What damage does a swirl flap cause when it comes off.

Swirl flaps. ive done lots of videos on deleting them but this is the first on what damage they can cause if one comes off into your engine.
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thanks Neil at Italia Autos.

[@todorivanov2272]

Thank you for the great work done. The car is running smooth now.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Good stuff.

[@MitakoBG]

Братле, колко ти излезе всичко при тоя?

[@todorivanov2272]

@@MitakoBG Двигател, обслужване с ремъци и клапи, плюс съединител с маховик £2100

[@ThePigletpilot]

Thanks, confirms what my Alfa mechanic has told me about the expense of maintaining these cars. Love my 156.

[@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

YOR MECHANIC IDIOT. IT COSTS THE SAME AS ANY OTHER CARS BUT LESS EXPENSIVE THEN NOTORIOUS BMW

[@patonthebottombasketballfo5962]

Been here since 500 subs, the content just keeps improving, great stuff. Saved me a small fortune on my GT in a year 👍

[@ItaliaAutos]

thanks for sticking around. always said vids would get better. if only i could stop saying erm! lol

[@suchfest]

vids are getting better each time. keep up the good work

[@ItaliaAutos]

thanks.

[@theberengersniper]

I've just found your channel, although now I have I remember you being mentioned in Car Mechanics magazine quite frequently. Glad I found you, the channel is amazing!

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks for the info! what magazine would live to find whats been said.

[@declanpboles]

I bought an Alfa 147 twin spark top speck to sell on. In all my years of fixing and selling cars this is the first Alfa I bought and my wife and both kids (20) plus went out to the garage to see it. My wife said to me don't sell it there is something about it. It is the first time this has happened.. that is Alfa love.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Enjoy.

[@davidvarela8739]

I really appreciate your videos. I m a 159 owner trying to do everything possible by myself. I m waiting for a video covering a clutch ajustment/repair for a selespeed ;)

[@MyJarrus]

this guy has done this so many times he knows exactly what to do

[@ItaliaAutos]

wouldnt have a clue sorry.

[@steve24550]

Love it ! Commentary is excellent.

[@ChrisAlvarezAlvarezImaging]

Love the channel! I restore and repair vintage Alfas over in the states. Wish we had 159s over here! Great content man, keep em coming!

[@ItaliaAutos]

Chris Alvarez very nice, what state are you in.. I love dodge challengers wish I could have one in the UK.

[@ChrisAlvarezAlvarezImaging]

@@ItaliaAutos The only state most Brits ever see, Florida.. haha! I thought you guys had dodgy Dodges over there, one of my Instagram followers from the UK drives an SRT Jeep, I think it's the same family of vehicles. Anyway, I'll trade you a Dodge for a pristine 159 sportwagon any day 💪🏼😉

[@Nelson1234]

Great work .hope all is good

[@iankelly2110]

New subscriber from Ireland keep up the good work

[@ItaliaAutos]

Welcome and thanks for watching.

[@terryatkinson3182]

You are not the only one. Good channel, I'm into fiat's myself as a hobby.

[@sm70911]

Neil really enjoy the channel, and love to look at these beautiful noughties era Alfas. Hopefully if our 25 year import law gets reduced to 18, I will be able to import one. Gotta say among all the hyped and happy car builds on youtube with all these guys in their over branded merch you showing up in your old coveralls with your dry self deprecating grumpy old bloke persona shows what true enthusiast you are for this historic brand.

[@ItaliaAutos]

dont know weather thats a complement or not lol

[@sm70911]

​@@ItaliaAutos it is 👍Keep the content coming.

[@therushden]

My 2.4 was a money pit. Sometimes you just gotta call it a day. Great vid 👏

[@andgate2000]

Live and learn.......it an Alfa.

[@salvofarnia8046]

Never, worth the joy and pain. Spending on a mundane car would be far more painful

[@emilz85]

​@@salvofarnia8046 YES!

[@plonkster]

Oh I had a E46 BMW 320d with the old intake (2.5mm stems on the swirl flaps) and as a preventative measure I removed them and put on blanking plates.

[@chrisderby986]

Another great video mate.

[@kaidan87piebald69]

Grazie del tuo prezioso lavoro. 😍alfista

[@marchutchings8834]

Bud i am subscribed. Excellent videos, good on you and wish you welll.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Much appreciated!

