New to TDIClub? Introduce yourself here!

[J_dude]

Hello Guys!

I have a 2002 Audi A3 ASZ PDTDI with a GTB2260VK turbo, FMIC, AL injectors and an open exhaust.
It currently has 267k km-s, and produces 220whp on 2.2 bar of boost. This is a safe remap done by a professional for me, bc I didn't have the money to risk running more boost and having the engine go boom boom.
I love it to bits, we have done 17k km-s together, and it hasn't skipped a beat since. I love how it sounds, drives and feels. And I also love that here on the forum You guys have answers for every question.
My question is, yesterday I took off the intercooler piping at the top of the engine, and there was some oil buildup. By some, I mean I was able to clean it up with a rag. Note that it's at the very top of the engine, above the turbo and everything. I know for a fact that the turbo's oil return line leaks some oil, and the car needs about 0.7 litres of refilling of oil per 8000 km. I'm looking forward to getting it remapped to 2.4 bar, but before that, I need the car to be in good condition. Should I be worried about the turbo, or not? I haven't looked at the intercooler itself yet.
It leaks oil somewhere, I don't exactly know where, maybe from the valve cover gasket.
Should I get the turbo fixed before I remap, or am I safe to do so?

Thank you for your replies in advance,
Z

Welcome to the forum!

I don’t know anything about your engine but if it’s anything like out North American TDI’s of that time frame then I think a light coating of oil inside the intake piping is pretty normal, as the turbo oil seals can’t seal 100%. But you may want to start a separate thread with your question, to get opinions from the guys that actually know what they are talking about.
After all, I only hang out here to learn, I don’t know much yet.

 

[Dabears1983]

Hello everyone new here but I’ve had my 2013 Jetta almost 8yrs now

 

[dont_roll_coal]

Afternoon! We've had our 2015 TDI about 2 years already, but I'm just getting into doing the maintenance myself. I'm currently struggling with some really, reeeeeally stuck T45 Torx bolts on the skid plate that I need to remove to get to the oil filter. Anyone have any tips? Hammers? Fire?

Our other car is 2016 GTI so I'm familiar enough with working on modern VW's, but it's my first foray into diesel maintenance.

 

[hskrdu]

Afternoon! We've had our 2015 TDI about 2 years already, but I'm just getting into doing the maintenance myself. I'm currently struggling with some really, reeeeeally stuck T45 Torx bolts on the skid plate that I need to remove to get to the oil filter. Anyone have any tips? Hammers? Fire?

A squirt of PB Blaster / overnight?

 

[dont_roll_coal]

A squirt of PB Blaster / overnight?

I gave them a pretty good soak and it didn't really make much difference. I may just have to bite the bullet and see if they twist off. I guess I'll see about some good drill bits

 

[GlowBugTDI]

I gave them a pretty good soak and it didn't really make much difference. I may just have to bite the bullet and see if they twist off. I guess I'll see about some good drill bits

I'd be interested in seeing your fire method!

 

[J_dude]

I gave them a pretty good soak and it didn't really make much difference. I may just have to bite the bullet and see if they twist off. I guess I'll see about some good drill bits

Maybe a light “rattle” with a small impact driver?

 

[DieselBunny]

I've had success tightening it just a smidge and then loosening it. Sometimes that works. Other times I get out the torch and heat it up.

 

[ts888]

Hi, my name is Tony, and I'm an alc... Oh sorry, wrong meeting. I quit anyway.

My name is Tony, that part is true. I feed the dog and myself by working on other people's cars, VW diesels included. Our shop sees mostly CR stuff now, Jettas and Touaregs and all the Audi-badged cousins, even the odd Cayenne. Great cars, love working on them. No, I don't. But they do provide some variety among the Sprinters with failed DEF injection and clogged DPF's. And who doesn't appreciate a company that hires engineers with sense of humor? EGT sensors between the cat and the block, what a laugh! Amirite?!

