Misfire detected P0302 after cleaning clogged turbo

Engine is not getting the air it needs after turbo clean and injector rebuild

Updated 3/29 night
The harbor freight compression tester that I got the first time was missing the valves on the glow plug screw in adapters. The second one worked.
My compression's were 550, 500, 525, 525. cylinders 1-4.
All my inter cooler pipes seem to be intact and connected. I just took off the lower inter cooler pipe to make sure.
Any other suggestions on why my engine isn't getting the air it needs? I've tried two different MAF's and its not getting the air that is required.
Im pretty stumped. Thanks for any help.
Update 3/29
I tried a compression test. But I think the compression tester is broken so Im taking it back swapping it for another one at harbor freight.
The tester wouldn't go over 100 psi on any cylinder.
Here is a video of the tester not going over 100psi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crfg0_l8quQ
It doesn't seem like a hard process. Car was warmed up. Removed all glow plugs. Disconnected my injector pump. Found the adapter that fit in the glow plug slot and turned it in mostly by hand. PSI wouldnt build at all. I hope it doesn't mean there is something seriously wrong with the engine. I should have another tester to test tonight.
Updated 3/23
Well I just swapped maf's and nothing changed. Maf actual is not getting above 650 at most. I can rev to redline in neutral. Its blowing a ton of white smoke so fuel is not getting the air it needs.
What could be causing this? A clogged CAT?

Updated 3/22
My ALH still seems to be miss firing or at least the idle is dropping from 900 to like 850 every once and a while and the turbo logs look really bad. I think there is a boost leak but I’m not sure where to look. It’s putting out a good amount of white smoke not the black that it used to put out.
My boost gauge needle is very shaky like compression is being lost but I’m not sure where.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhMzvxLyY34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPX0DzXUMBg
Stock tune

Stage 3 looks awful....

I tried to log my MAF but my car wouldn't go over 3k rpms in 4th gear. But the actual at 2900 rpms was 600 when ross tech said at 3k it should be 800. But when I unplug my MAF my car runs get less boost for sure at least 3 psi less.
I don’t know where else to look.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Update 3/20
The codes went away after tapping and torquing the injectors a few times. I took it out for an Italian tune up and the smoke stopped after a mile.
What are some things I can graph in vcds to make sure my car is running well? I'm not getting any codes. I had to adjust my IQ to 3.0-3.4 so it was running smooth.
It still seems to be putting out a little bit of white smoke. Cars are not going to be happy being behind me. But its not smoking at idle anymore.
Is it worth getting a 22mm wrench so I can adjust my timing and get it smack dab on the blue line?

Thanks for the help guys!
Update 3/17
Im waiting on an injector bolt to come in on Monday. I cleaned under my washers and used the tap down method on the injectors.
The thing that concerns me is that I got the misfire code before i got my injectors checked and rebuilt. Could a bad injector gum up the inside of my engine to the point where it cant get clean and needs to be cleaned?
All my spark plugs look good and all have the same voltage.
Opening post
Hey guys. I have a 03 alh and I had my turbo clog up recently and I cleaned it and I think it was clogged from one of my injectors leaking fuel.
I threw P0302 last week so I just had my injectors checked at a fuel injection shop and two of them had to be rebuilt. Today when I put them back in Im getting a ton of white smoke from the exhaust and as soon as I clear P0302 in vagcom it comes right back. My IQ is around 4-5 when it finally warmed up.
I have no oil consumption at all and my turbo was good after I cleaned it. It only had 50k miles on it.
Has anyone had this happen or have any ideas to what I can do or check next? The smoke might be excess fuel from the injector that wasnt working great so that might burn off eventually.
Timing

What's the smoke smell like? White smoke can be unburned fuel or coolant.

How's the timing.

I think it smells like unburnt fuel. I updated the OP with my timing. Its a little advanced but not bad.

My major concern is why I cant get this misfire code to go away

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=241036

Might spray some soapy water around the base of your injectors and see if you've got a leak there.

