Did I just buy a money pit? 05 tdi wagon

Car has 264k mainly worried if it has cam issues that I’m reading are so common... Pulled valve cover off more pictures to come if I’m doing it right anyhow.

I’m working on the pics sorry guys apparently I have no idea how to get pics on here.

http://pics.tdiclub.com

Free picture hosting right here on TDIClub.

Can't remember if the login is the same or if you need a new one.

Upload and link away.

you bought a vw.. if course its a money pit.. lol

http://pics.tdiclub.com/showphoto.php?photo=127734&title=cam-wear-3f&cat=500
I will work on linking them but if anyone has time and wants to click and give advice much appreciared

I don't see anything I'd be concerned about.

BEW engines like yours didn't have as many cam problems as the later BRM's.

Make sure to use a quality 5w40 synthetic oil. Lots of advice in the Fuel and Lubricants forum. Lot's of love for Shell T6 Rotella, which technically does not have 505.1 VW certification, but has many oil sample tests backing it up.

If I bought a PD with 264k I'd incorporate the cost of a new cam into the price.

Not sure I'd call it a 'money pit' just yet.

What symptoms are you experiencing? Is there a knocking sound, do you have CEL light on? When was the timing done on it last and do you know if this is the original cam?

You bought a car with over a quarter million miles on it. Depending on how it was maintained, it may need some work to catch up on repairs and maintenance that the previous owner skipped.

If I were buying a BEW of that vintage, I wouldn't be surprised if it needed a turbo (actuators fail on those turbos and aren't available separate from the turbo), perhaps a cam, although BEW cams are pretty durable, possibly a clutch if it hasn't already been replaced, and of course timing belt service if you don't have a history of the last replacement.

And that doesn't include running gear stuff like brakes, suspension, and tires. My rule of thumb is that most older TDIs that anyone buys need about $2K worth of work if you have it done, less if you do it yourself. And that's without any surprises.

jptbay said:

I don't see anything I'd be concerned about.

BEW engines like yours didn't have as many cam problems as the later BRM's.

Make sure to use a quality 15w40 synthetic oil.

Click to expand...

I assume you mean 5w40, not 15w40. I doubt there's a 15w oil that would be a good fit for that engine.

Pictures look O.K. to me, but I'm no mechanic. In my experience a cam, a crank should show essentially no wear.
It seems maybe you're main symptom is worry, reading these forums will do that. People come here with problems. Use proper oil, motor on.
Here is some helpful reading for analysis, if you need to dig deeper.
Camshaft lobe wear inspection and replacement on TDI PD engine ...
Cam photo opinions - TDIClub Forums

Thank you for all the advice and and suggestions. Paid 2700 for the car was a one owner car and seems to be fairly well maintained. I expected quirks and basic wrenching was just hoping to avoid the catastrophic cam issues I’ve researched and worried myself to death about. Seems as tho past owner ran poly moly oil which from what i read is a plus. Knock on wood no cel..... smokes on start up and I do have a strong exhaust odor inside car. Don’t think those two are linked. Clutch and belt were done at 170k clutch converted to older style at that point single mass flywheel.... suspension seems alright brakes seem decent.

Belt done at 170k? Looks like you are coming up on doing the belt again. If I were you I would go ahead and do the cam at the same time if you have extra cash since its original and you wont have to worry any more.

Belt change interval on BEWs is 80K miles. So it's overdue. Even though I sell parts I wouldn't automatically change the cam, I'd get an opinion from an expert before spending the money. Mike McCann at 413 Auto is about 20 miles from you so it would be worth the trip unless you can see the cam is obviously worn.

The exhaust smell in the cabin is probably the EGR cooler pipe leaking. If the cooler isn't correctly attache with the bracket in place the pipes will repeatedly break and leak exhaust.

Thank you was planning a belt change in the real near future. Secretly I’m hoping they put a 100k belt on just want to make sure it’s not a total toilet before investing all that money..... will an Egr delete remove the exhaust smell from the car?