I didn't plan to become a TDI owner, but a cheap Jetta wagon with an ALH presented itself and I was weak. It's a manual, not rusty, only a little dented, and has new tires, a new clutch and a new turbo. It also has a non-continuous timing belt, and at least one cracked cam follower bucket. If it wasn't an ALH I would have pretended I didn't see it, but here we are.

I dragged it home today. Next weekend I'll pull the head and see if the pistons still can make it proud of the deck. If it passes that test, I'll tear down the head and decide if it goes to the machine shop or into the scrap bin.

There are rumors of some kind of "rebuild" at 85k miles, AKA 200k ago. I'd bet it was a timing belt. If the rods are not bent and the bores don't look like complete merde, I'll probably just pretend the bottom end is OK. I haven't decided if this is a keeper or will get sold on. My current driver is a Volvo AWD wagon with the spectacular Aisin 55 with extra flare, and a turbo that is likely one good full throttle run away from dying. The Jetta would be a decent replacement, even if the hauling capacity is somewhat less that the Swedish Suburban.

Anyway, howdy. I'll update y'all as I poke along.

 

[hskrdu]

Hi, my name is Tony, and I'm an alc... Oh sorry, wrong meeting. I quit anyway.

Best first post in a long time, and best opening line for this thread! Welcome aboard. If you haven't dug deep yet, keep reading- you'll find some like souls and a decent amount of humor, mixed in with some great tech/mech/engineering talk. If you spend more time with the 5M ALH, my guess is the fondness will grow. Some easy mods will bump daily driver power, and a system without problems will see 50+ mpg at 65mph with ease.

 

[TDI Dirty Diesel]

Good evening, so I've been coming to this site off and on for years, but figured it's time I stop being lazy and join. We had a '13 Sportwagen 6M that they bought back, but we loved that car. Only problem we had in 100K+ was the intercooler icing. Last spring I bought a '15 Jetta DSG with 44K now have 57K. Like the car except for a sporadic dash buzz and weakazz coil springs - have had both of mine replaced in the last 6 months, but I live off a horrible country road. All I've done so far is 2 oil changes which weren't too bad and used Rowe oil/Mahle filter. Also own a JD 455 with Yanmar diesel and previously had a '90 F250 with 7.3 idi.

Looking forward to being part of the community here. Thanks

 

[ts888]

My name is Tony, that part is true...

...Anyway, howdy. I'll update y'all as I poke along.

Plugged the Jetta VIN into Shopkey today, turns out our shop has worked on it, back in 2014. EGR, intercooler pipes, some other odds and ends. Quote written for a timing belt service, not performed. Guess we didn't "rebuild" it.

 

[J_dude]

Hi, my name is Tony, and I'm an alc... Oh sorry, wrong meeting. I quit anyway.

My name is Tony, that part is true. I feed the dog and myself by working on other people's cars, VW diesels included. Our shop sees mostly CR stuff now, Jettas and Touaregs and all the Audi-badged cousins, even the odd Cayenne. Great cars, love working on them. No, I don't. But they do provide some variety among the Sprinters with failed DEF injection and clogged DPF's. And who doesn't appreciate a company that hires engineers with sense of humor? EGT sensors between the cat and the block, what a laugh! Amirite?!

I didn't plan to become a TDI owner, but a cheap Jetta wagon with an ALH presented itself and I was weak. It's a manual, not rusty, only a little dented, and has new tires, a new clutch and a new turbo. It also has a non-continuous timing belt, and at least one cracked cam follower bucket. If it wasn't an ALH I would have pretended I didn't see it, but here we are.

I dragged it home today. Next weekend I'll pull the head and see if the pistons still can make it proud of the deck. If it passes that test, I'll tear down the head and decide if it goes to the machine shop or into the scrap bin.

There are rumors of some kind of "rebuild" at 85k miles, AKA 200k ago. I'd bet it was a timing belt. If the rods are not bent and the bores don't look like complete merde, I'll probably just pretend the bottom end is OK. I haven't decided if this is a keeper or will get sold on. My current driver is a Volvo AWD wagon with the spectacular Aisin 55 with extra flare, and a turbo that is likely one good full throttle run away from dying. The Jetta would be a decent replacement, even if the hauling capacity is somewhat less that the Swedish Suburban.

