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VW TDI engine fail.

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by bobwilson1977, May 19, 2009.

  1. May 19, 2009 at 9:41 AM
    #1
    bobwilson1977

    bobwilson1977 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I'm hoping there's some VW folks here. Anyhow, my Aunt's 2003 Jetta TDI ( Diesel) had the timing belt break yesterday. I've done some research and it looks like when this happens, the pistons will hit the valves, causing a huge amount of engine damage. What's bad is that the belt went at 45,000 miles. That seems very premature.
     
  2. May 19, 2009 at 9:42 AM
    #2
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    It does sound pre mature......Is it under warrenty?
     
  3. May 19, 2009 at 9:44 AM
    #3
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    Interference Engines blow.
     
  4. May 19, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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    danteisme

    danteisme Well-Known Member

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    my buddy has a tdi, he said you are supposed to change them at like 60Kish, 45K sounds early to me.
     
  5. May 19, 2009 at 10:59 AM
    #5
    AZFizik

    AZFizik Slowpokeologist

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    Welcome to just about anything thats not a toyota car or truck. Thats pretty common, and depending on miles on the VW, not totally out of this world....VW has some serious quality issues
     
  6. May 19, 2009 at 11:00 AM
    #6
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    Tell him to just wait and see what his tranny does at 100k
     
  7. May 19, 2009 at 11:10 AM
    #7
    techgeekwill

    techgeekwill Well-Known Member

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    The electric components should go around 70k. At around 75k-80k, the Weather Stripping and rubber should start flying off the car at highway speeds.

    Reminds me of the Jetta TDI I test drove a few years ago. It was brand new, I managed to burn up the clutch after 4 miles. Never happened in any manual Toyota's I've owned.
     
  8. May 19, 2009 at 11:17 AM
    #8
    bobwilson1977

    bobwilson1977 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I know... I have loads of friends with VW's and almost ALL of them are royal POS cars with ridiculous problems. I just looked that when these diesel engines fail, the camshaft stops immediately, the pistons hit the valves and kaboom- the engine is toast and has to be totally re-built. I feel bad for her. I'm wondering if she has any options because a failure at 45k is ridiculous.
     
  9. May 19, 2009 at 11:19 AM
    #9
    techgeekwill

    techgeekwill Well-Known Member

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    Don't remember what the powertrain is on those. I imagine she is out of luck. She could always try contacting VW direct, but I don't think anything will help.
     
  10. May 19, 2009 at 11:43 AM
    #10
    trtripoli

    trtripoli lower management

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    my roommate has his timing belt break on his jetta (not a TDI). Bought it used from some dude and blew up a year later. quoted 5k to fix it, and bought it orginally for 2.5k.
     
  11. May 19, 2009 at 11:54 AM
    #11
    AUDITECH

    AUDITECH Carolina Alliance: LAZY DIVISION

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    Wish i was out there i have seen this on a 1.8t and we had a reman head and just smoothed out the top of the pistons and it ran fine. If the pistons are not bad then this can be done but your still looking at about 5k for a fix the head alone was 2500
     
  12. May 19, 2009 at 12:08 PM
    #12
    MassTaco

    MassTaco Well-Known Member

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    Guess there's no love for VW here!

    My family has always had VWs and had good luck with them (5 Jettas, 5 Passats, 2 diesel dashers, 1 new beetle, 2 golfs, 1 vanagon, in my immediate family) but we're pretty good about maintenance. Grandma's jetta carat went 234k before she traded it in for a passat, and I have put a combined 300k on '01 and '04 1.8t jettas myself with zero issues.

    The 2003's had a 4yr/50k bumper to bumper and 5yr/60k powertrain warranty, so unless she bought it as a leftover in 2004 she's out of luck. If she bought it used, it's very possible that it was run for a while with the speedometer disconnected.

    This is a fairly rare thing to happen, but belts degrade with time more than mileage, so it's not unthinkable. What was she doing when the belt went? Driving at highway speeds or idling in the driveway? If the engine was under load there's likely more damage than just valves/cams (bent rods). A remanufactured long block from a reputable company like Gex shouldn't run much more than $3500 I would think.

    Best of luck to her, hope she's back up and getting 50 MPG soon.
     
  13. May 20, 2009 at 8:54 AM
    #13
    bobwilson1977

    bobwilson1977 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Update. The belt was actually fine. But what happened was almost as bad, and in my opinion worse long-term. Apparently these newer VW TDI engines use a very large EGR valve. Seeing as how its a diesel with nasty exhaust, all that EGR valve does is blow exhaust back into the intake. Over time the EGR valve and the entire intake manifold plugs up with carbon. I looked at some pictures. You couldn't stick a pencil through that EGR valve.

    So basically, the engine has a MAJOR design flaw and this will happen every 50-70,000 miles. The fix is to buy a new EGR valve ( $200) and clean out the intake manifold. She's being quoted something close to $1,000 for the repair.

    I'm going to look and see if there are any addititves that could slow the process of carbon buildup.

    I actually thought of buying a VW TDI. Not now. Seems like every time VW comes out with a new car, I think: " Hey, maybe they're better now.: Nope. They just seem to get worse and worse.
     
  14. May 20, 2009 at 9:45 AM
    #14
    techgeekwill

    techgeekwill Well-Known Member

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    At least it's a lot easier on the wallet than a rebuild. I don't know if there is much you can do to slow the process down. However, in 07, the standards for Diesel Fuel increased and it's slightly cleaner now.

    At least she'll be back enjoying Hybrid like economy in a few days.
     
  15. May 20, 2009 at 11:14 AM
    #15
    MassTaco

    MassTaco Well-Known Member

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    Did she run home heating oil in it? The new low sulfur diesel is MUCH cleaner (300 ppm sulfur to less than 15 ppm). These engines were designed to run low sulfur diesel, as that's all they have in europe. They were imported under the assumption that low sulfur diesel would be the standard by 2000 ... but it took until 2007, I believe. Carbonization of the intake will also occur much faster if the vehicle is used for lots of short-trip driving.

    Also, there are no additives that will have any effect because the engine is direct injected, anything you put in the fuel will be injected straight into the cylinder and completely bypass the manifold.
     

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