When BEWs were introduced the timing belt change interval was 100K miles. Several years ago VW changed the interval to 80K miles. So it's overdue for a change.

You can bypass the EGR cooler and block off the port in the turbo to eliminate the exhaust smell, but it'll throw a code for EGR airflow unless you have a tuner write out the EGR duty cycle.

If the car is in good shape cosmetically you got a good deal, unless something catastrophic happens to it. MKIV wagons are pretty hard to come by.

To the OP: Of course you just bought a money pit. There is no such thing as a car that is an "investment" unless it is a true collectible, but even then, values can be all over the place. One year a collectible car could be worth $250k with no top in sight, and a couple of years later you can't get $50k for it.


For the rest of us normal humans, every car only costs money. Is it a money pit? Compared to what? A bunch of maintenance that costs you $2k in the first couple of months comes out looking lots better after a year of $500/mo payments on something else. You just gotta do the math, have some discipline, and don't be fooled by the new car smell.


Cheers,


PH

You have gotten some good advice.

My thoughts as a '04 BEW owner: I would get it back into good running order. Fix the stuff you know about and don't worry about the stuff that isn't broke yet.

If the timing belt is of unknown vintage, you'll want to start here.

Now as someone pointed out, if you need a cam, that would be the time to do the cam. With those miles you might consider the injectors. This can be a very expensive road to travel.

I have smoke on start up most of the time. I think a full head rebuild would take care of that, but that's a bunch of time & money for a little white smoke... (hopefully yours is white, it probably is).

I've owned mine for a few years now and have done most of the big stuff (@235K now)
Cam & TB
Turbo
Clutch
Tandem pump
Full suspension with springs
Tons of little stuff, regular maint., lots of little electrical repairs.

The one fun thing I have done is add a tune.

I have a fender and lift gate/hatch out in the garage that I should be spraying with way-too expensive paint, but I need to drag out the respirator...

I'm going to stop now, I'm starting to feel queasy ($$$)

Another BEW owner here. I bought the car with 232k on it. Thankfully the previous owner had just had a 5spd swap and the TB done at 230k at a reputable guru’s shop. I talked to the mechanic personally who said the turbo, lifters, camshaft, etc all looked good and the clutch from the swap had 120k on it and looked great.

That being said I had to do some catch up maintence. All new filters, brake fluid flush, power steering fluid flush, panzer plate, and Dieselgeek Sigma 5. I also refreshed the suspension (it was okay but was tired at 230k miles). I bought the car for $2500 and probably put another $1300 into it for the stuff mentioned above (that includes tires but that’s gonna happen on any car). Not long after the tandem pump went out and puked oil into the brake booster so they were both replaced which wasn’t cheap since I didn’t have the time or tools to make that repair. But considering it made it 240k Miles I cant complain.

My coolant temp sensor was going bad over the winter and i just replaced a rear brake caliper a few weeks ago along with my brake cables. I have to do a power steering rack swap now because of a pot hole and a used rack from a part out was $70. I have done (and will do) this work myself which has saved me a ton of money and as other has said it helps if you can do that.

Cosmetically the car is far from perfect but honestly that’s probably better since it’s my commuter warrior going 140mi round trip 14 days a month to work. So scratches, dings, and tears to the interior/exterior don’t bother me much. I keep it vacuumed, washed, and waxed and it’s treating me well.

There’s some rust developing in areas and I’m trying to keep it at bay with POR-15 and thankfully it’s not that bad yet. I was careful over this winter to keep put a good sealant on the car and after every snow/road salting event rinsed the undercarriage really well. The body is what will most likely give up down the road long before the car does mechanically

So my point in saying this is that it’s going to take some sweat equity and money up front to bring it up to par. Things are going to break unexpectedly. Plan ahead for routine maintence (especially if paying someone else) using good quality replacement parts - not Chinese Replacement Auto Parts. Read as much as you can here on the forum (and even VWVortex for some issues) and you’ll learn a ton and have a great running car.

Oh and buy a genuine Vag-com cable (either used or new). Worth its weight in gold on these cars and quickly pays for itself.