Ecotek Valve

What/where is it, fuel pressure regulator or something? Some context would help.

Dave Hinz

go here for a load of sales talk...

supposedly causes turbulence in inlet manifold and therefore better low revs burn, fuel efficiency etc.

previous owner fitted his on pipe to brake servo, I'm not over happy with that, if anyone thinks this thing is worthwhile I may tap it into inlet manifold.

To be honest, I think it's just snake oil, but wondered if anyone else had experienced using one.

Cheers

Al

Remove it, for the love of all that it Saab like, and do it now!!

Why is it that Ecotek touting morons think that their crappy vac-operated valve that some kid made in his garage will improve the sophisticated induction system of any car, especially a turbo??

Heh - it's a great, big, hairy con Dave. One of the finest varieties of snake oil available this side of the pond.

Basically, it is a vacuum operated air valve, which opens when the manifold pressure drops below a certain point. On a NA engine, this lets in more air, weakening the mixture, and leading to an apparent increase in MPG.

In reality, all it does is reduce the engine's output, and cause it to run hotter.

Yup, as suspected, snake oil! If these things worked then manufacturers would build them in as standard I guess.

At least I can put my hand on my heart and say "it wasn't me"

I will remove it this weekend.

It was the bit about reducing engines output that sealed it for me!

Once again many thanks.

Whilst I'm here, I'm getting a howling noise from front left of car under boost, needle goes just above halfway across orange. I suspect a leaking joint, or possibly leaking fins in intercooler? (bit like a reed in a clarinet or sax) Your opinions would be much appreciated.

Al

Most welcome.

You have a leak. :-)

I've never actually seen a leaky intercooler, although I have heard of it happening.

There's n easy answer. Open the bonnet, and start examining all hoses and joints. Wiggle them. Look closely. Hope it's there, and not behind the dash.

Kind of a "magnets in the fuel line to align the molecules" type thing then?

But, wouldn't that...

Yes, but that will...

That. Pretty much same thing as being lighter on the loud pedal, only it screws up your emissions. Yup, yank it out.

As always, our esteemed Grunff identifies the problem.

The frequency should give you an idea of the size of what's leaking. An in-dash hose would be a whistle, not a hoot. A hoot, to me, means something larger than the 6mm hoses in the dash. (techie terms, sorry...)

Dave

I believe the same manufacturer makes those too.

My overboost fuel cut switch had a leaky diaphram that would leak about about 50% boost, that made a hoot sound and cut me back to base boost.

You can get to it through the LH speaker grille with some wiggling.

It is the one with two hoses and one wire, and an adjustment screw in the top. The other one is the boost pressure sensor I think.

If it is the overboost switch, leave it wired in place, and remove the two hoses and join them together.

I had full and immediate boost back.

My plastic topped 15 row intercooler had a crack in the plastic, which was not visible without putting some serious pressure on the cast intercooler to throttle pipe. It prevented boost rising above half a bar, leaving my T8 a mere LPT :) I suppose araldite or similar plastic cement might repair it, but I got a better flowing 9 row one from a later model.