's mainly about the cost of replacing the failed EGR Cooler creates a real decision point; it's a fairly expensive part and also requires many hours of effort/labor cost to replace if paying a shop to do it. The TDI intake getting carboned up by its EGR system is the equivalent to the gas engines needing to get intake valves walnut blasted at regular intervals to remove their carbon build up, which otherwise leads to much, much more costly issues if ignored. A TDI's clogged air intake, at least IMHO, is simply a maintenance interval item Audi forgot to put on the list...imagine that. (transmission...driveline).

I think it's completely manageable so long as you are aware of the fact that the EGR Cooler clogs up the air intake over the longer-term use of the car and make a plan to mitigate and remove that buildup. I actually just did this intake clean service on my own TDI. I bought a can of the Liqui Moly Diesel Intake Cleaner , which is specifically designed to clean the intake while it's mounted on the car, and is safe for the Catalyst and DPF systems. I wasn't having any performance issues or mileage dropping off, but it's been nearly 25k miles since my EGR Cooler got replaced and the intake cleaned via TDI settlement warranty, so now it's simply on me to maintain and de-carbon the intake periodically now because I know it's gonna build up if I don't do anything.

If you can follow simple directions for product use, then it's a non-issue and a simple DIY. I only used one can of LM Diesel Intake Cleaner for this interval related to mine was cleaned out 25K miles prior, so your mileage may vary on how much you need.

SIDE BENEFITS:
I checked my DPF's soot level and differential pressure readings prior to cleaning the intake with the LM product, and then I watched live data as the DPF soot level value continued to fall after applying the cleaner and then I kept the engine running at high idle post-cleaning to allow all cleaner product to pass through. DPF data literally went down to zero grams soot (actual). So, then I checked the differential pressures sensor data...6mb / -6mb at idle, and even at moderate revs it was only showing as 12mb backpressure, so it definitely benefited the throttle body, intake body, intake swirl valves, and also gave the DPF a really good passive burn-off as well.

Next, I recalibrated the fly-by-wire throttle pedal just to resynch everything internally inside the intake that may have been covered in gunk prior. Cranked it up again and the throttle tip-in was immediate and crisp, as well as sensitive to input and smoothly progressive. A very, very nice result, and all I really wanted was the intake bits de-carboned and flowing air properly, but I got a whole lot more result-wise out of doing this.

I'll vouch for the Liqui Moly Diesel Intake Cleaner, which made my very first TDI intake carbon cleaning service a breeze. It is easier if you have a helper to hold the required rpms level during the cleaning, but I improvised on that.


The EGR recycles hot exhaust gases, which on a TDI means soot particles, along with the normal crankcase vent gases related to combustion blow-by still flows back into the intake regardless. My TDI doesn't use a drop of oil, but pull the oil cap or dipstick while it's idling and immediately there's a steady parade of blow-by related smoke 'rings' puffing out. Diesels engines are inherently dirty-birds, which is why you have the Catalyst/DPF/SCR systems, and the engine requires an oil formulated to deal with the blow-by gases and reduce ash build up in the DPF (VW 507 spec). Diesel motor oil turns black almost immediately after changing it from the higher heat produced/required by the engine, BTW, not the blow-by gases.

If I ever get to the inflection point of my EGR dying again, then I'm not sure what I'll choose at that point, but I'd most definitely keep the Catalyst and DPF system, which is actually what keeps it from always smelling of diesel fuel and traps the soot to prevent it blowing straight out the back (makes smoke when under load basically). To each their own path; just be well informed before you make a choice whether or not to delete and more specifically, which components you might actually regret deleting.

You can also just aftermarket tune the car via Malone/Tunezilla and turn off just the EGR Cooler at no additional cost by requesting initially or re-tune request where you can 'build' other tune profiles to use, so again, know what ALL the options are.

I'm planning to drive my TDI into the ground, but it may well outlast me, lol!

 

I agree.... I'd only go as far as necessary to address the problem system. Definitely drop the EGR, but keep the DPF and SCR systems unless they are repeatedly problematic. If I had to do it over again, I would definitely keep the DPF on mine, even though I did need to eliminate the SCR because it simply wasn't durable enough to be compatible with constant subarctic use.