Turbo replacement for ALH - which one to chose? which ones are poor choices?

[Vlad123]

With VCDS for the old ALH, I didn't have to buy the software.
Just bought a KEY-USB or KII-USB.

So I need separate USB for each engine type? Or does it work on all cars between certain years?

 

[fatmobile]

The KEY and the KII work for MK4 and earlier,.. maybe not the PD.

 

[Vlad123]

i found an immigrant mechanic who seemed very good and he was very close to where my business is and the car was.
I bought the parts and he replaced

MAHLE / CLEVITE 030TC15116000 (New) With Manifold/Actuator
Turbocharger Oil Line - REIN TFP0009 Supply Line
PCV valve & Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) Hose

I also got a fuel filter, but the mech had too much to do, so he asked me to come back in a few days. He was busy again, I was busy and now 2 weeks later I am driving down the highway and the car is bucking, like the fuel pump is sputtering intermittently and smoking quite a bit (but not like when the turbo died). 30 min later I threw the nebulous P0299 code ( P0299 turbocharger underboost). I cleared it, it didn't come back after an hour of driving, the intermittent bucking and smoking continued.

I don't think it would be the fuel filter.
I dont think the fuel pump would throw this code
My guess is one of the hoses has a crack or leak?

I will be changing the fuel filter today.
I want to replace all the little hoses since it is pretty cheap and easy to do. Where can I find the diameter and type of hose I need?

Last Question: What additive can I use to help clean fuel injectors? I watched a couple videos on how to take them apart and clean them and I don't want to do it until summer.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Fuel makes boost. If your fuel flow is restricted you can get an underboost code.
The fuel hose is 3mm ID. We (IDParts) have it but you can probably find it locally.
Use Diesel Purge to clean the pump and injectors. You should run the car on it directly for best results. Search here for instructions.

 

[Vlad123]

Fuel makes boost. If your fuel flow is restricted you can get an underboost code.
The fuel hose is 3mm ID. We (IDParts) have it but you can probably find it locally.
Use Diesel Purge to clean the pump and injectors. You should run the car on it directly for best results. Search here for instructions.

Wow thx.
Several companies make Diesel Purge. Wynn's, Liquid Moly... are they all essentially the same?
I see LiquidMoly is put into the fuel filter when it is changed...

 

[Vlad123]

Fuel makes boost. If your fuel flow is restricted you can get an underboost code.
The fuel hose is 3mm ID. We (IDParts) have it but you can probably find it locally.
Use Diesel Purge to clean the pump and injectors. You should run the car on it directly for best results. Search here for instructions.

Also was looking at fuel pump part prices... more or less $200. Injector pump is like $1600. Is there anything to keep the injector pump lasting longer? That repair would be a biggie. Fuel filter change regularly? Will Diesel Purge keep it from having problems? Anything else?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I've only used the Liqui-Moly product. Here's a How To for TDIs: https://idpartsblog.com/2014/08/06/diesel-purge-how-to/

Injection pump life seems dependent more on fuel quality than anything else. I'd use a lubricity additive when fueling, but otherwise the service life is somewhat out of your control. I've seen pumps fail at 60K miles, others go 400K or more.

 

[burpod]

odd the mechanic didn't have time to do the fuel filter, only takes an easy 20 minutes for that. but your problems could be caused by all sorts of things. if you took a couple quick vcds logs the problem would likely be apparent or at least give you a better idea of what to check rather than blind guessing. symptoms you describe could easily be boost problems. was your old turbo having any problems? it could easily have been perfectly fine, despite being pretty old

 

[PakProtector]

Fuel makes boost. If your fuel flow is restricted you can get an underboost code.
The fuel hose is 3mm ID. We (IDParts) have it but you can probably find it locally.
Use Diesel Purge to clean the pump and injectors. You should run the car on it directly for best results. Search here for instructions.

Which fuel hose is 3mm? The individual injector return? Or the main feed/return from the injection pump to filter? I believe the latter is more like 5mm ID, maybe 8mm, but for sure not 3mm ID.

And it could be the check valve in the fuel pickup has been misbehaving. On half my ALH cars I have drilled that bit out. IS a matter of time before I take the remaining one and install the BEW's active pump one.

Douglas

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The fabric lines between injectors and back to the pump are 3mm.

 

[Vlad123]

odd the mechanic didn't have time to do the fuel filter, only takes an easy 20 minutes for that. but your problems could be caused by all sorts of things. if you took a couple quick vcds logs the problem would likely be apparent or at least give you a better idea of what to check rather than blind guessing. symptoms you describe could easily be boost problems. was your old turbo having any problems? it could easily have been perfectly fine, despite being pretty old

I just changed the fuel filter and added the diesel purge directly to the filter. Took me longer to wait for the old filter to drain than it took me to change the filter itself. I think the mechanic is a little passive-aggressive angry w/ me. I dunno. He doesn't speak English and I bought my own parts. And I can't communicate with him easily. He told me to come back for the fuel filter after changing the turbo but after the third time I just did the fuel filter change myself.

Bad news for me is still have the same problem. When i hit the pedal, I hear the turbo spinning (i assume it is the turbo) but no extra power and black sooty smoke. Not nearly as much smoke as when the turbo was bad though. I don't get a P0299 code right away... it takes time. My next guess is a hose leak but I would love to have other suggestions.

 

[PakProtector]

Track down the 'limp-mode' thread for its instructions on diagnosing vacuum turbo-control issues.

Douglas

 

[Vlad123]

Track down the 'limp-mode' thread for its instructions on diagnosing vacuum turbo-control issues.