If not the injector sealing then injectors or compression.

I've run across several instances in which people have had problems with those nozzles: yes, lots are fine- I'm just saying what I've read (hardly recall hearing of anyone having problems with other nozzles).

UhOh said:

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=241036

Might spray some soapy water around the base of your injectors and see if you've got a leak there.

If not the injector sealing then injectors or compression.

I've run across several instances in which people have had problems with those nozzles: yes, lots are fine- I'm just saying what I've read (hardly recall hearing of anyone having problems with other nozzles).

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I cleaned under the injector washers they were pretty bad. Problem is I just broken one of the injector bolts trying to torque it to 30 ft lbs. Thank you harbor freight torque wrench. Its going to be a few days for me to ship in some injector bolts.

does 30 ft lbs sound right?

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/tdi-fuel-injector-nozzle-upgrade-replacement-diy/

makos101 said:

does 30 ft lbs sound right?

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/tdi-fuel-injector-nozzle-upgrade-replacement-diy/

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Do you mean the injector fork hold down bolts? They're only about 15 ft/lbs I believe...read the spec on Myturbodiesel...

If you're using a big 1/2" drive torque wrench, be careful trying to tighten anything to only 15 ft/lbs with it. Most of those wrenches are 10-150 ft/lbs, and may not be as sensitive as you want them to be in the 15 lb range.

Rembrant said:

Do you mean the injector fork hold down bolts? They're only about 15 ft/lbs I believe...read the spec on Myturbodiesel...
If you're using a big 1/2" drive torque wrench, be careful trying to tighten anything to only 15 ft/lbs with it. Most of those wrenches are 10-150 ft/lbs, and may not be as sensitive as you want them to be in the 15 lb range.

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Thank you. That's my problem. To late now but now I know. What is torqued to 30 ft lbs?

makos101 said:

Thank you. That's my problem. To late now but now I know. What is torqued to 30 ft lbs?

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If you read the Myturbodiesel specs, I think they say that the injector fuel line nuts are torqued to approximately 30 ft/lbs, and the injector fork hold down bolts are only 15 ft/lbs.

Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.

Rembrant said:

If you read the Myturbodiesel specs, I think they say that the injector fuel line nuts are torqued to approximately 30 ft/lbs, and the injector fork hold down bolts are only 15 ft/lbs.
Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.

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Nope your right reading is hard when your super frustrated.

Ugh

I always look to read twice before I do anything. And, as you are tightening anything keep in mind the force you're using relative to the size of the stuff that you're tightening. I got mixed up on a trans mount and fortunately stopped before I trashed it. Looked again and I'd gotten the torque specs wrong (wrong spec for the bolt I was tightening). As I was twisting on the wrench I was thinking that this was too tight. Fortunately I listened to the voices in my head

Anyway, what's the status now? Do you have any of the bolt sticking above the head? If so, a bolt extractor (like this: http://www.irwin.com/tools/browse/screw-bolt-extractors/bolt-extractors) might get it out.

A tip that I'd gotten from this site is to torque down to 15 ft-lbs and then tamp down the injector using a slide hammer/puller (that one uses to pull the injectors out), doing so gently -don't slam, just tap tap- to seat things well, and then re-torquing to 15 ft-lbs. My experience is that the injectors will end up at about 1/2 that 15 ft-lbs after you tamp down on the injectors. Why do this? Reports are that no one has ever had a leak using this procedure: I've only done it twice and in both cases I have had no problems.

Oh, and apply some (high temp) grease to the pivot that the hold-down clamp rides on. Moly grease is good.

UhOh said:

Ugh

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Thank you for the tips. The bolt is below the head. My father is going to help me tonight with a left handed drill bit. If that doesn't work we might have to drill it out. I'll keep you updated hopefully I get the new bolt in in a few days and no more P0302 misfire detected in chamber 2.

The concerning thing is that I got this code before I got my injectors checked. Could I of messed anything up putting my turbo or intake back on that could cause this code?

I drove it about 25 miles after putting it all together before the misfire code happened.

