New Owner - First Diesel

[S5_937]

Bought my first diesel and let's say I'm pretty...... skeptical. Keep in mind this is a complete toy and I tinker with things in my off time. This forum has provided me much direction when it comes to what I should replace/work on when it comes to the 1.9.

- 2005.5 Jetta TDI Pkg 1 5 spd
- 250k miles on the odo

Runs well besides some inconsistent throttle response and a shimmy from the motor/trans. Not sure what it could be (my research makes it point to a motor mount, DMF, or very clogged EGR/intake). This is a tinkering car that gets around fine but I'd rather not destroy it in a week if something is very wrong.

Any insight on what you think the two issues I stated above would be appreciated. Hoping for a 50+ average on MPG. I hypermile a bit which is fun so I'll be doing it a lot in this bad boy. Pictures to follow when I get around to cleaning it.

Cheers

 

[oilhammer]

You may try and find someone near you that knows these cars to look yours over. Lots of "possibles" on that one.

The common things on the BRM:

DMF (rough idle, often felt through the clutch pedal, whole car can shake, almost feels like a misfire but the engine will have all its power)

Alternator pulley locked up (rough idle, accessory belt tensioner will be bouncing like crazy, sometimes a rattle)

Turbo VNT stop worn out (laggy, inconsistent power delivery, often a big puff of black smoke and then it takes off).

EGR valve not fully closing (similar to the worn out VNT stop, but often has low power overall)

EGR cooler leaking at the changeover flap shaft (laggy, obvious loud hissing under the hood, soot blown all over the backside of the engine, low power)

Camshaft/lifters worn out (usually obvious, super low power, black smoke, rough idle, "bump" sound at idle)

 

[S5_937]

Took the car to Midas, did a used car inspection. The shake/shimmy I feel when I get it throttle is being related to a unbalanced wheel. That can't be the reason... Everything else looks good besides the minor oil leak and he said it was likely near the turbo/intake manifold assembly.

I have a list of things, from my research, that the shake could be:
- EGR valve clogged/needed replaced (that's why the CEL is on)
- DMF
- Timing Belt (Last documented change was at 115k miles)

I hate wasting money but if I don't have documentation something was done, I tend to think it wasn't. I'll be disassembling the EGR to clean it by hand and then using some liqui moly I ordered to help with the manifold soot buildup (I'm not going that far with disassembly). I've seen plenty of videos how to do it. I'll do that first before buying anything to see if that cures the problem. The only code that came up was for the EGR valve so I'll start there. Any tips or tricks to get this thing running how it should is welcome.

 

[Johhny04]

Took the car to Midas, did a used car inspection. The shake/shimmy I feel when I get it throttle is being related to a unbalanced wheel. That can't be the reason... Everything else looks good besides the minor oil leak and he said it was likely near the turbo/intake manifold assembly.

I have a list of things, from my research, that the shake could be:
- EGR valve clogged/needed replaced (that's why the CEL is on)
- DMF
- Timing Belt (Last documented change was at 115k miles)

I hate wasting money but if I don't have documentation something was done, I tend to think it wasn't. I'll be disassembling the EGR to clean it by hand and then using some liqui moly I ordered to help with the manifold soot buildup (I'm not going that far with disassembly). I've seen plenty of videos how to do it. I'll do that first before buying anything to see if that cures the problem. The only code that came up was for the EGR valve so I'll start there. Any tips or tricks to get this thing running how it should is welcome.

I highly recommend avoiding this in the future. I see you're located in Ohio. Lots of members are located in your state or surrounding states, find a trusted mechanic through the sticky which should be able to provide a helping hand and guidance. Good luck with your new toy.

 

[S5_937]

I highly recommend avoiding this in the future. I see you're located in Ohio. Lots of members are located in your state or surrounding states, find a trusted mechanic through the sticky which should be able to provide a helping hand and guidance. Good luck with your new toy.

They were the cheapest around and closest to the house, I have about 0 time during the day. But I'll agree, cheap work is cheap work. At least they checked over everything else. I'm not looking to pay a bunch of money on a car that isn't worth it. I'll give the sticky a try.

