Did this yesterday. Life saving that can prevent you from spending a lot of money as long as you're willing to do it yourself AND follow all the safe instructions when dealing with the chemicals. This method works and I'm here as a sign of gratitude because this guy took time and effort to run these tests and passed this information to us. My 2006 e60 has 267k km and had a backpressure of 19/20 mbar at idle. It was regenerating every 100 km or so. Did this yesterday as per instructions and by the end water was just flowing through it and coming out as clean as it was going in. After installation, reset adaptations and my backpressure is now at 4 mbar at idle. So now I have a brand new dpf that costed just some water and chemicals and about 4 hours of work top to finish. Thank you sir... Very very much
@@StevenBTunerNB! At 10.45 you tell your audience to add water to acid as learned in school. Although this is later thoroughly corrected I ask you to ad a text at 10.50 stating “Always add acid to water and not the other way around! Danger!” ..not all persons watch to the end.. ☠️😱😉 Besides that thank you for doing this extensive job an presenting it! Kind regards Anders Sweden
@@StevenBTuneri was expecting to see as an experiment using HYDROFLUORIC acid as well. From what I know is a good carbon removal (i’m cleaning carbon off the buildings with that acid) . Hopefully you will have a bit of time to make a short experiment using that acid
Thank you so much for such a great scientific approach for DPF cleaning. That convinced me to try ! I had an issue with my clogged DPF on an old BMW X3 E83 3.0D (230.000 km). The biggest challenge was to remove it from the car !! Then I cleaned it two times following the process you suggest : 1-Basic solution soaking for two hours (25% of drain cleaner) 2-Rinse 3-Acid solution (20% of HCl) for 10 minutes 4-Rinse 5- Dry Before the process, water couldn't even go through the filter. After the second cleaning process, water was flowing very easily through the filter, completely clear and DPF looked perfectly clean inside. Couldn't imagine the amount of oily soot that came out of this filter. Finally, the measured counter pressures with the diag tool were perfect and motor was running as new ! Since that, I drove about 5.000 km, everything is still OK. Thank you again for sharing
Hi, thanks for watching and sharing your experience with the process! I know what you mean about the removal - sometimes they take 2 hours to get out, and other times only 10 minutes... Great to hear that your X3 is running like new again!
Thanks to you, I got my A7 bi-TDI back :) I was struggling many months with the dpf problem, the dealer wanted to sell a new DPF for around 3.200 EUR, but with your guidance I managed to clean it properly. Now the car drives perfectly. Thank you :)
Dear Steven, Thanks a million for sharing the KNOWLEDGE with us. i really appreciate for your great efforts while preparing this video. I've performed all the steps as Steven described with minor divergencies that i've explained below and here are the results :) My 1.3 multijet fiat car has 140 000 km (~87000 miles) and i had no issue with DPF. But after i watched the great video i have connected to car ECU and DPF filter clogging was %75. As i was cleaning the DPF, both with coastic soda and hcl, i plugged the exit side and filled all the way up, than waited 15 min than 5 min shaking with both ends closed. After a good washing with garden hose and 1 day drying under sun heat i installed the DPF with taking the advice and replaced the 4 glow plugs despite i have no starting problems or warning message. After a 30 min cruise on the highway, i connected the ECU again and the clogging reduced to %25. There is remarkable improvement on engine power also. Dear Steven you are awesome! and i'd like to see more future videos of you. Best Regards.
Finally! I have been waiting for a video like this. Every single minute is well worth watching it. Since I am a Diesel BMW owner I was afraid about the costs of a DPF replacement. This video will help every one who is interested in DIY- DPF cleaning. It is easy to do by yourself at home during the weekend and one can repeat it if necessary. Thank you Steven. Well done!
Hi, thanks for watching and the great comment! It isn't the world's nicest car-related job, but it certainly beats paying out for a new filter unnecessarily.
Hi Steve. I have just cleaned my Citroen C4 DPF (120,000 miles) using your brick cleaning acid method, just soaked it overnight in an approx 8% strength solution, I used a nitrile glove secured by elastic bands to seal the exhaust out end of the DPF, worked a treat no seepage overnight. This morning I ran water through the filter from a hose pipe, mains pressure only, i.e no pressure washer, I was amazed at the amount of ash that came out of the thing! I kept moving the hose pipe over the out side of the DPF, occasionally turning it and gently tapping the steel case on the stone floor, took the best part of an hour but eventually no ash discharge, just lovely clean H2O. I had previously done the same job on a similar car using Wynns DPF cleaner, it was quite expensive and did the job, but not as quickly or cheaply as the brick cleaning acid. Used a wet vac to suck most of the water out of the DPF and Cat. All reassembled and running a treat, checked the differential pressure and it's like a brand new unit. Thanks for all the work you put into your face tube channel. Some of the more drastic methods on TH-cam had me wanting to contact the R.S.P.C.D.P.F's (Royal society for the prevention of cruelty to diesel particle filters!) If you're ever over Manchester GB way I owe you a pint or two!
Thanks for this video. I used your procedure on my Citroen C6 diesel. Fortunately the oxidising catalyst can be screwed off the DPF side. I just used a strong degreaser as a pre clean which worked very good. Afterwards I used the acid. I left it in there a fair bit longer. Afterwards I was able to rinse it out good. Used the alkaline degreaser again to stop the acid from attacking any surface. Bonus was the small shafts of ash falling out of the dpf. Fitted it all back together and all good. My dpf wasn’t blocked. I just felt it was time. Bonus is also, previously the regeneration cycle would happen every 300-400km. Now it is closer to 900-1000km between regeneration cycles. Fuel economy also went up. I am doing it again to my newly acquired Citroen C6 as well. I was reluctant to use the acid in the two big pre DPF oxidising catalysts. So just cleaned them with degreaser and the amount of crud that came out was just about shocking. Thanks again for an extremely informative video
I am South Korean. Your experimental mind seems to be looking at Einstein. I watched the video with the translator turned on and I couldn't fully understand it, but it really helped a lot. The self-maintenance culture is not established in Korea, so opportunities to access such information are rare. I am a self-maintenance person but I have been trying to get information for over a year to clean my DPF. Then I happened to see this video, and it was a lot of study. Thank you. May God bless you.
Absolutely brilliant ! At last a method that actually works 100% if you follow the instructions and use the correct chemicals. My VW Golf DPF kept flagging up the yellow symbol on the dashboard a lot more than it used too, it started to happen every few weeks and whilst it regenerated after a long run out on the motorway, I mainly used it for short runs around town and the school run, not good for older diesels we were told, and especially Volkswagens for some reason, We were told at 10+ years old the DPF was probably full or at the end of its usable life and probably full of Ash and soot over the years. After a few attempts at regenerating it but still getting the yellow DPF light and symbol, a friend of ours recommended this video to us, and after getting our friendly mechanic to remove the dpf (in approx half hour ) he set about cleaning it to this method, although even he was a little sceptical. What can I say, it cleaned it out perfectly !even he was surprised as it was filthy and full of ash and sooty stuff, a few hours later on a Saturday afternoon after a thorough rinse through it was put back on and our car is now up and running again with no more DPF dash light or loss of performance ! Very very happy, thank you Steven from over here in the UK, you saved us a lot of money, time and hassle.🎉
I managed to get the DPF off my 217k miles 325d today (what a job!!) it needs a deep clean as it re-gens but still has a back pressure of +40mbr at idle and throws up back pressure error codes. I'm going to use the same method as yourself but fix a rubber glove to one end so I can completely fill the DPF and soak. Thank you posting up all your DPF cleaning tests, it really is a great help to many people who get to the point of having no choice but to take off the DPF and give it a deep clean with proven chemicals..
You are like NASA, thank you so much for sharing ur expertise, I’ve seen many different videos, but I wasn’t convinced, until I came cross ur, well detailed. I’ve spent 6 hours over the weekend in my garden cleaning my DPF, EGR, and also put new fuel vaporizer, I’ve used few chemicals mentioned in ur video( degreaser, caustic soda, dishwasher pod and other) and I’ve let it dry over night, the result was absolutely amazing, back to new, my transit van drives so well now, I must have saved at least good £600, I can’t thank you enough. Halim from Leeds (UK)
Brilliant work that man, you have shown what 99.99% of us here wanted to know and by the way, you did it logically, with a bit of humour and in layman's terms. Go to the head of the class. Thank you heaps, I now have 2 Peugeot DPFs to clean.
Garry Travers Let me hear how it goes. I got a Peugeot my self with DPF problem :D Read somewhere what you have to reset the computer afterwards, for the DPF light to turn off. Any experience on that?
Thanks for this, I used dishwasher tabs for the soot wash and Hydrochloric acid for the ash wash with great results. Wanted to be very thorough, did 5 soot washes and 4 ash washes with fresh tap water for each wash. I bought 10L of the Brick acid but I only needed 2L in the end 😂, the stuff I got at Toolstation (UK) was a little weaker so adjusted water/acid ratio accordingly. Finished up with lots of rinsing with a garden hose and finally some distilled water because I live in a hard water area. The flow difference was obvious when rinsing the filter at the end, before washing the water was dripping through and after washing it was pouring through. Can't thank you enough mate, you've really helped with this video.👍👍👍 (For reference it's a 2015 Mazda 3 skyactiv-d 2.2L with 120k miles)
Thanks to your video, I've cleaned the DPF on my Mercedes. Not only has it cleaned the DPF, the diluted HCl cleaned the stainless steel exhaust piping and made it super shiny and new.
Steven thanks so much for making this video. I have a 2013 VW Passat with a clogged DPF and will clean using sodium hydroxide then 25% acid solution. Really appreciate the scientific approach testing the impact on very expensive materials. Nice work friend
Hi, make sure you dilute that acid down to about 6% or you risk eating a hole through your DPF housing. Rinse it all out with water mixed with dishwashing liquid to neutralise any remaining acid. Some dishwashing liquid mixed in with the sodium hydroxide also helps break down the oily soot.
I used oven cleaner to clean mine! I firstly pressure washed it to remove as much as possible mechanically. Then soaked it in the oven cleaner over night! Then gave it a thorough blasting with the pressure washer! What I did notice was there was fragments of the dog internal structure were braking off and washed out! This was mostly from the outer parts of the structure due to the vibration of years of driving. 17 years old Mercedes CLK 2.7CDI. After it dried out for 24 hours I re installed it, and the exhaust smell was back to that bleach type smell! And the power was better and more instant! Your comprehensive and practical approach to this is refreshing and a good way of cleaning the DPF! Cool video!!!
Thank you so much for this video. I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze diesel that had a clogged DPF. The dealership wanted 4000 US dollars to replace it. I watched your video and did it myself. My car runs perfect now. Thanks Again
Well done on tackling this somewhat unpleasant job! It is a bit odd that the dealerships have a tendency to forget that cleaning is one of the possible options...
I have a 2011 Subaru Forester which I bought 2nd hand in 2020 (nearly 4 years ago now). Despite 90% of my driving being on country roads, the instrument panel recently decided to start celebrating Christmas early with a display of various warning lights - including the DPF light. Consequently, I took the car to my "trusted" mechanic near Breadalbane NSW. He tried forcing DPF regens, but couldn't get the soot levels below 61%. He said that my DPF was dead and that I needed a new one (supply and fit > $2k). However, he couldn't tell me what was specifically wrong with my DPF or what was causing the high soot level. He said that the ash level was reporting as only 35% and that the level would have to be much higher that that in a 300K km engine. I told him that I had sent that DPF off for a professional clean only about 80K km prior, so 35% seemed correct to me, but he would not be convinced. He obviously knew better than me and didn't want to enter into any further discussion or diagnosis of cause - he just wanted to know when I wanted him to supply and fit a new DPF to my car. I agreed to disagree with my (now former) mechanic and went looking for ideas from the web. And then I found Steve's video (above). The detail provided by Steve was exceptional and it gave me the confidence to tackle the cleaning of my DPF at home. After buying all the required materials and safety equipment, I started by removing the DPF, flushing it with degreaser to remove as much soot as possible and then followed Steve's instructions to flush the DPF using diluted brick acid followed by a thorough rinse out - I did all of this in a wheelie bin. I reinstalled the DPF and took the car to a different Subi mechanic who reprogrammed the ECU to indicate that a new DPF had been installed (total cost $75). The result is that I have a car that is running as good as new. The fuel consumption is as low or lower than at any time since I bought the car. All I need to do now is find a place to dispose of the used degreaser and acid. So thanks Steve for your time and effort to educate us on how to avoid a costly and unnecessary replacement of a DPF.
Great to hear that you didn't buy a new DPF unnecessarily! I am amazed and saddened that there are mechanics out there who don't know the difference between soot clogging and ash clogging... Now that you have a freshly cleaned DPF (and you do country driving) you will probably not have any issues for 3000kms or so. What I mean by this is that something was stopping your DPF from getting to a high enough temperature to regenerate, and that issue may still be there. The most common things that will stop regeneration are: a faulty or clogged EGR valve that won't fully close, a coolant thermostat that is stopping the engine from getting over 75 degrees celcius and on some cars a faulty glow plug will stop regeneration. It is worth checking these things to ensure you have no more DPF issues for a while.
I have heard lots of people get quotes of 2k, but when I ask them their car, and look up the car part, its usually not that expensive. I checked my nearest auto shop, and the subaru forester dpf is on the shelf for 326 euro. I know you might need to get the part shipped etc, but 2k seems excessive, specially considering you were able to take it off yourself to clean... Im not telling you to go out and buy a new one, there is no need for that, but also dont believe those 2k dpf prices you hear about. Those are usually more advandced dpf that you don't actually need, they might be cat 6 and your car is cat 5.
I bought my 1st Diesel 6 months ago and the dreaded DPF light came on today. Watching this excellent video has given me an insight what i'm up against, very grateful for that. I'll soon be off to the stores to gather all this cleaning kit.
Hi, before you start it is definitely worth finding out whether the error light is indicating an end-of-life ash clogged DPF, or whether it is a engine system malfunction (turbo or EGR or glow plugs etc) that is stopping your DPF from regenerating correctly.
The video was very informative and very clear. I’ve had this DPF problem since January 2020, and cleaned it more than 3 time with professional DPF cleaner, but I was not satisfied with the outcome since the light came up after 2 weeks. I was going to replace the DPF unit which is £1300 for the part only. And that’s when I stumbled upon your video. I didn’t go through all the steps, but what I did was used Is Sodium Hydroxide 500g bottle, first I filled a bucket of water and poured 250g of Sodium Hydroxide, and stirred it unit the pellets are cleared, and poured it to the DPF. PS : use some good pair of Nitrile gloves. After I shook the DPF and left it for 3 minutes and used the pressure washer clean the DPF and repeated the same process again. The results were remarkable and after cleaning it looked new.
*summary, modified/improved slightly* Required: NaOH: 1kG (Salt form) HCl (Hydrogen Chloride, brick cleaning acid): 1 liter, 25-33% Dish washer tablets: 5 Pre-knowledge: All chemical processes run faster the higher temperature is. So heating up the solution saves chemicals and improves results. Steps: 1) Clog one side of the dpf, so you can hang it up and fill it up. For me, hammering a plastic cup into the exhaust side did the job and sealed it completely 2) get rid of oily residue We want to dissolve oil with the base (NaOH) and soap it with the diswasher tablets. Boil water. Dissolve NaOH SLOWLY. It releases lots of heat when dissolved. Make a very concentrated solution, as NaOH will not damage the DPF at all. You can additionally just pour NaOH salt into the DPF. Add diseasher tabs to the solution. Pour the solution in (Care, if additional salt is in the dpf it will boil furiously) Let it sit there over night. 3) remove the DPF, collect the waste. Rinse with water until clear. Clog up and hang up agai. 4) acid wash: Make a solution if about 15% HCl. Boil water and add the acid to the solution. Fill the DPF a second time. As this corrodes the steel, only let it in for a while. I would suggest 30 minutes. 5) pour out the solution. You can mix it with the NaOH solution, as they will neutralize. Rinse until clean again. 6) enjoy your vrand new DPF
Have you got links to these, NaOH: 1kG (Salt form) HCl (Hydrogen Chloride, brick cleaning acid): 1 liter, Would be great if you had a video of you doing this thanks
Great video. Driving a 2.0 vivaro. Took readings on my diagnostics before your method at 2000rpm. Here's the result readings before cleaning , soot in filter 80grms, exhaust system flow 35.68, flow of gas in filter 126m3/h, particle pressure diff 187. These in same order as above after cleaning.... soot 39.2, exhaust system flow 36.4, flow of gas in filter 146.6, particle filter pressure diff 47. Has it done anything....answer big yes .....power is considerably noticeable, had the van a year never had such response on the accelerator before. Great stuff bud.
