Help! TDI lost power with white smoke

TLH_TDI · Jan 20, 2019

When looking through the holes in the front of the pump pulley you will see a slot in the pump hub, that slot should line up perfectly with the alignment hole in the pump when the motor is at top dead center for the number one cylinder.

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Nero Morg · Jan 20, 2019

This is for a manual trans, but the concept is same for the auto. Pump and cam will be exactly the same. Mind you I don't have the cam lock plate in, but I can assure you it's all in time, set it all Thursday morning.

philh · Jan 20, 2019

Yes, manual trans

WildChild80 · Jan 20, 2019

philh said:
If that is actually what happened, I’m amazed that it starts and runs with a seemingly normal idle. Albeit a smoky one.

If the IP is off, it'll run but make for weird power delivery. If it were me I'd see if the pump would move/pulley not locked down and while you're in there look at the teeth on the belt and see if it looks like it's trying to shred itself

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Nero Morg · Jan 20, 2019

As long as you bar the engine over in the correct rotation by the crankshaft, and all three of those line up, you don't have a mechanical timing issue with the timing belt. When you bar it over, make sure you line up the crankshaft first with the trans/clutch sight hole first. Lining it up by pump/cam will give you incorrect timing readings. Found that out the fun way when setting the timing belt on the car in the pics.

Tdijarhead · Jan 21, 2019

If the ip bolts slipped a bit that would probably be the easiest thing to fix. That would involve those three bolts in Nero’s first pic. You can see in the pics how his have been moved a bit from time to time. They should look as his do more or less centered in the slots and then fine tune the timing with the vcds.

However if you’re blowing white smoke, is oil dripping out your exhaust? Is there an oily film on the back window or bumper? How’s the oil level on the dip stick? Pull the lower intercooler hose and see how much oil is in there. If you have a yes answer to the first two questions , and there is an abundance of oil in the intercooler and your oil level is low I would suspect the turbo.

philh · Jan 21, 2019

Nero Morg said:
As long as you bar the engine over in the correct rotation by the crankshaft, and all three of those line up, you don't have a mechanical timing issue with the timing belt. When you bar it over, make sure you line up the crankshaft first with the trans/clutch sight hole first. Lining it up by pump/cam will give you incorrect timing readings. Found that out the fun way when setting the timing belt on the car in the pics.

How obvious is the mark in the trans sight hole? Is it painted?

TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

Not usually, easy way to find it is look for the timing hole on the IP pump coming up to top dead center at the same time.

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WildChild80 · Jan 21, 2019

It's a whole lot easier if you have 2 people, one to turn and one to watch

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TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

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philh · Jan 21, 2019

Thank you for the additional details

TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

If you look at Nero’s photo you can just see the mark in the edge of the hole.

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philh · Jan 21, 2019

Since I only have basic tools with me, I want to make sure what I will need to check the timing mark. What size socket is the crank bolt?

TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

Not sure of the metric size but a 3/4 - 12 point will work.

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TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

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TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

Maybe 19mm

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WildChild80 · Jan 21, 2019

TLH_TDI said:
Maybe 19mm

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Sounds right

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Nero Morg · Jan 21, 2019

Definitely a 12 point 19mm, and no it's not usually painted, I did that to make it easier to see when I was close to the hash mark. Was setting a timing belt while an engine was hanging from a cherry picker.

WildChild80 · Jan 21, 2019

Nero Morg said:
Definitely a 12 point 19mm, and no it's not usually painted, I did that to make it easier to see when I was close to the hash mark. Was setting a timing belt while an engine was hanging from a cherry picker.

That'll be a thing next time I have access... painting the timing mark is a great idea

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philh · Jan 21, 2019

Nero Morg said:
Definitely a 12 point 19mm, and no it's not usually painted, I did that to make it easier to see when I was close to the hash mark. Was setting a timing belt while an engine was hanging from a cherry picker.

Yeah, I have a 6 point 19mm and it definitely isn't working.

Nero Morg · Jan 21, 2019

WildChild80 said:
That'll be a thing next time I have access... painting the timing mark is a great idea

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I just painted the starter teeth through the inspection hole

TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

Better to paint the teeth, can hardly see the mark anyhow.

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philh · Jan 21, 2019

OK, I've made some progress. Here are a couple of pictures. I think I have the crank on DTC (shiny mark) and I think I see the alignment hole on the IP. Can someone confirm?

Nero Morg · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah those are the right things. The crank doesn't quite look like it's lined up, nor does the pump sprocket, but it could be camera angles. At least your pump does not look like it's loose or anything.

philh · Jan 21, 2019

Nero Morg said:
Yeah those are the right things. The crank doesn't quite look like it's lined up, nor does the pump sprocket, but it could be camera angles. At least your pump does not look like it's loose or anything.

I agree about the crank/pump not being quite lined up.

philh · Jan 21, 2019

I went out and bumped it a little, but it was too much and went past the marks again. Does it look like they are lined up "good enough" or is a tiny bit going to make all the difference?

WildChild80 · Jan 21, 2019

When does it puff white smoke? Does it smell sweet? I would bet it doesn't but am I the only one that thinks it may be the pump?

Are you running bio?

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philh · Jan 21, 2019

WildChild80 said:
When does it puff white smoke? Does it smell sweet? I would bet it doesn't but am I the only one that thinks it may be the pump?

Are you running bio?

It puffs a steady stream of white smoke at idle. It's pretty prolific when pressing the throttle.

I am not running bio, aside from what may be blended at the pump.

WildChild80 · Jan 21, 2019

philh said:
It puffs a steady stream of white smoke at idle. It's pretty prolific when pressing the throttle.

I am not running bio, aside from what may be blended at the pump.

Are you loosing coolant?

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TLH_TDI · Jan 21, 2019

Could be some movement of the bolts, check the belt tensioner and verify that the marks are lined up right. Can you get a picture of it? Should look like this.

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Help! TDI lost power with white smoke

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