Fix or Sell?

'04 Jetta TDI MkIV; Meticulously maintained to 200,300 miles. Great shape. Now p2564 Code so won't pass inspection in NY State. Wires at Vane Position Sensor (G500) all good. Mechanic suggests testing "pins" on "computer", guess he means connector T60, but how do you "test" them? No pins are numbered there. VW guys want to replace whole Turbo for $$$$ (4 figures) . It is used by our daughter as her backup or 2nd commuter vehicle and with 200+K miles and with 14 Northern winters on it she doesn't want to spend a lot. Is it worth fixing or worth more selling?

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=202923

More likely than not, there's a break in the wires somewhere. It's no surprise that the VW dealership wants to replace the entire turbo. A lot of dealers would then replace the ECU if the turbo didn't fix it, then replace the engine harness if that doesn't fix it.

It's not an ALH, so toss it. lol jk. I think crazy is right, but even if you did need to replace the turbo, I would absolutely still do it, especially if the car is as you describe it.

I'd first find a better place to take it. Surely there's a trusted mechanic within a 2 hour drive or so of you.

Here at Fred's TDI Club we just about always say fix it. I've read those wires to the actuator do get damaged. What you might need is a good TDI mechanic. The PDs are nice units, fairly miss-understood.

The vane position sensor is not a critical item for daily operation. You could find a tuner to write a tune that ignores the vane sensor and then would pass the DMV test with flying colors and the engine would run better too.

Are these the smart actuator wires the PO is talking about? If so, you can have it tuned out and just have the turbo run off vacuum...Malone tuned mine out and it worked great.

We have a smart actuator off of a BEW. They can be replaced. Before insstalling the actuator, we suggest plugging the replacement actuator onto the wiring and testing to see if it still codes.

If it codes, it's probably NOT your actuator. It's your wiring. The wiring goes directly to the ECU and the wiring can be pinned out. Check for continuity. There are places where that wiring can chafe, ground out or break.

I did not know that Borg Warner replacement turbo actuators were available. I went with the Garrett actuator which was not a direct fit. I also had the VNT delete performed by Malone due to a constant CEL.

The actuator is available if you have a junk turbo laying around...

I bet the wires are broken at the connector under the split loom. Very common problem.

That and if they are broken or have been, they will likely be rotten up into the loom a ways.

Mine were, I replaced a good section almost all the way up to the firewall.

Best way to test is to unhook the loom at the ecu and test for continuity down at the actuator connector.

I vote for fix & keep. Unless you want to come to Iowa and sell cheap...LOL