Douglas

I get so lost in the endless maze of this and similar forums on TDIs. The search returned 25 pages. I stop after 3 pages

 

[Vince Waldon]

"The" low power / limp mode thread is listed in my sig below.

 

[ccaissie]

You should NEVER use starting fluid in a diesel. That can destroy things.

Older diesels required starting ether to get going. Tractors, etc had ether canisters or ether "eggs" that were dropped in and were punctured with closing a cap. I've used propane or acetylene, and used a gasoline soaked rag over the intake on industrial and marine engines.

But, right.....on modern diesels...NO ETHER

 

[BobnOH]

I get so lost in the endless maze of this and similar forums on TDIs. The search returned 25 pages. I stop after 3 pages

Yea, that thread is a monster, need summarizing. But most of the good stuff should be near the top.
Not used it, but MyTurboDiesel forum also has one.
Fixing limp mode low power in a VW Jetta Golf TDI or wagon - feels ...

 

[Tdijarhead]

I've been kinda following this thread, where did you end up buying the turbo and related parts from?

 

[Vlad123]

THANK YOU ALL. I am ordering hoses to preemptively replace all the vacuum hoses. The mechanic finally looked at the car and he said one of the clamps on the turbo he replaced was broken and he replaced the clamp. So she is definitely peppier than before. I think the Diesel Purge may have helped, but since I did that before fixing the Turbo hose clamp, I can't compare before and after since I changed 2 variables instead of going from a baseline.

 

[03wgn5spd]

Stay away from Stiggan!

 

[ts888]

Stay away from Stiggan!

As the dead ALH I just bought has a brand new Stiggan turbo -- can you expand on your warning? Is there a common failure mode on this brand? Is it going to grenade a turbine, or leak oil? And is the failure more prevalent on modded engines or on stock?

 

[dieseldonato]

Older diesels required starting ether to get going. Tractors, etc had ether canisters or ether "eggs" that were dropped in and were punctured with closing a cap. I've used propane or acetylene, and used a gasoline soaked rag over the intake on industrial and marine engines.

But, right.....on modern diesels...NO ETHER

Nothing like running a 1710 cummins out of fuel in a 100 tone haul truck and the on site fuel guy shows up with a case of either and the fuel truck.... the older diesels could take a lot more abuse then these newer ones, even industrial/agg no one reccomends either anymore.

 

[03wgn5spd]

1
As the dead ALH I just bought has a brand new Stigan turbo -- can you expand on your warning? Is there a common failure mode on this brand? Is it going to grenade a turbine, or leak oil? And is the failure more prevalent on modded engines or on stock?

All I can say is that I had a nightmare scenario with the Stiggan turbo along with the previous owner. I usually discount "use only OEM equipment" stories in enthusiast communities as a way of helping vendors profit. Well that was not the case here. Even though I am a risk taker, I try to mitigate the risk by asking the manufacturer questions about their warranty and product. I asked Stiggan a few questions about the product country of origin and their warranty process. They were completely non responsive even after I called them and emailed them a few times. The turbo was then installed and although it built boost it smoked from the tailpipe something awful. I ended up lawyering up and getting a remanned id parts turbo. Doing the job twice was not fun but confirming the turbo was at fault even less so. No warning signs besides the plumes of smoke. No unusual amount of oil accumulated in the lower intercooler pipe either. The not knowing the root cause took even more time and energy than replacing the turbo.

 

[BobnOH]

Just one comment- Filling the fuel filter with DP is just a convenience, for injector cleaning you want to run the stuff straight, you actually plumb up to a container of stuff.

 

[hskrdu]

I usually discount "use only OEM equipment" stories in enthusiast communities as a way of helping vendors profit.

There are many good reasons to use OEM parts, but in this particular enthusiast community, I would offer that almost no one suggests to do so in order to "help vendors profit."

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Not to pick a fight here, I have read good things about Stigan Turbos. The only bad things were something about the bolts, but that was a different model turbo.
Not everybody knows Automotive parts purchased through Amazon have a full one year warranty, even thought the seller may have a different warranty posted.
All of the review even a year later the same, were not changed.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

All new turbos that I know of have a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty.

 

[ts888]

All I can say is that I had a nightmare scenario with the Stiggan turbo along with the previous owner. I usually discount "use only OEM equipment" stories in enthusiast communities as a way of helping vendors profit. Well that was not the case here. Even though I am a risk taker, I try to mitigate the risk by asking the manufacturer questions about their warranty and product. I asked Stiggan a few questions about the product country of origin and their warranty process. They were completely non responsive even after I called them and emailed them a few times. The turbo was then installed and although it built boost it smoked from the tailpipe something awful. I ended up lawyering up and getting a remanned id parts turbo. Doing the job twice was not fun but confirming the turbo was at fault even less so. No warning signs besides the plumes of smoke. No unusual amount of oil accumulated in the lower intercooler pipe either. The not knowing the root cause took even more time and energy than replacing the turbo.

Good info for the back pocket. Since the OEM turbo failed, I'll roll the dice on the Stigan. It's so new the exhaust manifold has barely rusted.

Are there good rebuild parts for the OEM turbos? Seems like it would be pretty simple to bring one back to life. I've rebuilt turbos for other applications, but not a VNT. If I fix the OEM one the seller gave me, I would have a backup.

 

[dieseldonato]

You can get the cartridges from a few different vendors at a reasonable cost.

 

[Tdijarhead]

You can get the cartridges from a few different vendors at a reasonable cost.

Idparts sells a Mahle cartridge I might take a chance on, beyond that all I’ve seen is chinese junk.

 

[dieseldonato]

Xman turbo had some that I glanced at on his site, kinda bypassed them looking at complete turbos.