Anyway, howdy. I'll update y'all as I poke along.

Welcome here Tony, I like your sense of humour! And congrats on getting one of these awesome little cars! Sounds like you know what you’re doing, let us know how it progresses.

 

[ts888]

Plugged the Jetta VIN into Shopkey today, turns out our shop has worked on it, back in 2014. EGR, intercooler pipes, some other odds and ends. Quote written for a timing belt service, not performed. Guess we didn't "rebuild" it.

Pulled the head today. Been a while since I've poked around in an ALH. It all came a part OK, with the exception of the oil supply pipe from the filter housing to the turbo. The fitting on the turbo spun loose so the pipe twisted. I just cut the pipe in half with the death wheel, I wasn't about spending an hour to fight it.

So... Anyone have an oil feed pipe for an ALH for sale?

The bottom end seems OK. Turns easily, pistons pop up like they should, so no bent rods. The head may be junk. 4 of the lifter buckets don't want to come out of the bores, a couple of the cracked ones and the two on cylinder 1 that did not crack. Thoughts from the hive mind on how robust are the lifter bores? I guess I can try to get the lifters out, take out the valves and stick a bore gauge in the holes.

The piston bores look pretty good to me. I wonder about the bearings on the crank. I think I'll pull the oil pan and pop off a rod and main cap and see how the bearings look. May put in a new oil pump if nothing else.

The intake and EGR parts are not too grungy, I think they'll clean up OK. We have a big heated parts washing cabinet I can run them through. The turbo is new, but not OEM as the seller implied. It looks just like the OEM, it's not a total Chinese crap copy. Can't remember the name on it, something with an S.

On the plus side, a customer gave us a set of "fat five" Audi wheels with snow tires after he sold his TT. I tried them out and they seem to fit. They're a bit wide, they might rub a bit in the front on tight turns, but I can get a couple winters out of them.

 

[AudiNub]

All,
New to Audi, going to look at a low milage (68K) 2013 A3 TDI Wagon Premium Plus. I have had multiple BMW's in the past, and did look for a 3 series wagon, but they are too long, and I wanted a diesel. Anyway, I think I can get it for $15k, just wondering what you think of that year, any issues I should know about? From the pics, it is in mint condition, has a completely clean CarFax, and is on its 2nd owner. I want a little commuter that is nice, and that I can tune (like my previous BMW's) to make it fun to drive, even a little bit of a sleeper car. I have heard that the 2.0L TDI is very tunable.

 

[hskrdu]

All, New to Audi, going to look at a low milage (68K) 2013 A3 TDI Wagon Premium Plus. I have had multiple BMW's in the past, and did look for a 3 series wagon, but they are too long, and I wanted a diesel. Anyway, I think I can get it for $15k, just wondering what you think of that year, any issues I should know about? From the pics, it is in mint condition, has a completely clean CarFax, and is on its 2nd owner. I want a little commuter that is nice, and that I can tune (like my previous BMW's) to make it fun to drive, even a little bit of a sleeper car. I have heard that the 2.0L TDI is very tunable.

Welcome Aboard, this thread might be a good starter:

A3 TDI or '15 Golf TDI?!?

I'm getting close to replacing my '03 Jetta TDI wagon and am looking to stick with the TDIs. What are main differences and/or concerns with 2011-13 A3s vs. 2015 Golf hatch or sportwagens? Thanks!

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[Western_D]

Hello all, I am an owner of a 2012 Golf TDI. No I did not take the buyback option after Dieselgate, instead I opted for the payment...but wondering if that was a good decision long run! Possibly have to get my Diesel Particle Filter replaced $$$$. Whoops! Anyhow, hoping to keep this thing and make it last as long as possible, it was big purchase for me back then and still would be!

 

[Bego]

Hey guys, just purchased a 06 Jetta TDI with 160k. Joined here in hopes of finding helpful info on my car. Right now all is well, but we all know how finicky diesels can be ( I also have a 05 F250 with the 6.0).

