Intake elbow leaking AGAIN

[DiscoJeffster]

So after I thought this issue was once and finally resolved, it was back. Issue is the elbow/bend that’s held onto the throttle body with a metal clip keeps popping off ever so slightly causing an oil leak down the front of the engine, plus also slightly reduced performance.
Studying it in a lot of detail I found a few issues.

Firstly the plastic where the clip sits is worn allowing flex.

Secondly the section where the clip locates at the sides are slightly deformed from the stress of holding it in place, plus worn as above.

Thirdly the design itself is poor with the o-ring locating on the elbow barely millimetres past the installation chamfer. This means even the slightest movement of the elbow leads to a leak, even if the clip is still in place.

So now I know that, the appropriate fix is a new elbow and I’d also replace the locating spring clip. In the meantime however I’ve hooked up a cable tie arrangement you can see below.

It was hard to photograph however you can kind of see a bit of light above and below the spring clip. When you have it, you can see the movement would be enough to cause the clip to stay in place but still move enough to leak.
The final photo is clumps of oily residue on my accessory belt from this leak. Grrr.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/f1f2f47485bcea7b48581fde6f866e65.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/3249a37d2dbf1bd49037c13834b65ff9.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/96821b5a6be9ae54e6510ac7d1974b78.jpg

[BigJon]

How may kilometres?

From memory I have replaced an intake elbow, came complete with clip and o ring. It was to rectify a similar leak.

[BigJon]

Just checked my records. O ring was a separate part. Clip came with elbow.

[DiscoJeffster]

How may kilometres?

From memory I have replaced an intake elbow, came complete with clip and o ring. It was to rectify a similar leak.

270,000km. Well overdue I’m thinking.

[DiscoJeffster]

Bought a new “duct” as it’s known, but it’s the “elbow” 90 degree bit that bolts onto the throttle body. Mine had continuously cocked and leaked on the far side from the bolt, leaking boost and oil all down the front of the engine.

Looking at the old one I found a crack in the unit where the spring sat allowing more movement, plus wear on the metal spring and plastic housing - all adding up to it moving and leaking.

New unit so far is holding firm. That said, NOTE: there is a workshop mod to all new elbows/ducts. You need to shave the corner off the unit - a strengthening line that clashes with the coolant hose. An ex- Land Rover mechanic told me about the mod they all do.

See in the photo below.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200410/011eb157786c2b13e27d5c634502bb7e.jpg

[Bulletman]

I have this same problem , I have just done 400ks of very rough roads / corrigations and noticed the oil leak onto the side of the Y piece and I reckon my fuel economy has suffered but hard to tell on that .

when I get back home I will need to doa something similar or do as you did and buy new. Car is 2008 with 170k . I have made it a regular service job to remove the Y piece and clean the gunk from it so maybe the repeated remove / replace has worn the clip and the plastic .

Looks like another wonderful choice of plastic component from the D3 engine design team.

bulletman

[DiscoJeffster]

Just replace it. Mine has never come apart since replacing it. Previously it was always blowing off.

[Bulletman]

Just replace it. Mine has never come apart since replacing it. Previously it was always blowing off.

Did you buy local or have source from UK.

Bulletman

[DiscoJeffster]

Local. $121

[Bulletman]

Thanks , I need to investigate further but the edge of my fan blades have slight damage where they line up with the top corner of the duct. I am not sure if the whole radiator assembly has moved as well , there seems to be a lot of play in the radiator mounts on the top 164608

Hard to see but you can just see where the blade has slightly touched , and it’s on every blade

bulletman

[DiscoJeffster]

It’ll hit when the duct pops and moves. Mine did the same

[Bulletman]

It’ll hit when the duct pops and moves. Mine did the same

Ok thanks , i will stop worrying about broken rad mounts then

Bulletman

[Eric SDV6SE]

Ok thanks , i will stop worrying about broken rad mounts then

Bulletman

Hmm, check the radiator mounts anyway, on my D4 the duct moved but never hit the fan, so something else has moved on yours.

Replaced my intake elbow on DJ'S advice earlier this year at around 200,000km, no issues since, running sweet as a nut.

[Bulletman]

Hmm, check the radiator mounts anyway, on my D4 the duct moved but never hit the fan, so something else has moved on yours.

Replaced my intake elbow on DJ'S advice earlier this year at around 200,000km, no issues since, running sweet as a nut.

After thinking about it , the fan is solid mounted on the engine pulley , and the damage is on the duct side not the rad side , so if it had moved it would hit the front of the fan blades not the rear..... but I will be giving it a once over when I get home.

bulletman

[simat]

Hi all,

I had a similar situation to this recently and I'm just trying to find out if I have an underlying issue. My 2010 D4 SDV6 3.0 was towing a twin axle caravan when there was a loud bang under the bonnet, we didn’t stop but kept going for a few miles until we could safely get off the road, we still managed to maintain 30mph.

Upon inspection, the air elbow had blown off the front of the throttle control body and eventually into the fan causing a brief overheat.

I thought nice, thats an easy fix, but after refitting the elbow the vehicle couldn’t even cope with small hills and wouldn’t rev above 2000rpm in neutral and had to be recovered on a flatbed to home.


The throttle control body was full of oily soot and was cleaned and the seals replaced. Some soot from left and right inlet manifold was also carefully removed but there is still plenty in there.


MAP and both MAF sensors also got cleaned.


The DPF was removed and was seen to be completely blocked, it was then professionally cleaned and refitted to the D4 with the pressures reset and a regen cycle done using iCarSoft LR 3.0

The D4 is now out of limp mode but still doesn’t feel right. No codes have yet come up.

Whilst I was under the D4 I noticed soot around the driver side turbo as well as more than usual the amount of oil in the hose from the intercooler which may be causing the soot buildup / DPF blockage.

A few weeks before the elbow blew off a kickdown whilst driving didn’t give the expected boost and instead restricted performance came up, this cleared after a power cycle.

After the DPF was cleaned and refitted the D4 thought it would be a good time to let me know that the DPF was full ! Shame it didn't let me know beforehand.

I wonder if the elbow had already started to leak and this caused the DPF to plug over time.

Thanks in advance.

Simon.

[simat]

So i had a reputable engine specialist take a look at it and they can't find any issues, i reckon it was a sticking throttle control body valve which eventually pushed the air duct off causing the DPF to plug.

Time will tell. Might fit a screw into the throttle control body to stop the valve from completely closing thus it will never get stuck.