Another 1.8T A4 Quattro to TDI - Lots of Questions

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
2. I also looking for that 75X terminal, have you found it ? :confused:
[/B].
I never actually found a switched 75X terminal connection, but I stopped looking once I figured out an alternative solution. I did read about a switched black wire under the steering column that people tap into for other stuff. If you find it or something else let me know! My work around was this:

T17d/16 - Run a new wire to switched power (I used the gasoline fuel pump relay power pin Relay Position #1 in interior carrier. The gas fuel pump relay is not needed as the diesel one is in the engine harness/plenum chamber carrier. The power supply pin is the big one on the left, I broke the relay, 167 printed on it, and salvaged the pin to make a crimp-on blade connector)

1. Please explain as much as possible about that BB upgrade !
V70R :confused:
Are we talking Volvo or what ?
.
As for the BBK, I'm just following what others on Audizine have done! Basically you obtain some Touareg calipers (same as a Cayenne or Q5, but cheaper because they aren't painted and don't have the Porsche/Audi tax). They can be 4 piston 1LE or BM5, 6-piston 17Z or 6-piston 18Z; the 4-piston and the 17Z take 330mm rotors while the 18Z takes 345mm rotors.

A common 330mm rotor choice is V70R rotors for, you guessed it, a Volvo! Using them does required modification to both the calipers and the rotors. I think about 1/16" has to be taken off of the inside surface of the mounting ears to centre the caliper over the rotor. The rotor also has to be modified by drilling each lug bolt hole out to 3/4" / 19mm so that the Volvo 5x109 pattern will fit the Audi 5x112 (that part is super quick). I think others have used C230 rotors or some other Merc rotor, those require the centre hole to be opened up 1-2mm to match the Audi hub diameter, but then your lug bolts will work fine as they are also 5x112 from the factory.

After that you just need B7 RS4 stainless brake lines and a hardware kit that you either DIY or purchase from Eurobraking or JHM!

Even though I bought them months ago, I only just got my calipers machined last week before I went and blasted them with crushed glass to prep for powder coat. Now I've gotta find a place for that and do some price shopping. Finding a machine shop that could do it took me forever, and they ended up ripping me a new one and charged me $240 for what was likely 30 minutes of work. AND they lost one of the nuts for my mounting kit :mad:

This thread is a pretty good read and it's where I got 99% of the info above: clicky

Here's a pick of before and after crushed glass blasting, it's so fun!

 

2stroke

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Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Location
SWEDEN
TDI
2.0 TDI PD
I never actually found a switched 75X terminal connection.
If you find it or something else let me know !

As for the BB upgrade I'm just following what others on Audizine have done!
Basically you obtain some Touareg calipers (same as a Cayenne / Q5 but cheaper because they aren't painted and don't have the Porsche/Audi tax).
They can be 4 piston 1LE or BM5, 6-piston 17Z or 6-piston 18Z
the 4-piston and the 17Z take 330 mm rotors while the 18Z takes 345 mm rotors.

A common 330 mm rotor choice is V70R rotors for, you guessed it, a Volvo!
Using them does required modification to both the calipers and the rotors.
I think about 1/16" has to be taken off of the inside surface of the mounting ears to centre the caliper over the rotor.
The rotor also has to be modified by drilling each lug bolt hole out to 19 mm so that the Volvo 5/108 bolt pattern will fit the Audi 5/112 .
I think others have used Merc C230 rotors or some other Merc rotor, those require the centre hole to be opened up 1-2mm to match the Audi hub diameter, but then your lug bolts will work fine as they are also 5/112 from the factory.

After that you just need B7 RS4 stainless brake lines and a hardware kit

This thread is a pretty good read and it's where I got 99% of the info above: clicky
:) Really good information ! :)

Of course I write if I find the 75X terminal.

We have so bad roads here in the Northern parts of Sweden so I don't want to have larger rims than 18"

Since I'm in Sweden VOLVO parts are easy to find. ;)
Which model years of the Volvo can be used ?
Can the brake calipers from Volvo also be used ?
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
:) Really good information ! :)

Of course I write if I find the 75X terminal.

We have so bad roads here in the Northern parts of Sweden so I don't want to have larger rims than 18"

Since I'm in Sweden VOLVO parts are easy to find. ;)
Which model years of the Volvo can be used ?
Can the brake calipers from Volvo also be used ?
Hah yeah I hear you on the bad roads! I believe the 17Z or 1LE will fit under almost all 17" rims, but you'll have to be carefully about the offset as the face of the caliper can hit the inside of the spokes (requiring spacers).

