I have owned this car for two glorious years with no trouble whatsoever!

31st January the car went into my local gararge to get the cambelt changed and water pump. Cost £388

1st February car would not start properly and was very sluggish. Car back in garage cambelt re done

2nd February going on a long drive glow plug lights came on and vehicle went into limp mode, pulled into layby but car wouldn't restart. Vehicle recovery back to my local Garage.Diagnostic done showing fault code P1040/P2146. I find out on the forum here that it could be the wiring loom/injector.

3rd February, car has to be taken to my local Skoda Garage to check and confirm fault. Diagnostic done and vehicle checked turns out to be wring loom and injector 1.

Messed about by the service manager, but he certainly needed a course in customer care. Was told that car would be ready tomorrow then tomorrow then tomorrow etc. Got fed up with him and made a complaint and spoke to the owner who was more than helpful.

Injector 1 changed(£390 from Merlin Diesel Preston.Excellent service and helpful) would not pay Skoda price of £570. Also wiring loom changed.Was told that the vehicle would still not run and showing all sorts of faults. Skoda garage gets in touch with Skoda UK, who advised them that ECU needed re-flashing. This was done and then showed that it was not injector 1 at fault but injector 3. Injectors changed around.Car now turning over and not showing any faults.

18th February Collected car yesterday, was told by Skoda that car was buring too much fuel and it stunk of fuel when vehicle started. Advised by skoda garage that "my garage" had not fitted the cambelt on properly, hence why it was burning too much fuel. Cost to change injector and wiring loom etc £458.

Took car back to my local garage and they will check the cambelt and re-do the work (free of charge)

Car will not be ready till 23rd February.

I am totally gutted with whats happened. I have looked after this car and its been my pride and joy. I just hope Skoda know what they are talking about stating that the cambelt is out. When i was driving from the garage, my Mrs was following me in her car and she said for the first five minutes of leaving the garage my car was was throwing out thick smoke from the exhaust.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Sounds like they messed the cambelt timing up big style.

AFAIK the injectors are controlled by the cam timing on PD engines.

I would be after compo from them as this is a basic error - if they can't change a cam belt without messing the timing up they shouldn't be changing cam belts at all!

It isn't hard, all you have to do is lock the crank and the two cam wheels with the special tools for doing the job and you can't go wrong!

Unless of course, they haven't got the correct cam and crank locking tools, in which case, they shouldn't have taken on the job.

Good car, bad garage I think.

i would'nt let local garage have 3rd attempt. let skoda do it and push for refund from failed attempt

Thanks for the replies Guys. Can i confirm with you lot that the lack of power/excessive smoke/strong smell of fuel is as a result of the cambelt being ill fitted?? or could it be something else??

The problem i've got with the indy garage is that he is a friend and i've been going to him for years and never had a problem plus he's done me many a favour.

Futhermore the car was fine prior to the initial cambelt change, could the ill fitting cambelt have caused the failure of any of the injectors. ??

I know the wiring loom is a problem and needed changing as the Skoda mechanic confirmed that the wiring loom had "crumbled" in his hands.

Cheers

If he's a friend he'll do the right thing and give you your money back. If its poorly fitted and snaps, bye bye engine :( For peace of mind I would'nt risk it, should have been a simple job no doubt your "friend" gave it to a yoof to do. :'(

I appreciate that but:-

1) Can i confirm with you lot that the lack of power/excessive smoke/strong smell of fuel is as a result of the cambelt being ill fitted?? or could it be something else??

2)Futhermore the car was fine prior to the initial cambelt change, could the ill fitting cambelt have caused the failure of any of the injectors. ??

Cheers

1. Yes def as timing would be out allowing unburnt fuel or overfueling. Poss cat damage if used on a long run.

2. Not 100% sure but the injector could have over heated maybe due to the timing or lack of it? Could they have sooted upo even.

Thanks for that m0bov, at least now i can go back to him and know what i'm talking about. The problem with owners like myself,is that garages can bull***t, and we are none the wiser. A least i know what the problem is know. I was breaking my heart.

Cheers

I know the belt is toothed, but if it was badly fitted I wonder if it jumped and caused the injectors to fire at such a wrong time, they back fed and caused one or more to fail. I believe this and running them dry is the main source of failure. You can also phone the RAC or AA tech line for advice or maybe phone your local friendly derv specialist for advice.

Edited 20 February, 201115 yr by m0bov

Cheers

OK, when changing a PD engine belt, the crank, cam AND FUEL PUMP pulley must b locked!! Theres a special tool looks like a lolly pop that goes through the pulley to lock the pump in place!! Sounds like thats ur fault buddy!! Also the cam pulleys are supposed to be adjusted for the new belt theres a setup procedure for that aswell!!