Thanks guys.

This is one case where an easy out will work. Usually an overtorqued bolt will be loose unless it bottomed. Might even be able to get it out by making a groove with a small chisel for a screwdriver.

^^^ Yes. (it's bolt extraction via the inside of the bolt, vs the bolt extractors that use the outside of the bolt) Might also look to put some penetrating fluid down there to help ease things a bit: be sure to clean this all out well before you go to reinstall everything.

UhOh said:

^^^ Yes. (it's bolt extraction via the inside of the bolt, vs the bolt extractors that use the outside of the bolt) Might also look to put some penetrating fluid down there to help ease things a bit: be sure to clean this all out well before you go to reinstall everything.

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The broken bolt is out it took about 5 mins with a lefty drill bit.

I used the tap down method and Im waiting for the new bolt to come in on Monday.

Ill let you guys know how if the tap down method and cleaning under the washers works. Hopefully my the P0302 misfire code in cylinder 2 goes away. Im not even sure how it can tell that it has a misfire in cylinder 2. There is only a sensor on injector 3.

makos101 said:

The broken bolt is out it took about 5 mins with a lefty drill bit.

I used the tap down method and Im waiting for the new bolt to come in on Monday.

Ill let you guys know how if the tap down method and cleaning under the washers works. Hopefully my the P0302 misfire code in cylinder 2 goes away. Im not even sure how it can tell that it has a misfire in cylinder 2. There is only a sensor on injector 3.

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Great news on the relative ease of getting the bolt remains out.

Back to the code, and what you say here. It got me thinking whether that reporting for #2 isn't in fact your #3 (injector with the lift sensor). I believe that there are instances in which the numbering of things is seemingly backwards, I think such is the case with GPs. Now then, all the world knows what a #3 injector is, but I have to wonder whether inside the ECU there's this upside-down world like with the GPs?

UhOh said:

Great news on the relative ease of getting the bolt remains out.

Back to the code, and what you say here. It got me thinking whether that reporting for #2 isn't in fact your #3 (injector with the lift sensor). I believe that there are instances in which the numbering of things is seemingly backwards, I think such is the case with GPs. Now then, all the world knows what a #3 injector is, but I have to wonder whether inside the ECU there's this upside-down world like with the GPs?

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So a little of a back story of what’s been happening to me and my frustration lol. My turbo clogged up the first time. I took it off and cleaned it. 250 miles later it clogged up again. I reused the intake and exhaust gaskets after the second cleaning. I hope that’s not causing the leak in compression? My intake to egr had two stripped bolts that were leaking that I fixed and I took it for a 20 mile ride and then I threw the misfire code. Then I took the injectors out and 2 needed to be rebuilt now I’m here. So I think the leaking injector was the reason why my turbo got clogged. But I’m not sure.

It's possible that the ECU was just sensing that three was a problem and the problem is only reported via the #3 injector. That is, it's possible that it could be any injector/cylinder that was messed up, not just cylinder "#2".

Not thinking that any of those other things that you mention could cause the fault that we're talking about here. Nonetheless, get the injectors back in and torqued down well/properly and let's then see how things are.

UhOh said:

It's possible that the ECU was just sensing that three was a problem and the problem is only reported via the #3 injector. That is, it's possible that it could be any injector/cylinder that was messed up, not just cylinder "#2".

Not thinking that any of those other things that you mention could cause the fault that we're talking about here. Nonetheless, get the injectors back in and torqued down well/properly and let's then see how things are.

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Okay ill let you know on Monday once they are in. Thank you for all the help.

UhOh said:

It's possible that the ECU was just sensing that three was a problem and the problem is only reported via the #3 injector. That is, it's possible that it could be any injector/cylinder that was messed up, not just cylinder "#2".
Not thinking that any of those other things that you mention could cause the fault that we're talking about here. Nonetheless, get the injectors back in and torqued down well/properly and let's then see how things are.