The original dpf on my car had to be replaced by one from a breakers. I cleaned the new DPF using Dishwasher tabs dissolved in boiling water, applied still warm and soaked over night, followed by brick cleaner (HCL @ 10%). Did good job of oily soot as inside of pipe is now shiny stainless. Here's the but, I got very little red residue out. Is it possible that channels are so full of coke the acid doesn't get to the ash. Also, when you pour liquid in from one end it comes out very slowly the other. Vehicle is 2012+ VW with adblue. Used similar combination to do SCR cat which was plugged with urea crystals. That worked well.
I just used a pure water (Volvo V50 2.0D with Peugeot/Citroen FAP): put it vertical, closed lower pipe end, filled with water and put some air to one of the thin hose to make turbulence. After 30 s flip upside down and then repeat rinsing (water + air). After 15-20 turns water goes out clean.
@Ztaruc Yes - at every flip I used rubber from old tire-tube, block of wood and two screws to seal lower connecting flange. Filled with water and used compressed air to make "boil" effect (throu lower thin hose). My DPF have different shape - no bend at pipes.
Really thank you Steven for your video and your detailed experiences. Thank you also for following and responding to viewers for so long! I just read 1 year of comments and it is very informative. I'm starting this weekend on a DPF Citroen 1.6 HDI and thinking of doing the same on a Volkswagen DPF + Catalyst combo. I am French and as everyone knows we are not strong with the language of Shakespeare :) , I would like to write my battle plan in French for my colleagues Après démontage du FAP : 1. Soufflage à l'air comprimé pour un premier dépoussiérage 2. Lavage à la soude caustique (Hydroxyde de sodium dosé à 100 gr pour 1 litre d'eau déminéralisée) et un peu de liquide vaisselle. Sans danger pour le FAP s'il n'y a pas d'aluminium autour en pare-feu Résultat attendu : lessivage des résidus d'huile et des suies noires 3. Rinçage à l'eau Résultat attendu : Eau claire si nettoyage bien fait, sinon répéter l'étape 2. 4. Lavage à l'acide chlorhydrique dilué avec de l'eau déminéralisée à 6% maximum et pas plus de 30 minutes entre 2 rinçages 5. Rinçage à l'eau et au liquide vaisselle très abondant pour nettoyer complétement l'acide Possibilité d'ajouter du bicarbonate de soude au mélange pour parfaire le rinçage 6. Soufflage à l'air comprimé et/ou décapeur thermique pour sécher au maximum le FAP Notes importantes : - Les protections pour les yeux et les mains sont indispensables. Recommandé de porter une combinaison complète avec une protection du visage et réaliser l’opération en extérieur pour limiter la respiration des vapeurs toxiques ! - Le rinçage se fait à contre-sens de l'échappement - La solution d'acide chlorhydrique ne doit pas dépasser 6% et le trempage ne doit pas dépasser 30 minutes sous peine de dégrader les métaux du FAP - Utilisation d'eau déminéralisée ou eau de pluie pour limiter les dépôts calcaires au séchage - Les 2 eaux de lavages peuvent être mélangées avec précaution pour annuler l'effet base/acide et ainsi les jeter aux eaux usées (et non dans le réseau d'eau de pluie qui n'est pas traité en aval!) - Faire attention aux pièces en aluminium s'il y en a (Tester avec un aimant) car la réaction avec la soude est violente et dégrade rapidement le matériel. So thank you for your work !
Hi, thanks for the great comment, and don't forget that English is mostly French - but pronounced really badly! At the weekend I helped a friend clean the exact same filter so I have some extra tips: Watch out for the temperature sensor as it easy to break when you take the filter apart, and it is expensive to replace. Because the cat and the DPF are separate, you can give the cat a gentle 5 minute acid wash with 4% strength acid and then add more acid up to 8% strength to help wash the DPF a bit quicker. Using 6% acid it took 40 minutes and some of the channels needed a gentle prod with some thin MIG welding wire to help clear out the semi-solid ash sludge. When you have finished with the acid wash, rub lots of dishwashing liquid into the channels in the cat and DPF in order to help neutralise the acid. It will take 10 minutes of continous washing before the acid is completely neutralised and it is best to test with a pH testing strip to verify. And one last thing - it took about 30 minutes and a few engine stop / starts before the engine computer realised that the filter was all clean so that it could clear the DPF ash warning error message. All the best with the job!
@@StevenBTuner Hello and thank you for following your fans :) Yes the temperature sensor is very fine and I simply degreased it with F gasoline and the lambda sensor too and a compressor blow. In fact my DPF was not clogged. the car has its Eolys tank empty and I take the opportunity to clean the DPF, the EGR valve and the intake. For the CAT, I simply blew off the dust and passing a strong lamp on one side, I can clearly see the honeycomb and as it seems very sensitive, I prefer to leave it like that. For the DPF, I didn't have time today to do it completely, I removed a lot of red ash but some remained when rinsing, so I'm thinking of doing it again tomorrow following your advice at 8%. What do you use MIG wire for? to pass through the holes to break up the pieces of hard ash? Good evening.
Merci les AMIS THANK YOU MY FRIENDS je suis en plein nettoyage et je cherche un vrai produit nettoyant car je constate malheureusement que les produits précédents n'ont pas nettoyer suffisamment le FAP Cela dit je pense l'avoir bien décrasser et certains l'aurait remonter mais je tester les 12cl dans 1,38 d' eau déminéralisée pendant 35minutes après un nettoyage à la soude caustique pendant 30 minutes pour voir le résultat demain et je rince au karcher Merci d'exister et de partager Thanks for sharing and living
A few thing... Washing machine tablets are primo stuff for this job, as is machine washing powder(tabs but in powder form-cheaper but just as good)... Catalyst material, the metals, platinum, rhodium, palladium and so on are extremely stable, and require silly strong acids to dissolve them, so you are much more likely to cause severe damage to your exhaust or any other steel part, stainless or otherwise, before you reach acid reactivity that would strip the catalyst of its metals, yet i would avoid direct use of any acid... Blast a tab in it, fill it with boiling water, refill as the water passes down to the other end of the exhaust that is clogged with a plug. let the thing sit in peace for a day... wash it out, blast a can of egr cleaner spray down the exhaust and connect it to a hot air gun to vaporize and push that shit through, then plug the exhaust tip, flip it, fill it with an adequate dose of alloy wheel cleaner and follow that up with hot but not boiling water... let it sit for a few hours, drain it, wash it out with dish soap in it, wash it out again and you have a brand new exhaust system, as long as it didnt corrode beforehand due to acidic ash and oil specks, but apart from such things, and condensation corrosion of non stainless exhausts, you will have a brand new dpf/cat, and all the other parts like muffler meshing and such will be less restrictive, or at least as restrictive as they were outta factory... Avoid any direct acid or product that isnt meant to contact either much more sensitive metal objects and ceramics(like in a dishwasher) or isnt meant for exhaust work in the first place, as in my experience, there is nothing that purges soot and such better than an egr cleaner spray... and use gloves for that part at least... egr blaster is toxic as fuck and is a great insecticide if you need a hornet nest dead upon contact... It literally just paralyzes them and they are done for in less than a minute of squirming faintly... Dont let that thing touch your skin or inhale it, its literally liquid death, like a lot of goo-gone type sprays, and much much worse than brake cleaner or acetone... a few seconds of caution, gloves and glasses can spare you immense suffering that exposure to some of these solvents can cause... Also, avoid using drain cleaner, sodium hydroxide reacts with glass and ceramics, degrading them... Its why labs on my college never used ground glass corks for the flasks that held the hydroxide, as it slowly fumes and in contact with ground glass surfaces would bond glass together, welding the stopper in its tapered bore... Merely using glass to contain it is ok, as what little reaction happens wont allow solid hydroxide to eat through 2mm of glass, but it does react with glass, and i would not recommend using it in dpf or cat cleaning... its a bad idea from that standpoint... if it doesnt mess up the micro holes in ceramic filter due to inertness of that ceramic compound, it will still react with glass insulation of the dpf or cat housing that nests the media within the housing... And 10.45, you add acid to the water, not the other way around? wtf?
Some questions... -just to double check, do you mean washing mashine or dishwasher machine? -egr cleaner blasted with a hot air gun, isn't that dangerous as the cleaner liquid is extremely flammable?
Thank you so much, I see your video previously, but returned to it yesterday after the dreaded engine management light, and spanner icon on dashboard, advising me to take my car to a Ford dealer, to get the issue resolved, I crushed up a dishwasher tab, something that I used previously to clear my windscreen washer pipes on my BMW, getting back to the Ford I crushed up 1 tablet to 700ml of warm water, and sprayed into my DPF, I then used a cheap 12v cigarette lighter pump, what you would use to inflate an airbed, to blow the mixture through, and drove the vehicle for 2 miles, once I turned engine off and on again, the spanner light had gone, and I was able to clear the remaining DPF fault with my Autel scanner, absolutely amazing. Thank You 🎉👊
Today, I did the proces as described in the video. Currently my DPF is drying and tomorrow I will be installing it again on my BMW 120d. First thoughts are positive. It’s indeed not a fun way to spend 3 hours, but it does save you about €200. So easy money 😌👍 I spent €30 on supplies. (On 3 liter HCl, 1,5 kg NaOH and some auxiliaries like buckets etc). I ended up using half of what I bought and filled a 25 liter tank with soot, oil, ash, HCl, NaOH and water. After that, there was no more contamination coming out of the DPF and the water flow was SIGNIFICANTLY better than before. (As in like >5 times better). I have faith that the process did what it promised. I will post an update after 1.000, 10.000 and 100.000 km. I drive approximately 50.000 km per year so it shouldn’t take so long 👍 Thank you Steven for your videos and your advice via our conversation via the comment section in the other video. 👍👍
Hi, I can't wait to hear the rest of the story, so I've pinned your comment to the top! For folk who haven't seen your other comments I'll just clarify that the €200 is the price you were quoted for cleaning from a local DPF cleaning company, not the price of a new filter which I suspect would be €1500 or more for your car.
Second thoughts after the DPF has had a chance to dry for about 18 hours and after reinstalling it on the car. After 18 hours, it seemed like there was not water inside there anymore, however, after installing it on the car, the orientation was presumably a lot more convenient for water to drip out of there, I left it dripping for about one hour before attaching the rest of the exhaust again. After everything was mounted, I reinstalled the battery and also performed a reset of the fault codes. I turned on the car without any issues and started driving, the fuel consumption I was complaining about in my other post (th-cam.com/video/Zw-EAc_Lpv8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=StevenB.Tuner) was still extremely high. But I expected this, because the car didn't notice yet that the DPF was clean again. I drove slowly the first 12 kilometers so the engine could warm up, afterwards I applied full throttle so see the response in power. I was blown away, because for the first time in a while, it felt like I had the full 177 horses available again. I decided to go and drive my cruising speed of 150 kmh, which I always drive. The car was still as uneconomical as before: 7,7 l / 100 km. However! After 30 kilometers, this dropped down to the 6,2 l / 100 km I'm used to at the speed. My hypothesis is that after 30 kilometers, the regeneration proces my car was still thinking it was in, finalized because my ECU realised that the backpressure was alright. I'm very content with this, because this means that I indeed thoroughly cleaned the DPF! After arriving home after about 60 kilometers, I checked for fault codes and noted a faulty backpressure sensor. My best bet is that my ECU is confused that the pressure dropped so rapidly. Therefore, I'm going to go to the garage and have my ECU told that the car has a new DPF. I expect this fault code to go away then. Like I said, next update in 1.000km! :)
Lovely way I’ve done it yesterday today I put the filter back to the car from 100mbar back pressure 2000rpm went to 15 😎 when I finished with the acid wash I’ve done one more with the drain cleaner and came out brown water with oil...thank you very much!!!
Hi, for the 2nd stage wash you want to end up with 20 liters of 6% Hydrochloric acid. To get that I mixed 4 liters of 30% strength acid with 16 liters of water.
he eyeballed it... i think. he talk and talk as doing it assuming some info pasted on and was beleivable... but clearly didnt know his chemicals. used a glass pail that he later broke for lack of funnel. its was totally up hasard. nor do they have a clue of whats inside to be cleaned... I'd read a lot more material be before assuming tha one treatment isn't ruining the guts of the exhaust pipe... the exhaust pipe looked a lot like one I saw was for ADiblue thingy...
@@StevenBTuner linked brick cleaner is 9% acid, did you manage to get 99% acid for that calculation? Found 10% cleaner so according to that would need to do roughly 1:0.9 mix
Well, I used dishwasher tabs to wash out my DPF today. Brick acid too. It was a new filter but I had done an epic italian tune up which I think resulted in loading of the DPF. (edit: and the van was failing to do a regen)The result was very good. From nearly dead to greased lightning. I hope others can repeat my success. It took effort so I get not everyone is crazy enough to go the DIY way but depending on cash reserves your method works. It will clean it. cheers. :)
Hi, a new filter shouldn't give you any trouble for more than 5 years, regardless of how you drive. If you are getting soot clogging then there is somerhing stopping your scheduled regeneration cycle from running, and you will probably need to connect an OBDII scanner to find out what system is failing. Look out for a glow plug failure, a sensor failure or a turbo failure to start with.
@@StevenBTuner Should have mentioned I had the glow plug indicator come on with the engine warning light whenever I put my foot down. I'm 95% sure it was trying to do a regen but detecting a bad plug throwing an error. it is a 2011 model. My ODB app does not seem to know anything about this. Rightly or wrongly I have bought TOAD-Scan for windows and hoping it will do the trick but it does not like my bluetooth ODB2 dongle. Am going to try USB and locate that bad plug. if i could afford to visit garages I would have bought a euro6 van!
@@seadonkey7159 Hi, the best value for money that I've found so far with OBDII readers is the Autel MaxiAp AP200, but folk tell me they are becoming difficult to find now.
@@StevenBTuner That is a good bit of inside info. I found a 2022 model for £100. If It enables me to find my fault and be able force a regen then I will be in good shape. fingers crossed.
