Help with 1.9 TDi

[drew10]

Hi Everyone,

Just bought a 19. TDi 2001 estate and need some advice. I know that this car is only 90Bhp but even taking this into consideration it feels very slow. If I try to accelerate uphill it takes ages and on a flat piece of motorway I cant seem to get over 80Mph or 3000rpm.

I have just sold an Impreza 2.0 sport so I expected this was going to feel slow, especially as it is the lowest rated engine in the range but surely this isnt quite right.

It has about 800 miles till service according to the indicator could that be all that is needed, I am worried it could be a turbo issue.

It has done 163,000 miles.

Could somebody with the same car please compare their performance for me please?

Thanks,

Drew.

[firedesmo]

Hi Everyone,

Just bought a 19. TDi 2001 estate and need some advice. I know that this car is only 90Bhp but even taking this into consideration it feels very slow. If I try to accelerate uphill it takes ages and on a flat piece of motorway I cant seem to get over 80Mph or 3000rpm.

I have just sold an Impreza 2.0 sport so I expected this was going to feel slow, especially as it is the lowest rated engine in the range but surely this isnt quite right.

It has about 800 miles till service according to the indicator could that be all that is needed, I am worried it could be a turbo issue.

It has done 163,000 miles.

Could somebody with the same car please compare their performance for me please?

Thanks,

Drew.

Hi drew I own a 1.9 TDI (110BHP) and recently put some Millers fuel injector cleaner in the tank, after about 30 miles the difference in performance was brill - pulls better - runs smoother and the turbo boost is so different -tried it in the girlfriends ibiza 1.9 deisel and even its is running better. Hope this helps. Edited 6 July, 2010 by firedesmo

[mbames]

I would suggest a fault MAF to start with. Unplug it, and drive the car, if the performance is the same, then that is probably the problem. With the MAF unplugged the car runs with standard parameters.....

Some 90s have a VVT based turbo, so it might have sticky vanes or a faulty n75 valve, you could try disconnecting the vacuum pipe from the n75 to the turbo (if fitted) and try sucking on it..,.. you should be able to get the VNT mechanism to move - stick your hand down the back of the engine to feel - **only do this when the car is cold**

[drew10]

Hi drew I own a 1.9 TDI (110BHP) and recently put some Millers fuel injector cleaner in the tank, after about 30 miles the difference in performance was brill - pulls better - runs smoother and the turbo boost is so different -tried it in the girlfriends ibiza 1.9 deisel and even its is running better. Hope this helps.

[drew10]

Hi,

Thanks I will try that first and see what happens.

Drew.

[drew10]

I would suggest a fault MAF to start with. Unplug it, and drive the car, if the performance is the same, then that is probably the problem. With the MAF unplugged the car runs with standard parameters.....

Some 90s have a VVT based turbo, so it might have sticky vanes or a faulty n75 valve, you could try disconnecting the vacuum pipe from the n75 to the turbo (if fitted) and try sucking on it..,.. you should be able to get the VNT mechanism to move - stick your hand down the back of the engine to feel - **only do this when the car is cold**

[drew10]

Hi I will give this a try if the other method doesn't work first.

Thanks,

Drew.

[chicken_eyebrow]

I think if it's W reg (AGR engine code) or earlier it will be a wastegate turbo, after W reg (ALH engine code) they were variable nozzle turbos as MBames said and these can get gummed up through not enough hard use, at which point the turbo needs to be removed and cleaned out.

You can get cheap VAG fault code scanners for about £20 on ebay so see if you have any stored codes.

[drew10]

I think if it's W reg (AGR engine code) or earlier it will be a wastegate turbo, after W reg (ALH engine code) they were variable nozzle turbos as MBames said and these can get gummed up through not enough hard use, at which point the turbo needs to be removed and cleaned out.

You can get cheap VAG fault code scanners for about £20 on ebay so see if you have any stored codes.

Hi it has the ALH code, so can these just be cleaned out then? That is a major relief, I thought I would have to pay for a reconned turbo!

[chicken_eyebrow]

Yeah they can be cleaned out, do a search on this part of the forums to see other people who have had the same problem, it mainly crops up on 110TDIs that aren't given a good thrashing every now and then.

I'm not sure on the work involved but would expect it to be 3 or 4 hours labour to get the turbo off and cleaned, see if you have a local garage that will give you a quote.

The garage should fault code scan it first to confirm it is the VNT turbo problem. The fault code should say "overboost".

Edited 7 July, 2010 by chicken_eyebrow

[mbames]

Dealers quote about 3 hours to remove and refit a turbo, my private bloke took the same length of time, and he had never done one before (well not a 110TDI VAG).

As I pointed out earlier, the overboost can be a caused by a few other issues, and if it is actually the vanes then you should be able to feel it sticking when operated manually. Changing the turbo is the last (and most expensive) option.

- MAF

- n75

- vacuum pipework

- CTS

should all be considered before the turbo. Changing the turbo will require a couple of gaskets and quite possibly a new oil supply pipe too.

