1972SS454
Veteran Member
Hey guys, my name is Derek and I have been on here since shortly after I bought my 09 Jetta TDI new. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a second TDI just a couple weeks ago. It is a 99.5 Baltic Green Jetta TDI 5-speed with 312,000 miles. I had been eyeballing the car for over a year and a half after I moved into the neighborhood where her previous(original) owner lives. After seeing the car get towed back to his house (failed starter) I decided to ask him if he would consider selling it. The next week I had my second TDI in the driveway. The car has black cloth interior (YES!) which is in great condition, except for the shift boot, stupid foam steering wheel(replacing both with leather) and the sticky gooey soft-touch junk. (Soft-touch elimination mission is in full swing and nearing completion)
How she looked when i bought her:
I was able to VAG-COM the car prior to purchasing and knew that it was in limp mode. So, I read up on here about fixing limp mode before I bought it. Maintenance records showed the intake manifold had been cleaned at 120k, so I figured it was a clogged intake manifold, so I started dis-assembly. When I pulled the EGR valve off, it had no build-up and looked brand new on inside. The intake manifold only had about a 1/8 inch coating of build-up on it. Not bad enough to cause limp mode by itself I thought. So I put the car up on jack stands and checked out the turbo and actuator. Saw that the flex section in the exhaust was leaking out both ends and that the turbo actuator appeared like it had been barbecued in the exhaust. The clip for the actuator rod was long gone and the bushing in the end was nearly worn away. I pulled the actuator rod off the link and pushed it into the actuator and it made nice crunching and grinding sounds...lol. The vane link on the turbo was also not easily moved. So, turbo is off the engine. I sprayed the turbo exhaust housing with PB Blaster and let it soak for a couple days and wasn't able to get it apart. I let some liquid wrench soak inside the exhaust side to loosen up some gunk and the vanes re-position much easier now. I am considering re-installing without dis-assembling. (Just a little concerned though after reading how BlueLagoonTDI’s Jetta met its demise) I did also find a good bit of oil in the intercooler (maybe a cup or a bit more) Vacuum lines appear to be original, so got new line from McMaster-Carr. It had several locations where it was bleeding out oil, so both vacuum pump seals, CCV valve & grommet will be replaced. I pulled the valve cover off last night, as it appears it was leaking (besides CCV and vac pump). I don’t have much experience with engine internals, but I was amazed at how clean everything appeared to be. Pictures:
I purchased all new intake, oil, fuel and cabin filters. I also plan on finishing the rest of limp-mode trouble shooting steps. EGR junk will not go back on.
Couple of questions:
After soaking the exhaust side of the turbo with liquid wrench, do I need to flush it out with anything else before putting it back on? Should I flush out the oil or intake side with anything in case any seeped through? Should I perform any other checks on turbo while it is out since it is the original as far as I know? (like dis-assembly of intake side, or putting loc-tite on shaft nuts)
Any other recommended maintenance or preventive maintenance you would recommend considering the mileage on the car?
Thanks!!!
Derek
How she looked when i bought her:
I was able to VAG-COM the car prior to purchasing and knew that it was in limp mode. So, I read up on here about fixing limp mode before I bought it. Maintenance records showed the intake manifold had been cleaned at 120k, so I figured it was a clogged intake manifold, so I started dis-assembly. When I pulled the EGR valve off, it had no build-up and looked brand new on inside. The intake manifold only had about a 1/8 inch coating of build-up on it. Not bad enough to cause limp mode by itself I thought. So I put the car up on jack stands and checked out the turbo and actuator. Saw that the flex section in the exhaust was leaking out both ends and that the turbo actuator appeared like it had been barbecued in the exhaust. The clip for the actuator rod was long gone and the bushing in the end was nearly worn away. I pulled the actuator rod off the link and pushed it into the actuator and it made nice crunching and grinding sounds...lol. The vane link on the turbo was also not easily moved. So, turbo is off the engine. I sprayed the turbo exhaust housing with PB Blaster and let it soak for a couple days and wasn't able to get it apart. I let some liquid wrench soak inside the exhaust side to loosen up some gunk and the vanes re-position much easier now. I am considering re-installing without dis-assembling. (Just a little concerned though after reading how BlueLagoonTDI’s Jetta met its demise) I did also find a good bit of oil in the intercooler (maybe a cup or a bit more) Vacuum lines appear to be original, so got new line from McMaster-Carr. It had several locations where it was bleeding out oil, so both vacuum pump seals, CCV valve & grommet will be replaced. I pulled the valve cover off last night, as it appears it was leaking (besides CCV and vac pump). I don’t have much experience with engine internals, but I was amazed at how clean everything appeared to be. Pictures:
I purchased all new intake, oil, fuel and cabin filters. I also plan on finishing the rest of limp-mode trouble shooting steps. EGR junk will not go back on.
Couple of questions:
After soaking the exhaust side of the turbo with liquid wrench, do I need to flush it out with anything else before putting it back on? Should I flush out the oil or intake side with anything in case any seeped through? Should I perform any other checks on turbo while it is out since it is the original as far as I know? (like dis-assembly of intake side, or putting loc-tite on shaft nuts)
Any other recommended maintenance or preventive maintenance you would recommend considering the mileage on the car?
Thanks!!!
Derek
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