That thread should have all the info you need, but I believe the rotors come from 2005-07 V70R. Those rotors are chosen because the hub size and thickness is the same and its a close rotor offset match.

I really doubt Volvo calipers would work as the caliper mounting ears have to match what is on the knuckle. The Touareg happens to match many other VAG cars very well
 
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Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
More Glow Plug Problems

Continuing my investigation from back in December, I ended up replacing all 4 glow plugs with the ALH plugs. The weather warmed up a bit, cold starts didn't seem exceptionally difficult, all was well... or so I thought.

This past week in Vancouver has had some exceptionally cold temperatures. Mornings were often -9 Celcius (that's cold for us! :D). And boy did my car not want to start. I'd cycle the plugs 5 or 6 times, but I'd still have to crank for up to 10 seconds before the engine stumbled and finally caught. Ever since I've had the diesel up an running, the glow plug indicator on the cluster has only ever stayed illuminated for about half a second. It's never stayed on longer.

So that lead me to investigate more; I pulled the boot off and tested for any voltage coming through the harness, got nothing. So, I dug into the ECU box to check the relay. I found that the relay has constant power on pin 30 as expected. When the key is turned to the on position, power is also detected on pins 85 and 86. At first this threw me off because I though the ECU sent power to switch the relay, but it actually switches the ground. I pulled the relay and tested it on a battery and it functions fine. While in the car, I could never measure power at pin 87. The socket for pin 87 measured continuity to at least two of the glow plug leads so I don't think the harness is bad.

So the only conclusion I've made is that the ECU is not triggering the glow plugs to activate.

I just tested unplugging the Coolant Temp Sensor, the Fuel Temp Sensor and the MAF Sensor independently. The only one that seemingly made a difference was the Coolant Temp Sensor. Unplugging that one resulted in power to the glow plugs for about half a second. This was done on a fully warm engine, but from what I've read, unplugging that sensor should result in closer to 20 seconds of glow time, not half a second.

I did replace the Coolant Temp Sensor with the one off my AMB engine a few months ago, and the dash gauge works as expected so I'm not certain it's the actual issue here, but I'm willing to try.

Any suggestions? I've gotten about 12 pages into the "Glow plugs 101 ***Ver. 2.0***" thread and haven't found any solutions as of yet.
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
Does your glow plug light turn on the instant you turn on the key? The reason I ask is I'm wondering if your ECU has a constant battery connection or if all the B+ supplies are switched? If the ECU is not energized all the time it may be too slow to "wake up" and provide proper glow plug timing. Just a thought. I'll check the schematics to later. Mine definitely energizes the glow plugs and starts fine to below -10ºC.
The glow plug light does come on immediately, just like all the other dash lights. But, it only lasts about a half second regardless of ambient or engine temperature. I'm fairly certain my ECU does have constant power, but I may have to check to verify that.

I can confirm switch circuit on the glow plug relay is also getting power the instant the key is turned, as expected. And the glow plug relay power circuit has constant 12V on one side of the relay, it's just never getting switched.

I purchased a replacement Coolant Temp Sensor, but I didn't realize it was going to be a delayed shipment, so it might be a while before it arrives. Temps warmed back up over here, so it's not too bad in the morning anymore. Hopefully that's all it takes to fix it!
 

Koehn

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Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
My new coolant temp sensor finally showed up this week along with some new engine mounts! All three parts are pretty simple to install, though the coolant temp sensor left a bit of a mess this time around since the o-ring got stuck in the flange and I had to fish it out.

Engine mounts are surprisingly easy to replace. From underneath you should be able to unbolt the front snub mount cup and the nuts on the top/bottom of the mounts. They aren't too hard to reach at all. I also found using a come-along on the engine hoist made it super easy to precisely lift and lower the engine. When I was shopping I was looking at a ton of different mounts and I ended up pruchasing B6 RS4 mounts, instead of either the B5 S4 or Passat BHW mounts I meant to get. These things are super firm, and while they make shifts feel great, they've turned my car into a paint shaker at idle. Either I'm getting used to it, or they're softening. Either way, I'll likely replace them again soon.



Swapping the coolant temp sensor ended up changing nothing :(. Last night I managed to borrow my friend's Ross-Tech cable again, so I was able to take a closer look at what happening. Basically it seems like the glow plug status never changes to Pre-Glow. The output test in VCDS worked just fine, and I suspect Post-Glow is working. So, that sent me googling and with this (clicky) post it seems like QuickTD was on to something! So now I definitely need to verify how the ECU is being powered.