 

[Rob Mayercik]

Welcome aboard, folks. Lots of info around here. Be sure to check the vehicle-specific sub-forums for your particular models...

 

[sleepysloth47]

Hey whats up everyone just joined. Long time lurker first time poster. Thanks for all the help this site has provided. Found my answers here. Last summer2022(june) my 2012 vw jetta actually had a runaway. Found a trusted mechanic on here Dwayne president of Dupage Autowerks, West Chicago, illinois. Guy was great and the car is still running well. The runaway destroyed the engine on the highway. The car started accelerating on its own! on the highway! I had never heard of a runaway until then. Anyways Dwayne and his guys found me a used engine, and replaced it. The event destroyed my turbo and clutch. Replaced those and while the car was in ICU they cleaned the dpf. Cost me $8000 and sent me deep into depression. Things worked out somehow thank god. and thank dwayne. Well anyway thanks again tdiclub.

 

[Luck]

Hello everyone. I just picked up a 2004 VW Jetta TDI, standard trans, 202,9xx miles for $2800.00. Been looking for one for quite some time and finally found one for sale, had to drive out about 4.5 hours to get it. Overall I am happy with the car. It needs some work. Have had some hard start issues and thanks to this site, was able to learn about these issues, where and how to check components. Had to replace a crankshaft sensor (tested with volt meter and found resistance was waaaay out of range for it) and found lift pump had very low pressure, replaced it, is now with specs of what it should be. Still having some hard start issues and am reading about where else to look and how to test. At least it does turn on way more reliably than before. Once it turns on, vehicle drives great imo. Also need to replace compressor, have the parts just not the time yet.

I mainly purchased this vehicle for mpgs. I plan on keeping it stock mechanically at this time. Cosmetically, that's going to be a different story.

Future plans are to do bodywork to vehicle, fix various dents here and there and either paint original color, which is a metallic gray, or completely change color to a solid red, add some nice wheels (probably gli wheels tbh), and look for gli lower front/rear bumper valance panels along with gli rocker moldings. This will be a long term project as I plan to drive car for several months before actually getting started on this task.


Looking forward to learning more about this diesel vehicle and all its quirks.

 

[hskrdu]

Hello everyone. I just picked up a 2004 VW Jetta TDI, standard trans, 202,9xx miles for $2800.00. Been looking for one for quite some time and finally found one for sale, had to drive out about 4.5 hours to get it. Overall I am happy with the car. It needs some work. Have had some hard start issues and thanks to this site, was able to learn about these issues, where and how to check components. Had to replace a crankshaft sensor (tested with volt meter and found resistance was waaaay out of range for it) and found lift pump had very low pressure, replaced it, is now with specs of what it should be. Still having some hard start issues and am reading about where else to look and how to test. At least it does turn on way more reliably than before. Once it turns on, vehicle drives great imo. Also need to replace compressor, have the parts just not the time yet.

I mainly purchased this vehicle for mpgs. I plan on keeping it stock mechanically at this time. Cosmetically, that's going to be a different story.

Future plans are to do bodywork to vehicle, fix various dents here and there and either paint original color, which is a metallic gray, or completely change color to a solid red, add some nice wheels (probably gli wheels tbh), and look for gli lower front/rear bumper valance panels along with gli rocker moldings. This will be a long term project as I plan to drive car for several months before actually getting started on this task.

Looking forward to learning more about this diesel vehicle and all its quirks.

Welcome aboard! Heavier, wider GLI wheels may cause a FE (fuel economy) hit. Try some lightweight OW VW Avus wheels for MPGs.

 

[Netoxyz]

Hello

Joined a little late to the world of TDIs, I just got my first diesel car, a 2013 VW Jetta. Please everyone be patient with me, I am a beginner. I couldn't load picture of my car. Would you tell me how please?

