So I recently became educated about the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) on the XJ and a lot of newer diesel cars.

I don't drive my car long distances (10 min short journey though I do hit 50-60mph for small stretches). My question is, if there is a problem with my DPF not regenerating, will a light show up?

Also do products like these filter cleaners work?



Is something like that going to work at lower speeds? Or is it just a waste of money?

 

No idea on the product but you've got exactly the wrong driving pattern for any diesel, especially one with a DPF. I'd swap it for a petrol. Cheaper, up to temperature quicker, no worries about DPF.

Richard Hammond estimates you need to do 18,000 miles a year to have a diesel with DPF.

If you keep the car be sure to check the oil level (for any rise) very carefully and very often as a failed regen can destroy the engine or cause runaway (google and weep).

 

18000!!? Where does Hammond get that figure from? The average motorist only drives 10-15k which means on that basis everyone will have DPF problems.

That is a bit worrying, I'm probably doing 6-10k miles a year :s

 

You need to take it on a longer run, (about 30-40 miles), once a month or so to regenerate the DPF. A good run up the M1 near you should do it. These diesels have two Achilles Heels, the DPF and also the Exhaust Gas Recirculation valves, (EGRs), that can seize up with muck from the exhaust. It is possible to clean an EGR but it takes some time, so most Jaguar specialists prefer to fit new ones as they are not all that expensive and cleaning has to be charged-out and may not be totally successful. Being a V6, there are two EGRs.

And, yes, you will get a warning about the DPF. The problem with diesels is they give you economy by using little fuel, but all that economy can be set at nought by problems with these components. Try doing the mathematics and working out the cost of fuel for your diesel over 12 months and for a car like mine with the 3 litre V6 petrol that averages about 25 mpg over the year. There will be a good sum in favour of the diesel even with the higher cost of diesel fuel, but then that saving can be eaten into by failures of DPF, and EGRs.

 

I have used Wynns DPF Cleaner, but it's hard to come by in Oz, it's not cheap, and I wasn't convinced it was doing a helluva lot.
My story is that a combination of two things I use seems to work.

Those two things are mineral two stroke oil (2T) and Morey's Diesel Smoke Killer (DSK).

In the first few months of ownership (on a car with 52,800km on it when I bought it) I had numerous "DPF Full" messages, one of which was the dreaded 'red' one where the car went into restricted performance (RP) mode.

After a fair bit of research I started adding the Wynns DPF cleaner, then later on the DSK (100 ml in each tankful of fuel) as well. This helped, but I still got one more (orange) DPF full message.

A couple of months later, after more research, I stopped adding the Wynns and instead started adding 2T (as well as the DSK), in the ratio of 1 part per 200 parts of fuel, so roughly 350 ml per tankful.

I've never had a DPF full message since, and that was about nine months ago now.

In this time 95% of my driving has been fairly short suburban trips, ranging from 2 km to 20 km, with just a handful of longer freeway/highway trips of 100 - 400 km.
I've also noticed that the auto DPF regens are much more frequent, now roughly once every 400 km or so, or twice in every tankful of fuel.

The regens also seem to be more efficient, in that they are all over much more quickly, with an incomplete regen being much less frequent.

The claims for both the 2T and the DSK are similar, in that both claim to reduce particulate creation in the first place via improved combustion, and that they allow DPF regens at lower exhaust temperatures, so that a regen triggers earlier/easier and is more efficient.

I suspect I don't really need to use both the 2T and the DSK, and either one will do the trick, but the combo has worked beautifully for me so far so I've taken the approach of "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

Five minutes of faffing about mixing up the brew and adding it to the tank before I fill up is well worth it.

 

Thanks guys @OzXFS, I will try Wymms, though I think the opposite is true here in the UK, its hard to get hold of that Moreys brand you talk of.

@Fraser Mitchell, that makes me feel a bit better because I will do a longer trip around once a month, it makes me realise how many separate components I have to think about and worry about keeping in good nick. Long gone are the days I could just take it for a service and test with an odd check on the tyre and fluid conditions here and there!

 

You can get the Moreys DSK in the UK from here:
Rudolphs | Morey's Diesel Smoke Killer 1 litre
And this is the two stroke oil I use (after much research to make sure it is the right one):
Castrol Actevo 2T Motorcycle Engine Oil CAS-2242-7176-4 - 4x1L = 4 Litre | eBay

 

Not sure about your model, but on my XJ X358 I know I check my oil regularly and watch as it fills up due to short journeys.

It shows a service message on mine when it starts to get a little high and its an oil change for me, so I probably do around 3 oil changes a year

I do around 10k miles per year maybe a little more and mostly stop start and around town, so need to keep an eye on it.

As stated by JagV8, really you have the wrong car for the job and petrol version would be better suited.