[@happyhermit2022]

Excellent and really interesting thank you

[@ItaliaAutos]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@marchutchings8834]

Great work, very much enjoy watcing your videos. Wished I worked along side you. Cheers.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks 👍

[@RumpleXstillXskin]

Great video 👍

[@staxalot8587]

Great vid thanks

[@rogermay808]

Good job mate. We had the same issues with E46 320d and similar age 520d. Those swirl flaps on are just a damn nuisance and poor design

[@peterboot7120]

👍 sounds healty again. good Job .but like my Twinspark sounds Its speciaal 💪

[@salvofarnia8046]

Twinny is a rorty gem

[@MichaelHarwood0]

You are awesome!

[@robertmcdougall8409]

How i envy your skills..... Just subscribed.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks very much. Plenty more videos for you to watch all alfa related.

[@fsafombe9195]

Nice job. Actually it was good with the chat during the breakdown. Maybe a little bit slower fps so anyone can slow down the video n see what to do? Not sure if its needed tho.

[@Dave.S.TT600]

Subscribed! because you asked me to Hahaha Great content. PS some nice rust-free Alfas (compared to england) here in dry south australia

[@danieleiaccino8008]

grazie bravissimo

[@aaabbb356]

You know your onions lad! 👍

[@95fakher]

I have the same car with the same engine i have a problem with the ac when i engage it when its on stop there is no cold air coming out or maybe a little bit sometimes . I have checked the cooling fan and it dont turn on when i engage the ac just occasionally . I only get cold air when im on highway or something . The ac is charged and in good condition i had it changed . I did a test by disconnecting the temp sensor on the thermostat for seconds and the fan blasted at high speed and the ac did its job with very cold air. I was thinking its the resistor on the fan is bad or the relay maybe ? By the way you have a great channel thank you for all the videos they are all helpful keep up the good work .

[@zoze]

I have a 1.9 jtd/103kw engine in my Alfa and these swirl flaps failing is something I do not wish to experience. Where I come from the engine is not considered a spare part, so replacing it just like that is impossible... Great video, now I know what to expect if I hear a rumbling under the hood.

[@dzejlanavdic165]

Jtd 103kw doesnt have swirl flaps just euro 4 110kw

[@zoze]

@@dzejlanavdic165 Wow, that is a solid piece of information! Thank You!

[@dzejlanavdic165]

@@zoze what happen to your car? Im mechanic

[@fsafombe9195]

Maybe you should try these on let's say change air filter, do a speed cam and talk over it. People like fast n short guides

[@karlos1060]

Nice car, it's a European model i see? You steped out the right side 😁 I'm wondering what does labor cost in the UK? Maybe i could visit one day with my 156 1.8 for a good service!

[@gwo7610]

Great work, all could of been avoided with a de flapped manifold, it's the first thing I did on my gt

[@ItaliaAutos]

yes id recommend it to all owners.

[@CrazyKosai]

@@ItaliaAutos If you replace it, will the control unit signal error?

[@luigicirelli2583]

could have

[@Midzark]

Dam swirl flaps!! Mine started to play up at the motor which makes them open and close and was leaking on top of the engine so had them removed and deleted from the ECU, also did the same for the EGR and now my Astra cdti 1.9 150 Sri has never run so smooth and I NEVER have to worry about a stupid swirl flap going into the engine I’m also getting around 10/15mpg more too whoop

[@mofo1739]

Great video Neil , did you delete the swirl flaps on the replacement engine

[@ItaliaAutos]

I sure did

[@klaasklaase6798]

Okay just wondering, if you would put back everything together with the debry removed how should the engine run.................

[@carlwilliams4705]

hi. can i ask, did you have to reprogram the injectors to the cars ecu. i have just fitted a secondhand engine to my gt and have read i need to do this. it seems to be running ok but not driven it yet

[@tychosteuten]

Hey Neil, do you happen to know if it's hard to swap a 2.0jtd in a 1.3jtd mito?

[@tommike8830]

Hello to all , I’m planning to go throughout the well-known process- removing the swirl flaps . I bought manifold originally without swirl flaps from Alfa 156 1.9 .. Diagnostic also shows that the egr valve is faulty . My question is - if i change the manifold without those stupid flaps and buy a new egr , will the dpf get regenerated without any problem ? The mechanics said he will let the motor of swirl flaps plugged . Thanks 🙂 Engine 1.9 jtdm 110kw Alfa Romeo 159

[@Riddle6EOS]

Hello been following for some time. Im heavely considering an Alfa 159 as my next car. Proberly Will be a gasoline engine. But the common problems ppl bring up. Is that alfas blow there engines. Is the flaps the common case of this? Or are there other Things to watch out for? I work on trucks. And I bet I can pull this job/maintance out my self. Sorry for bad english.

