TDI Delete/Turbo upgrade

Sorry guys, I know I have seen some threads regarding the title, However I cannot find the threads now, If anyone could help I would appreciate it.. I have a 2003 TDI Wagon with Turbo Issues (Clogged) and this is the 2nd time in 2 years, I am assuming that the mechanic did not clean everything and just replaced the EGR and Turbo. I now want to get rid of these issues forever and upgrade the turbo at the same time.. I travel 150 miles through Mountains daily and turbo failures are killing me.

Replacing the EGR and turbo is one thing.
Ensuring the entire charge air and exhaust system is healthy is another.
Recommend you use a trusted mechanic listed here;
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044
How about your intake manifold, ever check that? They tend to get really bad by this age.
What mileage are you at? How exactly did your turbos fail? (2 in 2 years? Yikes! - not normal!)
Ever check for an oil puddle in your intercooler? CCV valve OK? Any trouble codes?
But really, if you were using the right mechanic...probably wouldn't be happening.
My Wife's EGR lasted >230k miles and her turbo is still pumping.
Deleting your EGR does not equal increased reliability. Plus, I'm sure it's illegal anywhere near Phoenix to remove it.

I am no longer in an area that requires emissions, I am now living out in the middle of the desert, about 250 miles north of Phoenix. The only code is a Thermostat code.
You are correct, the last mechanic, I thought I could trust, Paid him a bunch of money to address some issues, and ended up having to pay another mechanic to readress some of the issues.. I am sure when he replaced the Turbo/EGR the first time, he did not clean out the intake, Nor other things needed to fix the issue properly. One of the issues that he was supposed to fix was my AC, He said he fixed it, But really he just painted the Compressor and overcharged it... needless to say that caused all kinds of other issues... Now I am just trying to get things fixed.
The threads on here say that preforming a delete helps with fuel economy, and being that I travel at minimum 150 miles a day, I am interested. Also, When I preform this delete, I will be sure to clean the intake as well, I have done it on other TDI's and have had great results..
For some reason I cannot use the Search function on this site to relocate the threads related to Upgraded turbo's and the Delete process.. These threads tell of a source to obtain the parts. If anyone can help me with the posting of these threads, I would appreciate it

For better searching, have a look here,
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=447123
Or just use a search engine...they have indexed this website pretty well by now.

Most of us that have deleted EGR lost a little fuel mileage, at least that was my experience. Seems like I lost about 2 MPG. Wasn’t a big deal to me, I still average around 46-48 with my heavy foot.

A clogged turbo can be caused prematurely based on your driving style. Keeping the engine under 2000 rpm (although it will happily do it) going up hills and so on will put a lot of load on the engine, and usually clog up the turbo.

Driving harder (keeping the engine above 2000rpm when driving) is not only usually equally economical, but puts less strain on the engine, gearbox, clutch when going up gradients due to the lower gear you'll be in.

I've seen many-a-car where the owner drives it low in the RPM range, never using full boost from 2000RPM and up; and as a result have severely clogged vanes and so on.

Fuel quality can also play a factor on the clogging up of a turbo.


I reccomend a little more hard driving, and lower gears to keep RPM's high (if you don't already) once the turbo has been replaced.

Do we really know that the turbo is clogged? He has had 2 mechanics throwing parts at it and still has the same issues. It could be a vacuum leak causing the turbo to over/underboost. And the intake manifold and ports may need cleaned. I wouldnt change/eliminate the EGR till you start solving other problems. If they installed a new turbo, it should be good, too.

I have 332k miles on my 01 golf with original turbo and EGR. I did an intake cleaning at 150k miles (not really clogged). Ive cleaned the turbo twice (overboosting condition). Completely changed all vacuum lines At 150k miles.

I really think there is something else going on here, but we need more info.

jwrb said:

A clogged turbo can be caused prematurely based on your driving style. Keeping the engine under 2000 rpm (although it will happily do it) going up hills and so on will put a lot of load on the engine, and usually clog up the turbo.

Driving harder (keeping the engine above 2000rpm when driving) is not only usually equally economical, but puts less strain on the engine, gearbox, clutch when going up gradients due to the lower gear you'll be in.

I've seen many-a-car where the owner drives it low in the RPM range, never using full boost from 2000RPM and up; and as a result have severely clogged vanes and so on.

Fuel quality can also play a factor on the clogging up of a turbo.


I reccomend a little more hard driving, and lower gears to keep RPM's high (if you don't already) once the turbo has been replaced.

Click to expand...

^^^^ This! And get a tune, you'll need it if you get the usual turbo
upgrade to a VNT17. Also you could be overfuelling, you need to get
a VCDS and check your IQ#. A catch can will help as well.

If I knew how to post a Picture I would...

There is a thread explaining this. Check my signature below. They must be hosted on some picture server and the link posted here in your thread for them to display inline with your post. Use someplace like Imgur or the server here. Imgur gives many options you can use to resize or post linked thumbnails and such. Our server here is somewhat prefered as people don't mess with their pictures as much and break the links to them rendering the thread useless sometimes as the pics all disappeared due to broken links.

Lightflyer,
I follow all the above steps, when I get to #5 there is NO
"select the photos from your computer" line on the screen.
Is this the result of recent problems? Me? My computer?
Any insight appreciated.
Cheers

I just tried it. Works for me. Pretty simple but are you sure you followed all the steps exactly? If so try using imgur and upload your pics there and use the BB link to copy the link and post back here. You can control the size there by clicking at the bottom what size you want and then clicking the BB copy button. Large thumbnails work well and link to the original full size pics if clicked on. This is great as large pics don't blow the margins out here but lets people see the large pic if needed. You can also contact the moderator here and see if something is up with your account.

In reference to photos:

Once you learn how to use the TDI Club Photo Gallery, you'll love it! And, your photos will always be secure. I refuse to read thru a Thread in an attempt to help when it is loaded with over-size pics that push everything to the right! When pasting the link of a photo always post it to the left margin below any narrative. If you follow with a second link, space down at least two lines and do the same. Spacing the photos allows future editing, ease of view and understanding.

As for the over/under boost issues of the OP, if the Turbo is working properly, it will compensate if the Intake is restricted. I've seen them plugged so bad that the hole in the center beyond the EGR was about the size of a quarter. So, as others have suggested deal with the small things that might be causing the issues, such as vacuum leak, faulty N75, etc. Sometimes I've found DTCs relating to the engine in other areas such as central electric, steering wheel, etc. So, scan all systems, make note of the DTCs and then delete them.

As others have stated, the OE Turbo on my formerly owed 2000 Jetta which is pushing 400k miles, works just fine. My son owns it now. The engine in my 2003 Jetta is from an 01 and it has about 350k miles on it and works great with the original Turbo and the Intake has never been cleaned nor the EGR.

Lightlyer & AndyBees,
Thanks for the encouragement gents, I figured something out, though
I'm still not sure exactly what I did, but the upload button appeared.
Ahhh, the frustration of Windows, one of these days I'll have to try Mac.
Cheers!