 

[oilhammer]

My little sister could have done a better job than Midas, LOL.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

My little sister could have done a better job than Midas, LOL.

Does she work at PepBoys?

 

[oilhammer]

We don't have those here.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Where are you in Ohio? Jon Hamilton (Jon's Auto) in Marysville is one of the best TDI mechanics out there. Does a lot of work on you year cars. Even if it's a bit of a drive, it'll be worth the trip. (937) 209-0187

 

[S5_937]

Where are you in Ohio? Jon Hamilton (Jon's Auto) in Marysville is one of the best TDI mechanics out there. Does a lot of work on you year cars. Even if it's a bit of a drive, it'll be worth the trip. (937) 209-0187

Not too far, maybe an hour. I'm thinking the problem is an EGR valve and I'll be doing the cleaning today/tomorrow. I also had a great surprise of my parking brake being stuck and not releasing the rear brakes yesterday. They released after a bit or warming up but my pb lever not doesn't engage for the first inch or so when pulling it. Stretched cable maybe? Or frozen?

 

[Rx7145]

The parking brake being misadjusted is a common problem. The adjustment is under the center console. Probably just needs loosening.

 

[S5_937]

The parking brake being misadjusted is a common problem. The adjustment is under the center console. Probably just needs loosening.

I did some research, seems to be the cold weather and it sticking. I don't park on hills so leaving it in gear works for me for the winter months.

 

[S5_937]

Ran some Liqui Moly through the intake and ran it for about 20 minutes. Seemed like a good bit of carbon was burned off as there was a lot of white smoke as I sprayed it in. 1st through 4th gear seem to run better but 5th on the highway still leaves some room for improvement.

There is a distinct hissing sound on partial throttle. It sounds like turbo spool but I have ruled that out as it doesn't happen when accelerating, just maintaining speed. It also seems to have a time where it happens and it doesn't, probably every 10 seconds or so. Hard to put into words, maybe 10 seconds where there is a leak and then no leak? Maybe the EGR valve when it opens and closes due to a leak? There's a slight shimmy that isn't terrible and the CEL is still (P0401) for the EGR valve. The EGR valve looked somewhat clean, I'm guessing it is still pretty clogged in the intake?

 

[BuckeyeMan71]

If your timing belt was last documented as being done at 115k that would be the very first thing to get done asap!!! If it breaks you’ll have even bigger problems. Also where do you live here in Ohio. I have a VCDS that’ll tell you more

 

[Master Sushi]

Ola Guys

My mk4 used to go into intermittent limpmode, solved the problem by changing worn vacuum pipes but even then the boost power was not consistent, have a crackling noise under egr.

Recently after getting a low oil pressure warning, 2 weeks later im in limpmode again, this time its permanent . I have an oil leak under oil cooler next to crank sensor.

My vacuum pump also seems not to be functioning at full capacity cause i only get abs on 1st brake then after pedal goes hard.

How do i go about attending above problems

 

[Master Sushi]

Just notice next to the crank sensoor there is a chip on my engin block which possibly has a slight oil leak which increases the higher the the rev count.

Any ideas how this chip could be attended to?

 

[S5_937]

If your timing belt was last documented as being done at 115k that would be the very first thing to get done asap!!! If it breaks you’ll have even bigger problems. Also where do you live here in Ohio. I have a VCDS that’ll tell you more

I considered changing it but the guy beforehand is somewhat trustworthy, he stated it was changed along with a host of other things. When I take it in for an oil change/inspection, I'll have it looked at. I just need the time to take the EGR valve and intake manifold off so I can clean it. I have a hunch that is part of the issue. As for the leak, I'm not sure.

Southwestern Ohio. You?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The timing belt interval for your engine is 80K miles. If you're at 250K and it was last done at 115K, you're way overdue. Inspection won't tell you anything, these systems look fine until they fail. And more often than not it's a bearing or the tensioner that fails, not the belt.

 

[Rx7145]

The timing belt interval for your engine is 80K miles. If you're at 250K and it was last done at 115K, you're way overdue. Inspection won't tell you anything, these systems look fine until they fail. And more often than not it's a bearing or the tensioner that fails, not the belt.

I doubt it would last 135k. If it did I wouldn’t drive or start the car until it was replaced.