[@miroslavstudenic8767]

hi,,AR 159 engine 2.0JTDm?thanks,,and happy new year

[@davidwilson581]

Same emgine as the 1.9 Alfa diesel, ,my saab TTID had the plastic swirl flaps ingested and now i have a remap with egr blanked off and blanking plates on my manifold. Question is do you lose low down torque in performance as i think i do. Would a new insignia flapless manifold perform better then the work i have had done with my blanking plates using my existing manifold?

[@timj41]

Does the flap delete make the car run any differently?

[@chincheehong5843]

Is the 2.2 jts engine unreliable?

[@budakbengkel3921]

Hi boss , pls do 159 selespeed clutch service , need ur help

[@MrChichibabin]

Fantastic work. Can the swirl flap problem happen with the 159's 2.0 jtdm engine?

[@lieberfreialsgleich]

MrChichibabin yes

[@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

BLOCK EGR, BLOCK FLAPS AT HIGHER THEN 2000 RPM AD AND HIGHER THEN 30MM3 INJECTION. EGR CAUSES THEN TO FAIL, BECAUSE OF SOOT + HIGH BOOST, SO BEST TO DISABLE FLAPS AT HIGH LOAD.

[@stuartlew1229]

love the music .... not quite Swedish erotica ... but close

[@ItaliaAutos]

Someone normally moans about the music so I went for something totally different.

[@stuartlew1229]

@@ItaliaAutos mate its good

[@letsflyaway1]

I did it an have a gulietta on the drive.

[@ilBarbonauta]

Plastic intake manifold with alloy swirl flap?

[@peterboot7120]

👍

[@legionsk1208]

I was wondering if it's possible to change a motor of an Alfa when you have for example 1.8ts to a bigger one like 3.0?

[@fusrodahsamb]

Its possible but its cheaper to buy 3.0

[@alfistapersempre7182]

Whats wrong with rosso 155 ?I see her on all your videos,and she dont move.

[@mspencer8791]

Great video, very informative. In your opinion what is the swirl flap failure rate? I have 1.9 GT (2005) that I am not too keen to delete and then remap, I would rather keep her as original as possible. If it's a 1/1000 chance of the flaps breaking then I will take my chances. Also, is there any preventive maintenance we can do, and how often, to ensure that the swirl flaps are kept in good condition?

[@anubaral]

Yea, delete the damn flaps. Nothing good in that system. Welcome to the world of plastic bushing with plastic mecanism on top of a hot engine! Very poorly design but easy to delete while doing a timing belt job. Also if you have a 8 valve engine you don't have this issue

[@ds1868]

Swirl flaps fitted from 2006 with cf4 engine so if yours is 2005 cf3 then no Swirl flaps.

[@youtubeshowedmehow7546]

@@ds1868 Thanks for the info. Is there a way I can confirm the engine is a CF3? Is it something I can find in MES?

[@theEskalaator]

@@youtubeshowedmehow7546 Just look if you have metal or black plastic intake. Plastic = bad

[@budakbengkel3921]

Timing chain replacement on 2.2jts

[@autoazure]

Great again Neil however, hard to concentrate with that muzak playing in the background (a wee bit too loud).

[@ItaliaAutos]

My error on this one.

[@James-od4cz]

Is there anyway to tell if a car has had them removed by a previous owner ? (sorry if this sounds dense)

[@salvofarnia8046]

Stick a camera down into the inlet manifold. I check all dour of mine, camera works from app on phone. My egr is blanked and all four are still shiney stainless after 5 years, you can see the criss cross marks on the flap openings.

[@RedEyedJedi]

How much did this cost the customer to have the engine changed?

[@drincogni]

I wanted to know something. 1. How many miles or km did that engine do till it had its swirl flap incident 2. Did the owner do regular maintenance up to that point. 3 what engine oil did they use in that engine so far before and what did you put in the new engine. Many thanks. Oh 4. Do you mail parts or kits to clients who are outside of the UK?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Hi I have no idea about servicing or oil but car was well looked after. It was a higher milage car. Ill mail parts best to email me directly.

