Drovers Hill

Finally resolved. Turned out that the first Dawes valve they installed was faulty. They put a different one on and everything is back to normal. Erratic boost pressures due to EGR block-off and no Dawes valve yesterday (which we all know).

The car is back at the workshop. They took the Dawes valve out (but not the EGR block) and the problem still existed. Driving the car with a scan gauge showed no meaningful error codes. The boost pressures are all over the place - don't seem to be controlled at all. Hopefully the cause can be found and resolved soon. Also, there is a lot of blow by gas; when you take the oil fill cap off there is a lot of pressure. Maybe a blocked PCV valve?

Thanks for your detailed reply. Gauges going in soon, and needle valve.

Oops - forgot your other question - yes, still the factory VNT control. When I said "reputable", it was my impression because they are very concerned that it is not running properly and have assured me that they will fix it at their cost. A colleage had his done at the same time as mine (very similar cars) and his has been fine. He did his car on my recommendation and I am the one having problems.

Its an 02 manual. At this stage I haven't fitted a boost gauge. I bought the car new and have serviced it meticulously and treated it properly. The odometer now reads 223,000 km. It has been a great car. I clean the MAF sensor regularly and never notice even the slightest discolouration on it or in the cleaner that drips off. I get great fuel economy (10 km/L). In the eleven years I have had it the only thing I have had to replace is the battery - once. And the radio antenna because I was reading the paper in a car wash and fogot that the radio was still on... Obviously filters are changed as appropriate. The car has been so good that I decided to keep it LONG term. As insurance I decided to progressively fit the NADS. So I started with the EGR block off and Dawes valve. I am about to order and fit a catch can (would have done it before now but I got distracted with a dual battery system and ran out of cash). I am now planning to do the gauges too, somewhat reluctantly. I am not that interested in lots of information in the car as I drive - i like to relax as I tour. By the sound of it fitting a needle valve would be very worthwhile - people say it makes for better driveability. The odd thing with my current problem is that it only happens from 2,500 to 3,000 RPM. It will happily sit at 120 km/h. Wouldn't a boost spike happen above 3,000? The big irony is that I only started experiencing problems when I started to fit the NADS.

I recently had the EGR blocked and a DAwes valve fitted by a reputable company. At steady speeds between 90 and 115 km/h (2,500 to 3,000 RPM) I get intermittent limp mode, suggesting over boost. I took it backj to them and they reckon they can't fix it. I will be persisting until they do, but in the mean time .... any suggestions?