A few thoughts .. 1. You don't rinse it out with water after the drain cleaner . If this isn't done wouldn't the drain cleaner still inside neutralize the acid ? I guess since you cycled lots of acid through, it wasn't a problem. 2 . Would it be a good idea to filter any metals out of the water desolved drain cleaner so they don't end up staying in the DPF ? 3 Has anyone damaged their DPF because of drain cleaner heating inside the DPF even though outside the DPF in the bucket the temperature was low ? Thanks for the great video
I can report I had success using this method of cleaning my DPF. However it turned out that the primary reason I was having issues with the system was a very loose exhaust connection upstream of the DPF system . This condition had started to derate the system gradually giving me worse warnings . I also learned that my Fuso can display and delete its own codes . That's pretty cool since I don't need a separate code reader/deleter. Anyway, I'm glad I mostly took this on myself. I did hire a mobile diesel mechanic to help, but I learned a lot including that cleaning one's own DPF is possible
When working with chemicals, alcalines, acids etc safety goggles and personal protections are mandatory. When giving advices and/or instructions we are the role model, and safety shall be considered too. Great video, Thanks
Hi. I have 260 tkm on my e61 530xd -08 with M57T2 engine. DPF regenerations worked as they should, but all too often. About 150 km between regenerations on highway driving. I washed the DPF (with CAT) according to your instructions, but using dish washer tablets instead of drain opener as pre-wash. The DPF was so clogged that i had to additionally use compressed air to force the dish washer tablet solution and later the 7 % brick acid solutiin through. After wards water flows through faster than i can filli it up with a garden house. Remember that anything didn't go through without compressed air when I started. I have now driven about 450 km after the wash and still no sign of any regenerations. Pressure on idle around 10 mbar and at full throttle out of gear around 100 mbar at the moment. Soot went up from zero to about 30 g in about 50 km according to Bimmer tool after programming DPF change. It then got stuck there. After some more city driving it wents up about 2 g, but back on the higway it goes back down to 30, through passive regeneration i guess. The 30 g is obviously calculated, but I understand that at 42 g it will activate regeneration. Still seems to be a long way there, but I have read that at 600 km it will regenerate automatically anyway. I have also notices that the EGR now is more open than before the wash. Around 65 % now at highway driving and app 50 % befor the wash. This is not necessarily a good thing, but this is what happens anyway. It seems that the ecus are learning the new conditions as it went very fast up to 30 g and then stayd there and also ad the egr-function changes. Very interesting to see how fast the soot mass will rise (still calculated) after the first active regeneration. So this seems to be a huge success. As I've also removed the swirl flaps 450 km is more than I could hope for and still going on waiting for the first regenerarion. Thabk you for the great instructions in this video.
Well done on tackling this unpleasant job yourself! I think that you might be the first person who has reported back that they have used the dishwasher tablets instead of the caustic soda for the first wash in a full cleaning operation - so I'm glad to hear that it works as well as I hoped it would.
@@StevenBTuner Hi again. Im not really sure about how well the pre-wash worked as i haven't tried the caustic soda for reference. I also forced regeneration just before removing the dpf, so there shouldn't have been a lot of soot in there. However some black came out of there during the pre-wash, but no ash (red), just as expected. When washing with brick asid I just got red residues out of ther and no noticable black, so I assume that the pre-wash worked as expected. BR. Stefan
@@StevenBTuner Hi. Just to confirm that regeneration was automatically activated at 600 km. Calculated soot level around 34 g at the time. Back pressure app. 4 mbar at idle after regeneration. In other words, everything is fine and the operation was a success.
Using a 7% oxalic acid solution to clean your diesel particulate filter (DPF) requires following the correct sequence of steps to achieve the best results and minimize the risk of damage. Your suggested process is generally correct, but let's refine it and provide clear steps: ### The correct sequence of actions: 1. **Primary DPF regeneration**: - Carry out active or forced regeneration to remove as much soot as possible. - This will help prepare the filter for chemical treatment. 2. **Use of 7% oxalic acid solution**: - Inject 7% oxalic acid solution into the DPF through the temperature or pressure sensor hole. - Let the solution work for 15-30 minutes to dissolve carbon and tar deposits. 3. **Washing with water**: - Rinse the filter thoroughly with plenty of water under pressure (do not exceed 3-4 bar) to remove acid residues and dissolved contaminants. - Make sure that all acid and contaminants are removed from the filter. 4. **DPF regeneration**: - Carry out a second regeneration to dry the filter and completely remove any remaining acid solution and decomposed contaminants. - This will help return the filter to full functionality. ### Additional recommendations: - **Safety**: Use protective gloves, glasses and clothing when working with acid. - **Ventilation**: Carry out work in a well-ventilated area or in the open air. - **Equipment**: Use specialized equipment for acid injection and water rinsing.
Hi, the process is 'interesting', but there are a few issues that could make it all go very wrong. The first is that sometimes a forced regeneration is not possible when the filter is extremely blocked. The second is that the process seems to be for in-place cleaning - and if you inject high pressure water it will probably want to go back through the turbo and into the engine rather than go through the blocked or semi-blocked filter.
Great video. I had a full clogged DPF from a VAG car due to a EGR failure (lot of soot). On the very beginning the water wasn't passing at all. After few pressure washing sessions, I managed to make it pass a bit of water. I let it soak in dishwasher tablet solution cleaned and later in diluted brick acid. To be honest, the brick acid didn't do too much. However, a lot of ass start coming out after I let it over the night in diluted engine degreaser (not sure if I can say the brand). Took me two days to clean it but now is working like brand new.
Hi, cleaning a soot clogged filter like you had is very challenging - so well done on your persistence! Most folk would have taken their mechanic's advice and thrown it away or spent a fair bit of money to have it baked overnight in an industrial oven.
@@zYxMa Hi, depends on your definition of a 'kiln'. An industrial oven is commonly used to clean DPFs from busses and big rigs. You want a high temperature, but not high enough to melt steel or platinum or glass fiber insulation!
Hello, Mr. Turner. Thank you so very much for doing what you do and sharing your knowledge and results with everyone. I live in the US and purchased a used 2011 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI in January of 2019, after they were released back onto the market following the major emissions lawsuit and recall. I brought car into my local VW dealer because currently the check engine light is lit (no others are lit yet). The dealer is telling me the engine light is on due codes that say, "1) EGR flow is insufficient and, 2) Particulate trap efficiency is below threshold." -- They say the DPF was inspected for excessive soot, which they found. This indicates (to them) that the DPF has reached end of life and are recommending immediate DPF and EGR replacement. I cannot afford anything close to what they would charge to do this and even if I could, there are used cars out there that won't cost as much as this will. I need my vehicle as I am a youth track and field coach, and public transportation is not an option what would allow me to be there for my kids. I have no problem admitting that I have little self-knowledge about cars. However, I have friends with a lot of tools, and I'm not afraid or hard work or take things apart and putting them back together as long as I have instructions to help me along. I'm praying you can help me with the instructional part. Given the information I've provided here, is this video the best one for me to follow? Or, if the DPF truly is at or near end of life due to ash buildup and not just soot, should I follow something else? Do you have any comments or questions regarding the EGR or anything else for this particular vehicle? Thank you so very much for your time and expertise. I appreciate it immensely!
Hi, there is a chance that the DPF needs an ash clean if the car has over 180,000 miles or so, but it wouldn't be the first to address. Soot blocking of the DPF is caused by a failure of another system, which results in the normal scheduled DPF regeneration process being cancelled. In your case it sounds like it is the EGR valve that is the first thing to clean or replace (depending on cost and how much you like scraping and brushing oily soot out of your EGR valve along with lots of oven cleaner). If the EGR valve is clogged then there is a pretty good chance that the intake manifold is ready for a cleaning session too! Once you have completed those two, you need to reset the error codes, and there is a good chance that the DPF will clear itself after a 30 minute drive on the highway, like it is supposed to.
Eric, I too have a 2012 TDI sport wagon in the US. With the same exact codes. I am an auto technician and removed the entire EGR system (Both EGR valves, yes there are two and the EGR cooler and piping) for inspection. It was remarkably clean throughout. Even the cooler which has the smallest passages in the system was quite clean. Only minor DRY soot residue inside. I blew it all out with compressed air for good measure. I believe the low flow code we have is due to a restricted DPF as the exhaust must pass through it before feeding the EGR system. I also have a particulate filter warning light on and am stuck in limp-home mode with a flashing glow plug light. Not a good situation to be in. I am about to use Seven's method to clean my DPF and see if that resolves my EGR codes. I had the EGR codes for a month or two before the DPF light came on. I will report back when finished and let you know how it went. 165,000 miles on car. I am only mentioning all this so you don't replace your entire EGR system for no good reason. Yours may well be blocked but it isn't that difficult to remove and check. A lot easier than DPF removal and most likely has to be removed just to get the DPF from this model car. Blessings Andre'
@@AD-xc6qy Hi, look out for those glow plug error codes - a lot of cars need fully working glow plugs or the DPF active regeneration will be cancelled.
@@AD-xc6qy Hello AD! My car followed the same path as yours. Dealer is saying the code for the flashing glow plug light is another error code related to the DPF. My DPF light also came on, and now the computer has me stuck in limp mode as well. Of course this is all happening just one week shy of the end of my Track and Field coaching season. After which, is when I was hoping to deal with this since I won't need a vehicle much for another 9 months. (sigh) Given that our vehicles are seemingly in the exact same predicament now, I'm really to hear you've had time to try Steven's method for cleaning the DPF and that it was successful. Any luck? Thank you VERY MUCH for your time and efforts!
Successfully cleaned out a DPF on a Volvo S40 1.6D, same one as being doing on the video. I think remaining water in the dpf throwed a pending ash clogged code, but it was only pending and did not come back after deleting the codes. Power was bad before and right after, but it returned to former glory after the first test drive - and no more ash clogged codes. The DPF fluid was refilled between the test drive and return of power, but not sure if that matters, since the fluid level isnt reset yet. We put it back together right after, just spent half an hour with a heater gun first, alot of moisture. A low fuel additive error code (P2585) coupled with DPF regen duration (P2458) was the reason we did the job. I think this also caused backpressure from the DPF to force exhaust out the path of least resistance, which was the clamp between the DPF and turbo (replaced this), as well as the VNT lever arm. Result was sooting on said parts, inside of heat shield, under the hood. Oil spill on the wastegate and minor oil leak from compressor side hoses. These symptoms seems gone after the DPF cleaning. Have not reset the DPF or the DPF fluid levels yet. Prewashed with dishwasher tabs 10 tabs, 5 litres of water, came alot of black/grey and red gunk out. The main wash was done with 2 litres of 30% HCl and 8 litres of tap water. Lots of red ash gunk, I believe we really opened her up.
I haven't cleaned a DPF yet but have done an EGR cooler. Used a really cheap sump pump and plumbed it to push the cleaning solution and rinse water through the cooler. Here's a tip push the water up through the cooler or in this case filter. When pushing the water from the top down seems to just take the path of least resistance. Doing a final flush push it up through as well as down trough to get all of the cleaning solution out. Would like to hear your comments on purple power cleaner.
Did it today, looks fine to me. Was pretty clean and yed was lots of ash like needles coming out. I let it dry for few days and try to dry with heat gun few yimes / day until is fully dry before I mount it to the car, but so far I am very happy with the results. And cost pnly 10 euro.
I followed your instructions for my A4 Avant the results were spectacular, I could read the printed faces on the spotless particulate filter and the catalytic converter. Like brand spanking new parts- the only problem I have is how to get rid of 4litres of36% hydrochloric acid. Also showed I DID need a new front oxygen sensor. the motor is running like a clock now. biggest expense was getting the mechanic to remove the exhaust, about £400 all in compared with my main dealer quote £1450 + 20% vat to supply and fitting to be discussed with services(400 to 600 at a guess) I would have put photos on with it but don't know how to add
That's an awesome saving - well done on a great job! The best way to neutralize the acid is to mix in some sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) until you have created water and salt.
I think you could also neutralise the acid with Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) if my schoolboy chemistry serves me right! HCl + Na (CO3) = NaCl + CO2 !!!! Much nicer stuff to handle too. When the bubbles stop, pH 7 has been reached! Very interesting video 👍
Thank you! i did this on my e90 325d, had about 65mbar backpressure at idle before and now its at 4 mbar. feels like a brand new car when driving it! also saved me like 600€ for a new dpf, got some acid at hardware store for 20€
Thank you for taking time to investigate and share all this. I can not tell you how much I appreciate it. I had a good laugh watching you how clumsy you are with the actual cleaning process :). I would simply take rubber cap, block off short pipe of the DPF and fill it with cleaning liquid.
Hi, thanks for watching! There are many ways to do it more efficiently, especially keeping the liquid on the inside - where it actually does some good :-) I guess the main idea is to show that anyone can do, even with things they can get easily or already have around the place.
So well researched and using good chemical science to support your work. A job well done; such a help to all who have vehicles fitted with a DPF. Thank-you.
10:45 add acid to water, just like you oughta. Also, if you flush the DPF with anything, it's best to flow it in reverse of the natural emissions flow or you can push debris further into the DPF. Doing a combined base and the acid wash is a great idea.
Thanks Steve !! Starting from ~ 160.000 km my Toyota RAV4 2.2 D-4D (2008) occasionally startet to eject dense white-blue exhaust smoke when the motor was sufficiently hot, and this got worse and worse. The Toyota price for a new DPF alone is > 2000 Eu and adding the work the repair is iin the 3k Eu, a garanteed income for Totota every 160.000km. I read that Australia is suing them at high level for faulty DPFs but thit does not help me. Nothing helped other than cheating the ECU and disconnecting the battery every 50km. I must have done this about 50 times..ok one can drive like this but once per week it needs a 15 min 3000 rpm run in order to have the ECU inject some gasoline to heat the DPF structures and burn it out and prevent full blockage. The only problem with this: the DOC catalyst material that sits in front of the DPF is also clogged and does not catalyze any more , the result is smoke. Also the battery trick does not change the fundamental problem, the DPF gets fuller and fuller. I changed the 5th injector... no effect, I bought a so-called cleaned DPF for 450 Eu from Hella and had it replaced ..forget, the smoke came back a few hundred km later, all they probably do is cook the pot in an oven, but this does not eliminate the deposits as explained by Steven. I was about now to try these expensive DPF cleaners which you are supposed to inject through the pressure sensor orifices..but then I found Steven's awsome "seminar and practical demo" awesome, after having read a lot of nonsense on the interenet on this subject, here comes a systematic and almost scientific approach with real convincing tests. So I did excactly the same...pre-wash with NaOH drain cleaner and then for a limited time with HCI Brick cleaner: loads to brown and black stuff came out and almost did not want stop coming out, it needs a lot of water. After 5 days drying in the sun I found 1 garagist here in France ( 5 others told me they dont do DPFs, only Toyota could do this) . Dont give up, find this kind of guy. He charged me 4 hours because the DPF on this RAV4 only comes out via the bottom of the car after displacing a propellor.. not easy. And it almost took him extra hour to remove the two temperature sensors without damage. The result counts: I have my car back, saved a lot of money and can drive long distances without smoke and the annoying battery trick. The motor runs like a charm, the turbo sets in much easier at low rates. Thanks again Steven, the world needs more of your kind. Incidentally: another "old car mystery "for guys like you: why do some cars of age start ejecting cooling water from the overpressure cap when hot. Is there a fix other than changing water pumps, conducts, cooling liquid, pressure cap ....nothing of this helps. What is the fundamental problem and how can it be fixed.
Steven, just wanted to give you a shout out for this video, I’ve not had a Ford Focus mk2.5 1.6 TDCI (exact dpf to the Volvo one in the video) long and had previously been cleaned by a “professional mobile dpf cleaning company” by the previous owner not long before we purchased the car. I ran a static regen on it once we had the first failed regen code and then not long after the dreaded ash accumulation full message code. Watched your dpf cleaning video, grabbed the sachets of drain cleaner and hydrochloric acid (patio cleaner) and you should have seen the oily soot and red ash flush out of this thing was ridiculous. So the lesson here is don’t use a mobile service where they are just going to flush it with dpf cleaner that is only suited to remove the soot, do it properly and once, takes some effort to remove dpf but the proof is in the results, just been for a 40+ mile drive and the differential pressure on the DPF hasn’t budged above 0.0 even under full load, so it’s as close to new as it can be 😁 Thank you again, your research and effort in this has been invaluable!!!
Hi, well done on doing a great (if unpleasant) job! You should be getting some differential pressure readings, so double check that the sensor is connected fully.
