Is this terminal?

M

MatiasMandango

A2OC Donor
Need some advice here please......

Firstly I will point out I don't have a bottomless pit to spend on her, its a daily driver with 190,000 on the clock, best car I have ever owned!

Its a 1.4 tdi 75 remapped some years ago 2001

The engine has been a bit noise recently, more noticeable from the passenger side, I thought the exhaust may be blowing. Lifted the car up today and checked underneath whilst someone revved the engine etc. can't see anything obvious but the manifold is slightly obscured from view.

Anyway there is a lot of oil to the rear of the engine coming from the top, also visible around the area of the EGR valve (guessing that is what it is visible from above with the intercooler pipe running in??). Also oil around the turbo. Removed the top intercooler? pipe and this has oil inside.

Couple of questions from you peeps that have more technical knowledge:-

can this oil leaking cause the engine to be noise generally?
is this amount of oil a sign of imminent turbo failure?
thoughts on leaking gasket to the cause the oil leak or something to do with the EGR?

Appreciate some help, cheers

Matt
WP_20170129_12_29_50_Pro.jpgWP_20170129_12_30_03_Pro.jpg
 
Having done a bit more research it seems as though the ERG valve can leak or it could be the rocker cover gasket which is difficult to remove I understand?

Not sure about the oil around the turbo, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Matt
 
MatiasMandango said:
Having done a bit more research it seems as though the ERG valve can leak or it could be the rocker cover gasket which is difficult to remove I understand?

Not sure about the oil around the turbo, does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Matt
Click to expand...

Hi Matt,

Please don't think your request for comment is being ignored, it is just that, as you have said, it could be a leaking gasket or it could be something major.

Oil like that is very difficult to diagnose remotely and so nobody is likely to say "no problem, don't worry about it" or "That looks terminal". So it is not that easy to offer advice.

But there are some on here that are very knowledgeable about the turbo and related problems, hopefully one will be along shortly.

But it might take a bit longer.

Good luck

Steve B
 
My money would be on the rocker cover gasket. If it was the turbo, you would also have air leaking out and associated problems maintaining the correct pressure. You need to clean the back of the engine with a pressure washer and then run the engine to see where oil leaks from.

RAB
 
Thanks guys, good idea on the pressure washer I will try that.

My main concern is the oil in the intercooler pipe, I disconnected it before it goes round to the EGR and there was oil inside, someone has now suggested to me that this means the turbo is on its way out.

Thanks again.

Matt
 
In my experience the intercooler pipes on TDIs always have a bit of oil in them. If the car is burning oil and producing blue exhaust smoke then you may have a turbo oil seal problem. How much are you having to top the oil up? Is the leak causing drip marks on the road? Matt


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Thanks for the response, reassuring to hear that you have experience with TDI and oil in the intercooler pipes.

The car is definitely not burning any more oil than normal and has never smoked out the back other than a little on start up, always have had to top the oil up slightly between services but nothing unusual. No oil on the drive or on the undertray, just oil down the back of the engine and on the turbo casing.

Not sure if its related or means anything but don't tend to hear the turbo whistle anymore.

Cheers
 
I have similar issues with mine, noisy on passenger side etc, had a quick look on Saturday evening but couldn't see anything obvious, thinking the crank case breather pipework may be blocked / clogged up , but not sure on hose runs etc
Maybe some one has an exploded view ?

Kp115


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The best thing to do to diagnose it is clean it up , out of experience Iv used Mr muscle oven cleaner which you just spray on and it turns into instant foam leave it on for 15 mins and jet it off or even boil a kettle and with a tooth brush give it a good scrub whilst pouring the water , dry it and then see if you can get the car to a ramp and leave it running and just observe , hope this helps

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Be very careful of using a pressure washer on the engine! HP water and electrics do mix, you might end up with lots of small annoying electrical gremlins,
 
Yes be very careful try avoiding the electrical parts

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I personally wouldn't recommend using mr muscle on an aluminium car as I believe it to be caustic in make up which will eat through any alloy it comes into contact with.
It is intended to clean carbon deposits.


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I did use it and it was fine, but if left on for too long yes it will start to eat but it's the quickest way of removing the oil with less effort 10 15 mins then wash = spanking new , kp what can you recommend as I need to do it again on the a2

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Autoglym engine cleaner is about the easiest to get & use imho but others like gunk etc are all ok.


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Akeel said:
I did use it and it was fine, but if left on for too long yes it will start to eat but it's the quickest way of removing the oil with less effort 10 15 mins then wash = spanking new , kp what can you recommend as I need to do it again on the a2

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Click to expand...

Hi Akeel,

Bilt Hamber Surfex HD is a great product. Always buy 5lts, not the 1ltr.
5L should be about £17
It can be diluted down too, so is good value for money.
I'm sure there are plenty of reviews on youtube, etc.

BTW - I've dropped you a text

Cheers
Jeff
 
Thanks for the help so far, if it turns out to be the rocker gasket does anyone know if that's an easy fix? Done that one before on old cars and it was really easy but am I missing something?

Cheers
 
MatiasMandango said:
Thanks for the help so far, if it turns out to be the rocker gasket does anyone know if that's an easy fix? Done that one before on old cars and it was really easy but am I missing something?

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hi Matt,

It's not a massive problem to resolve, and you won't need to disturb the cambelt.
Rocker cover gaskets are available for the TDi's, however it is common for a repalcement gasket NOT to cure a leak.

The recommended method for many indy's and main dealers is to replace the cover in full.
A new rocker cover comes with the new gasket in place.

I believe there are some differences in old and new covers or gaskets.

Part No's:
Gasket (seal) - 045 103 483 C - approx. £20 +Vat

Complete Cover - 045 103 469 G - Approx. £90 + Vat

Cheers
Jeff
 
I had a leak on the rear of the cam cover following replacement of the injector harness. I thought it prudent to replace the gasket but the replacement part is not compatible with a 2003 cam cover.

Despite several removals of the cover and refitting it was not possible to stop the leak permanently. It improved for a little while and then the rear of the engine quickly became covered in oil again. I was able to clean the cam cover to head joint and later feel for fresh oil to confirm the source of the leak. I used brake cleaner on a rag to thoroughly clean the joint. Freshly leaked oil appeared a few days later. The solution was to fit an upgraded cam cover and seal that improved the refinement of the engine considerably and stopped the oil leak.

I’m not convinced this is your problem but cleaning at the top and checking for freshly leaked oil has to be the way to go.
 
Ive Removed and replace cam covers on several TDI Engines now and never had a leak , ive only replaced the gasket once because it had gone a little brittal , main thing is to make sure is you undo the securing bolts in the correct order, reverse of the tightening sequence , 1/4 turn at a time so the cover does not get warped , more so during tightening id imagine but better to be safe than sorry, make sure the rubber seal is clean and the alloy top it sits against on the cylinder head is also spotless, youl also need a small amount of Blue hylomar or something simular as the seal neads this adding in four places before refitting. on the rocker cover youl notice the 2 half rounds where the cover goes around the camshaft , in each of the 4 corners youl need a small amount of blue hylomar

tdi amf rocker cover.PNG
amf rocker seal.JPG

Regards Gary
 
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