This diagram shows pins 2 & 37 having 12 volts, but it doesn't specify what is switched or constant. So, I've begun mapping out each pin from the ECU through the diagrams. From what I can tell, both pins 1 & 2 have essentially the same path to J317 (ECU power supply relay) pin 8/87. This relay is supposed to get constant power from wire connection 501 through T17e/17, but because I wasn't sure where 501 was, I just sent it to one of the constant power posts underneath the dash labelled D1.

Pin 37 connects through the plenum chamber connector T17d/16 to wiring connection A2. A2 receives switched power directly from the ignition at pin 6/15. When I did my wiring, I sent this wire to the existing gasoline fuel pump relay socket where there was already a switched power source going unused. According to my Bentley Manual, this pin receives switched power from wire connection A2 / ignition pin 6/15. So, assuming what I've done is functioning correctly, that should be as good as stock.

In my mapping, I also found Pin 88 to carry power to the ECU, though this one comes from J59 which I believe is the load-reduction relay. From the switched power output (pin 2) this wire travels through T10/2 straight to the ECU.

I can't seem to find any pins for constant power to the ECU... Do you know of any? I'll keep digging, and I'll try to test if the pins I listed above actually are getting power as they should.
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
I looked at the drawings too, and I may have misjudged, I don't think the ECU even has constant power. That said, it's probably worthwhile to check out the feed to pin 88. Sometimes the order in which ECU pins (and even external relays) are powered up can make a great deal of difference. I usually take the big picture approach with wiring and just hook everything up as stock before I even turn the thing on, I have terrible OCD...:), So it's likely that I have never encountered this glitch. Pin 88 should be connected to the load reduction relay (75X), hot in run, dead in crank.
Haha turns out that's exactly what it was! I'd connected the wire to the load reduction relay as intended, only I'd picked the wrong relay pin when I actually did it :D. When I checked the relay and compared it to my drawings I knew immediately I had it wrong.

With the wire in the right place I'm happy to report my glow plugs are now working perfectly! As an added benefit my hot/warm start seems to catch much quicker too. It used to always have to crank for about a second before running, but now the engine catches almost immediately on the first revolution. Stoked!
 

86turbodsl

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Joined
Sep 2, 2003
Location
Albion, MI
TDI
05 Golf GLS TDI (retired), 04 A4Q (swap candidate)
Hah yeah I hear you on the bad roads! I believe the 17Z or 1LE will fit under almost all 17" rims, but you'll have to be carefully about the offset as the face of the rotor can hit the inside of the spokes (requiring spacers).
That thread should have all the info you need, but I believe the rotors come from 2005-07 V70R. Those rotors are chosen because the hub size and thickness is the same and its a close rotor offset match.
I really doubt Volvo calipers would work as the caliper mounting ears have to match what is on the knuckle. The Touareg happens to match many other VAG cars very well
When i did my 17Z swap on my Audi, i used the Mercedes rotors. I found that i didn't need to machine the calipers then, and the rotors didn't need anything either. I ended up spacing the calipers 2mm with a shim, and needed a 3mm shim for the wheels to clear my wheels. Zero machining. For anybody else doing this on an A4.
 

Koehn

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Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
So much has changed with this car in the past 10 months, it's kinda crazy looking back. I'm going to break this update into a few posts just for my own sanity. Fair warning: there's going to be a lot of pictures!

I think it was back in April when I finished the front BBK. I also rebuilt my rear S4 brakes and got them all powder coated in Prismatic Powders' Skyline Blue. I made up some custom decals for the Brembos and had them cutout at work. I'm really stoked at how everything came out! The braking performance definitely feels better, but not as much as I think I'd hoped. I'm considering replacing the master cylinder and booster with a set from a local B7 RS4 that's parting out to see how the pedal feel changes. Right now it's pretty mushy when the car is running. I already have a pneumatic-powered vacuum bleeder, but I might have to just buy a power bleeder.













I also picked up some VMR V710 wheels and I couldn't be happier with the overall look of this car.



I bit the bullet on the VFIZ, and also upgraded my cluster with an S-Line model with the Colour DIS (8E0920930T). The VFIZ is a really neat unit and it's been super handy to to be able to scan for codes and monitor engine vitals while driving. I bought the version with the 4-bar MAP and external sensors and have absolutely no regrets so far. The new cluster did lead to an airbag module code for a mismatched VIN, and I can't recode it. I think I'm going to try a later-model ECU and see if that fixes it.