No idea how pleased I am to read this - as I also have a volvo 1.6D and had been told by garage that these Eolys units are not serviceable. Had been looking at new pattern-part DPFs but had a lingering feeling I'd be better with genuine. This is the answer!
Steven, great vid and thank you. Let’s talk non-removal of the DPF and access into the DPF via sensor bung hole. The best degreased I have ever found out of “anything” that can be purchased in a store is WD-40, it washes almost anything away that’s a petroleum based deposit, crusty deposits will need to soak but will mostly dissolve. The 2nd best thing I’ve ever discovered that is petroleum based is Mineral Spirits. Have you ever tried leaving the DPF installed, removing the sensor before the DPF or at the top of the DPF, plug in a hose that just fits into the bung, attach a funnel to the hose, and then slowly dump a gallon of WD-40 into the DPF and let it fill up to the hose, but yet still let it pass slowly through the DPF? In same, do this with Mineral Spirits? Either or should work great. Most cleaners n the market have snake oil potion and typically that snake oil is Mineral Spirits. Thoughts???
Hi, thanks for watching! WD40, mineral spirits, and other de-greasers certainly warrant their own test. On some cars it is certainly a possibility to run a cleaning solution through the sensor holes and out the exhaust end (and then pump it back into the sensor hole again), but I'm not sure I would recommend it for DIY use. I can just imagine something going wrong with the setup and the solution ending up in the turbo and even into the engine - it doesn't warrant thinking about!
i plan to do the same, just remove sensor and clean whit water or some dpf cleaner spray i got. from what i gatherd so far, car needs to be cold, and after you finish cleaning you need wait 2-3h to dry, and thats it
@@StevenBTuner from what i got so far, if the car is not started, and u remove temp sensor, and put water through the hole, it cant really go up sice dpf is angled at 45 degrees or so. and after you clean it, just let it dry for 2h and should be good. bonus: you also clean the exaust pipes
Taking into account the direction the filter fills up, using some agent to loose it from the filter, let it loosen the ash and soot and some flow opposite to the normal direction of the exhaust, it should push all of the mess out. So cap the input port (the side towards the engine) and the sensor tubes, fill it from the back by the degreaser (a mixture of NaOh and a surfactant, diluted in water) while holding it vertically (so it gets into all channels), let it sit for a while, then let the released sludge drain from the input port, flush it with water. Some use pressure air to help the solution out, but I would suffice with the pressure of water generated by the output tube length, not more to not break anything. But never let any liquid nor air flow in the "normal" direction, as that will push the sludge back into the channels and that you do not want.
Thank you was washing my dpf filter with hot water. Used the drain cleaner and muratic acid. All I can say is never cleaned it as great. I have 1080759 miles on my oem dpf filter in my volvo vnl780. Thank you ++++.
Your presentation and '"gentlemaness" backed with some logical experiments makes this quite endearing to watch, even though the subject is mundane. Thank you for promoting thinking and for what you do. Vaughan South Africa
In the NaHO clean a lot of the orange stuff was not dissolved. It was just flowing out as a solid. I suspect your 25 / 75 HCl mixture was saturated and that some undisolved salts still remained in the dpf. You might increase the solvent volume, or do a second wash with a new batch. Another interesting experiment would be whether a 50 / 50 water HCl mix saturated with disolved dpf salts still would attack the stainless steel.
Hi, thanks for watching! I understand where you are coming from, and it would have been a good idea to put in a small dose of fresh acid mix in at the end, just to verify that there was absolutely nothing left in the filter before putting in the work of re-installing on to the vehicle. Also a good question about a stronger mix, which of course won't be anywhere near as strong after eating its way into a pile of ash plugs...
Thank you for doing the hard work for us. I have been washing my dpf filter with hot water have 1million miles on my dpf filter on my volvo semi truck. This weekend I will pull it for 4th time and clean it with your process. Never knew I was not getting ash out so much. Thanks and will post when I finish. Could you do a video explaining to my wife this is OK lol... sometimes forgiven is easier then asking permission 😌
Hi, thanks for watching! You are going into un-chartered territory! I haven't really looked at truck DPFs, so it is up to you to keep an eye out for any kind of part that might be damaged by acid etc. For such a large item it is preferable to use sulfuric or phosphoric acid for the 2nd wash as they shouldn't do any damage at all to a larger (and older) DPF housing - but once again, I haven't tested those chemicals yet, so I can't say exactly how they would go. It will definitely be interesting to hear how it goes!
A hole saw just small enough to pass through the pipe and an drill extension. Use the hole saw to cut out a channel from one end of the DPF to the other to give you good exhaust flow. That is the easiest and fastest way I have found to fix a clogged DPF.
@@peterhejlejensen "This will 100 percent make you fail a MOT" Except in the vast majority of places in the world that do not conduct an exhaust emission test. While not as affordable, or convenient, you could buy a new DPF and put it on for the Ministry of Transportation test and then switch back so you can get better miles per gallon during the rest of the time. That way you know you will always have a good DPF for the test.
You are a star sir. That just about covers any concerns as well as explaining exactly what one needs to achieve Thank you very much from a confirmed DIY enthuasist . Peace and Tranquility to you Garry
Hello, thanks for an informative video. One thought - if you can get 'inhibited' acid, normally inhibited hydrochloric acid, it will do all the strong acid things like dissolving the salts in the ash but it won't (or will barely) attack the stainless steel.
Try phosphoric acid (often sold as brick cleaner or concrete etchant.) Its a LOT less dangerous to you but works very well (and safely) on boat heat exchangers without damaging the tube bundle and such. It is also used to Parkerize mild steel -- it will, in addition, dissolve the mineral chunks in hot water heaters without destroying the elements or the tank. I suspect it would be safe with the internal materials of a DPF (the oxide material) but I would check it first.
Hi Steven! Thanks for the video. I'm on the need of cleaning the DOC-DPF of my Peugeot 308 1.6 HDI and I've thought about carrying out your method. I'm from Spain and the 'Everbuild Sika 401 Brick and Patio Cleaner' acid is not found here. What is its specific chemical composition? I don't want to order something too aggressive that will ruin my DOC-DPF, or anything that isn't effective enough. Moreover, do you still think that the drain cleaner is the best option for pre-washing? Or have you found anything better lately?
Hi, for the 1st cleaning step you can also use industrial degreaser. For the 2nd stage clean you are aiming for around 6% hydrochloric acid, so whatever you buy will require watering down to avoid damage. Hydrochloric acid is also called pool acid, brick cleaning acid, muriatic acid and salt acid - I hope that helps you find some!
Great video, thank you. Perhaps measure the thickness of the stainless before and after. Also what grade stainless did you use and what grade are the DPF units made of? Likely the cheapest the manufacturers can get away with.
Hi, I found that there were three grades of stainless used on a BMW 320D DPF, so making any assumptions about what all manufacturers are using is going to be pretty much impossible. Keeping the acid contact time to a maximum of 30 minutes should prevent damage to all the kinds of steel used.
I would attach a vibrating motor of some kind to the dpf during soak times to agitate the solution and act like a sonic cleaner to break up the ash and help the cleaner to penetrate.
Thank you for a very informative video. I have a question about the 1/4 to 3/4 mix of brick cleaning acid to water. Do you know what percentage HC acid was in the brick cleaner you chose? Sadly they all seem to be mixed very differently. I ask because I have access to pure HC acid but mixing that 1/4 to 3/4 will likely be way too strong and I am trying to gauge the mix. It would be helpful if all brick acids contained the same strength but they don't and hence my question. Thanks again.
Hi, I am starting with 30 - 32% HCl, and then diluting 1 part acid to 4 parts water - so I am aiming for a 6% HCl solution that is safe enough for steel / stainless steel and the catalyst material for 30 minutes of washing. It is a good idea to neutralize the acid with lots of water and a bit of dish-washing liquid straight away too.
@@StevenBTuner Thanks. One last quick question if I may, the before and after temperature sensor will not come out even with heat. Are they OK to leave on the DPF or do I need to find a way to get them out?
@@MarkC-1970 Hi, I hate it when that happens! They could easily be damaged by the cleaning process, so there is a good chance that they will be destroyed and have to be replaced. The acid might loosen up the threads a bit though...
@@StevenBTuner All sorted and, for the benefit of everyone who has my problem, 4% HC acid did not damage my temperature sensors. 6% may not have damaged them either but I decided to go weaker and be a bit more patient on the flushing. I washed it twice in the end and it took a couple of hours with all the flushing but just like in your video there is loads of red ash comes out. When I finished I couldn't fill it up with the hose on full and at the start it barely trickled out. Thanks again the video was a real help. The engine in my van runs amazing now so clearly the DPF was restricting the exhaust for a while before the ECU finally put it into limp mode.
@@MarkC-1970 That result is 100% awesome! Those sensors can really get stuck, so it is great to know that it is possible to still get a good clean without damaging them if you're willing to put in a bit of extra time and effort. Well done!
I didn't mention that I cleaned my1.6 HDI filter using your method in this video and would like to thank you for such an informative and easy to follow method. I also have another vehicle with the same system and will need to also clean it in the near future kindest regards Chris
Great video and very well researched - I think the commercial DPF flushing machines just use water with some detergent to dissolve any oils, they also combine this with periodic blasts of air to agitate and dislodge any blockages. I got the DPF on my Audi A3 done this way and it did a great job, but still cost £250/€280 (and that was just getting it flushed, it would've been more than double that if they had to get if off the car)
Hi, thanks for watching! Yes, reasonably high pressure and a low flow rate - could even be possible to build one at home, but probably not worth the effort for something used once every 5 years...
Awesome video, One thing I would add after the acid wash and rinse is a quick bicarbonate soda wash to neutralise any acid left and stop it eating holes in your dpf :)
Is it possible to use this mix as a spray and spray it into the dpf through the sensor opening instead of taking it off? Like the foam dpf sprays but using this solution? Great viseo excellent work, thank you
There are some folks in the comments who have done it with dissolved dishwasher tabs I think, and they said it worked. I haven't looked at the method closely, so I can't comment from experience. If you do it then it would be great to hear how it goes.
As the DPF is really difficult to get to on my nissan Juke, I'm going to put it through the DPF while on the vehicle like the DPF sprays cans videos on TH-cam, but with this mix, I'll let you know how I get on, might even do a video, any suggestions on where to go in Oxygen sensor or pressure sensor?
A good idea would be to final flush with de mineralized water/de ionized water to remove mineral deposits left by tap water. Ash has less chance of sticking to a smooth surface other than a surface with a microscopic film of minerals. De ionized water also reduces oxidation. Just a suggestion. Great video.
Thanks for a thorough, nice scientific video! Quick question: Wouldn't dumping 5 litres of brake cleaner into the filter handle the oily soot issue just as well yet faster? Im bound to do a cleaning on the missus' car DPF next weekend, and a 5 litre of brake cleaner will only set me back £20 and some change. One less acidic mix to handle was my thought. Now, we can also buy 32% acetic acid in the grocery store here in Norway, wouldn't that be an option as well? Since you had a slow but positive effects of vinegar/acetic acid.. Pre mixed, no exothermic reaction to worry about and just ready to pour. I can buy 4 litre cans of the stuff here.
Hi, brake cleaner has no effect on soot or ash, but strong acetic acid or products specifically designed for descaling industrial coffee machines should work well. I haven't tested them, so I will be interested to hear how your experiment goes!
Did this yesterday. Life saving that can prevent you from spending a lot of money as long as you're willing to do it yourself AND follow all the safe instructions when dealing with the chemicals. This method works and I'm here as a sign of gratitude because this guy took time and effort to run these tests and passed this information to us. My 2006 e60 has 267k km and had a backpressure of 19/20 mbar at idle. It was regenerating every 100 km or so. Did this yesterday as per instructions and by the end water was just flowing through it and coming out as clean as it was going in. After installation, reset adaptations and my backpressure is now at 4 mbar at idle. So now I have a brand new dpf that costed just some water and chemicals and about 4 hours of work top to finish. Thank you sir... Very very much
Awesome result - well done on tackling this messy job!
Which chemical did you use?
@@mikaeljonsson4686 exactly like the video. Dishwasher tablets as a pre wash and brick cleaner on the right proportion for the washing
@@StevenBTunerNB! At 10.45 you tell your audience to add water to acid as learned in school. Although this is later thoroughly corrected I ask you to ad a text at 10.50 stating “Always add acid to water and not the other way around! Danger!”
..not all persons watch to the end.. ☠️😱😉
Besides that thank you for doing this extensive job an presenting it!
Kind regards
Anders
Sweden
@@StevenBTuneri was expecting to see as an experiment using HYDROFLUORIC acid as well.
From what I know is a good carbon removal (i’m cleaning carbon off the buildings with that acid) .
Hopefully you will have a bit of time to make a short experiment using that acid
Thank you so much for such a great scientific approach for DPF cleaning.
That convinced me to try !
I had an issue with my clogged DPF on an old BMW X3 E83 3.0D (230.000 km).
The biggest challenge was to remove it from the car !!
Then I cleaned it two times following the process you suggest
:
1-Basic solution soaking for two hours (25% of drain cleaner)
2-Rinse
3-Acid solution (20% of HCl) for 10 minutes
4-Rinse
5- Dry
Before the process, water couldn't even go through the filter. After the second cleaning process, water was flowing very easily through the filter, completely clear and DPF looked perfectly clean inside.
Couldn't imagine the amount of oily soot that came out of this filter.
Finally, the measured counter pressures with the diag tool were perfect and motor was running as new !
Since that, I drove about 5.000 km, everything is still OK.
Thank you again for sharing
Hi, thanks for watching and sharing your experience with the process! I know what you mean about the removal - sometimes they take 2 hours to get out, and other times only 10 minutes... Great to hear that your X3 is running like new again!
Just finished this…… you sir saved me 5000 USD and I’m grateful you made this video.
You are most welcome!
Thanks to you, I got my A7 bi-TDI back :) I was struggling many months with the dpf problem, the dealer wanted to sell a new DPF for around 3.200 EUR, but with your guidance I managed to clean it properly. Now the car drives perfectly. Thank you :)
That's great to hear!
Dear Steven,
Thanks a million for sharing the KNOWLEDGE with us. i really appreciate for your great efforts while preparing this video.
I've performed all the steps as Steven described with minor divergencies that i've explained below and here are the results :)
My 1.3 multijet fiat car has 140 000 km (~87000 miles) and i had no issue with DPF. But after i watched the great video i have connected to car ECU and DPF filter clogging was %75.
As i was cleaning the DPF, both with coastic soda and hcl, i plugged the exit side and filled all the way up, than waited 15 min than 5 min shaking with both ends closed.
After a good washing with garden hose and 1 day drying under sun heat i installed the DPF with taking the advice and replaced the 4 glow plugs despite i have no starting problems or warning message.
After a 30 min cruise on the highway, i connected the ECU again and the clogging reduced to %25. There is remarkable improvement on engine power also.
Dear Steven you are awesome! and i'd like to see more future videos of you.
Best Regards.
Hi, thanks for watching and for sharing your experience! It is really great to hear that the process went well and that car is performing better!
Finally! I have been waiting for a video like this. Every single minute is well worth watching it. Since I am a Diesel BMW owner I was afraid about the costs of a DPF replacement. This video will help every one who is interested in DIY- DPF cleaning. It is easy to do by yourself at home during the weekend and one can repeat it if necessary.
Thank you Steven. Well done!
Hi, thanks for watching and the great comment! It isn't the world's nicest car-related job, but it certainly beats paying out for a new filter unnecessarily.
You wait until you see how much Audi dealers ask for, you would think you were about to buy a short engine 😂
Did it to my Audi A6 C6 3.0 tdi and no more fault code and everything works. Thank you very much!
