Suburban Redneck
New member
Hi guys, this is my first post here. I have a problem with my 02 golf tdi with the ALH that I have been trying to solve for years to no avail. I am a certified master mechanic and I have read every oil related post in here and nothing describes my problem. Hopefully someone on here has some insight. Here it goes!
2 years ago I had a engine runaway caused by a failed turbo. I was able to stop the runaway before it consumed all of the oil. The engine had 240k on it and it still ran but I decided to do a full rebuild instead of just replacing the turbo. I replaced the rod and main bearings as well as piston rings and cam/lifters with all OEM parts. I bought a low milage head with a couple bent valves, replaced the bent valves and machined it, then installed it with the new cam and lifters. I did not replace the oil pump or oil filter housing.
Ever since the rebuild, I have had one or two noisy lifters. All of the lifters are super noisy upon startup when sitting overnight. (It sounds like the engine has no oil in it for almost 10 seconds) The colder it is outside, the worse the ticking is. After about 10 seconds the lifters quiet down except for one or two lifters that continue to tick for almost 10 MINUTES until the car warms up. The 2 lifters closest to the cam sprocket on the passenger side keep failing and eating the cam. I have replaced the cam and lifters 3 times over the past 2 years and the ticking continues. I have also blown compressed air through all the oil passages in the head with no success. I have also cleaned the oil filter housing thoroughly and blown compressed air through the ports in the block where the housing bolts on.
As for oil pressure, I have about 70psi at cold idle, 15psi warm idle, and 28psi at 2000rpm when warm. I know the spec is 36psi at 2000rpm so something is definitely wrong. Another thing I noticed is the needed on my oil pressure guage vibrates rapidly whenever the lifters are ticking. Once the the engine warms up and the ticking stops the needle levels out and looks normal.
I know there's an oil pressure relief valve in the pump and a anti-drainback valve in the filter housing. I am suspecting the anti drain back valve in the filter housing could cause the startup rattle if the oil is leaking past it back into the sump. Im not sure if either of those valves could be causing the far 2 lifters to keep failing but I'd like to get some input before spending the money on more OEM parts. Thanks in advance.
-Liam
2 years ago I had a engine runaway caused by a failed turbo. I was able to stop the runaway before it consumed all of the oil. The engine had 240k on it and it still ran but I decided to do a full rebuild instead of just replacing the turbo. I replaced the rod and main bearings as well as piston rings and cam/lifters with all OEM parts. I bought a low milage head with a couple bent valves, replaced the bent valves and machined it, then installed it with the new cam and lifters. I did not replace the oil pump or oil filter housing.
Ever since the rebuild, I have had one or two noisy lifters. All of the lifters are super noisy upon startup when sitting overnight. (It sounds like the engine has no oil in it for almost 10 seconds) The colder it is outside, the worse the ticking is. After about 10 seconds the lifters quiet down except for one or two lifters that continue to tick for almost 10 MINUTES until the car warms up. The 2 lifters closest to the cam sprocket on the passenger side keep failing and eating the cam. I have replaced the cam and lifters 3 times over the past 2 years and the ticking continues. I have also blown compressed air through all the oil passages in the head with no success. I have also cleaned the oil filter housing thoroughly and blown compressed air through the ports in the block where the housing bolts on.
As for oil pressure, I have about 70psi at cold idle, 15psi warm idle, and 28psi at 2000rpm when warm. I know the spec is 36psi at 2000rpm so something is definitely wrong. Another thing I noticed is the needed on my oil pressure guage vibrates rapidly whenever the lifters are ticking. Once the the engine warms up and the ticking stops the needle levels out and looks normal.
I know there's an oil pressure relief valve in the pump and a anti-drainback valve in the filter housing. I am suspecting the anti drain back valve in the filter housing could cause the startup rattle if the oil is leaking past it back into the sump. Im not sure if either of those valves could be causing the far 2 lifters to keep failing but I'd like to get some input before spending the money on more OEM parts. Thanks in advance.
-Liam
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