Trouble under the Hood, Help

[Go North]

2000 Beetle, 170K on it. Today I was accelerating from about 20 mph, I hit it harder than I usually do so I could make the next lite. Heard some clicking like noises and backed off, look in the mirror and huge white smoke screen. Couldn't believe I did that but I did. Anyway seemed to run ok from there to work, about 2 miles. After work it started fine but ran rough like it is missing on one cylinder. After warming up a block or two it seemed ok for 12 miles home at 60 mph. Tonight I started it a few hours later and it was rough running again, backed into my shed to put some fuel in and man does the exhaust stink, really really bad. Something isn't right.

Thoughts? Timeing belt skiped some notches? I had it changed at the specified interval. Head gasket? Oil looks OK, Collant is at the low line but it might have been there before the problem too.

Do I dare drive it?


UPDATE: Talked to a private shop that does a lot of TDI work. He is thinking the turbo went out.

 

[Franko6]

I'm not sure about the clicking noise, but if you have a turbo that is still working, you'd better be real careful and check it out.

First thing, pull the hose from your turbo going to the intercooler off. stick yoru fingers in the hole and find the center nut on the compressor. Wiggle it up and down... it should have a little bit of play, but not much... .020" is the limit... now pull in and out. There should be no travel.

The other way you could have had a runnaway engine is by overfilling the oil. You will damage your catalytic converter at least, but worse, you came close to hydrolocking your engine. What happens is you suck oil either through your turbo which is worn out, or through the CCV, from oil that being over-filled, foamed up and spewed into the intake.

Don't be too much haste to trade out your turbo if all you did was overfill your oil.

The only other thing that could happen with a runnaway like that is you have a badly worn engine and oil is getting by the rings, which at 170k, that is not very likely.

You say:

"...backed into my shed to put some fuel in and man does the exhaust stink."

What fuel are you putting in your car? Bio? WVO? D2?

PM me.

 

[Go North]

I took the thing to a private shop that is reported to be good with tdi's. I think he was too hastey to replace the turbo. First I am burning BP Premier with stanodyne added, the fuel is good, the smell is from the fuel not being burned properly. (I think)

Well, timeing was perfect but the oil resivoir was full of oil so first thing he did was put in a new turbo, (probably a waste of $$$) the manifold was 50% pluged. Well, he said it ran good now but when I got in to take it home it ran rough. Aparently it had cooled enough siting outside. He said to run it a bit it may be some soot that will work out. Well, same old rough running and stinly smoke until it warms up good. No improvement there at all. Once warmed up power is much better than it was and runs and idles OK. So, I left it with him again Monday, he threw in a working injector from another tdi just to see if it would help, no difference. Now he has ordered a compression checker, didn't have one for this vintage because they never loose compression. (right) He is thinking that oil got in the cylinder(s) causing that huge puff of initial smoke and possibly bent a piston rod slightly so it is no longer reaching full stroke.

By the way, I was thinking of the wrong vehicle mileage, this one is only at 120K.

Thoughts?