Can a bad tune destroy turbo and engine

Just picked up a 2003 Jetta TDI 5 SPD. previous owner said he had someone put in a personal tune and not long after the turbo blew. He got it fixed and not long after the engine blew. He had that replaced and now the used engine that got installed is making a racket. Can a bad tune do this? He had the EGR deleted, removed the muffler and gutted the cat. I'm trying to determine if the engine is toast. I've got a couple spare parts cars, do I take the ignition, cluster and ecu out and test it that way? Any suggestions? Thanks

Absolutely.

Yep........

Sadly, yes. The more time goes by the better I think it is to keep these cars stock, or limit mods to a mild tune from a reputable tuner.

A mild tune is always pretty safe, and I agree from a reputable person. It preserves the already excellent driveability of these cars with no sacrifice in economy or longevity.

I've dreamed of having something like what dark side built (400hp ish) ALH golf IIRC...but the one that I have that has a medium tune is good enough, it's responsive and didn't sacrifice much FE.

Yes a bad tune car trash many things. Even a good tune from a brand name can if you're car isn't running right. If you follow what your tuner tells you, you're usually safe.

What is this weird noise it's making? Use a screw driver or broom handle and try to isolate it's general location. You can pull the serpentine belt to rule out auxiliary components making noise too.

How does it cold start, does it stutter and stumble and smooth out, does it feel like you have a missing cylinder.

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I've only had it running to load onto a dolly. It wouldn't idle and stalled a few times. With no muffler it was tough to isolate the noise and I didn't want to damage it any more then it already is. I'll bring it into the shop this weekend to figure it out. I'm thinking I should start with a used ecu to get it to idle with the factory tune. I'll post the findings this weekend.

Just keep in mind the immo when swapping ecus.

I think it was Powder Hound that commented that an engine has a finite amount of energy output. Less energy in, longer energy output. The more energy in, the more energy out at the sacrifice of less run time; all things being equal, which of course they never are, but you get the gist.

I rarely hit full power on my Golf, but am fully aware that pushing it beyond stock performance will shorten its life expectancy. Rugged little
engines, but any more bump in power for me will really start pushing the limits of my stock internals.

True, however longevity reduction of even 50% may still net an engine that is good for a quarter million miles. It really ends up being other things that get taxed too... like the clutch, flywheel, transmission, drive axles, etc. Also, no matter the peak output of the engine, it still takes the same amount of energy to move a car down the road. Once at speed, anyway.

In the OP's case, it sounds like the tune was more of a tax on the turbocharger, and perhaps the driving habits were such that it just couldn't take it. And a turbocharger catastrophe can of course cause an engine failure, even though the engine was not the root problem.

I think some of the higher output TDI builds in A4 platform cars tend to be a chore to drive. That much torque driven through just the front wheels of a relatively light car gets to be a bit much after a while. Be it from excessive clutch pedal effort to work the extra strong clutch in charge of keeping the engine firmly linked to the transmission, or the crazy torque steer that comes on like gangbusters all at once (which is can be downright dangerous in slick conditions), or the sometimes BAD turbo lag that comes from using a much larger turbocharger.

I think part of the charm of these engines is their ability to be tuned within a reasonable window with otherwise stock components and still be reliable and no more of a challenge to drive that they originally were. Which is to say, not a challenge at all. In fact they are probably one of THE easiest manual transmission cars to drive period.

I had my Wagon tuned at 30K miles (Upsolute!), and by the time it had 80K on it it was making about 155/260 at the wheels. At 170K I bumped it up further to 185/320. Drove it like that for another 120K, including using RC's 6000 RPM tune and more track days than I can count. By 295K the engine was done. Rods bent, bores ovaled, valves wiggling in the guides. It still lasted nearly 300K miles. That's pretty impressive, I think.

Current engine is making "only" about 140/260 at the wheels, and is doing great at 110K miles. I expect this engine will last as long as I care to drive the car.

Jeff at RC says three things destroy engines: Fuel, revs, and timing. If the home made tune had an excessive amount of any of these, disaster may follow.

oilhammer said:

In fact they are probably one of THE easiest manual transmission cars to drive period.

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and it gets even better if you adjust the torque limit, smoke, and drivers wish maps so that instead of stalling when you lug them down below idle they'll take off just like a mechanically governed engine will.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I had my Wagon tuned at 30K miles (Upsolute!), and by the time it had 80K on it it was making about 155/260 at the wheels. At 170K I bumped it up further to 185/320. Drove it like that for another 120K, including using RC's 6000 RPM tune and more track days than I can count. By 295K the engine was done. Rods bent, bores ovaled, valves wiggling in the guides. It still lasted nearly 300K miles. That's pretty impressive, I think.

Current engine is making "only" about 140/260 at the wheels, and is doing great at 110K miles. I expect this engine will last as long as I care to drive the car.

Jeff at RC says three things destroy engines: Fuel, revs, and timing. If the home made tune had an excessive amount of any of these, disaster may follow.

Click to expand...

This is also my story. I had RC3 for a long time and it was 140/240 at the wheels. The turbo went so then I went large FMIC, VNT17-22. PP520 RC 4.5: wow that was a fun car until the rod went through the block at 315,000 miles.

So now on my 2003 Wagon I am going to go PP520's and RC3.

Pretty similar to what I have. PP357s, 11mm pump, ASV RC3+ (19.5 PSI). My all time favorite setup. I've had a string of 50 MPG fills this fall. Hard to beat that.

RaceChip gts with app control

Hey guys, I have A 2013 vw golf and it came to me used. I went and got the racechip gts for 550$ And an air intake (yes ik ppl freak out when they hear I have A cold air box on my diesel) but the racechip has caused serious issues. Tore through 2 egr’s and A dpf. Be careful out there lads ??

Everyone's TDI has a cold air intake. Volkswagen equipped all of them from the factory like that.

Found partial problem. #1injector seal leaking badly. She idles rough and when I try to move it, she smokes and all I hear is the turbo spinning. Is that what happens when you remove the muffler?