[@todorivanov2272]

I service my car every 6.5k miles or 10k km. Had car for two years now in my hands it is fine but before that not well maintained. Everything in engine bay is now pretty much new. New Aircon compressor and condenser last summer. New turbo last spring, new egr new brembo discs and pads. Now engine is done and clutch so hopefully every issue is covered now

[@todorivanov2272]

Had it mapped today as well now it's about 185bhp and it is freaking faaaast

[@drincogni]

@@todorivanov2272 thank you guys for the answers, i am at day 2 of self quaratine after outbreak here, infected is at 14 officially.😑

[@airqoo]

Hello, my 147 1.9 plastic manifold will leak water. Can it be closed with a rubber stopper like 159 in the film? Does it affect engine performance?

[@gwo7610]

It needs removing and a new gasket will sort it

[@airqoo]

Thank you for answering Not a gasket！ Plastic joint water pipe above manifold

[@gwo7610]

I'll open my bonnet and have a look for you today, see if I can help you out

[@dontcrushme]

Hello. I am in this situation. Do you lose power under 2000 rpm if you delete flaps vs flaps working well?. I have 2 options. 1 install new actuator + intake . 2 delete flaps.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Small amount but a remap will sort it. Most people don't notice it

[@dontcrushme]

@@ItaliaAutos thanks. What do I need to ask for my remapper? More acceleration in low rpms in the new map? Thanks in advance! Also... Is a good idea to delete egr in this process?

[@benrage5373]

How much do you charge for a swirl flap delete ? Trying to get an idea of the going rate kind of bad luck finding out about this as just had a new cambelt 800 miles ago 😅

[@ItaliaAutos]

best to email me. thanks neil

[@fusionisgodlike]

Hey, do the old 1.9jtd 85kw engines have swirl flaps?

[@maticsajovic3142]

If its a cf3 engine, then no.

[@lee2217]

Are these engines any good you here loads of problems with them Or is it caused by neglected maintenence

[@ItaliaAutos]

Neglect or improper use. Pretty reliable engines. Been used for many years. Just delete these flaps.

[@richardbarrett7998]

How many miles had it covered until the swirl flat let go?

[@ItaliaAutos]

About 160k

[@todorivanov2272]

140 actually

[@M3Benn]

Hi Neil, do you buy cars privately? I’m from Cheshire and have an Alfa I’ll need to sell in the next week or so.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Yes i do buy some yes. Best to email me details and pictures.

[@M3Benn]

Italia Autos will do 👍

[@bojanlackanovic1194]

This repair probably costed as much as car does :D

[@todorivanov2272]

It does but I have already spent a lot on the car to throw it away. Plus to get another I would still have to go through many repairs. At least now I know all under the bonnet is sorted for good.

[@bladibacar7445]

Does 156 FL 2.4jtd(129kw) has those flaps aswell?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Pre 2005 cars don't have them

[@bladibacar7445]

@@ItaliaAutos thank u very much

[@bryantimmins339]

Have Volvo xc 90 with filthy swirl flaps….just wanted to share that

[@simong8114]

How much would it cost to de flap a 147 ducati corse?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Send me an Email to [e-mail]

[@drincogni]

They did not prioritize repairs on this car and it seems the owner doesnt know much about mechanics or got unlucky.or got too many cars to bother.Neil around how many km /miles did that 159 do?

[@ItaliaAutos]

i dont think the customer had had the car long before this happened.

[@Chris-jy3dm]

Did you remove the swirl flaps from the new engine 🙈

[@ItaliaAutos]

yep

[@simeunovicm]

How can big flap pass under valve?

[@ItaliaAutos]

There not that big and there really thin so if your luck they pass into the exhaust and get stuck there.

[@mazi16v]

Video is great, but please don't use music

[@adamgreen7524]

How do you remember where all of the bolts come from, and ensure they all go back in the right places!?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Repetition and a methodical layout once there off.

[@andgate2000]

How the hell do you remember where which nut/ bolt goes back.

[@ItaliaAutos]

I’d like to say I have a good memory but I don’t lol

[@SayWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

PROBLEM IS EGR!! PEOPLE SHOULD BLOCK THAT SHIT WHEN THEY BUY NEW CAR! WITH NO EGR FLAPS WOULD NEVER FALL OFF.

