2006 Jetta TDI bad motor?

Hello, new member to the forum here. I have been looking for a Jetta TDI for a new commuter vehicle. Found one for sale that owner says might need a new motor. It's not running.
Owner says it started knocking and rather than shut it down tried to make it back home. He didn't make it. It started knocking then tach redlined and died. Now it won't turn over. It is an automatic with 122000 miles. I don't know any history on it yet. Just wondering if it would be worth looking at for the right price. I work on my own vehicles, but not that familiar with the TDI mechanics.
Any ideas on issues would be helpful.

Thanks

When maintained these engines can last 350-500k miles.

Common issues:
1) DSG flywheel needing to be changed, sometimes once or twice during the life of the car
2) Camshaft lasts 100k miles. I've replaced mine 2x already.
3) Turbo lasts ~150-200K miles.
4) EGR cooler lasts ~200k miles.

I have 248k on mine. No oil consumption to speak of.
I am in the process of doing a DSG to manual swap. Right now I'm gathering parts, hoping to start turning wrenches soon.

In my parts search, I have found several low mile cars in junkyards, where you could buy an engine. Prices will vary. You could also look through the for sale section on this site. Some people buy cars and part them out. Regardless, it would behoove you to replace the timing belt, and maybe the cam.

Tony

camshaft lasts 100k for SOME. 212k and still good on mine.
turbo, still original
Did my manual swap

Same with me narongc73, 212k on mine, the car is original except the dsg clutches and brakes.

Toby2 said:

Hello, new member to the forum here. I have been looking for a Jetta TDI for a new commuter vehicle. Found one for sale that owner says might need a new motor. It's not running.
Owner says it started knocking and rather than shut it down tried to make it back home. He didn't make it. It started knocking then tach redlined and died. Now it won't turn over. It is an automatic with 122000 miles. I don't know any history on it yet. Just wondering if it would be worth looking at for the right price. I work on my own vehicles, but not that familiar with the TDI mechanics.
Any ideas on issues would be helpful.
Thanks

Click to expand...

Toby,

Worse case, you are looking at 1K to 2K for a junkyard motor with no history. This is always a gamble, but sometimes cheaper. If you search, you can find these cars, with solid history for around 3 to 5K with similar mileage. You can back into that $ figure to determine if this deal is worth it for you. If you are mechanically inclined, you can pull the old motor apart and determine the degree of damage. If it cannot turn over, I would have concerns around bent rods. All of these parts can be had and the head can be fixed, just check with Franko6, whose is a member on this forum and runs a machine shop specialized in TDIs.

Personally, I would not spend over 500 to 700 as is for the car. 122K miles is low and its worth your time to look at it. But, if you are jobing this out to a mechanic to get up and running, you really need to do some quick math. Having the receipts and work history is work a lot of money and if you are having someone else do your work, you will most likely be better off going that route versus a project.

just my opinion...

Thanks for the responses.

Talked to the owner today, says it will turn over but no start. He has receipts from previous owner who had the cam, timing belt and associated parts replaced. The car has 122,000 miles, the previous items were replaced 20 to 30k miles ago. Owner has had tranny serviced recently and oil changes every 5k miles with the required synthetic oil. Timing belt is still intact.
Kind of sounds like a timing issue. Could the belt have slipped do to incorrect tension?

Also, I am mechanically inclined

Mattyoctavia said:

Same with me narongc73, 212k on mine, the car is original except the dsg clutches and brakes.

Click to expand...

DSG clutches too? Damn. My clutches were still good before I did the manual swap. Waiting for someone to buy it from me. It ran great before the swap. Def prefer manual.

Toby2 said:

Thanks for the responses.

Talked to the owner today, says it will turn over but no start. He has receipts from previous owner who had the cam, timing belt and associated parts replaced. The car has 122,000 miles, the previous items were replaced 20 to 30k miles ago. Owner has had tranny serviced recently and oil changes every 5k miles with the required synthetic oil. Timing belt is still intact.
Kind of sounds like a timing issue. Could the belt have slipped do to incorrect tension?

Also, I am mechanically inclined

Click to expand...

Yes timing could have skipped a tooth or two. If you can get a good deal on it, buy it.

Toby2 said:

Thanks for the responses.

Talked to the owner today, says it will turn over but no start. He has receipts from previous owner who had the cam, timing belt and associated parts replaced. The car has 122,000 miles, the previous items were replaced 20 to 30k miles ago. Owner has had tranny serviced recently and oil changes every 5k miles with the required synthetic oil. Timing belt is still intact.
Kind of sounds like a timing issue. Could the belt have slipped do to incorrect tension?

Also, I am mechanically inclined

Click to expand...

Well, the car definitely needs a new turbo, new intercooler and a complete oil change.
In addition to that, looks like the engine ran away. Then it stopped. Why did it stop? There might be two reasons, I guess:
1. Oil ingestion. Bent rods, damaged pistons.
2. All the oil was burned and there was nothing to burn more. Crankshaft and piston bearings shot. No good for top end too.

Personally I'd walk away and seek for another car in decent shape.

Going to look at the Jetta tomorrow. What concerns me the most is, what would cause the rpm's to redline before dying. The motor does turn over, but it will not start. Motor started knocking just before rpm's went up. Motor oil is still at the correct level. Only has 20k on motor since TB, cam, lifters, cam retaining bolt set, cam seal, cam bearing set replacement.
Any ideas on what would cause the high rpm before dying?

All that recent engine maintenance is irrelevant and should not be considered into the final sale price given that there's some sort of major mechanical failure.

It sounds like it may have had low oil pressure and spun a rod bearing but it's hard to know for sure without looking at it. Bring a jack with you and drain some oil into a container. If you notice any metallic flakes in the oil or if you swirl the oil around with a stick and notice a metallic sheen to it, then the bearings are toast. I would not even both attempting to try to rebuild that motor - been there and done that. Getting every bit of the old bearing material out of every orifice of the engine is very difficult to do.
Unless you can buy it for $1k or less and already have sourced a low mileage engine, I would pass and keep looking.

I just picked up an 06 TDI with 100k miles that needed tires, timing belt service, and a few other odds and ends for $4,500.

The Jetta you're looking at may sound like a good deal but as you begin to tear into it, you may find yourself putting in more money than finding one that's already running and driving.

1sloVR4 said:

All that recent engine maintenance is irrelevant and should not be considered into the final sale price given that there's some sort of major mechanical failure.

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Agree with the above.

I still think that the engine might have had a runaway.

Oil at correct level? The owner might have replenished it after the accident with hopes that it will start and run again or just so that it would be easier to sell/convice the buyer.

If you have access to new engine or can source the parts for a reasonable price AND if you do your own wrenching, then consider that car furhter. Otherwise, ........

Toby2 said:

Going to look at the Jetta tomorrow. What concerns me the most is, what would cause the rpm's to redline before dying. The motor does turn over, but it will not start. Motor started knocking just before rpm's went up. Motor oil is still at the correct level. Only has 20k on motor since TB, cam, lifters, cam retaining bolt set, cam seal, cam bearing set replacement.
Any ideas on what would cause the high rpm before dying?

Click to expand...

Buying this car without an accurate diagnosis is a total crapshoot. I would only offer to pay the scrap value of the car and plan on spending up to $5K on repairs.

Well, think I figured out what happened. I believe the seal on the turbo went bad which allowed it to suck engine oil into the cylinders causing the high rpm. Since it wont start now, it probably has bent rods and bad valves due to some piston slap.
I will pass on this as he was not willing to come down in price enough.

Thank you for the help with the possibilities of what it could have been.

...
See my #9 post.

You were correct. Thanks again