The perfect result! :-)
What chemicals did you use? Having issues with the same engine and planning to do this as well
Thank you
Hi Steve. I have just cleaned my Citroen C4 DPF (120,000 miles) using your brick cleaning acid method, just soaked it overnight in an approx 8% strength solution, I used a nitrile glove secured by elastic bands to seal the exhaust out end of the DPF, worked a treat no seepage overnight. This morning I ran water through the filter from a hose pipe, mains pressure only, i.e no pressure washer, I was amazed at the amount of ash that came out of the thing! I kept moving the hose pipe over the out side of the DPF, occasionally turning it and gently tapping the steel case on the stone floor, took the best part of an hour but eventually no ash discharge, just lovely clean H2O. I had previously done the same job on a similar car using Wynns DPF cleaner, it was quite expensive and did the job, but not as quickly or cheaply as the brick cleaning acid. Used a wet vac to suck most of the water out of the DPF and Cat. All reassembled and running a treat, checked the differential pressure and it's like a brand new unit. Thanks for all the work you put into your face tube channel. Some of the more drastic methods on TH-cam had me wanting to contact the R.S.P.C.D.P.F's (Royal society for the prevention of cruelty to diesel particle filters!) If you're ever over Manchester GB way I owe you a pint or two!
Well done on a great job!
Thanks for this video. I used your procedure on my Citroen C6 diesel. Fortunately the oxidising catalyst can be screwed off the DPF side. I just used a strong degreaser as a pre clean which worked very good. Afterwards I used the acid. I left it in there a fair bit longer. Afterwards I was able to rinse it out good. Used the alkaline degreaser again to stop the acid from attacking any surface. Bonus was the small shafts of ash falling out of the dpf. Fitted it all back together and all good. My dpf wasn’t blocked. I just felt it was time. Bonus is also, previously the regeneration cycle would happen every 300-400km. Now it is closer to 900-1000km between regeneration cycles. Fuel economy also went up.
I am doing it again to my newly acquired Citroen C6 as well. I was reluctant to use the acid in the two big pre DPF oxidising catalysts. So just cleaned them with degreaser and the amount of crud that came out was just about shocking.
Thanks again for an extremely informative video
Excellent success - great to hear about!
I am South Korean. Your experimental mind seems to be looking at Einstein.
I watched the video with the translator turned on and I couldn't fully understand it, but it really helped a lot. The self-maintenance culture is not established in Korea, so opportunities to access such information are rare. I am a self-maintenance person but I have been trying to get information for over a year to clean my DPF. Then I happened to see this video, and it was a lot of study. Thank you. May God bless you.
Hi, thankyou for watching, and I hope you got enough information even with the auto translation.
Absolutely brilliant ! At last a method that actually works 100% if you follow the instructions and use the correct chemicals. My VW Golf DPF kept flagging up the yellow symbol on the dashboard a lot more than it used too, it started to happen every few weeks and whilst it regenerated after a long run out on the motorway, I mainly used it for short runs around town and the school run, not good for older diesels we were told, and especially Volkswagens for some reason, We were told at 10+ years old the DPF was probably full or at the end of its usable life and probably full of Ash and soot over the years. After a few attempts at regenerating it but still getting the yellow DPF light and symbol, a friend of ours recommended this video to us, and after getting our friendly mechanic to remove the dpf (in approx half hour ) he set about cleaning it to this method, although even he was a little sceptical. What can I say, it cleaned it out perfectly !even he was surprised as it was filthy and full of ash and sooty stuff, a few hours later on a Saturday afternoon after a thorough rinse through it was put back on and our car is now up and running again with no more DPF dash light or loss of performance ! Very very happy, thank you Steven from over here in the UK, you saved us a lot of money, time and hassle.🎉
An awesome result! I wish all mechanics knew how well they can be cleaned.
I managed to get the DPF off my 217k miles 325d today (what a job!!) it needs a deep clean as it re-gens but still has a back pressure of +40mbr at idle and throws up back pressure error codes.
I'm going to use the same method as yourself but fix a rubber glove to one end so I can completely fill the DPF and soak.
Thank you posting up all your DPF cleaning tests, it really is a great help to many people who get to the point of having no choice but to take off the DPF and give it a deep clean with proven chemicals..
All the best with the job - you've now done the worst part I think!
Благодарение на хора като теб, света се развива в правилна посока.
Thanks!
You are like NASA, thank you so much for sharing ur expertise, I’ve seen many different videos, but I wasn’t convinced, until I came cross ur, well detailed. I’ve spent 6 hours over the weekend in my garden cleaning my DPF, EGR, and also put new fuel vaporizer, I’ve used few chemicals mentioned in ur video( degreaser, caustic soda, dishwasher pod and other) and I’ve let it dry over night, the result was absolutely amazing, back to new, my transit van drives so well now, I must have saved at least good £600, I can’t thank you enough. Halim from Leeds (UK)
Well done on the great job!
Best video related to DPF cleaning on internet. Thank you!
Welcome!
Brilliant work that man, you have shown what 99.99% of us here wanted to know and by the way, you did it logically, with a bit of humour and in layman's terms. Go to the head of the class. Thank you heaps, I now have 2 Peugeot DPFs to clean.
Thanks for watching and the great comment :-) All the best in getting those cars back to full health!
Garry Travers Let me hear how it goes. I got a Peugeot my self with DPF problem :D Read somewhere what you have to reset the computer afterwards, for the DPF light to turn off. Any experience on that?
I did exactly what you said and saved £500. You sir are a gent.
And it is called aluminium...
That's really great to hear! Well done on doing this not-so-pleasant job.
Thank you Steven. Liquid drain cleaner 1:10, three washes. 31% Brick cleaner 1:4, 2 washes.
2009 mk5 vw jetta 2.0 TDI 277km Huge amount of soot 56g read after PCV heater element failure (N79) popped fuse #1 linked to MAF and failed to regen. Cleaned up, PVC heater changed, reset DPF and forced static regen. < 3g of soot after adaptation reset. Thanks much, saved over $5K.
That is an awesome result! :-)
Thanks for this, I used dishwasher tabs for the soot wash and Hydrochloric acid for the ash wash with great results.
Wanted to be very thorough, did 5 soot washes and 4 ash washes with fresh tap water for each wash. I bought 10L of the Brick acid but I only needed 2L in the end 😂, the stuff I got at Toolstation (UK) was a little weaker so adjusted water/acid ratio accordingly. Finished up with lots of rinsing with a garden hose and finally some distilled water because I live in a hard water area.
The flow difference was obvious when rinsing the filter at the end, before washing the water was dripping through and after washing it was pouring through.
Can't thank you enough mate, you've really helped with this video.👍👍👍
(For reference it's a 2015 Mazda 3 skyactiv-d 2.2L with 120k miles)
Hi, thanks for watching, I am really glad to hear that you had such good success with cleaning out your DPF!
I need to do my mazda cx7 2.2 diesel[2009]. How do you reset flashing DPF. light.
Thanks to your video, I've cleaned the DPF on my Mercedes. Not only has it cleaned the DPF, the diluted HCl cleaned the stainless steel exhaust piping and made it super shiny and new.
A good extra bonus! :-)
Steven thanks so much for making this video. I have a 2013 VW Passat with a clogged DPF and will clean using sodium hydroxide then 25% acid solution. Really appreciate the scientific approach testing the impact on very expensive materials. Nice work friend
Hi, make sure you dilute that acid down to about 6% or you risk eating a hole through your DPF housing. Rinse it all out with water mixed with dishwashing liquid to neutralise any remaining acid. Some dishwashing liquid mixed in with the sodium hydroxide also helps break down the oily soot.
I used oven cleaner to clean mine! I firstly pressure washed it to remove as much as possible mechanically. Then soaked it in the oven cleaner over night! Then gave it a thorough blasting with the pressure washer! What I did notice was there was fragments of the dog internal structure were braking off and washed out! This was mostly from the outer parts of the structure due to the vibration of years of driving. 17 years old Mercedes CLK 2.7CDI. After it dried out for 24 hours I re installed it, and the exhaust smell was back to that bleach type smell! And the power was better and more instant!
Your comprehensive and practical approach to this is refreshing and a good way of cleaning the DPF! Cool video!!!
Hi, thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
35 minutes spent well. Great job
Glad you found it useful!
Thank you so much for this video. I have a 2014 Chevy Cruze diesel that had a clogged DPF. The dealership wanted 4000 US dollars to replace it. I watched your video and did it myself. My car runs perfect now. Thanks Again
Well done on tackling this somewhat unpleasant job! It is a bit odd that the dealerships have a tendency to forget that cleaning is one of the possible options...
@@StevenBTunerwhere can i buy the acid and what can what is the name thanks
I have a 2011 Subaru Forester which I bought 2nd hand in 2020 (nearly 4 years ago now). Despite 90% of my driving being on country roads, the instrument panel recently decided to start celebrating Christmas early with a display of various warning lights - including the DPF light.
Consequently, I took the car to my "trusted" mechanic near Breadalbane NSW. He tried forcing DPF regens, but couldn't get the soot levels below 61%. He said that my DPF was dead and that I needed a new one (supply and fit > $2k). However, he couldn't tell me what was specifically wrong with my DPF or what was causing the high soot level. He said that the ash level was reporting as only 35% and that the level would have to be much higher that that in a 300K km engine. I told him that I had sent that DPF off for a professional clean only about 80K km prior, so 35% seemed correct to me, but he would not be convinced. He obviously knew better than me and didn't want to enter into any further discussion or diagnosis of cause - he just wanted to know when I wanted him to supply and fit a new DPF to my car.
I agreed to disagree with my (now former) mechanic and went looking for ideas from the web. And then I found Steve's video (above). The detail provided by Steve was exceptional and it gave me the confidence to tackle the cleaning of my DPF at home.
After buying all the required materials and safety equipment, I started by removing the DPF, flushing it with degreaser to remove as much soot as possible and then followed Steve's instructions to flush the DPF using diluted brick acid followed by a thorough rinse out - I did all of this in a wheelie bin. I reinstalled the DPF and took the car to a different Subi mechanic who reprogrammed the ECU to indicate that a new DPF had been installed (total cost $75).
The result is that I have a car that is running as good as new. The fuel consumption is as low or lower than at any time since I bought the car.
All I need to do now is find a place to dispose of the used degreaser and acid.
So thanks Steve for your time and effort to educate us on how to avoid a costly and unnecessary replacement of a DPF.
Great to hear that you didn't buy a new DPF unnecessarily! I am amazed and saddened that there are mechanics out there who don't know the difference between soot clogging and ash clogging... Now that you have a freshly cleaned DPF (and you do country driving) you will probably not have any issues for 3000kms or so. What I mean by this is that something was stopping your DPF from getting to a high enough temperature to regenerate, and that issue may still be there. The most common things that will stop regeneration are: a faulty or clogged EGR valve that won't fully close, a coolant thermostat that is stopping the engine from getting over 75 degrees celcius and on some cars a faulty glow plug will stop regeneration. It is worth checking these things to ensure you have no more DPF issues for a while.
I have heard lots of people get quotes of 2k, but when I ask them their car, and look up the car part, its usually not that expensive. I checked my nearest auto shop, and the subaru forester dpf is on the shelf for 326 euro. I know you might need to get the part shipped etc, but 2k seems excessive, specially considering you were able to take it off yourself to clean... Im not telling you to go out and buy a new one, there is no need for that, but also dont believe those 2k dpf prices you hear about. Those are usually more advandced dpf that you don't actually need, they might be cat 6 and your car is cat 5.
I bought my 1st Diesel 6 months ago and the dreaded DPF light came on today. Watching this excellent video has given me an insight what i'm up against, very grateful for that. I'll soon be off to the stores to gather all this cleaning kit.
Hi, before you start it is definitely worth finding out whether the error light is indicating an end-of-life ash clogged DPF, or whether it is a engine system malfunction (turbo or EGR or glow plugs etc) that is stopping your DPF from regenerating correctly.
"Everyone knows you don't send plutonium via the mail, you always use..." got me dying xD
Hi, thanks for watching, and glad you appreciate the joke!
Ji ji
Since that comment about going back in time I thought he's probably used to ordering plutonium to power the flux capacitor.
Obviously, you've gotta get your plutonium from the Libyans.
The video was very informative and very clear. I’ve had this DPF problem since January 2020, and cleaned it more than 3 time with professional DPF cleaner, but I was not satisfied with the outcome since the light came up after 2 weeks. I was going to replace the DPF unit which is £1300 for the part only. And that’s when I stumbled upon your video. I didn’t go through all the steps, but what I did was used Is Sodium Hydroxide 500g bottle, first I filled a bucket of water and poured 250g of Sodium Hydroxide, and stirred it unit the pellets are cleared, and poured it to the DPF. PS : use some good pair of Nitrile gloves. After I shook the DPF and left it for 3 minutes and used the pressure washer clean the DPF and repeated the same process again. The results were remarkable and after cleaning it looked new.
Hi, thanks for watching and for sharing your experience!
Your videos are brilliant - I like that you are focused on good quality info , keep up the good work
I'm glad you like them!
Works well. I finished all proces and now my dpf is clean like new. Thank you.
Great to hear, and well done in doing this messy job!
*summary, modified/improved slightly*
Required:
NaOH: 1kG (Salt form)
HCl (Hydrogen Chloride, brick cleaning acid): 1 liter, 25-33%
Dish washer tablets: 5
Pre-knowledge: All chemical processes run faster the higher temperature is. So heating up the solution saves chemicals and improves results.
Steps:
1) Clog one side of the dpf, so you can hang it up and fill it up. For me, hammering a plastic cup into the exhaust side did the job and sealed it completely
2) get rid of oily residue
We want to dissolve oil with the base (NaOH) and soap it with the diswasher tablets.
Boil water. Dissolve NaOH SLOWLY. It releases lots of heat when dissolved.
Make a very concentrated solution, as NaOH will not damage the DPF at all.
You can additionally just pour NaOH salt into the DPF. Add diseasher tabs to the solution.
Pour the solution in (Care, if additional salt is in the dpf it will boil furiously)
Let it sit there over night.
3) remove the DPF, collect the waste. Rinse with water until clear. Clog up and hang up agai.
4) acid wash:
Make a solution if about 15% HCl. Boil water and add the acid to the solution.
Fill the DPF a second time. As this corrodes the steel, only let it in for a while. I would suggest 30 minutes.
5) pour out the solution. You can mix it with the NaOH solution, as they will neutralize. Rinse until clean again.
6) enjoy your vrand new DPF
There will definitely be a super-clean DPF after you have finished!
@@StevenBTuner there is! Many thanks for the research!
Have you got links to these, NaOH: 1kG (Salt form)
HCl (Hydrogen Chloride, brick cleaning acid): 1 liter,
Would be great if you had a video of you doing this thanks
Great video. Driving a 2.0 vivaro. Took readings on my diagnostics before your method at 2000rpm. Here's the result readings before cleaning , soot in filter 80grms, exhaust system flow 35.68, flow of gas in filter 126m3/h, particle pressure diff 187. These in same order as above after cleaning.... soot 39.2, exhaust system flow 36.4, flow of gas in filter 146.6, particle filter pressure diff 47. Has it done anything....answer big yes .....power is considerably noticeable, had the van a year never had such response on the accelerator before. Great stuff bud.
Hi, it's great to hear that the cleaning has worked out so well for you, and congrats on a DIY job well done!
The original dpf on my car had to be replaced by one from a breakers. I cleaned the new DPF using Dishwasher tabs dissolved in boiling water, applied still warm and soaked over night, followed by brick cleaner (HCL @ 10%). Did good job of oily soot as inside of pipe is now shiny stainless. Here's the but, I got very little red residue out. Is it possible that channels are so full of coke the acid doesn't get to the ash. Also, when you pour liquid in from one end it comes out very slowly the other. Vehicle is 2012+ VW with adblue. Used similar combination to do SCR cat which was plugged with urea crystals. That worked well.
