Sharpy64

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

I would say my feed and return pipes were leaking relatively badly, so I suspect it will be improved but I’ll report back. The engine was rocking back and forward on the mounts in time with the hunting so there was a link between the hunting and the rocking / odd noise

Yesterday I drove 80 miles and so far so good. All dry around the expansion tank, coolant level dropped a bit but id expect that for the first few days. I am hoping this has resolved the issues. So to summarise issues, Hunting and canting engine Coolant loss Lots of "soot" out the exhaust Occasional whisps of white smoke from the exhuast No loss of performance was noted No error codes I started with the EGR cooler as I didnt have coolant escaping from the reservoir, this was tested for leaks and confirmed to be bad so it was replaced. This made coolant spill out of the reservoir. We spent some time looking at heating / cooling elements like radiator and confirmed a bad thermostat and a possible charge air cooler leak, the latter was suspected as it was quite wet in the cooler. As we were taking the cooler off to replace the thermostat we also replaced the charge cooler. None of this resolved the complaint so we did and sniff test and confirmed combustion gasses in the cooling system, the earlier test did not show this as a concern. I suspect the EGR cooler was releasing pressure and gasses into the exhaust. We chose to bypass the EGR cooler to test if it was a new bad part but the issues remained. So we pulled the head and confirmed there was spots where it was likely that the HG had failed, head tested and confirmed to be okay. Car rebuilt, all conditions, hunting engine and canting is resolved, smoother drive and generally a nicer place to be. So, what does all of this mean, how do you know if its HG failure? I would say the easiest way is if you are getting a hunting / canting from the engine and or an subtle but odd "cracking" type noise that cycles with the canting / hunting of the engine. This points to head lift and gasses escaping into the coolant. The big issue here is that other components could have failed hiding the biggest issue so ultimately a process of detailed diagnosis needs to be undertaken. If you are reading this and want any advice please reach out as I am happy to help as this has been quite an experience and I now feel like I know quite a bit about these engines! So for now that closes out this diag and fix thread. Thanks.

I have, but wanted to get it running first! 😆

Finally, it lives. First start and test drive complete no obvious leaks and its does feel better to drive. Something we both noticed was previously the engine was hunting and canting back and forth a bit, that’s all gone as is an odd noise it was making. I feel like that could well have been the head lifting and gasses escaping so something to look out for. First drive and everything was working getting heat in the cabin and all seems well. Left it at the shed last night on the 4 post to just confirm no leaks but all being well it’ll be back on the road and with luck all my issues will be resolved and I shall close out the thread at that point. IMG_9100.mov

Feels like we are getting there with the rebuild, last night we got Injectors back with all new seals Cooling system largely reconnected (There are sooooo many little coolant hoses!!) Charge air cooler refitted with new gaskets Seems so little when you write it down but there was so many little fiddly jobs that just ate up time, back at it again tonight, hopefully get it started today, but we have been saying that for the last 2 days... so maybe, maybe not!

More progress, sump off and new wet belt for the oil pump fitted, new crank seal and sump back on. Head refitted and rocker cover fitted, all new gaskets for the rocker cover and cam shafts etc. Turbo refitted with new gaskets and new seals for the return and feed lines. Dpf and egr cooler fitted with exhaust, all with new gaskets. New engine mounts fitted. Cam belt and pulleys refitted and timed up. Still got quite a bit to get through but all progress.

Some good news, the heads not cracked! So that’s a result, “just” a HG failure. So about spend £1k on parts to put it back together and some “while im in there jobs”. I will finish this thread once it’s back up and running without issue but it’s been quite the introduction to Skodas. lol.

Might sound odd, but check the engine mounts, mine was doing this and I knew my engine mounts were dead, when I put an insert in the dog bone mount it went away. I guess it was just the engine wobbling about under braking load.

Not a small job by any stretch, subframe off, exhaust off, DPF, EGR , turbo all off, charge cooler off. Not something I’d like to be paying for I’ll be honest My only concern is this “seam”, not sure if this normal or not, aside from that look good.

Head is off, no obvious cracks (which is goodish), will be dropping it off on Friday for pressure testing. I do think there are some areas where it could have been leaking combustion gasses, thats the spots on 2 and 3 there it its got dark soot, not 100% sure but more evidence.

The reason I am considering a replacement is the oil consumption, its not horrendous on it compared to some but its more than I would like. So a low mileage engine seems an option, also considering just getting mine fully rebuilt, but it does all hinge on the head, if its cracked then the cost of a new head and rebuild would probably be too much, if the heads warped / not cracked then a rebuild is a very real option. Its becoming a "while im in there" sort of situation!

I have been doing some searching and have come across a replacement complete engine from a car with 47k on it, seriously considering it as an option, might be easier to just throw a new lump in it at this point.

So been over to my mates shed, bypassed the new egr cooler and the issue remains, so it’s off with its head! There’s a place not far from me that a mate uses for his racing car heads and they’ll pressure test it for cracks and if it passes will check it for warps and if needed skim it. So onwards. The thought of having to pay a garage to do all of this is terrifying, might take me a bit longer but at least it’s a whole lot cheaper.

Droning noises are often wheel bearing or tyre issues. That is where I would start, are the tyres okay, any odd wear patterns / feathering on the inner edges, if they are okay then id be checking the wheel bearings.

If it has LED the pattern is usually flat and no action is needed, if bi-xenon then there is often an option that allows you to change the drive pattern, if its Halogen lights then deflectors will be needed.

Im not hopeful! Ha!

Just been chatting to my mate and we are going to bypass the egr cooler first, this is because the condition got a lot worse after we fitted that so there is a chance that its a bad new part, so to avoid taking the head off without proper diag this seems like a sensible approach. If its still doing it then we have confirmed its not the egr cooler and can move on to the HG.

Thats what I reckon, so back to my mates shed to take the head off and see whats going on. Worst case a new engine, if the blocks cracked, best case just a new HG! Based on how its gone so far I feel like it'll be a new engine... so might just throw a Golf R engine it it.

This was a pretty big clue. 😂 IMG_8936.mov I suspect all the parts I replaced had issues and that has made this condition worse as it was relatively okay with the leaky egr cooler and leaky charge cooler.

Well…. Nuts… So it’s time to take the head off then.

So, here we are back to square one. Didnt even need to do a long drive and the wheel arch and area around the coolant bottle is soaking wet with coolant. Going to start with diag again and do a sniff test. It ahs to be combustion gasses in the coolant.

Been a little while as I’ve been out of the country. I’ve replaced the thermostat with an original VAG one and I now have coolant flow through the main radiator, also replaced the charge cooler as it was off to do the thermostat anyway. My mates been driving it about while I’ve been away and so far so good, although no long journeys to really test it. Next up is a long drive (90mins) and see if the coolant now stays inside the coolant system. Should also add the expansion tank I got from NAPA leaked anyway so not sure that was a valuable diagnostic asset.

Thanks, does seem like a common failure point! I’ve not been able to get back to the car last few days but hopefully will sort it next week!

Just didn’t sniff test, up to full temp and on power for 3 mins, liquid stayed blue. So hoping that’s a positive sign.