[deedaw]

Hi Everyone,

Just bought a 19. TDi 2001 estate and need some advice. I know that this car is only 90Bhp but even taking this into consideration it feels very slow. If I try to accelerate uphill it takes ages and on a flat piece of motorway I cant seem to get over 80Mph or 3000rpm.

I have just sold an Impreza 2.0 sport so I expected this was going to feel slow, especially as it is the lowest rated engine in the range but surely this isnt quite right.

It has about 800 miles till service according to the indicator could that be all that is needed, I am worried it could be a turbo issue.

It has done 163,000 miles.

Could somebody with the same car please compare their performance for me please?

Thanks,

Drew.

Mine was like that, new airflow meter for the turbo transformed performance. Just looked at the invoice from an independent was just over 80 quid's worth of your pounds sterling in '08.

Edited 8 July, 2010 by deedaw

[drew10]

Mine was like that, new airflow meter for the turbo transformed performance. Just looked at the invoice from an independent was just over 80 quid's worth of your pounds sterling in '08.

I have disconnected the MAF and haven't really noticed a great deal of difference in the performance, would the difference be dramatic even with the other issue as well? I think this might be the problem as the plug that fits onto the MAF has the clip broken so perhaps it has been taken on and off a lot?

I have found an Bosch MAF for my engine on Ebay for £53 so hopefully that is what is wrong as it looks pretty easy to replace.

Thanks for all your help guys I will keep you posted as to how I get on.

BTW I have just started a new topic as I have noticed another troubling problem, its a topic called "more problems with Octavia TDI" Any advice welcomed again. I really want to love this car but get the feeling I may have been had.

[lumac999]

Hi Everyone,

Just bought a 19. TDi 2001 estate and need some advice. I know that this car is only 90Bhp but even taking this into consideration it feels very slow. If I try to accelerate uphill it takes ages and on a flat piece of motorway I cant seem to get over 80Mph or 3000rpm.

I have just sold an Impreza 2.0 sport so I expected this was going to feel slow, especially as it is the lowest rated engine in the range but surely this isnt quite right.

It has about 800 miles till service according to the indicator could that be all that is needed, I am worried it could be a turbo issue.

It has done 163,000 miles.

Could somebody with the same car please compare their performance for me please?

Thanks,

Drew.

Hi,

I also have 90hp ALH engine. Performance wise I feel it pull in nearly all gears. In first I can clearly feel it push me back into my seat. and can easily get it into the 4000rpm mark (when hot as to dot his when cold could knacker the turbo). I do have an intermittent problem with power which could be VNT associated and feels like the turbo has been switched off. In this case it drives like you suggest i.e cant seem to get over 80Mph or 3000rpm. But the problem is extremely unpredictable. EG sometimes have it at low revs or high after a long run or short and hot and cold engine. I'm going to change either the N75 or MAP sensor or both to see if this helps. Both parts around 40 quid from Skoda. Had a fault code coming up which suggested it might be the N75.

[mbames]

I have disconnected the MAF and haven't really noticed a great deal of difference in the performance, would the difference be dramatic even with the other issue as well? I think this might be the problem as the plug that fits onto the MAF has the clip broken so perhaps it has been taken on and off a lot?

I have found an Bosch MAF for my engine on Ebay for £53 so hopefully that is what is wrong as it looks pretty easy to replace.

If disconnecting the MAF has not really helped, then I would not think that the MAF is the root cause of problem, although no harm in swapping it out / having a spare for later use. Does the ebay Bosch MAF come with all the housing, if not you might need some security keys (a bit like torx with with an extra bit in the middle) to change it.... or just use a pair of pliers like I did

[drew10]

If disconnecting the MAF has not really helped, then I would not think that the MAF is the root cause of problem, although no harm in swapping it out / having a spare for later use. Does the ebay Bosch MAF come with all the housing, if not you might need some security keys (a bit like torx with with an extra bit in the middle) to change it.... or just use a pair of pliers like I did

Yeah it looks like it comes as a full unit so I will take a punt and hope for the best! Thanks for all your help I will keep you posted!

[drew10]

Hi Everyone,

have had a leak test done and found a large hole in the hard pipe that runs from the intercooler! I am having a new one of these fitted tomorrow so hopefully this will fix the issue!

I will keep you posted!

Thanks,

Drew.

[drew10]

Hi All,

Just had the pipe that runs from the intercooler towards the turbo, (a hard black ridged thing) replaced and the pressure keeps blowing it off the car. It seems that the last owner had drilled a hole through this and the connecting pipe and self-tappered it together. I now am waiting for the next hose to arrive in-case the hole is causing the seal between the two pipes to not fit correctly.

However I am suspecting that there is too much pressure in the system which is causing this hence why the two pipes were screwed together in the first place in order to sell it!

Does anyone have any advice as to too much boost pressure?

Thanks,

Drew.

[drew10]

Ok the pipes are now fixed as is a sticking valve but I am now getting grounding earth errors (will post the codes shortly!) the garage say everytime they fix something another problem arises and that they think the engine has been tinkered with and screwed up!! The engine management light has been removed from the dash prior to the car being sold to me!!!