 

[Rx7145]

Just notice next to the crank sensoor there is a chip on my engin block which possibly has a slight oil leak which increases the higher the the rev count.

Any ideas how this chip could be attended to?

Can you post a picture of this chip?

 

[Master Sushi]

There is a small hump (houses bolt Inside) on the block, about four finger spaces from the crank sensor. The chip is on that hump whichbi suspect was caused by a over sized bolt from the inside. Put eproxy on it yesterday not sure how that will hold up.

 

[S5_937]

Taking the car in Wednesday to have them look at the issues:

- Timing belt/Water pump
- Hissing sound on partial throttle (vacuum leak somewhere)
- Oil leak
- Inspect cam to see if it needs replaced
- Inconsistent throttle response

Any other preventative maintenance items to tell them to check?

 

[Rx7145]

Torsion value.

 

[S5_937]

Torsion value.

Looks like values wants to be at or near 0.0. I do see that some people/mechanics set it to 1.0 to account for stretching with the belt. Value at the moment probably doesn't matter, more so when the new belt is put on. I read that it can also affect MPG. Looks like the best is between the .0-1.0. I'll ask the service advisor when I drop it off.

 

[oilhammer]

The belts don't really stretch. And the crank-cam value is somewhat of a seat-of-the-pants thing. Some would argue one way or the other, largely based on what it most important: fuel economy or power. I'm in the power camp. A 3000 pound car with only 100hp needs all the oomph it can get. It will be frugal on fuel no matter what. But '0' at or near warm idle is the norm, or at least as close as you can get. The value changes slightly as the engine warms, because the camshaft moves further away from the crank due to expansion. This is also why there is a range of temps that the tensioner should be set, not too hot, and certainly not too cold.

 

[S5_937]

The belts don't really stretch. And the crank-cam value is somewhat of a seat-of-the-pants thing. Some would argue one way or the other, largely based on what it most important: fuel economy or power. I'm in the power camp. A 3000 pound car with only 100hp needs all the oomph it can get. It will be frugal on fuel no matter what. But '0' at or near warm idle is the norm, or at least as close as you can get. The value changes slightly as the engine warms, because the camshaft moves further away from the crank due to expansion. This is also why there is a range of temps that the tensioner should be set, not too hot, and certainly not too cold.

Makes sense. I'm more on the MPG side. I have my S5 for when I feel spirited. I'll see what they say.

 

[Rx7145]

I’m my experience if you go too much on the positive side it’s hard to start hot.

 

[sptsailing]

Taking the car in Wednesday to have them look at the issues:

- Timing belt/Water pump
- Hissing sound on partial throttle (vacuum leak somewhere)
- Oil leak
- Inspect cam to see if it needs replaced
- Inconsistent throttle response

Any other preventative maintenance items to tell them to check?

I had a couple vacuum leak issues over the years. An unexpected one was the integrated vacuum reservoir in the cylinder head cover. It is easy to check to see if it holds vacuum. If not, it can be fixed with silicone around the seam which creates it right on the top of the cover. That leak only caused the car to go into limp mode when the car was above 3,500 feet or so elevation on vacation, but I don't know what other problems it had been causing me here in Florida.

Another significant vacuum leak was the crappy plastic vacuum hose that connects into the brake vacuum booster. The OEM replacement hose is pricey.

Retightening the cylinder head cover bolts according to the recommended procedure might be all you need to do to fix what I believe is the most common oil leak.

 

[S5_937]

Retightening the cylinder head cover bolts according to the recommended procedure might be all you need to do to fix what I believe is the most common oil leak.

I'll mention this to the tech, thanks for sharing.

 

[S5_937]

Report came back, just over $9k in repairs lol most not needed at this time. The tech did state that there is a leak from the EGR cooler gasket. It also needs a EGR control solenoid.

The big question is the cam. He stated he needed to take the valve cover off to look at it since a code was given for the camshaft. He said there's no point to do any other repairs if the cam is bad, which I understand. The good thing is he said it might stop the oil leak since he is replacing the head gasket at no charge. No leak is good, but man, cam work is a PITA. He'll update me later today or tomorrow if it's bad. More to come.