Originally Posted by -Russ-' post='744629' date='Dec 13 2008, 11:56 PM

Hi

A couple of months back I followed Anzafin's instructions on how to remove the intake manifold and clean the swirl flaps on my 2004 530d auto, mine had the 4mm spindles and all looked in good order.

After a good clean I put it all back together and all was ok but I couldn't stop thinking what a weak design they were and after some more research I decided they had to go.

My thoughts were that I was not prepared to take the chance and run my car with the inferior 4mm spindles, so it was either buy a new manifold or remove the flaps first and see what it went like.

So this afternoon I set to and removed the swirl flaps, took me about 2 1/2 hours and after a test drive I can confirm that there is no difference in power but as Rob said when he blanked off the vacuum pipe and made the flaps inoperative it does seem smoother.

I will give it a good test and report back but so far it looks ok and no more worry about swirl flaps.

Originally Posted by stu' post='745440' date='Dec 15 2008, 11:18 AM

From a friend ("all round good egg" ) of mine at work - he posted ;
(I'm hope he won't mind sticking it here since its a tale anyone with a 2003/2004 car should read)

BMW 530dSE (the same one I've offered for sale on here a few times), 53 plate, 101,000 miles, full service history. Very well maintained and pampered by me

Leaving the car park, a bit of a rattle, sounded like a noisy tappet, so I stopped and phoned the BMW dealer in Shropshire to take it in. Almost there, there was a bang and a loss of power, but I limped into their car park.

The diagnosis was a detached inlet manifold swirl flap which destroyed the inlet manifold (punched a hole in it) then was ingested by the no 6 cylinder, bending a valve and totalling the head, no 6 piston and bending the no 6 conrod, ovalling the bore and writing-off the block.

The car was totally out of warranty but the dealer submitted a goodwill claim - 50% contribution on parts was granted.

Whilst I was in the workshop weeping over my smashed engine, I spotted that the turbo (which had been whistling a bit) was accessible and decided to see if there was any play in the rotor. Oh boy, was there. So add another ?1200 to the bill which was already ?6600 inc VAT.

The moral of the story? Well I had a car with a full BMW history up to 60k, when I bought it, and fed it on a diet of Shell Helix Ultra Synthetic every 10,000 miles since. Don't buy a BMW? Not sure.

I emailed 'Honest John' from the Telegraph. He thought I was unlucky for the swirl flap failure (this part cannot be serviced, it was sheer chance it broke off) but fortunate for the 50% contribution. He advised me to enjoy the new engine.

When I get the car back, on Monday, I shall be re-mapping the ECU and doing exactly that. My 530dSE will now become a permanent family fixture until I feel I have had the value from the new engine....


Not having ?8,000 spare for a new engine,I think Russ has the right idea for anyone with the 4mm spindles. I shall be following his wise advice as soon as I have understood how to accomplish it !

Originally Posted by stu' post='747826' date='Dec 18 2008, 03:33 PM

Anzafin and Russ, thanks for your posts and messages. Very much appreciated.
Looking forward to seeing more info if you get a moment.

I can visualize the task , but am anxious about the bolts that replace the flaps. Is there any risk of these working lose with vibration over time and entering the engine?

Originally Posted by Rob Hall' post='738838' date='Dec 5 2008, 04:37 PM

before i plukked up the nerve to disconnect the vac pipe, i clamped and unclamped the vac hose with the engine running, so opening and closing the flaps on tickover and the engine didnt respond in any way. Ive now done around 40 miles with everything driving as normal and no problems.
I agree with you Anzafin that the plug to the valve needs to stay connected to avoid errors.
The mystery deepens for me as to the purpose of the swirl flaps, i understand that they are to swirl the intake mixture at low revs, but surely youd notice a difference with them not working ? They do seem to be either open or closed as opposed to some other manufacturers that operate them via stepper/servo motors for finer adjustment, so im guessing they are quite basic swirl flap technology ?

Originally Posted by pauld30' post='825524' date='Mar 24 2009, 08:28 PM

hI there after reading lots about swirl flaps. i decided to dis connect the black and white strip vacuum pipe that runs from the electric motor to the capsule that controls the swirl flap rod. it took a while to remove it as its tight on space. i plugged the end of tube and put some tape over the outlet on th elec motor...
i therefore still have swirl flaps that do not move(permanently open) as i think this is what causes the damage, if they get choked up with sh1t try to move and snap goodbye engine. (the newer bmw s 07 on don't have swirl flaps at all)
The car started fine and runs o.k no error messages as the electrics still thing the flaps are working. the tick over does seem a little faster maybe from 800 to 850. but everything else seemed normal. see how it goes and report back.
cheers Paul

Originally Posted by Anzafin' post='825547' date='Mar 24 2009, 03:12 PM

Thank you for your input.
There's only one but; you still have the swirl flaps. Disabling them doesn't guarantee them not to break.
I suggest you remove them all off. Take a look in here.
It is an easy job after all !

Originally Posted by Anzafin' post='561410' date='Apr 14 2008, 05:06 PM

Hi.

Actually this is a continuation to my previous thread about a concern of swirl flaps in diesel engines. Here: Major diesel engine failure

The issue (in some cases) is about those swirl flaps braking off and being sucked into engine --> obvious "malfunction"
These swirl flaps are located in the intake manifold in M57N (=M57TU) engines and in M57N2 engines too (I think).
The structure could have changed in M57N2 (2005 -->), but I'm quite sure they're in there anyway...

I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and investigate this thing out in my 2004 530D (M57N) with 87000kms in it.
As mentioned in that another thread, some people have completely removed the flaps from their E39 diesel engines without any problems.
Since E60 seems to be quite pedantic about everything, I decided to keep the swirl flaps where they are. But inspecting and some cleaning
shouldn't hurt, right...?

This is a short story about removing the intake manifold and EGR and cleaning them up. And reinstalling them of course .
Maybe this could work as a some kind of DIY for those who want to do the same...
Ok, with help of TIS and RealOEM.com I started the job...

1. Disconnecting the battery:


2. Removing the acoustic cover:


3. Removing the fresh air microfilters and their housing:


4. Removing the air inlet base plastics:


5. Removing the tension strut and the last piece of acoustic cover:


6. Disconnecting things out from the intake manifold:

- Air duct from supercharger and a tube of recycled exhausts and a sensor plug and a rubber tube(which cannot be seen in the pic) on the side of EGR valve:


- Oil stick support and a sensor:


- A plug and tube from electric valve under the manifold (I wasn't able to remove them until I opened all bolts and nuts from manifold
and was able to lift it a bit). You can see these items in the another pic later.

7. Removing the intake manifold:


8. Sealing the inlet ducts with my high quality sealing fabric (old socks lol)

Originally Posted by pauld30' post='856208' date='Apr 23 2009, 02:37 PM

thanks for a brilliant write up. just got a cuple of q 's if i just want to clean my egr valve. do i need to dis connect the battery ? and if so why ? and if the egr valve is badly sooted up what problems does that give ? so peolpe on her have been saying following cleaning car runs better? and what in your opinion is the best ay to clean it ? soak in petrol overnight maybe. thankyou Paul