 

Koehn

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Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
I hadn't had air conditioning in this car since I bought it. So this summer I was determined to get it working again. After taking it to a shop to get it recharged, they said the leak was too big. I brought it back without the front bumper so they could check for leaks and they still couldn't find it. So at that point I was tired of paying people and started doing it myself. I ended up replacing all the o-rings with new OEM pieces, I replaced the condenser, receiver/drier, orifice tube, and pressure sensor with new parts, and put in a used compressor from a wrecker. And it finally works! That process alone took probably 6 weeks of slowly replacing it bit by bit, filling it with compressed air, and monitoring the pressure over time. Near the end I was terrified I might have to replace the evaporator, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be necessary!



Weirdly enough I actually had to get a longer serpentine belt as the pully on the replacement compressor was bigger. I got a little spooked as it looked more like a clutch-type but QuickTD assured me that they were all variable-displacement compressors and that it would work fine. And he was right, so thanks!



I also upgraded from the B6 centre console to a B7 unit. What a huge quality of life change! Having the two cupholders is just dreamy.



 

Koehn

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Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
On my little staycation this summer, I decided to try my hand at fabrication. I ended up designing and building a 2" hitch receiver. My experience with welding has been pretty limited; I'd mostly just done sheet metal tack welds. So welding 3/16" steel was fun and I think I did way better than I originally thought I would! The hitch inserts into the unibody where the aluminum shocks originally do for the rear crash bar. The whole process took me ages, but I'm really happy with the finished product! I made sure to keep the little plastic bumper retention hooks, and the final position of the receiver is perfectly inline with the dual exhaust tips.

















At this point I decided it was time to get some more performance out of this wagon. So then next additions were a GTB2060VKLR, PD150 head studs, EGT probe, a 4-Bar MAP, B7 dual side-mount intercoolers, custom intake and intercooler piping, a custom cat pipe, and a Malone tune.



The B7 intercoolers didn't go in as easily as I'd hoped. Because my engine is from an early model, the snub mount cup is on the oil pan instead of the crossover pipe so I couldn't just use the B7 piece. Instead I had to chop both up and weld the mount to the B7 crossover pipe. I also had a hard time figuring out silicone bends to connect the turbo to the intercooler, so I ended up making my own custom piece out of steel pipe. This was a pretty big confidence booster for me (even after the whole hitch) so I decided to also try making my own cat pipe to connect the new turbo to my existing intermediate pipe.











I also had to make a custom turbo inlet pipe with some very tightly fit silicone bends. I really wish I could weld aluminum as I think all of this pipe work would've been so much easier! Maybe sometime in the future.

 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
With all that done, and after picking up my ECU from Malone, I've gotta say I'm just so happy! The car runs fantastic, the turbo sounds amazing, intake temps are very low (it's really not warm here anyways), and the EGT probe works great with the VFIZ. I'm sure there's still some tuning work to be done, it's actually been a few months and I still haven't done any logs yet. Spool is a little after 2000rpm, but it quickly gets to 30psi and will hold it all the way up the range. I'm still running the stock 240mm DMF, and I think it may have slipped on me once after getting into it a little too much in 6th gear.

With this car being very slow to warm up, even in my moderate southwest coast winters, I was pretty interested in retrofitting the electric auxiliary cabin heater that came stock on manual transmission TDI models. I found a heater on ebay (4B1819011 for left hand drive & 4B2819011 for right hand drive, ask me how I know) that came with the connectors and I built my own wiring harness using OEM parts. I pulled two Maxi-fuse holders from B6 engine harnesses at the junkyard as well as two relays and their sockets, a 40A and a 60A. The harness was pretty simple to put together following the diagrams in ElsaWin. I grabbed main power directly from the battery using the extra post on the main fuse and ran the wires through the plenum chamber/ECU box.



My intention of using OEM relays & fuses was that they'd mount into the relay holder under the dash for a super OEM look. But it turns out they aren't all shaped the same and unfortunately the two relays I decided to use only fit in two spots... and I already had relays in those two spots. Dang it! So after zip tieing those up out of the way, at least the Audi fuse holders still managed to click onto posts above the Comfort Control Module.

I tested my work before installing it, but now it's in I can't seem to get the relays to trigger. I've double checked the pins in the T17/d connector and I did get those correct, so my only thought is that the ECU isn't even trying to trigger them. When doing an output test in VCDS it says J359 & J360 are Coolant Glow Plug relays (and my relays don't trigger). So that makes me wonder if Malone accidentally replaced those code blocks with Mk4 Golf stuff and now the ECU is sending trigger signals out of different pins. I currently have nothing to verify this suspicion, but I do have a replacement ECU coming in, so I'll see what the output tests are labelled as on that one.