If water is flowing through then you are probably good, even it is only slowly. A blocked filter won't flow any water at all.
Tried this on my 2007 skoda superb over the weekend euro 4 dpf,..absolutely blocked solid cost me €9 on chemicals worked a treat 👍🏻
Great to hear!
I just used a pure water (Volvo V50 2.0D with Peugeot/Citroen FAP): put it vertical, closed lower pipe end, filled with water and put some air to one of the thin hose to make turbulence. After 30 s flip upside down and then repeat rinsing (water + air). After 15-20 turns water goes out clean.
Hi, thanks for watching and for sharing your method!
Do you close off the other end when you flip it?
Also isn’t that the same dpf you have as the one cleaned in the video?
@Ztaruc Yes - at every flip I used rubber from old tire-tube, block of wood and two screws to seal lower connecting flange. Filled with water and used compressed air to make "boil" effect (throu lower thin hose). My DPF have different shape - no bend at pipes.
Really thank you Steven for your video and your detailed experiences. Thank you also for following and responding to viewers for so long! I just read 1 year of comments and it is very informative. I'm starting this weekend on a DPF Citroen 1.6 HDI and thinking of doing the same on a Volkswagen DPF + Catalyst combo.
I am French and as everyone knows we are not strong with the language of Shakespeare :) , I would like to write my battle plan in French for my colleagues
Après démontage du FAP :
1. Soufflage à l'air comprimé pour un premier dépoussiérage
2. Lavage à la soude caustique (Hydroxyde de sodium dosé à 100 gr pour 1 litre d'eau déminéralisée) et un peu de liquide vaisselle. Sans danger pour le FAP s'il n'y a pas d'aluminium autour en pare-feu
Résultat attendu : lessivage des résidus d'huile et des suies noires
3. Rinçage à l'eau
Résultat attendu : Eau claire si nettoyage bien fait, sinon répéter l'étape 2.
4. Lavage à l'acide chlorhydrique dilué avec de l'eau déminéralisée à 6% maximum et pas plus de 30 minutes entre 2 rinçages
5. Rinçage à l'eau et au liquide vaisselle très abondant pour nettoyer complétement l'acide
Possibilité d'ajouter du bicarbonate de soude au mélange pour parfaire le rinçage
6. Soufflage à l'air comprimé et/ou décapeur thermique pour sécher au maximum le FAP
Notes importantes :
- Les protections pour les yeux et les mains sont indispensables. Recommandé de porter une combinaison complète avec une protection du visage et réaliser l’opération en extérieur pour limiter la respiration des vapeurs toxiques !
- Le rinçage se fait à contre-sens de l'échappement
- La solution d'acide chlorhydrique ne doit pas dépasser 6% et le trempage ne doit pas dépasser 30 minutes sous peine de dégrader les métaux du FAP
- Utilisation d'eau déminéralisée ou eau de pluie pour limiter les dépôts calcaires au séchage
- Les 2 eaux de lavages peuvent être mélangées avec précaution pour annuler l'effet base/acide et ainsi les jeter aux eaux usées (et non dans le réseau d'eau de pluie qui n'est pas traité en aval!)
- Faire attention aux pièces en aluminium s'il y en a (Tester avec un aimant) car la réaction avec la soude est violente et dégrade rapidement le matériel.
So thank you for your work !
Hi, thanks for the great comment, and don't forget that English is mostly French - but pronounced really badly! At the weekend I helped a friend clean the exact same filter so I have some extra tips: Watch out for the temperature sensor as it easy to break when you take the filter apart, and it is expensive to replace. Because the cat and the DPF are separate, you can give the cat a gentle 5 minute acid wash with 4% strength acid and then add more acid up to 8% strength to help wash the DPF a bit quicker. Using 6% acid it took 40 minutes and some of the channels needed a gentle prod with some thin MIG welding wire to help clear out the semi-solid ash sludge. When you have finished with the acid wash, rub lots of dishwashing liquid into the channels in the cat and DPF in order to help neutralise the acid. It will take 10 minutes of continous washing before the acid is completely neutralised and it is best to test with a pH testing strip to verify. And one last thing - it took about 30 minutes and a few engine stop / starts before the engine computer realised that the filter was all clean so that it could clear the DPF ash warning error message. All the best with the job!
@@StevenBTuner
Hello and thank you for following your fans :)
Yes the temperature sensor is very fine and I simply degreased it with F gasoline and the lambda sensor too and a compressor blow.
In fact my DPF was not clogged. the car has its Eolys tank empty and I take the opportunity to clean the DPF, the EGR valve and the intake.
For the CAT, I simply blew off the dust and passing a strong lamp on one side, I can clearly see the honeycomb and as it seems very sensitive, I prefer to leave it like that.
For the DPF, I didn't have time today to do it completely, I removed a lot of red ash but some remained when rinsing, so I'm thinking of doing it again tomorrow following your advice at 8%.
What do you use MIG wire for? to pass through the holes to break up the pieces of hard ash?
Good evening.
Merci les AMIS
THANK YOU MY FRIENDS
je suis en plein nettoyage et je cherche un vrai produit nettoyant car je constate malheureusement que les produits précédents n'ont pas nettoyer suffisamment le FAP
Cela dit je pense l'avoir bien décrasser et certains l'aurait remonter mais je tester les 12cl dans 1,38 d' eau déminéralisée pendant 35minutes après un nettoyage à la soude caustique pendant 30 minutes pour voir le résultat demain et je rince au karcher
Merci d'exister et de partager
Thanks for sharing and living
Thank you for your video. I would like to ask what is the original concentration of HCl used for dilution with water?
Hi, thanks for watching! I started with 30% HCl and then diluted with 4 times as much water.
This channel is a revelation. What a careful, relaxed and informative presentation style. Thank you so much Steven .
Hi, thanks for watching, and you are very welcome!
A few thing... Washing machine tablets are primo stuff for this job, as is machine washing powder(tabs but in powder form-cheaper but just as good)... Catalyst material, the metals, platinum, rhodium, palladium and so on are extremely stable, and require silly strong acids to dissolve them, so you are much more likely to cause severe damage to your exhaust or any other steel part, stainless or otherwise, before you reach acid reactivity that would strip the catalyst of its metals, yet i would avoid direct use of any acid... Blast a tab in it, fill it with boiling water, refill as the water passes down to the other end of the exhaust that is clogged with a plug. let the thing sit in peace for a day... wash it out, blast a can of egr cleaner spray down the exhaust and connect it to a hot air gun to vaporize and push that shit through, then plug the exhaust tip, flip it, fill it with an adequate dose of alloy wheel cleaner and follow that up with hot but not boiling water... let it sit for a few hours, drain it, wash it out with dish soap in it, wash it out again and you have a brand new exhaust system, as long as it didnt corrode beforehand due to acidic ash and oil specks, but apart from such things, and condensation corrosion of non stainless exhausts, you will have a brand new dpf/cat, and all the other parts like muffler meshing and such will be less restrictive, or at least as restrictive as they were outta factory... Avoid any direct acid or product that isnt meant to contact either much more sensitive metal objects and ceramics(like in a dishwasher) or isnt meant for exhaust work in the first place, as in my experience, there is nothing that purges soot and such better than an egr cleaner spray... and use gloves for that part at least... egr blaster is toxic as fuck and is a great insecticide if you need a hornet nest dead upon contact... It literally just paralyzes them and they are done for in less than a minute of squirming faintly... Dont let that thing touch your skin or inhale it, its literally liquid death, like a lot of goo-gone type sprays, and much much worse than brake cleaner or acetone... a few seconds of caution, gloves and glasses can spare you immense suffering that exposure to some of these solvents can cause... Also, avoid using drain cleaner, sodium hydroxide reacts with glass and ceramics, degrading them... Its why labs on my college never used ground glass corks for the flasks that held the hydroxide, as it slowly fumes and in contact with ground glass surfaces would bond glass together, welding the stopper in its tapered bore... Merely using glass to contain it is ok, as what little reaction happens wont allow solid hydroxide to eat through 2mm of glass, but it does react with glass, and i would not recommend using it in dpf or cat cleaning... its a bad idea from that standpoint... if it doesnt mess up the micro holes in ceramic filter due to inertness of that ceramic compound, it will still react with glass insulation of the dpf or cat housing that nests the media within the housing... And 10.45, you add acid to the water, not the other way around? wtf?
Thanks for sharing that great information!
Some questions...
-just to double check, do you mean washing mashine or dishwasher machine?
-egr cleaner blasted with a hot air gun, isn't that dangerous as the cleaner liquid is extremely flammable?
Thank you so much, I see your video previously, but returned to it yesterday after the dreaded engine management light, and spanner icon on dashboard, advising me to take my car to a Ford dealer, to get the issue resolved, I crushed up a dishwasher tab, something that I used previously to clear my windscreen washer pipes on my BMW, getting back to the Ford I crushed up 1 tablet to 700ml of warm water, and sprayed into my DPF, I then used a cheap 12v cigarette lighter pump, what you would use to inflate an airbed, to blow the mixture through, and drove the vehicle for 2 miles, once I turned engine off and on again, the spanner light had gone, and I was able to clear the remaining DPF fault with my Autel scanner, absolutely amazing.
Thank You 🎉👊
Hi, thanks for sharing your process! I haven't heard of anyone doing it exactly like that - but it worked, so you have discovered a new way!
Today, I did the proces as described in the video. Currently my DPF is drying and tomorrow I will be installing it again on my BMW 120d. First thoughts are positive. It’s indeed not a fun way to spend 3 hours, but it does save you about €200. So easy money 😌👍
I spent €30 on supplies. (On 3 liter HCl, 1,5 kg NaOH and some auxiliaries like buckets etc). I ended up using half of what I bought and filled a 25 liter tank with soot, oil, ash, HCl, NaOH and water. After that, there was no more contamination coming out of the DPF and the water flow was SIGNIFICANTLY better than before. (As in like >5 times better).
I have faith that the process did what it promised. I will post an update after 1.000, 10.000 and 100.000 km. I drive approximately 50.000 km per year so it shouldn’t take so long 👍
Thank you Steven for your videos and your advice via our conversation via the comment section in the other video. 👍👍
Hi, I can't wait to hear the rest of the story, so I've pinned your comment to the top! For folk who haven't seen your other comments I'll just clarify that the €200 is the price you were quoted for cleaning from a local DPF cleaning company, not the price of a new filter which I suspect would be €1500 or more for your car.
@@StevenBTuner Correct, the exact price was €275. I choose to round it off negatively ;)
Second thoughts after the DPF has had a chance to dry for about 18 hours and after reinstalling it on the car. After 18 hours, it seemed like there was not water inside there anymore, however, after installing it on the car, the orientation was presumably a lot more convenient for water to drip out of there, I left it dripping for about one hour before attaching the rest of the exhaust again.
After everything was mounted, I reinstalled the battery and also performed a reset of the fault codes. I turned on the car without any issues and started driving, the fuel consumption I was complaining about in my other post (th-cam.com/video/Zw-EAc_Lpv8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=StevenB.Tuner) was still extremely high. But I expected this, because the car didn't notice yet that the DPF was clean again. I drove slowly the first 12 kilometers so the engine could warm up, afterwards I applied full throttle so see the response in power. I was blown away, because for the first time in a while, it felt like I had the full 177 horses available again. I decided to go and drive my cruising speed of 150 kmh, which I always drive. The car was still as uneconomical as before: 7,7 l / 100 km. However! After 30 kilometers, this dropped down to the 6,2 l / 100 km I'm used to at the speed.
My hypothesis is that after 30 kilometers, the regeneration proces my car was still thinking it was in, finalized because my ECU realised that the backpressure was alright. I'm very content with this, because this means that I indeed thoroughly cleaned the DPF!
After arriving home after about 60 kilometers, I checked for fault codes and noted a faulty backpressure sensor. My best bet is that my ECU is confused that the pressure dropped so rapidly. Therefore, I'm going to go to the garage and have my ECU told that the car has a new DPF. I expect this fault code to go away then. Like I said, next update in 1.000km! :)
Thanks for the update - that's an awesome result!
So um.... what did you do with the waste fluid after cleaning the DPF?
this is the harvard standard of home dpf cleaning ! exactly what i needed thanks!
Hi, thanks for watching, and for the nice comment!
did we learn to add water to the acid? not vice versa?
Well done on spotting the mistake!
Lovely way I’ve done it yesterday today I put the filter back to the car from 100mbar back pressure 2000rpm went to 15 😎 when I finished with the acid wash I’ve done one more with the drain cleaner and came out brown water with oil...thank you very much!!!
Hi, that's great to hear, and thanks for sharing your modification to the procedure!
Hello. I do not understand English. Could you write in what proportions % to calculate hydrochloric acid. Thank you.
Hi, for the 2nd stage wash you want to end up with 20 liters of 6% Hydrochloric acid. To get that I mixed 4 liters of 30% strength acid with 16 liters of water.
he eyeballed it... i think. he talk and talk as doing it assuming some info pasted on and was beleivable... but clearly didnt know his chemicals. used a glass pail that he later broke for lack of funnel. its was totally up hasard. nor do they have a clue of whats inside to be cleaned... I'd read a lot more material be before assuming tha one treatment isn't ruining the guts of the exhaust pipe... the exhaust pipe looked a lot like one I saw was for ADiblue thingy...
@@StevenBTuner linked brick cleaner is 9% acid, did you manage to get 99% acid for that calculation? Found 10% cleaner so according to that would need to do roughly 1:0.9 mix
Well, I used dishwasher tabs to wash out my DPF today. Brick acid too. It was a new filter but I had done an epic italian tune up which I think resulted in loading of the DPF. (edit: and the van was failing to do a regen)The result was very good. From nearly dead to greased lightning. I hope others can repeat my success. It took effort so I get not everyone is crazy enough to go the DIY way but depending on cash reserves your method works. It will clean it. cheers. :)
Hi, a new filter shouldn't give you any trouble for more than 5 years, regardless of how you drive. If you are getting soot clogging then there is somerhing stopping your scheduled regeneration cycle from running, and you will probably need to connect an OBDII scanner to find out what system is failing. Look out for a glow plug failure, a sensor failure or a turbo failure to start with.
@@StevenBTuner Should have mentioned I had the glow plug indicator come on with the engine warning light whenever I put my foot down. I'm 95% sure it was trying to do a regen but detecting a bad plug throwing an error. it is a 2011 model. My ODB app does not seem to know anything about this. Rightly or wrongly I have bought TOAD-Scan for windows and hoping it will do the trick but it does not like my bluetooth ODB2 dongle. Am going to try USB and locate that bad plug. if i could afford to visit garages I would have bought a euro6 van!
@@seadonkey7159 Hi, the best value for money that I've found so far with OBDII readers is the Autel MaxiAp AP200, but folk tell me they are becoming difficult to find now.
@@StevenBTuner That is a good bit of inside info. I found a 2022 model for £100. If It enables me to find my fault and be able force a regen then I will be in good shape. fingers crossed.
A few thoughts .. 1. You don't rinse it out with water after the drain cleaner . If this isn't done wouldn't the drain cleaner still inside neutralize the acid ? I guess since you cycled lots of acid through, it wasn't a problem.
2 . Would it be a good idea to filter any metals out of the water desolved drain cleaner so they don't end up staying in the DPF ?
3 Has anyone damaged their DPF because of drain cleaner heating inside the DPF even though outside the DPF in the bucket the temperature was low ?
Thanks for the great video
Back-flushing with lots of water, and a squirt of dish-washing liquid is a great step between the main steps.
