Hi Mattyo,

should have told us, you probably have your wastegate not opening, generating an overboost situation that pops-up the P0234 and put the engine in safe (limp) mode.

Verify all (small) pipings near the turbo:

- there is a 3 way valve controled by the ECU
- when boost is too high, this valve opens the wastegate with turbo's high pressure output
- when boost back to normal, the valve return the pressure from wastegate actuator to turbo's low pressure inlet
- a broken or disconnected pipe will cause the wastegate not opening, thus overboosting
- a bad menbrane in the actuator would have the same effect
- a seized wastegate also ...
- and finally, an obstructed pipe aswell ...


Regards, Bernie

Bernievarian said:

Hi Mattyo,

should have told us,
Bernie

Click to expand...

ahem :wave:

mattyo said:

I'm wanting to do the same thing, take off and clean the EGT valve to hopefully resolve error code P0234 which is showing after my 1.3 goes into limp mode at 3000 revs.

Click to expand...

Bernievarian said:

you probably have your wastegate not opening, generating an overboost situation that pops-up the P0234 and put the engine in safe (limp) mode.

Verify all (small) pipings near the turbo:

- there is a 3 way valve controled by the ECU
- when boost is too high, this valve opens the wastegate with turbo's high pressure output
- when boost back to normal, the valve return the pressure from wastegate actuator to turbo's low pressure inlet
- a broken or disconnected pipe will cause the wastegate not opening, thus overboosting
- a bad menbrane in the actuator would have the same effect
- a seized wastegate also ...
- and finally, an obstructed pipe aswell ...

Click to expand...

Thanks again Bernie, this is super helpful. You're a legend

I think it could well be the wastegate. The guy at the spares place had a go at manually shifting it using a long pry bar whilst the car was on the ramp. It didn't give way which suggests its stuck?

Due to where the turbo is it's looking like it will be worth doing this job and fitting the replacement intercooler hose at the same time. I also have to sort out a replacement top strut for the nearside front shock which Tony the spares guy also identified.

So, I need to:

Clean the turbo
Replace the hose
Replace innner cv joint
Replace top strut

And then Im sorted unless I try and change the cam belt too. :bang:

Hi Mattyo,

you'll have reasonable access to the turbo from underneath. As usual, spray generously WD40 on all the rusted bolts (ENGINE COLD !!) and leave it do its magic overnight...
Source 40-60mm jubilee clips (inox) to replace the one you'll probably destroy at removal, make a sketch of the piping and have the little whistler out for inspection and cleaning.

Regarding the cam belt, the good news is your car probably have a chain instead (my 1.3mjt90 does). Not sure if it's production year related but your Fiat dealer should be able to tell.

Regards, Bernie

Hi again

After all the help and advice offered here, especially by Bernie, I'm ashamed to say I bottled it... :shakehead:

The list of jobs was getting bigger, my toolset was looking less and less fit for purpose and the amount of time I'd be sat under axel stands ever greater.

I knew of a good garage who had sorted my dad's turbo issue some years ago so I took it to them and they sorted everything out:

Free'd the seized turbo wastegate
Replaced the intercooler intake pipe
Replaced the failing inner CV boot
Replaced the failed strut top mount

AND found and replaced a broken anti roll bar which I'd stupidly conflated with the cv boot issue.

Parts and labour combined came to 120 which I thought was a bargain.

I was a little disappointed because I'd set the goal of doing it myself, but being realistic I think I made the right call. I don't like sitting under axel stands all that much and there isn't a lot of space to work with in that engine.

The good news is the car is now running really well. :yum: It will never be a speed machine but it's nippy enough for me and it's so nice to be able to put my foot down if needed without worrying about limp mode.

Thanks again for all the help and advice, especially from Bernie, it really was appreciated despite my final capitulation! Hopefully it will be of use if others come searching to solve the same issues.

Matt

Hi Matt,

thanks for the flowers ;-)
Seized wastegate, my diagnostic wasn't too far ...
BTW I think you took the right decision, if you don't know or feel comfy, don't have the right tooling / enough time, don't do it !
Thanks for the update as well !

Regards, Bernie

To be honest it was once I started looking at the strut top mount and compression springs etc I started to question whether I was being realistic. I've never taken on those kinds of jobs before and if it were just one or the other I may have had a go but as they mounted up I lost the appetite for it.

I spoke to the mechanic after the job and asked him if I could've done it and he said that it was fiddly to work in there, not much space and that even the pipe replacement was a lot more straightforward with the ramp. He said I'd done the right thing and I trust him on that.

