BHW 5.5 - Urgent Help Needed - Timing Belt Slipped

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Hello TDi community,

I have lurked around these forums for over a year now since I bought my first Diesel. Its a 2005 Passat GLS. I absolutely love the car and have used the information here to do routing maintenance on it.

I have loved every moment of driving it and the utility if the wagon is incomparable.

I have posted a video on YouTube for reference of the issue I am having with my 2005 VW Passat TDi Wagon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPz5WzzCAwo

I was driving the car around 30mph and heard a thud from the engine. I pulled over to the side saw that the serpentine belt had broken. No issue I thought since it broke a year ago but the car still ran without AC, power steering and the service alternator light came on. This time though, no luck. I tried starting the car but it didn't so I gave up and had it towed home.

Next day I pulled off the covers and found fragments of the serpentine belt wrapped around the crank sprockets. Picture on Flickr.com
https://flic.kr/p/2bLto3F

I am unable to get it to TDC. I put the white dots on the cam and crank sprocket for the sake of the video. Once they are on the top that is TDC. I also have the tools needed from VW for TDC.

When I turn one of the 2 sprockets at one point I am unable to turn the other telling me that I am hitting a piston or a valve I have attempted to turn many times over without putting too much force on them but to no avail.

I have a feeling that I am dealing with bent valves but I don't want to take off the head just yet before I have people with more experience
confirm that.

Thanks everyone.
 
Last edited:

Jake Brake

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Location
southern IL
TDI
2005 Passat GLS tdi wagon
Unfortunately the bhw is an interference engine. It is extremely likely that you have bent valves. Pulling your valve cover may confirm it. It did on a friends BMW.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Thanks Jake_Brake. I will pull off the valve cover tomorrow. I hope that will tell me the problem. I will report back.
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Pull he vale cover, and then remove the camshaft. Then pump some air into the cylinders. You hear if a valve is bent.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Take the head off.

And next time figure out why the accessory belt failed, it shouldn't do that.

Hopefully you can fix it with just the head work, and the pistons/rods are OK.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Thanks Oilhammer. I hope so too. I would love to convert it to a manual tranny like you guys but I guess that will have to wait. Too bad I am all the way out on the East Coast.

Hopefully, this will not cost me too much to fix.

I will report back once the the head is all figured out and then I will consult on the accessory belt.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Seems like the verdict is in. That head is junk now:

https://flic.kr/p/2dkkV2a

https://flic.kr/p/2bWGmb8

https://flic.kr/p/2ayKZNS

I am going to pull it off and check the pistons. Hopefully, the block isn't damaged.

If only VW didn't it so hard to take the intake and exhaust header off. Please feel free to share a write up of removal of those for the BHW.

Let me know your thoughts.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Really the worst part about getting a BHW head off, and I have only had to do it twice, is dealing with the turbo oil feed pipe. If it were not for that, it would be pretty easy really.

Couple tips:

Leave the EGR cooler attached to the intake manifold, just take the lower EGR pipe loose, then take the six Allen bolts loose that hold the intake to the head, along with the two coolant hoses on the EGR cooler, and lift the whole thing off in one chunk.

Then you can either take the tandem pump and coolant flange off the head first, to get access to get the oil feed pipe loose, OR, leave them on the head, and take the oil feed pipe off WITH the head. It attaches on the oil filter housing on the other side of the engine, and snakes around back.

You can leave the turbo itself on the engine, as unlike the transverse 4cyl TDIs of the same era, these have a separate manifold and turbo. So you just remove the three attachment fasteners and lift the exhaust manifold out with the head leaving the turbo in place if you like.

The head is probably salvageable. You'll know better once it is off. However if it needs a cam/lifter set, it may be more cost effective to just replace the whole thing.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Thanks OilHammer.
Couple tips:
Leave the EGR cooler attached to the intake manifold, just take the lower EGR pipe loose, then take the six Allen bolts loose that hold the intake to the head, along with the two coolant hoses on the EGR cooler, and lift the whole thing off in one chunk.
I took the lower EGR pipe off on one side where it has the nuts (towards front of the car) and left it at the backside. Those Allen bolts did not seem like they wanted to come out on the EGR Pipe after having been heat cycled for over 13 years.
I am having a really hard time finding the 6 Allen bolts holding the intake. I got to 3 of them but one is behind the roundish part that goes into the turbo. I can't seem to get anything in there not even a regular Allen key. Any tips for that?
I think once I have the intake off I will be able to see the oh-so difficult turbo oil feed line and then decide how I want to tackle.
Appreciate the tips!
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Ball ended long reach Allen bits (Snap-On) are what I use. Haven't failed me yet.
I need a set of those. I am going tools shopping tonight! Probably not Snap-Ons though. Those are expensive!
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
I am sure the durability justifies the expense for professionals. Also I would not know where to go to get the Snap-On set. I am looking at a Husky set of 7 at Home Depot for $20. Will get it tonight.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
If it's never been off, have torches ready for those three nuts holding the turbo to the manifold. They're in a tight spot - bent (modified) wrenches are your friend.

You might want to order another oil feed line as well - very easy for the end at the turbo to twist off and make the rest of the line useless.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
I was able to pull a head a 2005 PD at the junkyard. That was a stroke of luck as they are super rare at the junkyard. The car did not have any visible damage and I was able to rotate the engine (clockwise) using a wrench.

I am thinking it might have come due to transmission issues.