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Copy and past from OP

So they are back in and torqued down. Number 1 and 2 were bubbling so I took them out and cleaned all inside the injector housing with string wrapped around a Que tip.
Its still smoking a ton and now i have a different code! Miss fire in cylinder number 1!!!! WHAT IS GOING ONNNNN?????????? How does it just change from cylinder 2 to number 1?
Here are some pictures of the exhaust smoke that my car is putting out. Also I pulled glow plug number 1 and 4 and they have some brown on them that I cant get off. Maybe its time for 4 new plugs?
new code

exhast smoke the fills up my garage very fast.

glow plug number 4. Notice the brown on the tip

Also the washers the injector shop gave me seem to have this ridge in them. Do you think they gave me ones that are not made for my injectors?

these dont have the ridges http://www.idparts.com/injector-seal-1zahualh-p-375.html

Also my IQ setting is up around 9 when I go in to adaptation but my car is also not warmed up. I can get it down to 3-4 easily but then it doesnt let me save the test values. Im logged in and everything.

Here is block number 13 im not sure why two are positive and two are negative

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Now i'm having P0301. Misfire in chamber 1. How can it switch from chamber 2 to chamber 1 just from re seating the injectors?

Could my glow plugs cause this?

Could my weird shaped washers that the injector shop gave me cause this?

I think 1.88 is the highest those numbers can go meaning they're all pegged.

I'm thinking you may have an electrical problem. Maybe a ground or damaged wire somewhere you caused by the work you did.

I don't think it's the plugs or you'd be getting a Code for them. Wouldn't hurt to check their resistance, though.

GOOD NEWS! The codes went away after tapping and torquing them a few times. I took it out for an Italian tune up and the smoke stopped after a mile.

KLXD said:

I think 1.88 is the highest those numbers can go meaning they're all pegged.

I'm thinking you may have an electrical problem. Maybe a ground or damaged wire somewhere you caused by the work you did.

I don't think it's the plugs or you'd be getting a Code for them. Wouldn't hurt to check their resistance, though.

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Thats when they were cold. it was different once I got them warm.

What are some things I can graph in vcds to make sure my car is running well? Im not getting any codes. I had to adjust my IQ to 3.0-3.4 so it was running smooth.

Is it worth getting a 22mm wrench so I can adjust my timing and get it smack dab on the blue line?

makos101 said:

What are some things I can graph in vcds to make sure my car is running well? Im not getting any codes.

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I check MAF, Injection Timing control, and Boost. If you're not getting any codes and those three items log correctly, then simply add diesel fuel and drive.

makos101 said:

Is it worth getting a 22mm wrench so I can adjust my timing and get it smack dab on the blue line?

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If you have a 7/8" wrench then you don't need to buy a 22mm just for this.

I set mine closer to the top green line...almost right on it. Both of my cars seem to like it there.

Rembrant said:

I check MAF, Injection Timing control, and Boost. If you're not getting any codes and those three items log correctly, then simply add diesel fuel and drive.
If you have a 7/8" wrench then you don't need to buy a 22mm just for this.
I set mine closer to the top green line...almost right on it. Both of my cars seem to like it there.

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Updated OP

They are not logging correctly. Any more suggestions would be appreciated.

There is no oil in my inter cooler.

Does this mean that my MAF is the problem? Or could something else be causing it to not get the right air flow? When I unplug my maf my performance gets worse for sure.

I'd tend to say "yes." Generally a good MAF will allow you to hit redline and will provide all air that is requested (and will in cases jump up around 1150 or so, which is OK).

For giggles you can unplug the connector and put in some dialectic grease. The grease and re-seating might help, though in this case I wouldn't give it a high probability.

If you end up buying a new MAF only get an OEM one (no cheap aftermarket ones).

Well I just swapped maf's and nothing changed. Maf actual is not getting above 650 at most. I can rev to redline in neutral. Its blowing a ton of white smoke so fuel is not getting the air it needs.

What could be causing this? A clogged CAT?

makos101 said:

What could be causing this? A clogged CAT?

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How's your boost? Is the actual meeting specified?