 

here in the states, we dont get any Jag diesels.

but making a 50-200mile run would happen quite often, and we have 85MPH legal speed zones, just the state of Texas is 1000miles north to south,and 1000miles east to west, with little stopping in between.

that said,(so far no emission tests for diesels), most guys just take off the DPF and EGR, also any catylific stuff, with a pipe diameter increase , power goes up around 20% and fuel consumption goes down around 20%, and the faster you drive the better BSFC . it is a free country you know.

 

I'll keep an eye out for oil rises, just out of interest, why do oil levels rise? Where does the extra stuff come from to make them rise from DPF issues?

Lucky you can remove them, wow @ extra power and fuel consumption, in the UK if you remove it, it will automatically fail your annual MOT test :@

 

It is dilution of the engine oil by diesel fuel passing into the engine via the EGRs. I don't know the full process, but it's a well known syndrome, as is "diesel runaway" when the engine starts running on its own oil until there's none left and.......end of engine !

 

Apachegogo - Fraser has answered the question, not driven long enough to complete the cycle, unburnt fuel with essentially dump into the engine oil, at least on my model, not 100% sure of yours to be fair.....worth checking!

As stated, I keep an eye on mine and probably do around 3 oil changes per year ( they're not expensive and cheap insurance I believe )

When completing the oil change I always only fill up to just above the minimum to allow for this procedure.

Hope it helps

 

Ahh thanks

Yep thanks that does help, how do I check the model and how it works with a DPF?

 

If it's any consolation, these cars are very reliable and owners drive them for tens of thousands of miles without a problem. Just remember to drive a longer run every month and things should be OK.

 

"Yep thanks that does help, how do I check the model and how it works with a DPF?"

apache, your XJ 3.0 D will have exactly the same engine as fitted to my XFS.
The more recent XJ diesel only comes with that version of the Jag diesel.
So all the do's and don'ts that apply to the XF also apply to the XJ.

 

Thanks folks - I will

1) Monitor oil levels
2) Take it for a long run once a month atleast
3) Try some diesel additives to lower the temperature the DPF burns soot off

 

Done 97k and get avg 40mpg. Ive done 1 BG intake system clean at 64k and at next service 100k I will do it again. No Smoke, No DPF or EGR issues thus far.

The intake clean removes carbon build up in the intake system, ports and valves. improves power and performance.

Here is video of its application, you need applicator and its professional use only. Plenty GOOD garages will have the gear.

 

The above looks almost exactly like the "Terraclean treatment"

I've had this done on both my Audi A6 and around this time last year, the Jag.

The A6 had done around 87k miles or so at that point, around 50k or so in 2 years on a lot of motorway driving, then around 3 years or so at around 12k per year stop start and around town.

I did take my EGR valve off first to clean prior to the Terraclean treatment, having seen some that looked fully gunked up at lower mileages.......mine really wasn't that bad.

Personally I put this down to regular oil/ filter changes, at least one of not 2 per year, and also changing the air / fuel filter too.
The above combined witht the knowledge that a decent run on the motorway to get up to temps was required all helped in the end.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/d...ght=terraclean

Check video below where Ed Chine from Wheeler dealers does an XK8
Obviously it's a petrol but the system works in the same way for the diesels.........

Look from around 6m 30secs



Here's a pic of a generic EGR that has been removed and cleaned below...




Below one that has just been removed and needs cleaned...



These are only generic images of what some can and do look like and just how filthy and caked they can get
This is not to say yours is like this, just for reference purposes


Here's one on an Audi A6 diesel that has covered 92k miles




This is what I removed from mine, looks bad right?



To be totally fair, it didn't look anywhere near as bad as the one in the pic above from the vehicle that had done 92k
I checked and mine had covered 95k it turns out, but regularly serviced,babied and looked after...
Mine after cleaning....




Hope it helps

 

The images show badly clogged up intakes NO cleaner alone will remove all this carbon and give you a nice clean shiny assembly. They have been manually cleaned then the treatment applied, the best way to stop the build up is by using the cleaners from quite early on in the engine life before it get to the stages we see in these images. Having been in the trade 35 years i can vouch that the BG system and products are by a long shot the best in use. Think of the build up as cholesterol clogging up your arteries, and if you treat it very early and regularly you will maintain and improve the blood flow (in a car its air flow)and have good performance and economy.

As for Ed China's endorsement I wouldnt rely too much on that, professional techs find him hilarious and sometimes infuriating, I recently watched him do a compression test on an old MG and he was looking for 175 BAR! of cylinder pressure...... Not Saying Terracclean is bad BG results speak for themselves the system cleans the inlet manifold tracts, inlet ports on the cylinder head and the valves.

 

Agreed to some degree.......see my comments in my earlier post copied below

"I did take my EGR valve off first to clean prior to the Terraclean treatment, having seen some that looked fully gunked up at lower mileages.......mine really wasn't that bad."