Anyway, the pull was quite a job because of the cold. Fasteners do not like the cold. I used a blow torch and did not strip any bolts. What a relief that was. Whew!

I did not check for leaks as I was so invested in the job (time and effort wise) that I decided to risk the $92.

Someone told me to check leakage I would turn each cylinder to TDC which closes the valves and then turn it upside down and put some sort of fluid (Diesel). If no leaks then all good. Thoughts?

If it's never been off, have torches ready for those three nuts holding the turbo to the manifold. They're in a tight spot - bent (modified) wrenches are your friend.

You might want to order another oil feed line as well - very easy for the end at the turbo to twist off and make the rest of the line useless.
@Windex - I did not pull the turbo off due to the super tight position of the nuts. I separated it from the exhaust manifold after unscrewing the 2 nuts.

Later I wanted to get the turbo oil feed line as well in case I broke mine off. I heated the big nut on the turbo to not have it strip. I was able to break it loose and it started to run. 2 turns and the line snapped off the nut from above. Exactly what you said.

I will try not to ruin the line I have on the car. Not even touch it except for loosening it from the head.
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Nice score. To keep the turbo line from snapping, you need to use another trench to counter hold the fitting below it or else it will twist. I had to modify a wrench to make it fit but it worked well and was able to reuse my line. The key was to counter hold the lower fitting so the top one can properly break loose and then to use some sort of lubricant and heat to keep the line from turning with the retaining nut.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Thanks imo000. I hope I don't have to get to the point of removing the line at all but these tips are definitely helpful.

Question:- Did you convert your TDi to manual by yourself or had any help on the East Coast? I love the car and once it starts running that is something I would like to have done down the road but before that would be the balance shaft delete.
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Yes, I've converted it myself. Did it all except the ECU relash. Did a write up so feel free to look at it. Also, talked to Windex before doing anything just to get an idea what it will take. He lives 5 min from my house so used the opportunity to ask a bunch of questions for about 45 minutes.
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
Thanks imo000. I hope I don't have to get to the point of removing the line at all but these tips are definitely helpful.

Question:- Did you convert your TDi to manual by yourself or had any help on the East Coast? I love the car and once it starts running that is something I would like to have done down the road but before that would be the balance shaft delete.
Deen-

If you need someone to do the manual conversion of BSM (although you sound like you can do it yourself), I recommend Linfor Berry of Mountain Valley Motors in Harrisonburg VA. His contact jnfo is in his profile here http://forums.tdiclub.com/member.php?u=57998
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Thanks owr084 for your confidence in my abiliities to convert the car to a manual.

I think that with the forum members' help and 6 months I will be able to do that. Actually, the previous owner has had the transmission replaced and it works really well at the moment.

My plan is to leave it until issues start appearing and definitely I can use the info of Mountain Valley Motors then.

The problem I have is that I don't have a garage so I do all my work on the street. The city was giving me trouble for having the car parked for so long so I had it towed to my friend's store and put his store signs on the car to prevent from having it impounded. I really thnk him for his help. Oh the plight of us non-garaged people. LOL

I totally love my TDi and can't wait to get it back on the road. Such a shame about the rain on the weekends when I am off work. Hopefully, I can put in some hours during the holidays.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Hello everyone, update on the head replacement. The old head has come off and the new head has been cleaned and cleaned. Looks brand new. I also cleaned off all the carbon on the block.

The cylinder walls look great. There is no scoring on them . Piston number 4 does have some markings and an indent where the valve hit it. It's not major though.

I had a question on flattening the mating surfaces between the head and block. I have cleaned them from all the carbon using brake cleaner but some of the areas will require something more abrasive like a light sandpaper.

Can anyone provide any guidance as to what grit sandpaper to use if to be used at all? Anything that you would suggest? Other than milling?
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Since the valve hit the piston. I would check to make sure the con rod isn't bent.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
Since the valve hit the piston. I would check to make sure the con rod isn't bent.
When I rotate the engine with a wrench the pistons move smooth and both 1 and 4 come to TDC at the same level. I have ordered a machinist straight edge and once I get it I will ensure that they at the exact same level. Thanks for the tip.

Oilhammer - did you mean the regular green scotch brite? Like this one:

Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scour Pads, 8 Total Scour Pads
https://www.amazon.com/3M-pad01-Hea...ocphy=9007899&hvtargid=pla-195114079201&psc=1

I think I have them lying around the house somewhere so won't have to buy more.

Thanks greengeeker for the tip as well!
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Yep, that is what I use (it may be a generic Sam's brand though). Takes some time but I can get the block nice and clean.
 

Deen

Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2018
Location
Bowie, MD
TDI
2005 VW Passat Wagon, 2018 Ford F-250 Platinum 6.7L
I love it! I would rather take some time and do it slow and do it right than to try to rush and make a huge mess.

I am going to do that tomorrow and post pictures of how it looks.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
For some of the more stubborn spot, careful use of a new razor blade can also help. I use the scrubby pad first, then if need be, the razor blade, then finish with the scrubby pad.

Also be certain to thoroughly clean and blow out all the head bolt holes. And don't forget to use the proper thickness gasket, and put the locating dowels back in the block.
 

Uberhare

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Location
Ontario, Canada
TDI
Too many.
I have 2 of the larger 3m plastic discs. You can buy them with different grit levels. Works like a charm for me. I have one for heads and one for blocks. Both are over 10 years old and been used many times.
 
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