For the time being, I'm just really comfortable with how well most everything is working! But, at the same time, I'm not finished yet! I'd love to get some uprated injectors (80% or 100% over?), a stronger clutch, and a freer-flowing exhaust would be ideal.

For clutch, I've tried to do a lot of research and I'm currently considering TTVR's 1.8T-B7 RS4 conversion flywheel and then running an OEM RS4 clutch and pressure plate, but I'd love to hear of other options. The main thing I'm worried about is the flywheel being too light. From this thread (clicky), it seems like it might weigh in at only 15-17 pounds. The Luk DMF on the car right now weighs considerably more than that and I really don't want to kill the synchros in my 02X!
 

d24tdi

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Jan 6, 2019
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MT
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96 B4V
Beautiful work on all counts and amazing attention to detail. Kudos on the great-looking result and thanks for sharing all of it.

This is inspiring me to finally pull the 2.7TT out of my Allroad and put in the BHW that's sitting in the garage for it. Will be referring to your thread for info when the time comes!
 

86turbodsl

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Sep 2, 2003
Location
Albion, MI
TDI
05 Golf GLS TDI (retired), 04 A4Q (swap candidate)
Nice work. I'll be referencing it on my build. I don't think the 02X has the syncro breaking issues that the 01E does. THAT one, you want probably a 30lb flywheel.
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
Anyone have a tips for possible coolant leak locations? I've been dealing with a persistent leak for a while now and I'm struggling to figure out the source. The back of the block is consistently wet with pink but the cylinder head appears to remain dry.

I've replaced:
- o-ring between the cylinder head and metal coolant flange
- o-ring between metal coolant flange and plastic coolant flange (and the flange itself)
- o-ring for coolant temp sensor
- turbo coolant supply & return lines (both were leaking significantly at some point)

I did all the o-rings and flanges when I swapped tandem pumps out for one with a solid vacuum mount and a metal gasket. During this time I also tried to examine the coolant hoses at the back of the engine and they all appeared to be fine / not swelled up.

I've got a timing belt service coming up and I'm going to be replacing the camshaft at the same time. My current thought is that it's a headgasket leak. But it also seems super unlikely that I have an external coolant leak from the headgasket with no other evidence of pressurization or blow by contamination in the coolant. Definitely a head scratcher!

Here's an old photo, I can try to take a newer one showing the pink coolant on the block

 

mogly

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Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Sarnia, ON, Canada
TDI
MKIV TDI + B5.5V AVF/01E
Check for swollen coolant hoses. i was going to suggest coolant flange but i see yours is aluminum. Having a coolant system pressure tester is very helpful for tracking down persistent small coolant leaks.
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
I've spent a decent amount of time with my hands behind the engine and all the hoses feel and look fine! I do have a pressure tester which was super helpful in finding the turbo coolant line leaks.

When those were leaking I had pretty substantial coolant loss, the current issue is very different as I haven't even noticed a significant drop in the coolant level at all. I've only seen the pink fluid all over the rear of the block and it always looks wet. I can wipe it all away and after the next drive it'll be wet again. Of course I also live in a very wet environment which makes it hard, but the aluminum head is usually dry!

I'll hook up the pressure tester and see if I can feel anything near the heater hoses. Am I wrong to suspect head gasket? It seems super unlikely to me but because I have a timing belt and cam service due I have to decide if it's worth pulling the head off or not.
 

d24tdi

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Jan 6, 2019
Location
MT
TDI
96 B4V
I have had exterior coolant leaks from head gaskets before. In fact I have two engines that are doing it right now -- my 400k+ mile old Volvo 2.3L gasser always has a wet spot on the side of the block, and the 7.2L Mercedes OM926 diesel in one of my semi tractors leaks under the exhaust manifold until it warms up. Both have been doing it for a long time with no real ill effects but it's annoying to smell and see antifreeze under the hood and they both do end up needing to be topped off every few months.

Not common to see it on any engine though, and especially not common on TDIs, which don't have head gasket failures often in general as a rule. Seems like when they do it's usually due to severe overheating that stretches the head bolts and/or warps the head and then allows combustion gas leakage into the cooling system resulting in contamination and overpressurization. I have to say I cannot remember ever seeing a TDI with an external fluid leak from the head gasket. But older IDI engines with the old style fiber head gaskets would leak to the outside sometimes as they aged, both coolant and (more commonly) oil. I have had other gasser Volvos do it too over the years. Nothing says it wouldn't be theoretically possible, especially on something that's 20 years old and some unknowns in its history.