I was really happy with the price which I thought was very fair considering parts were involved as well.

On the plus side I now have the elearn disk and I understand a bit more about my car. The advisories on the MOT are now sorted and she's running very nicely. I just drove 200 miles and she handled well.

I'm going to change the oil and filters, that should satisfy my wish to get my hands dirty without leaving me with bits taken off that I can't get back on again...

One question, I still have the Wynn's EGR clean can. Which I got when I thought the egr valve may be the problem. When I change the air filter should I use that on the intake? It can't do any harm can it?

Hi Mattyo. Pleased you've got your car sorted. I followed your thread from the beginning but was unable to assist with your issue. However regarding your garage bill, I would buy the mechanic's wife a great bunch of flowers. If only other garages were the same.

ArthurM said:

Hi Mattyo. Pleased you've got your car sorted. I followed your thread from the beginning but was unable to assist with your issue. However regarding your garage bill, I would buy the mechanic's wife a great bunch of flowers. If only other garages were the same.

Click to expand...

Hi Arthur,

That's a nice thought! I did offer to leave him a drink behind the bar at the local. They're based in the countryside in South Wales and do commercial work and cars as well I think. They replaced my dad's turbo a few years ago for a good price and so I managed to combine spending a few days down in one of the loveliest parts of South Wales with getting my car sorted.

As you're in mid wales I should add the name just in case you're ever down that way: Reeds Car & Commercial Repairs Eglwyswrw, Pembrokeshire

I was well happy. Especially as a local garage had told me I needed a new turbo based on the error code and quoted 600... I know all the horror stories about dodgy garages inflating prices etc. etc so its especially nice to be able to report a great experience.

Matt

Hi Mattyo,

there are two main ways to get the "cleaner" in, either spray in the air intake or liquid in the fuel tank. The right method should be explained on the can you bought. This is valid for Wynn's, STP, Bardhal, etc.
There is a new method coming out recently: hydrogen de-contamination. They let your engine run for an hour with hydrogen coming from an electrolysis generator injected in the intake pipe. This process is supposed to remove all carbon deposits, reduce consumption and pollution, restore performances and driving agreement... It's quoted 60€ on the continent.
Sounds promising but haven't got enough feedback to give an opinion.

Regarding the oil change, you'll need some torx to remove the filter cover shielding and a large socket (can't remember 24, 27 or 32 :-( for the cover itself. The filter is a paper cartridge that exists in two different sizes, not inter-changeable ! Source both of them, assuming you can bring the wrong one back and be reimbursed. The plug seal need to be replaced.

If you go for the fuel filter, be aware there are also two different models, I GUESS they all have the water/temperature sensor fitting at the bottom, the difference is the number of pipes at the top, being 2 or 3.

Due to the filter location (upsidedown) you will be happy enough with your dirty hands...

Regards, Bernie

Bernievarian said:

Hi Mattyo,

there are two main ways to get the "cleaner" in, either spray in the air intake or liquid in the fuel tank. The right method should be explained on the can you bought. This is valid for Wynn's, STP, Bardhal, etc.

Click to expand...

Yeah I got the Wynn EGR3, it's the spray into air intake kind. I'll probably do it at the same time as I change the air filter.

Bernievarian said:

There is a new method coming out recently: hydrogen de-contamination. They let your engine run for an hour with hydrogen coming from an electrolysis generator injected in the intake pipe. This process is supposed to remove all carbon deposits, reduce consumption and pollution, restore performances and driving agreement... It's quoted 60€ on the continent.
Sounds promising but haven't got enough feedback to give an opinion.

Click to expand...

That sounds similar to this: http://www.terraclean.co.uk/ I found that when I was looking at the EGR valve and hoping to find an easy fix.

Bernievarian said:

Regarding the oil change, you'll need some torx to remove the filter cover shielding and a large socket (can't remember 24, 27 or 32 :-( for the cover itself. The filter is a paper cartridge that exists in two different sizes, not inter-changeable ! Source both of them, assuming you can bring the wrong one back and be reimbursed. The plug seal need to be replaced.

Click to expand...

You must be psychic because when looking at oil filters I've found two that are supposedly for the 1.3mtj and they've got different diameters, not by much but I wondered how I'd be able to work out which was mine without taking it out, which obviously I don't want to do till the oil change... I was hoping there was a clever way to work it out, because if I'm ordering them online I won't be able to take the wrong one back.

I don't plan on changing the fuel filter. Car has only done 52,000 miles and there's no particular sign that it needs doing. I am thinking however about using some redex or equivalent to see if that improves performance and maybe makes it run a little smoother...?