TDI 90 shaking in 5th on motorway

Hi all,

Need some help diagnosing a problem I had on the way home last night.

Motorway around 70mph, 5th gear and suddenly noticed a terrible shaking from the front of the car but only under load. Felt as if the car was shaking side to side. Depressed the clutch or take foot off accelerator and everything was smooth.

I had a problem recently with buckled 17" sport alloys in the front causing uneven wear but that is sorted now with new tyres all round and swapped alloys front to back about two months ago so I dont think it is wheels.

Recently I have noticed it takes one or two cranks more than usual to start the car in the morning or when leaving work, but put that down to the colder weather.

Also noticed it spits first out a bit vigorously when changing up to second.

Glow plugs turn on in the morning (well at least the dash light does) but only for maybe 3-5 seconds.

I think everything is pointing to knackered DMF but would like a second opinion on any other possible problems before biting the bullet.

I was hoping to do a 6 speed myp gearbox swap myself in the next few months with new dmf and clutch. But very busy at the moment so if it is dmf I will have to spend all the money set aside for that in just getting an independant to do the dmf/clutch.

Thanks in advance

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If the problem as come on very suddenly i.e it was fine a couple of days ago but is now shacking under load at 70mph I very much doubt this will be a DMF issue, the DMF tends to slowly wear over a few thousand or more miles. If the DMF had suddenly failed then I would expect problems throughout the rev range and also on the overrun as well as under load.

Possible injector issue, causing 1 cylinder to not be getting fuel (running on 2 pots instead of 3) or even 1 pot, could be injector but more than likely injector wiring loom

A scan should show up any injector / loom issues


Cheers,

Hi,

Not wishing to scare, but please take a read of the below link:
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?23606-General-A2-Servicing-Information&p=267826#post267826

I have only heard and felt this particular problem at low rpm (or speed) on a TDi 90.
There is vibration and a clear metalic sound as the chain clatters.

It's probably not this, but worthwhile taking the bonnet off and having a good listen to determine if any unusual sounds are coming from low down on the drivers side of the engine.
Always take great care to keep hands and cothing away from moving engine components.

Cheers
Jeff

I have problems with my car shaking under load between 50-70mph and the garage told me that this was driveshaft related. When I take my foot off the accelerator, or depressed the clutch, it goes away. It also feels like it's shaking from side to side.

Perhaps worth considering.

Cheers

Hi all, thanks for all of the advice, I really appreciate it!! I will have a check of all the things you've mentioned and give an update. If I'm really stuck I'll drop it round to Stealth to diagnose as they are only 15 minutes from home!

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I had an injector wire go so firing on 2 cylinders and whilst it wasn't ideal, it didn't feel as you describe.

Sounds very much like DMF to me.

I drove about 50,000 miles with a ropey DMF before I HAD to get it changed (very entertaining for the last 2000 miles, lots of double de-clutching - felt and sounded VILE), I didn't realise it at first but once I had the new one fitted its like night and day and made the last 50,000 miles make sense. With the new DMF I can pull cleanly from 1500rpm in 5th which I had never previously been able to do and no more shaking from side to side like an engine mount damper had gone.

Stealth will know what it is, cost me £790 from local VW specialist.

Hi all, just realised I forgot to post a follow up to this issue! Took it to Stealth and they said it was DMF symptoms, i told them I wasnt sure what the problem was and to fix it, and also asked them to change the fuel filter (chickened out of doing it myself as I didnt want to break the plastic housing and get stuck at work).

Phoned up to check progress and they said it was the dmf, but that they also changed a inner cv boot as it was cracked.

When I picked up the car they said the inner cv joint had to be also changed.

I'm pretty sure they changed the dmf and the problem remained, then realised the inner cv joint was causing the problem and changed that.

I'm not complaining though as the dmf needed doing within 20-30k anyway and feels a lot nicer to drive now. But definitely worth checking cv joints before you shell out for a new dmf.

Cheers,
Alex

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