I can report I had success using this method of cleaning my DPF. However it turned out that the primary reason I was having issues with the system was a very loose exhaust connection upstream of the DPF system . This condition had started to derate the system gradually giving me worse warnings . I also learned that my Fuso can display and delete its own codes . That's pretty cool since I don't need a separate code reader/deleter. Anyway, I'm glad I mostly took this on myself. I did hire a mobile diesel mechanic to help, but I learned a lot including that cleaning one's own DPF is possible
When working with chemicals, alcalines, acids etc safety goggles and personal protections are mandatory. When giving advices and/or instructions we are the role model, and safety shall be considered too. Great video, Thanks
Very important for sure!
I wouldn't worry about water. Have you seen the amount of water that comes out of an exhaust on start up.
I am back watching this again. Easily the best instruction video.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi.
I have 260 tkm on my e61 530xd -08 with M57T2 engine.
DPF regenerations worked as they should, but all too often. About 150 km between regenerations on highway driving.
I washed the DPF (with CAT) according to your instructions, but using dish washer tablets instead of drain opener as pre-wash.
The DPF was so clogged that i had to additionally use compressed air to force the dish washer tablet solution and later the 7 % brick acid solutiin through. After wards water flows through faster than i can filli it up with a garden house. Remember that anything didn't go through without compressed air when I started.
I have now driven about 450 km after the wash and still no sign of any regenerations. Pressure on idle around 10 mbar and at full throttle out of gear around 100 mbar at the moment.
Soot went up from zero to about 30 g in about 50 km according to Bimmer tool after programming DPF change. It then got stuck there. After some more city driving it wents up about 2 g, but back on the higway it goes back down to 30, through passive regeneration i guess.
The 30 g is obviously calculated, but I understand that at 42 g it will activate regeneration. Still seems to be a long way there, but I have read that at 600 km it will regenerate automatically anyway.
I have also notices that the EGR now is more open than before the wash. Around 65 % now at highway driving and app 50 % befor the wash. This is not necessarily a good thing, but this is what happens anyway.
It seems that the ecus are learning the new conditions as it went very fast up to 30 g and then stayd there and also ad the egr-function changes. Very interesting to see how fast the soot mass will rise (still calculated) after the first active regeneration.
So this seems to be a huge success. As I've also removed the swirl flaps 450 km is more than I could hope for and still going on waiting for the first regenerarion.
Thabk you for the great instructions in this video.
Well done on tackling this unpleasant job yourself! I think that you might be the first person who has reported back that they have used the dishwasher tablets instead of the caustic soda for the first wash in a full cleaning operation - so I'm glad to hear that it works as well as I hoped it would.
@@StevenBTuner
Hi again.
Im not really sure about how well the pre-wash worked as i haven't tried the caustic soda for reference. I also forced regeneration just before removing the dpf, so there shouldn't have been a lot of soot in there.
However some black came out of there during the pre-wash, but no ash (red), just as expected.
When washing with brick asid I just got red residues out of ther and no noticable black, so I assume that the pre-wash worked as expected.
BR.
Stefan
@@stefankulla816 You did everything right - and got the right result! :-)
@@StevenBTuner Hi. Just to confirm that regeneration was automatically activated at 600 km. Calculated soot level around 34 g at the time. Back pressure app. 4 mbar at idle after regeneration. In other words, everything is fine and the operation was a success.
@@stefankulla816 Hi, that sounds 100% perfect!
Abolute, I have watched this when you first uploaded. Very detailed. I am watching it again!
I Love It!
Glad it helps you out!
Using a 7% oxalic acid solution to clean your diesel particulate filter (DPF) requires following the correct sequence of steps to achieve the best results and minimize the risk of damage. Your suggested process is generally correct, but let's refine it and provide clear steps:
### The correct sequence of actions:
1. **Primary DPF regeneration**:
- Carry out active or forced regeneration to remove as much soot as possible.
- This will help prepare the filter for chemical treatment.
2. **Use of 7% oxalic acid solution**:
- Inject 7% oxalic acid solution into the DPF through the temperature or pressure sensor hole.
- Let the solution work for 15-30 minutes to dissolve carbon and tar deposits.
3. **Washing with water**:
- Rinse the filter thoroughly with plenty of water under pressure (do not exceed 3-4 bar) to remove acid residues and dissolved contaminants.
- Make sure that all acid and contaminants are removed from the filter.
4. **DPF regeneration**:
- Carry out a second regeneration to dry the filter and completely remove any remaining acid solution and decomposed contaminants.
- This will help return the filter to full functionality.
### Additional recommendations:
- **Safety**: Use protective gloves, glasses and clothing when working with acid.
- **Ventilation**: Carry out work in a well-ventilated area or in the open air.
- **Equipment**: Use specialized equipment for acid injection and water rinsing.
I asked this in the GPT chat. Do you think I can do this?
Hi, the process is 'interesting', but there are a few issues that could make it all go very wrong. The first is that sometimes a forced regeneration is not possible when the filter is extremely blocked. The second is that the process seems to be for in-place cleaning - and if you inject high pressure water it will probably want to go back through the turbo and into the engine rather than go through the blocked or semi-blocked filter.
When GPT has field tested its suggested method, it's deserving of attention. Until then, treat GPT like a rumor mill.
Great video. I had a full clogged DPF from a VAG car due to a EGR failure (lot of soot). On the very beginning the water wasn't passing at all. After few pressure washing sessions, I managed to make it pass a bit of water. I let it soak in dishwasher tablet solution cleaned and later in diluted brick acid. To be honest, the brick acid didn't do too much. However, a lot of ass start coming out after I let it over the night in diluted engine degreaser (not sure if I can say the brand). Took me two days to clean it but now is working like brand new.
Hi, cleaning a soot clogged filter like you had is very challenging - so well done on your persistence! Most folk would have taken their mechanic's advice and thrown it away or spent a fair bit of money to have it baked overnight in an industrial oven.
@@StevenBTuner can a DPF be baked in a kiln?
@@zYxMa Hi, depends on your definition of a 'kiln'. An industrial oven is commonly used to clean DPFs from busses and big rigs. You want a high temperature, but not high enough to melt steel or platinum or glass fiber insulation!
I lost my dpf torpedo in a boating accident. The horror.
Hello, Mr. Turner. Thank you so very much for doing what you do and sharing your knowledge and results with everyone. I live in the US and purchased a used 2011 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI in January of 2019, after they were released back onto the market following the major emissions lawsuit and recall. I brought car into my local VW dealer because currently the check engine light is lit (no others are lit yet). The dealer is telling me the engine light is on due codes that say, "1) EGR flow is insufficient and, 2) Particulate trap efficiency is below threshold." -- They say the DPF was inspected for excessive soot, which they found. This indicates (to them) that the DPF has reached end of life and are recommending immediate DPF and EGR replacement.
I cannot afford anything close to what they would charge to do this and even if I could, there are used cars out there that won't cost as much as this will. I need my vehicle as I am a youth track and field coach, and public transportation is not an option what would allow me to be there for my kids. I have no problem admitting that I have little self-knowledge about cars. However, I have friends with a lot of tools, and I'm not afraid or hard work or take things apart and putting them back together as long as I have instructions to help me along. I'm praying you can help me with the instructional part.
Given the information I've provided here, is this video the best one for me to follow? Or, if the DPF truly is at or near end of life due to ash buildup and not just soot, should I follow something else? Do you have any comments or questions regarding the EGR or anything else for this particular vehicle? Thank you so very much for your time and expertise. I appreciate it immensely!
Hi, there is a chance that the DPF needs an ash clean if the car has over 180,000 miles or so, but it wouldn't be the first to address. Soot blocking of the DPF is caused by a failure of another system, which results in the normal scheduled DPF regeneration process being cancelled. In your case it sounds like it is the EGR valve that is the first thing to clean or replace (depending on cost and how much you like scraping and brushing oily soot out of your EGR valve along with lots of oven cleaner). If the EGR valve is clogged then there is a pretty good chance that the intake manifold is ready for a cleaning session too! Once you have completed those two, you need to reset the error codes, and there is a good chance that the DPF will clear itself after a 30 minute drive on the highway, like it is supposed to.
Eric, I too have a 2012 TDI sport wagon in the US. With the same exact codes. I am an auto technician and removed the entire EGR system (Both EGR valves, yes there are two and the EGR cooler and piping) for inspection. It was remarkably clean throughout. Even the cooler which has the smallest passages in the system was quite clean. Only minor DRY soot residue inside. I blew it all out with compressed air for good measure. I believe the low flow code we have is due to a restricted DPF as the exhaust must pass through it before feeding the EGR system. I also have a particulate filter warning light on and am stuck in limp-home mode with a flashing glow plug light. Not a good situation to be in. I am about to use Seven's method to clean my DPF and see if that resolves my EGR codes. I had the EGR codes for a month or two before the DPF light came on. I will report back when finished and let you know how it went. 165,000 miles on car. I am only mentioning all this so you don't replace your entire EGR system for no good reason. Yours may well be blocked but it isn't that difficult to remove and check. A lot easier than DPF removal and most likely has to be removed just to get the DPF from this model car.
Blessings
Andre'
@@AD-xc6qy Hi, look out for those glow plug error codes - a lot of cars need fully working glow plugs or the DPF active regeneration will be cancelled.
@@AD-xc6qy Hello AD! My car followed the same path as yours. Dealer is saying the code for the flashing glow plug light is another error code related to the DPF. My DPF light also came on, and now the computer has me stuck in limp mode as well. Of course this is all happening just one week shy of the end of my Track and Field coaching season. After which, is when I was hoping to deal with this since I won't need a vehicle much for another 9 months. (sigh) Given that our vehicles are seemingly in the exact same predicament now, I'm really to hear you've had time to try Steven's method for cleaning the DPF and that it was successful. Any luck? Thank you VERY MUCH for your time and efforts!
Just remove it entirely.
Not what I would expect to hear from a London cyclist :-)
220,000 miles on my Jeep with 3.0L CRD and I need to clean the DPF due to using the wrong type of oil. Thank you much for showing me the light!
Welcome!
England is the origin of English so our English trumps American English sorry 🤷♂️👍
Haha!
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) accepted aluminium as the international standard in 1990.
Successfully cleaned out a DPF on a Volvo S40 1.6D, same one as being doing on the video. I think remaining water in the dpf throwed a pending ash clogged code, but it was only pending and did not come back after deleting the codes. Power was bad before and right after, but it returned to former glory after the first test drive - and no more ash clogged codes. The DPF fluid was refilled between the test drive and return of power, but not sure if that matters, since the fluid level isnt reset yet. We put it back together right after, just spent half an hour with a heater gun first, alot of moisture.
A low fuel additive error code (P2585) coupled with DPF regen duration (P2458) was the reason we did the job. I think this also caused backpressure from the DPF to force exhaust out the path of least resistance, which was the clamp between the DPF and turbo (replaced this), as well as the VNT lever arm. Result was sooting on said parts, inside of heat shield, under the hood. Oil spill on the wastegate and minor oil leak from compressor side hoses. These symptoms seems gone after the DPF cleaning. Have not reset the DPF or the DPF fluid levels yet.
Prewashed with dishwasher tabs 10 tabs, 5 litres of water, came alot of black/grey and red gunk out. The main wash was done with 2 litres of 30% HCl and 8 litres of tap water. Lots of red ash gunk, I believe we really opened her up.
Well done on doing an unpleasant job and getting a great result!
I haven't cleaned a DPF yet but have done an EGR cooler. Used a really cheap sump pump and plumbed it to push the cleaning solution and rinse water through the cooler. Here's a tip push the water up through the cooler or in this case filter. When pushing the water from the top down seems to just take the path of least resistance. Doing a final flush push it up through as well as down trough to get all of the cleaning solution out. Would like to hear your comments on purple power cleaner.
Sounds like a great idea! Purple power should be perfect for the first stage wash to remove oily soot.
Did it today, looks fine to me. Was pretty clean and yed was lots of ash like needles coming out. I let it dry for few days and try to dry with heat gun few yimes / day until is fully dry before I mount it to the car, but so far I am very happy with the results. And cost pnly 10 euro.
A perfect result! It will never get fully dry unless you put it in an oven or back on the car as the ceramic soaks up water like a flowerpot.
I followed your instructions for my A4 Avant the results were spectacular, I could read the printed faces on the spotless particulate filter
and the catalytic converter. Like brand spanking new parts- the only problem I have is how to get rid of 4litres of36% hydrochloric acid.
Also showed I DID need a new front oxygen sensor. the motor is running like a clock now.
biggest expense was getting the mechanic to remove the exhaust, about £400 all in compared with my main dealer quote £1450 + 20% vat to supply and fitting to be discussed with services(400 to 600 at a guess)
I would have put photos on with it but don't know how to add
That's an awesome saving - well done on a great job! The best way to neutralize the acid is to mix in some sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner) until you have created water and salt.
I think you could also neutralise the acid with Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) if my schoolboy chemistry serves me right! HCl + Na (CO3) = NaCl + CO2 !!!! Much nicer stuff to handle too. When the bubbles stop, pH 7 has been reached! Very interesting video 👍
Thank you! i did this on my e90 325d, had about 65mbar backpressure at idle before and now its at 4 mbar. feels like a brand new car when driving it! also saved me like 600€ for a new dpf, got some acid at hardware store for 20€
Well done - 100% awesome result!
Its worked for me mate thanks, First got black water coming out when using degreaser then acid took a while to dissolve the ash and turn red. Spot on
Great to hear!
and the burning question is, did the car go better afterwards?
Thank you for taking time to investigate and share all this. I can not tell you how much I appreciate it. I had a good laugh watching you how clumsy you are with the actual cleaning process :). I would simply take rubber cap, block off short pipe of the DPF and fill it with cleaning liquid.
Hi, thanks for watching! There are many ways to do it more efficiently, especially keeping the liquid on the inside - where it actually does some good :-) I guess the main idea is to show that anyone can do, even with things they can get easily or already have around the place.
So well researched and using good chemical science to support your work. A job well done; such a help to all who have vehicles fitted with a DPF. Thank-you.
Glad it helps you out :-)
DPF on my Bmw E61 530XD is like new ! Thank you very much ! Greetings from Czech republic :-)
And all cost maybe 8 euros. :-D
Hi, that's great news - well done on doing a great job!
Great. Did you notice any performance change?
@@Birdfeeder795 Hi, I have 0,5 - 0,8 l/100 km consume down and better engine speech and meybe smoother running. BMW E61 530XD 170 KW
INCREDIBLY helpful - you are a HERO ( hope that your Mrs recognises this ! ) 😍
10:45 add acid to water, just like you oughta.
Also, if you flush the DPF with anything, it's best to flow it in reverse of the natural emissions flow or you can push debris further into the DPF.
Doing a combined base and the acid wash is a great idea.
Hi, thanks for watching and the good suggestion!
