Sharpy64

Here’s my thread

I had a very similar issue on my mk3 VRs tdi, I have a whole thread on the diag and fix. I’d guess both EGR cooler and HG have failed you can test the former by buying a bypass kit of the cooler this does what it suggests and bypasses the coolant from entering the cooler. If the coolant still sropa you know it’s likely a HG issue. You can also do a sniff test on the coolant and see if you have combustion gasses in the coolant, although that could be from the cooler or the HG so all it confirms at that point is a failure. In terms of fix, id started with a cooler (I have a pretty much new Mahle one I can sell, was on my car for about 2 months). You can also pressure test the cooler once it’s off the car. My issue was a combination of cooler and HG, the latter becoming much more obvious after replacing the cooler as I think pressure was escaping from the cooler and when it couldn’t do that it escaped from my expansion tank. HG job is pretty involved, you’ll need to get the head pressure tested as well just to be sure it’s not cracked and then about £900 worth of seals and gaskets etc. it’s a good 10 to 14 hrs of work so if you’re not going it yourself it’ll be over £2k for a HG job alone, but there’s other items worth doing while you’re in there.

Forgot to add that but, yes, I did the same on mine, although the original was still in pretty good Knick at 140k.

Does it have a physical "knob" for the power / volume? If so try a hard reset by turning on the ignition and then holding down the power button for c 10seconds the unit should reboot.

I do my own work but the kit price is about £250ish for OEM I think, so that seems a little steep just for the kit tbh, job is about 3-4 hours, I did the crankshaft main seal as it was leaking which means taking the sump off so I was on the upper end of that time. Its not really that big a job as there is plenty of room really. I would say c£700 is about right, but it is worth checking some of the oil seals as if they start leaking you get to all all the labour again as the cambelt has to come off. I would also do the aux belt and pulleys at the same time. Just checked - I paid £555 for my wifes 2017 2.0 TDI Ateca 3 years ago as I wanted the evidence. That was using a INA timing belt kit (£150) and inc aux belt and pulleys etc.

On oil consumption, I’ve now had the car back a week and while not done massive miles I’ve driven it everyday and cover maybe 30miles everyday at least, so far no noticeable drop in oil. I’m doing a couple of longer drives over the weekend so will feedback again but I’d say it’s definitely improved.

I will already add the fact I have a "yellow" DRL which i need to fix and its not related to the ballast as I have replaced them already!

So, I find myself in a place where a car I bought was not going to be a project car but there are things that I want to do that make it a bit like a project car. I already have a thread on my engine woes, now they seem to be fixed I will have some pennies to spend on my "not a project" project car. There are some things that I have already done that I have not specifically documented, but I enjoy keeping track of things I do to cars, so here I am. I do most of my own work with help from a friend in his "shed". Already done things are, Head Gasket - What a nightmare Charge air cooler EGR Cooler All associated HG seals and gaskets New Turbo Lowered on Eibach Sportsline Springs Solid Dogbone insert Other engine mounts replaced with new Wheels changed - This was a bit of a random one, the Audi wheels came up in mint condition and were a lot cheaper than getting mine refurbed. Wheels spacers added Rear Windows Tinted Had the bootlid and bumper repaired and repainted as someone had fitted a number plate with wood screws and the bumper had a couple of knocks Fitted the larger and newer headunit Bought the cover to block off the intake to get more air into the air box Removed the snow filter in the airbox cut out the additional holes on the intake pipe to give more air into the airbox. Added a Reiger splitter that I got for £15! Cambelt, water pump and aux belt all replaced Oil pump belt replaced DSG gearbox serviced New discs and pads all round Car is also stage 1 and has had a DSG remaps as well So whats in plan, well as this isnt a project not much.... Suspension refresh - all bushes and links will be replaced / upgraded and new shocks. Chassis stiffening parts High flow filter Turbo baffle replacement TIP replacement Wheel studs Need to detail it at some point been a bit lazy with it as the engines been broken. Sure I will add more to the not a project list as I get on with it!

I have these on my list for my "not a project" car after I have done the bushes and ARBs, had similar on other cars and do seem, to work well.

They are great cars and a refresh will make a massive difference, just tightens everything back up, they handle really well generally and I cannot say mine feels anything like yours, mine feels really well connected and predictable and as I say my bushes are not in fantastic condition!

As others have said the bushes may pass an MOT but they really only fail when they tear, so overtime they degrade and crack and become soft (much like me it seems), refreshing the bushes is a good place to start. There are so many on these cars I would start with ARB bushes and then look at things like swing arms etc. I had mine on the ramp recently and I was looking at the state of the bushes and thinking I should probably start a refresh as they are looking a little worse for wear after 11 years.

Unfortunately I cannot see the images that you uploaded, however my experience is that the bags are pretty robust, I have removed a few from expansion tanks and never had one split (but I am aware that they can degrade over time). There is often some small amounts of residue in the expansion tank and if you have not had any issues to date and have replaced the expansion tank I would not expect you to suddenly have issues.

Hard to tell but I had a negative sniff test at first then I got a positive once I’d replaced the egr cooler and the charge cooler, ended up being the head gasket. Diag can be really tricky as there can be a few issues that combine to hide the true state of the engine. I thought I had it but then I ended up with another issue that was linked but made worse so needs some careful diag. I have a who thread on the diag and fix of mine if this helps at all?

Another thing I would add is solid engine mounts are not the way to go! It’s a tad vibey…