99.5 Golf TDI quits in puddle of Oil&Water.

[Chesta]

80k miles, my brother in law was driving along and it just quit. He thought it ran out of gas, gets out to find a puddle of oil and water under the car. It has been towed to a garage and it awaiting a post-mortem. No word yet on cause of death. Anyone care to speculate? Car's engine was 100% stock and well maintained.
Chet

 

[Snowman]

Try here...

http://www.tdiclub.com/TDIFAQ/TDiFAQ-8.html#b

[ December 02, 2002, 10:26: Message edited by: Snowman ]

 

[GeWilli]

when was the timing belt last changed?

That would be the first and most likely problem. The Waterpump is the other issue. Using G12 coolant right? . . .

could be very expensive unless you have a good mechanic who understands the ins and outs of TDIs and only charges you the hours it takes to do it.

 

[Chesta]

Originally posted by Snowman:
Try here...

http://www.tdiclub.com/TDIFAQ/TDiFAQ-8.html#b

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I read that before I posted this.

 

[Snowman]

Originally posted by Chesta:
80k miles, my brother in law was driving along and it just quit. (stuff deleted) Car's engine was 100% stock and well maintained.
Chet

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would have said timing belt as well. But if it was well maintained, the belt would have been changed at it's scheduled interval. Maybe the timing belt change was a botched job? Water AND oil? Oil cooler failure maybe? If it was the oil cooler I can't think of how it could have failed catastrophically like that.

I suppose your bro-in-law didn't notice the check engine light come on just prior to the break-down?

Did you hear anything when it happened?

Let us know how things progress.

Good luck!

 

[GeWilli]

couple things - its a 99.5 if the owner didn't know better it might have just had the 2nd timing belt done.

Or it had one done and then not the other . . . we need more information to be of much help . . .

 

[Chesta]

Early word from the mechanic at the VW dealership is water pump & timing belt are bad. He's tearing into it to see if the pistons bent anything or were damaged. He said if everything looks alright (doubtful according to him) and just the timing belt and water pump are replaced the est. cost including labor will be $750.00

Ouch. I'll let you know what he says today after he gets further into it.

Chet

BTW- No CEL, just quit. Thought he was out of gas because fuel was low. For whatever reason he sprayed in some starting fluid and cranked it and he said it sounded like a washing machine full of silverware.

 

[Drivbiwire]

$3,000 by the time they are done with you guys, sorry to say.

DB

 

[Bob Norris]

Just some thoughts if something like this happens again, or to anyone else....

It's probably not a good idea to try to force-start a TDI that is leaking fluids and has stopped for an unknown reason, until you're sure the timing belt is OK and no fluids have leaked into the cylinders. I would turn the engine over by hand first to see if it rotates without any heart-stopping clanks. Also, be REALLY careful when using starting fluid to get diesels going. Be sure to disable the glow plugs first, and start with VERY LITTLE amounts. It's abusive to the engine at best, as shown by the "washing machine full of silverware" sound described by your brother. Done carelessly, it can put holes in pistons in short order. Sounds like the car came out of it OK though.

 

[flair.14]

Originally posted by Chesta:

BTW- No CEL, just quit. Thought he was out of gas because fuel was low. For whatever reason he sprayed in some starting fluid and cranked it and he said it sounded like a washing machine full of silverware.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where did he spray the starting fluid? On the fuel filter?

 

[Birdman]

Shouldn't the 100.000 mile warrenty cover it.

 

[Snowman]

Originally posted by Birdman:
Shouldn't the 100.000 mile warrenty cover it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Not if it should have been changed at the specified interval of 64k km or 96k km. You are still responsible for regular maintenance.

 

[EVONELLY]

He obviosly sprayed the starting fluid into the open air box.

 

[Birdman]

HE said well maintaned that to me means timing belt had been done.

 

[concours]

"well maintained" means many different things to many people. My favorite is the classified ad that reads " very dependable, never had to do a thing to it" = NEEDS EVERYTHING.

Many people are not informed about timing belt service.

 

[weedeater]

Sounds to me like the water pump went, broke it's shaft or whatever, then the belt slipped off. If he was running along with any sort of engine speed, then he's broken all the lifters, some if not all the valves and perhaps damaged the pistons.

$1500+

 

[spokeman]

Gives me the creeps to think about it, but would a TDI start on a shot of starter fluid if the timing belt was broken? He did get it to run that way, albeit briefly, and I don't think an engine could push valves into pistons for long even when propelled by starting fluid.

Just had a thought that doesn't really apply to this situation, but can starting fluid foul the MAF? If so, it's another reason to avoid using it to start a TDI unless absolutely necessary- and in addition to disabling the glow plugs, it means taking apart the plastic intake pipe so the spray can be added downstream of the MAF.

 

[Chesta]

Originally posted by weedeater:
Sounds to me like the water pump went, broke it's shaft or whatever, then the belt slipped off. If he was running along with any sort of engine speed, then he's broken all the lifters, some if not all the valves and perhaps damaged the pistons.

$1500+

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">We have a winner!!!!!!!!!
According to the mechanic that is exactly what occurred, minus the broken lifters, valves etc. It's back running now for a grand total of $1038. This includes the water pump, timing belt, and labor. They even cleaned out the EGR system.

 

[GeWilli]

decent deal ya didn't get too hosed on the deal - so whadda I win

 

[GeWilli]

Originally posted by GeWilli:
The Waterpump

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">seems this was in response #2

[ December 12, 2002, 13:31: Message edited by: GeWilli ]

 

[Pressurized]

So should the water pump be R&R'd at the 60K mile timing belt change?

 

[NYTDI]

Chesta, is he the original owner of the car?

If yes then This failure/repair should cost him nothing.

The water pump is specifically mentioned as an included component in the 10 yr./100k mi. warranty.

The injection pump is specifically not covered but the water pump is, I don't get how this makes any sense but so it is

 

[Chesta]

No he's not the original owner, he bought it at 65K as a lease return. The salesperson obviously lied about the maintenance being up to date.

Sorry GeWilli, you are the rightful winner, my mistake. All hail GeWilli.

 

[spoilsport]

Sounds like he got lucky to me. Water pump gives out, TB breaks or slips off, and there was no damage to valves or pistons ?!

 

[michTDI]

"Sounds like he got lucky to me. Water pump gives out, TB breaks or slips off, and there was no damage to valves or pistons ?!"

VERY Lucky. He should play the lottery or something.......