Thanks Steve !! Starting from ~ 160.000 km my Toyota RAV4 2.2 D-4D (2008) occasionally startet to eject dense white-blue exhaust smoke when the motor was sufficiently hot, and this got worse and worse. The Toyota price for a new DPF alone is > 2000 Eu and adding the work the repair is iin the 3k Eu, a garanteed income for Totota every 160.000km. I read that Australia is suing them at high level for faulty DPFs but thit does not help me. Nothing helped other than cheating the ECU and disconnecting the battery every 50km. I must have done this about 50 times..ok one can drive like this but once per week it needs a 15 min 3000 rpm run in order to have the ECU inject some gasoline to heat the DPF structures and burn it out and prevent full blockage. The only problem with this: the DOC catalyst material that sits in front of the DPF is also clogged and does not catalyze any more , the result is smoke. Also the battery trick does not change the fundamental problem, the DPF gets fuller and fuller. I changed the 5th injector... no effect, I bought a so-called cleaned DPF for 450 Eu from Hella and had it replaced ..forget, the smoke came back a few hundred km later, all they probably do is cook the pot in an oven, but this does not eliminate the deposits as explained by Steven. I was about now to try these expensive DPF cleaners which you are supposed to inject through the pressure sensor orifices..but then I found Steven's awsome "seminar and practical demo" awesome, after having read a lot of nonsense on the interenet on this subject, here comes a systematic and almost scientific approach with real convincing tests. So I did excactly the same...pre-wash with NaOH drain cleaner and then for a limited time with HCI Brick cleaner: loads to brown and black stuff came out and almost did not want stop coming out, it needs a lot of water. After 5 days drying in the sun I found 1 garagist here in France ( 5 others told me they dont do DPFs, only Toyota could do this) . Dont give up, find this kind of guy. He charged me 4 hours because the DPF on this RAV4 only comes out via the bottom of the car after displacing a propellor.. not easy. And it almost took him extra hour to remove the two temperature sensors without damage. The result counts: I have my car back, saved a lot of money and can drive long distances without smoke and the annoying battery trick. The motor runs like a charm, the turbo sets in much easier at low rates. Thanks again Steven, the world needs more of your kind. Incidentally: another "old car mystery "for guys like you: why do some cars of age start ejecting cooling water from the overpressure cap when hot. Is there a fix other than changing water pumps, conducts, cooling liquid, pressure cap ....nothing of this helps. What is the fundamental problem and how can it be fixed.
Really great to hear that it worked out so well! Awesome result. I'll have to do an overheating vid!
Someone who actually knows some chemistry... Excellent stuff
:-)
Steven, just wanted to give you a shout out for this video, I’ve not had a Ford Focus mk2.5 1.6 TDCI (exact dpf to the Volvo one in the video) long and had previously been cleaned by a “professional mobile dpf cleaning company” by the previous owner not long before we purchased the car. I ran a static regen on it once we had the first failed regen code and then not long after the dreaded ash accumulation full message code. Watched your dpf cleaning video, grabbed the sachets of drain cleaner and hydrochloric acid (patio cleaner) and you should have seen the oily soot and red ash flush out of this thing was ridiculous. So the lesson here is don’t use a mobile service where they are just going to flush it with dpf cleaner that is only suited to remove the soot, do it properly and once, takes some effort to remove dpf but the proof is in the results, just been for a 40+ mile drive and the differential pressure on the DPF hasn’t budged above 0.0 even under full load, so it’s as close to new as it can be 😁 Thank you again, your research and effort in this has been invaluable!!!
Hi, well done on doing a great (if unpleasant) job! You should be getting some differential pressure readings, so double check that the sensor is connected fully.
No idea how pleased I am to read this - as I also have a volvo 1.6D and had been told by garage that these Eolys units are not serviceable. Had been looking at new pattern-part DPFs but had a lingering feeling I'd be better with genuine. This is the answer!
@@bunesaltar I've got a 1.6 C30 too and I'm doing mine the weekend. No way am I buying a second DPF after a year!
Steven, I just revived my DPF. You are a genius. Thank you so much!
Hi, glad the vid helped you get your DPF working again!
Steven, great vid and thank you. Let’s talk non-removal of the DPF and access into the DPF via sensor bung hole. The best degreased I have ever found out of “anything” that can be purchased in a store is WD-40, it washes almost anything away that’s a petroleum based deposit, crusty deposits will need to soak but will mostly dissolve. The 2nd best thing I’ve ever discovered that is petroleum based is Mineral Spirits. Have you ever tried leaving the DPF installed, removing the sensor before the DPF or at the top of the DPF, plug in a hose that just fits into the bung, attach a funnel to the hose, and then slowly dump a gallon of WD-40 into the DPF and let it fill up to the hose, but yet still let it pass slowly through the DPF? In same, do this with Mineral Spirits? Either or should work great. Most cleaners n the market have snake oil potion and typically that snake oil is Mineral Spirits. Thoughts???
Hi, thanks for watching! WD40, mineral spirits, and other de-greasers certainly warrant their own test. On some cars it is certainly a possibility to run a cleaning solution through the sensor holes and out the exhaust end (and then pump it back into the sensor hole again), but I'm not sure I would recommend it for DIY use. I can just imagine something going wrong with the setup and the solution ending up in the turbo and even into the engine - it doesn't warrant thinking about!
Steven B. Tuner thanks for your thoughts much appreciated. I like your experience and scientific approach. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i plan to do the same, just remove sensor and clean whit water or some dpf cleaner spray i got. from what i gatherd so far, car needs to be cold, and after you finish cleaning you need wait 2-3h to dry, and thats it
@@StevenBTuner from what i got so far, if the car is not started, and u remove temp sensor, and put water through the hole, it cant really go up sice dpf is angled at 45 degrees or so. and after you clean it, just let it dry for 2h and should be good. bonus: you also clean the exaust pipes
Very in-depth chemistry Steve - Excellent video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Taking into account the direction the filter fills up, using some agent to loose it from the filter, let it loosen the ash and soot and some flow opposite to the normal direction of the exhaust, it should push all of the mess out.
So cap the input port (the side towards the engine) and the sensor tubes, fill it from the back by the degreaser (a mixture of NaOh and a surfactant, diluted in water) while holding it vertically (so it gets into all channels), let it sit for a while, then let the released sludge drain from the input port, flush it with water. Some use pressure air to help the solution out, but I would suffice with the pressure of water generated by the output tube length, not more to not break anything. But never let any liquid nor air flow in the "normal" direction, as that will push the sludge back into the channels and that you do not want.
Hi, thanks for watching! Yes indeed, back-flushing with water is an important step in the cleaning.
Thank you was washing my dpf filter with hot water. Used the drain cleaner and muratic acid. All I can say is never cleaned it as great. I have 1080759 miles on my oem dpf filter in my volvo vnl780. Thank you ++++.
Hi, great to hear that it works well on a really big filter!
Your presentation and '"gentlemaness" backed with some logical experiments makes this quite endearing to watch, even though the subject is mundane. Thank you for promoting thinking and for what you do.
Vaughan
South Africa
You are most welcome!
I guess pressure washing (with water) the dpf after cleaning wont harm. Big thanks for all your knowledge sharing, I will do this soon as possible!
I have another video about that. You can't go too close or the ceramic glue between the modules will be destroyed.
In the NaHO clean a lot of the orange stuff was not dissolved. It was just flowing out as a solid.
I suspect your 25 / 75 HCl mixture was saturated and that some undisolved salts still remained in the dpf. You might increase the solvent volume, or do a second wash with a new batch.
Another interesting experiment would be whether a 50 / 50 water HCl mix saturated with disolved dpf salts still would attack the stainless steel.
Hi, thanks for watching! I understand where you are coming from, and it would have been a good idea to put in a small dose of fresh acid mix in at the end, just to verify that there was absolutely nothing left in the filter before putting in the work of re-installing on to the vehicle. Also a good question about a stronger mix, which of course won't be anywhere near as strong after eating its way into a pile of ash plugs...
Thank you for doing the hard work for us. I have been washing my dpf filter with hot water have 1million miles on my dpf filter on my volvo semi truck. This weekend I will pull it for 4th time and clean it with your process. Never knew I was not getting ash out so much. Thanks and will post when I finish. Could you do a video explaining to my wife this is OK lol... sometimes forgiven is easier then asking permission 😌
Hi, thanks for watching! You are going into un-chartered territory! I haven't really looked at truck DPFs, so it is up to you to keep an eye out for any kind of part that might be damaged by acid etc. For such a large item it is preferable to use sulfuric or phosphoric acid for the 2nd wash as they shouldn't do any damage at all to a larger (and older) DPF housing - but once again, I haven't tested those chemicals yet, so I can't say exactly how they would go. It will definitely be interesting to hear how it goes!
@@StevenBTuner l,
I replaced th ediesel in th efuel tank for drain cleaner, the car didn't run but, by-crikey, did the DPF clean up reet-good!
I hope you are joking - please don't put any nasty chemicals in your fuel tank.
I find it funny that as a byproduct of the acid cleaning, the exterior piping of the dfp became super clean and shiny as if brand new.
Hi, it is the reason you don't want to leave the acid in there any longer than necessary.
A hole saw just small enough to pass through the pipe and an drill extension. Use the hole saw to cut out a channel from one end of the DPF to the other to give you good exhaust flow.
That is the easiest and fastest way I have found to fix a clogged DPF.
This will 100 percent make you fail a MOT
@@peterhejlejensen
"This will 100 percent make you fail a MOT"
Except in the vast majority of places in the world that do not conduct an exhaust emission test.
While not as affordable, or convenient, you could buy a new DPF and put it on for the Ministry of Transportation test and then switch back so you can get better miles per gallon during the rest of the time. That way you know you will always have a good DPF for the test.
You are a star sir. That just about covers any concerns as well as explaining exactly what one needs to achieve Thank you very much from a confirmed DIY enthuasist . Peace and Tranquility to you Garry
Hi, thanks for watching, and I'm glad that the vid explained what you needed to know!
Hello, thanks for an informative video. One thought - if you can get 'inhibited' acid, normally inhibited hydrochloric acid, it will do all the strong acid things like dissolving the salts in the ash but it won't (or will barely) attack the stainless steel.
Hi, that indeed sounds like the perfect product!
Try phosphoric acid (often sold as brick cleaner or concrete etchant.) Its a LOT less dangerous to you but works very well (and safely) on boat heat exchangers without damaging the tube bundle and such. It is also used to Parkerize mild steel -- it will, in addition, dissolve the mineral chunks in hot water heaters without destroying the elements or the tank. I suspect it would be safe with the internal materials of a DPF (the oxide material) but I would check it first.
Hi, I use that in my other video about cleaning a DPF with no Cat.
Hi Steven! Thanks for the video. I'm on the need of cleaning the DOC-DPF of my Peugeot 308 1.6 HDI and I've thought about carrying out your method. I'm from Spain and the 'Everbuild Sika 401 Brick and Patio Cleaner' acid is not found here. What is its specific chemical composition? I don't want to order something too aggressive that will ruin my DOC-DPF, or anything that isn't effective enough.
Moreover, do you still think that the drain cleaner is the best option for pre-washing? Or have you found anything better lately?
Hi, for the 1st cleaning step you can also use industrial degreaser. For the 2nd stage clean you are aiming for around 6% hydrochloric acid, so whatever you buy will require watering down to avoid damage. Hydrochloric acid is also called pool acid, brick cleaning acid, muriatic acid and salt acid - I hope that helps you find some!
Great video, thank you. Perhaps measure the thickness of the stainless before and after. Also what grade stainless did you use and what grade are the DPF units made of? Likely the cheapest the manufacturers can get away with.
Hi, I found that there were three grades of stainless used on a BMW 320D DPF, so making any assumptions about what all manufacturers are using is going to be pretty much impossible. Keeping the acid contact time to a maximum of 30 minutes should prevent damage to all the kinds of steel used.
Such a great job with scientific evidences. Thank-you
Glad you enjoyed it!
I would attach a vibrating motor of some kind to the dpf during soak times to agitate the solution and act like a sonic cleaner to break up the ash and help the cleaner to penetrate.
Hi, thanks for watching and the great suggestion! It could very well reduce the total time from 2 hours down to 30 minutes, so well worth a test!
Thank you for a very informative video.
I have a question about the 1/4 to 3/4 mix of brick cleaning acid to water. Do you know what percentage HC acid was in the brick cleaner you chose? Sadly they all seem to be mixed very differently. I ask because I have access to pure HC acid but mixing that 1/4 to 3/4 will likely be way too strong and I am trying to gauge the mix.
It would be helpful if all brick acids contained the same strength but they don't and hence my question. Thanks again.
Hi, I am starting with 30 - 32% HCl, and then diluting 1 part acid to 4 parts water - so I am aiming for a 6% HCl solution that is safe enough for steel / stainless steel and the catalyst material for 30 minutes of washing. It is a good idea to neutralize the acid with lots of water and a bit of dish-washing liquid straight away too.
@@StevenBTuner Thanks. One last quick question if I may, the before and after temperature sensor will not come out even with heat. Are they OK to leave on the DPF or do I need to find a way to get them out?
@@MarkC-1970 Hi, I hate it when that happens! They could easily be damaged by the cleaning process, so there is a good chance that they will be destroyed and have to be replaced. The acid might loosen up the threads a bit though...
@@StevenBTuner All sorted and, for the benefit of everyone who has my problem, 4% HC acid did not damage my temperature sensors. 6% may not have damaged them either but I decided to go weaker and be a bit more patient on the flushing. I washed it twice in the end and it took a couple of hours with all the flushing but just like in your video there is loads of red ash comes out.
When I finished I couldn't fill it up with the hose on full and at the start it barely trickled out. Thanks again the video was a real help. The engine in my van runs amazing now so clearly the DPF was restricting the exhaust for a while before the ECU finally put it into limp mode.
@@MarkC-1970 That result is 100% awesome! Those sensors can really get stuck, so it is great to know that it is possible to still get a good clean without damaging them if you're willing to put in a bit of extra time and effort. Well done!
I didn't mention that I cleaned my1.6 HDI filter using your method in this video and would like to thank you for such an informative and easy to follow method. I also have another vehicle with the same system and will need to also clean it in the near future kindest regards Chris
Great to hear!
Great video and very well researched - I think the commercial DPF flushing machines just use water with some detergent to dissolve any oils, they also combine this with periodic blasts of air to agitate and dislodge any blockages. I got the DPF on my Audi A3 done this way and it did a great job, but still cost £250/€280 (and that was just getting it flushed, it would've been more than double that if they had to get if off the car)
Hi, thanks for watching! Yes, reasonably high pressure and a low flow rate - could even be possible to build one at home, but probably not worth the effort for something used once every 5 years...
Awesome video, One thing I would add after the acid wash and rinse is a quick bicarbonate soda wash to neutralise any acid left and stop it eating holes in your dpf :)
Hi, that's a great suggestion to make sure there is no remaining acid!
A wonderful experiment and tutorial. Thank you.
I hope it helps you out!
Is it possible to use this mix as a spray and spray it into the dpf through the sensor opening instead of taking it off? Like the foam dpf sprays but using this solution? Great viseo excellent work, thank you
There are some folks in the comments who have done it with dissolved dishwasher tabs I think, and they said it worked. I haven't looked at the method closely, so I can't comment from experience. If you do it then it would be great to hear how it goes.
can I just remove it
@@raymolony985 Remove the PDF yes if you can some are on the exhaust some at the back of the engine and a pain to remove.
As the DPF is really difficult to get to on my nissan Juke, I'm going to put it through the DPF while on the vehicle like the DPF sprays cans videos on TH-cam, but with this mix, I'll let you know how I get on, might even do a video, any suggestions on where to go in Oxygen sensor or pressure sensor?
A good idea would be to final flush with de mineralized water/de ionized water to remove mineral deposits left by tap water. Ash has less chance of sticking to a smooth surface other than a surface with a microscopic film of minerals. De ionized water also reduces oxidation. Just a suggestion. Great video.
Hi, thanks for watching, and for the great suggestion!
Thanks for a thorough, nice scientific video! Quick question: Wouldn't dumping 5 litres of brake cleaner into the filter handle the oily soot issue just as well yet faster?
Im bound to do a cleaning on the missus' car DPF next weekend, and a 5 litre of brake cleaner will only set me back £20 and some change. One less acidic mix to handle was my thought. Now, we can also buy 32% acetic acid in the grocery store here in Norway, wouldn't that be an option as well? Since you had a slow but positive effects of vinegar/acetic acid.. Pre mixed, no exothermic reaction to worry about and just ready to pour.
I can buy 4 litre cans of the stuff here.
Hi, brake cleaner has no effect on soot or ash, but strong acetic acid or products specifically designed for descaling industrial coffee machines should work well. I haven't tested them, so I will be interested to hear how your experiment goes!