As I recall, the engine you installed was imported and you probably don't have a lot of info on its background, correct? So in theory it could have been overheated sometime in the past before you got it, or suffered poor coolant maintenance leading to electrolysis, etc. This era TDI was pretty common for impeller failures on the factory water pumps. I knew some folks who overheated a BHW in a Passat climbing a mountain pass when it was nearly new .... VW changed the WP under warranty after finding the plastic impeller spinning on the shaft.

Nothing says an external HG leak has to also to be leaking internally but you could do HC testing of coolant, and/or used oil analysis to check for glycol presence. If you hit on either of those, you'd know you need to pull the head either way.

Other ideas to not rule out.... seems like you have covered most of the common stuff very well already. Does your AVF engine have an EGR cooler?
 

d24tdi

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Jan 6, 2019
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MT
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96 B4V
BTW, great to see this swap coming almost due for a timing belt, that must mean you are putting the KM's on it. As it should be! This one was fun to watch the building process on, all the better that it sounds like it must be turning out well for real world use. (y)
 

Koehn

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Joined
Oct 25, 2018
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 A4 Avant Quattro 6-Speed (AVF)
I really appreciate the feedback and the kind words @d24tdi ! Since I was amassing parts for the timing belt service and cam replacement anyways, I took your advice and ended up adding a few more for the headgasket.

To weekends ago is when I finally got a chance to dive in. In the span of about 30 hours, over several days, I removed the cylinder head and got my first look into the engine I purchased years ago and have been running sight-unseen ever since. I was getting so worried about what I might find, but it's great! The pistons were pretty clean with just a thin layer of carbon build-up and each bore still had visible cross hatching. The head gasket looked fine with no evidence of leaking (so I think I was mislead there), but it did leave quite a mess on both the block and on the cylinder head that I had to clean up.



The cylinder head also looked great overall. The bottom cam bearing shells were down to copper in some places. I didn't see any visible cracking between the injector bore, the glow plug bore, and the valves. I couldn't check for flatness, so I just cleaned up as much of the carbon as I could and bolted it back down and sent it haha. I used a new PD150 head bolts since the previous set seemed to hold my current tune just fine.



Before reassembly, I removed the injector harness and added some RTV to the bulkhead connector as it seemed like it could've been leaking oil. I replaced the coolant flange o-ring again, and the tandem pump gasket as well since I was now able to torque the bolts to spec for the first time.

The camshaft itself was far less worn out than I thought. The instruction I had in my mind was "if any lobes have sharp edges, beware". Now I clearly understand that that advice does not apply to the injector lobes as the roller is considerably narrower than the cam lobe. My cylinder 4 exhaust lobe was just starting to eat into the chamfer, so while I probably could've put it in with new bearings for a while longer, I'm glad to be done with it.



I found my heater core supply hose connector was cracked and could've been the source of a slight leak. I couldn't get a new hose so I just replaced the quick connector. And since I was that far into the car I figured replacing the thermostat housing/o-ring again was a good idea. I think the only seal I didn't replace was the one on the coolant pipe that goes into the block beside the thermostat. I may come to regret that but I just didn't want to have to pull even more stuff out to get to it haha.

This style of timing belt tensioner is the absolute worst to set, so if I still have this car after another 100k (which I hope so!) I think I'm going to try to convert it to the newer mechanical style. Either that or I just need to get the special tool CT3885 and it won't be as bad as having to use circlip or needle-nose pliers under rotational torque. I think it took at least 6 tries to finally get to a place I called good enough, it felt like a 1/4 degree of adjustment would send it to either <4mm or >5mm which was super annoying as it's supposed to be bang on 4mm.

Anyways, that's enough rambling! I put in new engine mounts (Corteco 49476278) while I was working on it and they feel so much better at idle it's crazy. The engine at idle feels much smoother and quieter, but at highways speeds it's still pretty loud and vibey.

Now that all that's done, of course I'm already collecting more parts. I'd like to reroute my catch can vent back into the turbo intake pipe so I've got some new hose and a bulkhead fitting on the way. I'd like to replace both heater core lines as a precaution now, and my headliner is sagging at the back. A new clutch and bigger injectors are still on the dream list :/
 
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