No power after turbo rebuild

2005 Jetta TDI wagon. BEW PD engine. I am at 292,000 miles, original owner. I had a slight oil leak at the right front of the engine compartment. Was told it needed a rebuilt turbo and a new injection pump. Bad seals meant oil was leaking and going to the intercooler. After the work was done I do not have the power I used to have. Actually, it comes and goes. I was up in Pacific NW and all the sudden power was fine. On the way home, I had to downshift to get up hills on Hwy 93 through Nevada.


The guy who worked on it plugged it in revved it some, checked for loose hoses and wires and said it would be fine. It isn't. I should mention, I saw black smoke, not a lot but some, from behind the engine when he revved it up.



I am thinking it is not getting the amount of air it should be getting from the turbo to the engine. Waste gate, maf, etc. all seem like possibilities to me, but then what do I know?


I would like to have an idea before I take it to another mechanic. Thank you for any help.

Well for one thing....if this is a PD engine there is no injection pump. So not sure what they sold you. Maybe a tandem fuel pump or an in tank pump?

Have you scanned it for codes yet, I would do that first and find a TDI guru not some generic mechanic.

Vcds. Vagcom cable. Get it. Stop going where ever you did before. If whoever worked on it did not use this tool is clearly incapable of working on TDIs.
Scan for codes.
Lots of bad I fo here. No injection pump on a pd engine. Also its 100% normal for oil to go into the intercooler. Journal bearings is what you have and you need a proper restrictor if a aftermarket turbo was installed.
Your clearly going into limp mode. And the guy is an idiot. You cant check for boost leaks by revving the engine. You need to load it. Reving will not do that. Please see our trusted TDI mechanics post sticky.

Find a mechanic listed below and go to no one else.

https://forums.tdiclub.com/search.php?searchid=20240317

https://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=130044

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DonL said:

I should mention, I saw black smoke, not a lot but some, from behind the engine when he revved it up.

Click to expand...

I'm betting you have a broken EGR cooler pipe. Pretty common on BEWs because it's difficult to reattach the EGR cooler to the intake manifold. Read this for more info. http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=263090

Multiple people told me how wonderful this German guy in Fort Mohave was. Expensive lesson learned. Problem is, my guru in Portland,OR died. I would take to Justin at TNT in Kingman, except I can't stand dealing with Wanda. So, I guess I take it to Phoenix or Las Vegas since both have gurus.


As far as the "injection pump" goes, he pointed to something on the left side of the engine. Like I said, expensive lesson learned. When he didn't have anything to say about the smoke I knew I had a problem.



Thank you for the responses.

Well, at least in Vegas you can get a free drink and a buffet supper


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There are a couple more gurus in Portland if you're back there again.
Oldpoopie and FixUmHaus are both good peoples.

Fixed

So, last Wednesday I took the car to Wolf's Auto Repair in Las Vegas.


Diagnosis: Turbo charger rebuild not working and not even properly bolted on, EGR cooler leaking, intercooler cracked and plugged, some other little stuff.


Cost, $ 4,747.68, plus the $ 3,200 I paid to German Performance in Fort Mohave, AZ for some of the same work.


German Performance in Fort Mohave, AZ absolutely does NOT deserve guru status.

Sorry you had that experience, glad you got it fixed.

If you paid the first mechanic with a credit card I would call the CC and file a dispute.
Get a written statement from the current shop on exactly what they found after the first repair and go from there.....try the first shop and see if they will reimburse you....if not than you may want to do small claims court.

sue them for it. get paperwork. report to BBB ect......
small claims if it comes to it.

I am not a fan of any kind of lawsuit. You go in a hog, you come out sausage. Still, I might go the small claims route. Unfortunately, I did not pay by credit card. I have not yet presented my claim to him, but I will.


Posting on Yelp, Google, etc. also a possibility.



Warning to all, DO NOT trust any car to German Performance in Ft. Mohave, AZ. Trusts a VW dealer before you trust him.

Yea, results will vary. Once you pay a lawyer, you've lost. I might forge a lawyer letterhead on a letter. Even if it got to court, judge might not favor you since the mechanic did do some work.

Law suit / small claims
Same difference.
No lawyer needed. Just file and show evidence from the repairs.
Yea your time is $ but at the $3k+ you lost, its definty worth your time