[@ItaliaAutos]

yep.

[@rhiantaylor3446]

Seemed like a lot of movement in that new engine, just wondered about the engine mounts ?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Rhian Taylor just checking you where listening when I spoke before I started the engine. 😀. Thanks for watching

[@organiccold]

Thats way we take them out, before they do that.

[@ItaliaAutos]

sure is.

[@1BCamden]

swirl flaps removed ?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Yes.

[@LeeFall]

9:54 bouncy engine mounts?

[@ItaliaAutos]

You wasn't listening where you. Lol 😆 🤣

[@LeeFall]

@@ItaliaAutos I know I was kidding ;)

[@ItaliaAutos]

Good stuff. 😁

[@lucianoaliquo6629]

Thank goodness I deleted mine

[@organiccold]

Best thing to do

[@ItaliaAutos]

yep its for the best.

[@Paul_C]

Stupid question: What the hell is a swirl flap and where is it located?

[@ItaliaAutos]

I'm pretty sure I show it all in the video. I have also done other videos on the. Should clear up your questions 🙂

[@peterdevreter10]

Love alfa's but when they bite you, they bite hard. Had two 147's 1.6ts and both engine the timing belt jumped. Damage looked the same different cause. Timing belts were both within the interval :(

[@ItaliaAutos]

the biggest bills i have to dish out are normally on gtas or 159s.

[@pablorages1241]

How the hell does that happen ... is it a design fault?

[@plonkster]

Metal fatigue and EGR. Or so I was told at least. Modern engines have EGR. They suck some of the exhaust gas back into the intake, because that lowers combustion temperatures which reduces Nox, plus on a Diesel some of the unburnt hydrocarbons (soot) gets a second chance at being consumed, carbon monoxide gets another chance at finding an extra oxygen atom... and so on. But that means soot gets into the intake and it clogs around the pivot points of the swirl flaps, and this causes enough resistance that over a long period (150 000km and up) metal fatigue is induced and they break off. BMW had the same issue on E46 320d engines. What they did was uprate the intake to the one used on the 330d, which had thicker stems on the flaps. Some people also deal with it by deleting the EGR, but that might not be legal in all countries. The best solution is a flapectomy: Just remove the swirl flaps. My take on it: European vehicles are not designed to last as long as Japanese vehicles. Hence, since I live in Africa, I simply don't buy European vehicles :-)

[@warrencarl9797]

And then you converted it to left hand drive. Well done.

[@nigellynch1]

why the irritating music?

[@terrymoogan8445]

No music ... Please...

[@ItaliaAutos]

this weeks video has no music see how you like that.

[@terrymoogan8445]

The music is a distraction to listening to the engine and commentary, many thanks . Just a simple well presented video.

[@psk5746]

What is a swirl flap?

[@funv3188]

Yeah, why the f are they invented those flaps ? For the car to be more dynamic on slow driving ? What a nonsence. Jus by the idea itself.. rotating swirl above engine, trough which exhaust gasses come in, carbon stuff build up. Engineers must be smoked something :) Even on intake you have two rows, one with fkaos other without. So jus if want something like tat, it coukd be done valve on plastic iintake cover itself like bypass (so could safely take and clean in time, but not above enine so it can fall inside.

[@mrbumpy100]

Unfortunately I had to stop watching a very interesting and informative video due to the horrendous music! I personally would rather listen to just your voice explanation of that tear down. Personal opinion only.

[@TheOffroader7458]

Ill be glad when diesel engines are gone.

[@salvofarnia8046]

Lol

[@nickduffy8482]

Really annoying background music diminishes the enjoyment of the video. No need for additional soundtrack.

[@solstar4778]

Sounds terrible

[@ItaliaAutos]

All diesels sound terrible expecially on video.

[@matteofiandri1495]

I find the sound of 1.9 JTD great, also like the sound of the 1.3 Multijet. They are engines you can recognise also with closed eyes because of their characteristical tickling. With them you don't get bored like with other, too silent, engines

[@fusrodahsamb]

156 2.4 20v sounds the best imo

[@ItaliaAutos]

@@fusrodahsamb it does sound pretty good.

[@colinhallmitchell]

great cars to drive and look at but dreadful engineering and worthless after 3 years

[@Gw0wvl]

Could have done without the awfull music that's LOUDER than your narration 👎