What happens when you remove swirl flaps?

This has the benefit of altering the torque output of the engine but mainly reducing the engine’s emissions at idle. In normal driving the swirl flaps are open, the shortest route, so by removing the complete flap there is little to no performance difference felt when driving the vehicle.

Why do people blank swirl flaps?

They are designed to help regulate the fuel to air ratio and improve emissions at low engine speeds. At light engine loads the flaps close, causing the air to swirl into the combustion chamber. The swirling affect aids combustion and helps to generate a leaner air to fuel ratio.

How do you know if swirl flaps are working?

Look into the area below the glow plugs. There you can see the swirl flaps from the top as well as the operating rod. The rod either sits on top of the swirls, or it lies next to them. If the operating rod still sits on the swirl, continue to point 5, otherwise to point 3.

Do I need to remove swirl flaps?

Long term risks. Then of course worse still, the risk of the swirl flap deforming causing it to work loose and rattle off in to the engine causing large internal damage. Therefore it is strongly recommended to have the swirl flaps removed if your Diesel BMW is over 6 years old or 60,000 miles.

What year did BMW stop using swirl flaps?

2008
BMW introduced a modified inlet manifold (with swirl flaps still fitted) trying to address this problem, the spindle of the valve is thicker and stronger, sadly this design is also prone to failure. BMW finally gave up on swirl flaps in late 2008.

Can you clean swirl flaps?

Cleaning your Intake Manifold and Swirl Flaps The moderately expensive alternative is to if possible manually clean them. Most mechanics will recommend this – Why? Because they’ll earn well from the extensive hours it takes to complete the job.

Has my BMW got swirl flaps?

The BMW diesel engines produced between 2000 and 2008 all have a particular design problem with inlet manifold butterfly flaps (commonly known as swirl flaps). If this does not stop the engine, the remaining swirl flap falling completely into the engine will! The outcome of such failure is not pretty in the slightest.

Which BMW engines have swirl flaps?

The flaps live in the inlet manifold of BMW diesel M47TU & M57TU engines (either 4 or 6 flaps depending on the amount of cylinders). These values are designed to create a swirl (hence the name) in the inlet manifold, this aids towards better combustion under light load.

Does carbon cleaning clean inlet manifold?

On manifold injected engines it cleans inlet valves and ports of sticky deposits allowing improved flow of fuel vapour into the engine. This all results in cleaner fuel burn reducing the presence of Hydrocarbons caused by unburnt fuel in the exhaust gassed.

Is it worth getting a carbon clean?

A well-maintained modern car should be capable of covering six-figure mileages without needing any major attention. Many garages will recommend carbon cleaning as a way of restoring some of that lost performance, or as a way of helping your car pass the emissions part of the MoT test.

How often should you carbon Clean your engine?

By keeping crucial engine components clean, TerraClean reduces wear and tear and enhances overall life of parts. We recommend semi-regular TerraCleans as part of a preventative maintenance schedule, approximately every 15,000 miles.

Where are the swirl flaps on a car?

(June 2012) Swirl flaps are small butterfly valves fitted to the intake manifold just before the cylinder head intake ports of many modern automotive engines, including those from Mazda, Audi, BMW, Vauxhall and Alfa Romeo.

What is the purpose of a swirl flap?

Their purpose is to ensure that the air entering the cylinder is sufficiently turbulent for good fuel-air mixing even at low engine speeds. This aids in reducing certain toxic emissions and may also improve low-end power and torque .

Where are the swirl flaps on an intake manifold?

Swirl flaps are also known as tumble flaps or intake manifold runner flaps. They are small butterfly valves situated within the inlet manifold (intake manifold) just before the cylinder head intake ports.

Is there a way to remove swirl flaps?

Our swirl flaps removal / delete solution allows you to remove physically the intake manifold swirl flaps, position sensors and actuators if you want. Or you can choose only to disable the electronic actuator function, so you can leave the swirl flaps in place.