Neto

 

[hskrdu]

Hello, Joined a little late to the world of TDIs, I just got my first diesel car, a 2013 VW Jetta. Please everyone be patient with me, I am a beginner. I couldn't load picture of my car. Would you tell me how please? Neto

How to upload photos in Xenforo and use them in your posts

This is a temporary place holder for a proper FAQ on how to upload photos to the new system: To upload images to the image server: Go to the "Media" section. The link is found in the top bar. click on "Add Media" found near the top right corner. You will get a popup on where you want to...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[jokila]

I've been able as of late to copy / paste from my screen shot app right into the open window. Not sure when that was added, but you don't have to host it somewhere first, then attach links.

 

[Netoxyz]

Hello everyone new here but I’ve had my 2013 Jetta almost 8yrs now

I just got a 2013 Jetta, don't know in what conditions is the engine yet. Any comments Pal?

 

[HarryMacterin]

Hey all TDI family! I just joined this morning and just recently bought my first TDI! Eventhough it's older I love my 2003 MKIV Jetta! It's not my first VW, however! My first true love was a 1974 VW vanagon! I miss my little hippie van very much! Now I have upgraded to my MKIV and I'm totally sold! I'm super excited to be in this new family and can't wait to read all the info I can !

 

[ElizabethS]

Hi everyone: I have a 2013 VW TDI Beetle which I bought 4 years ago. It currently has 64K miles and the extended warranty expires July 1. The check engine light came on last week. VW dealer repair shop diagnosed a bad air intake temperature sensor but the part is on backorder. The service desk clerk didn't know if a part would be available in 2 weeks or 6 month. He told me the car was perfectly safe to drive and that my extended diesel warranty was good until 100K miles. I don't believe him. They didn't have a loaner. It's occasionally hard to start, hesitates/loses power, the fan is running after I shut off the engine, and it smells 'hot'. I called VW of America today to verify that the car was indeed safe to drive and that if driving caused any damage beyond the IAT that VW would cover it, as the clerk at the service desk insisted. VW America gave me a case number and will call on Monday. What do you all think?

 

[hskrdu]

Hi everyone: I have a 2013 VW TDI Beetle which I bought 4 years ago. It currently has 64K miles and the extended warranty expires July 1. What do you all think?

Has it had emissions modifications done by VW? Are you familiar with the VW Emissions Warranty VIN website, and the Gen 1 warranty booklet? The emissions warranty may be longer than July 2023 (10 years from the in-service date), but you'd have to check it. From memory, a 2013 would be the greater of: (a) 10 years/120k miles (whichever happens first) or (b) 4 years/48k miles (whichever happens first) from emissions modification. That might differ by transmission. I would first confirm the warranty, then consider getting the part number and checking the availability yourself. I can't speak to the impact of the sensor, but it sounds like you have a good sense that the car isn't happy (plus the symptoms you describe sounds like an interrupted regen?).

VW Emissions Modification Lookup

www.vwdieselinfo.com

https://www.vwdiesellookup.com/pdf/VWCourtSettlement_Emissions_Disclosure_Gen1_Automatic_Final.pdf

 

[ElizabethS]

Has it had emissions modifications done by VW? Are you familiar with the VW Emissions Warranty VIN website, and the Gen 1 warranty booklet? The emissions warranty may be longer than July 2023 (10 years from the in-service date), but you'd have to check it. From memory, a 2013 would be the greater of: (a) 10 years/120k miles (whichever happens first) or (b) 4 years/48k miles (whichever happens first). That might differ by transmission. I would first confirm the warranty, then consider getting the part number and checking the availability yourself. I can't speak to the impact of the sensor, but it sounds like you have a good sense that the car isn't happy (plus the symptoms you describe sounds like an interrupted regen?).

VW Emissions Modification Lookup

www.vwdieselinfo.com

https://www.vwdiesellookup.com/pdf/VWCourtSettlement_Emissions_Disclosure_Gen1_Automatic_Final.pdf

Thanks for responding. Yes, the car has been modified and the warranty expires July 1 which is the greater of (a) 10 years since the inservice date. I verified that with Volkswagen of America. How do I avoid interrupting a regen? I don't know that a regen is happening when I'm driving - I just hear the fan after I shut off the engine.