But if the pump hasnt been locked correctly or even locked at all, it'l most definately be out!! They move easy as hell, Tell them to use a mirror to look through the hole on the pulley and turn the engine over by hand and theyl see where it alings!!

Edited 20 February, 201115 yr by suk

Was the injector fitted at a skoda garage? On a PD engine you need to adapt the injector electronically using a VAS 5051 diagnostics machine.

As for timing, it's a bad mistake to make, but most back street garages wont have the equipment needed to lock off the pullies so they'll paintmark the teeth, it can be inaccurate.

Edited 21 February, 201115 yr by AshCooper

And paintmarking the teeth does absolutely nothing nothing for the pump!

The injector was replaced by the skoda dealer along with the wiring loom.I did ask my local garage(where the car is now)how he replaced the cambelt and he did say that he had "locked them" in place. I am waiting for the car back on wednesday. I really hope everything is allright now because i am totally fed up and not having a car for the last three weeks, and i just hope no further damage has been caused. :'(

The injector was replaced by the skoda dealer along with the wiring loom.I did ask my local garage(where the car is now)how he replaced the cambelt and he did say that he had "locked them" in place. I am waiting for the car back on wednesday. I really hope everything is allright now because i am totally fed up and not having a car for the last three weeks, and i just hope no further damage has been caused. :'(

Hi Bertie, you say your friend told you he had locked them in place, ask him what he had locked, if he comes back with the camshafts then ask him if he locked the fuel pump too as you have been told on good authority that if the pump is not locked as well then that will lead to the problems you have been having. Let us know what his response to that is please

Ian.

Hi Bertie, you say your friend told you he had locked them in place, ask him what he had locked, if he comes back with the camshafts then ask him if he locked the fuel pump too as you have been told on good authority that if the pump is not locked as well then that will lead to the problems you have been having. Let us know what his response to that is please

Ian.

Yes will do Ian, and can i thank you all for your comments. You have all been very helpful This has been getting me down the last few days, and i was worried that it could be another injector that was on the way out, but on reading all your comments. it has to be the cambelt that hasn't been fitted properly.

It definately sounds like pump timing is out to me! Ask whats been locked, if they dont mention the pump then gauranteed thats the problem!

Having changed the belt on my 16v BKD 140PD in September, I don't remember locking the fuel pump - locked the two cam wheels and the crank with the official tools and did the adjustment of the tensioner etc. as per VAG instructions, plus the slight adjustment of one cam wheel as per VAG instructions to get the new belt spot on on the pulleys.

For reference, from Wikipedia so may not be 100% correct , the 16v PD engines use the cam lobes for injector timing, the pump is just constantly driven. If the cam tining is out, the injector timings are out. On the 8v engines you can adjust the pump timing independently and graph it using VCDS, but AFAIK the 16v is controlled directly by the cam.

But, I stand to be corrected!

2.0 R4 16v TDI PD 103-125kW

This Pumpe Düse (PD) TDI engine was introduced to replace the older higher-powered versions of the 1.9 TDI. It is the first four-cylinder 16-valve double overhead camshaft (DOHC) Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) engine made by Volkswagen Group.

identification

parts code prefix: 038

engine configuration & engine displacement

inline four cylinder (R4/I4) Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) turbodiesel; 1,968 cubic centimetres (120.1 cu in); bore x stroke: 81.0 by 95.5 millimetres (3.19 in × 3.76 in), stroke ratio: 0.85:1 - undersquare/long-stroke, 492.1 cc per cylinder; compression ratio: 18.5:1

cylinder block & crankcase

grey cast iron; five main bearings, die-forged steel crankshaft, fracture-split forged steel connecting rods, cast aluminium alloy oil sump

cylinder head & valvetrain

cast aluminium alloy; four valves per cylinder, 16 valves total, timing belt-driven double overhead camshaft (DOHC)

aspiration

hot-film air mass meter, Garrett turbocharger integrated into cast iron exhaust manifold, sandwiched central front-mounted intercooler (FMIC)

fuel system & engine management

Pumpe Düse (PD) direct injection (DI): engine-driven vane-type low pressure fuel lift pump, four camshaft-actuated (via roller rocker arms) high pressure Bosch 2,200–2,400 bars (31,910–34,810 psi) Unit Injectors with piezo valve injection nozzles, Bosch EDC 16 or EDC 17 or Siemens VDO SIMOS PPD1 electronic engine control unit (ECU) with altitude compensation, EU4 compliant

exhaust system

water-cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), diesel particulate filter (DPF)

DIN-rated motive power & torque outputs, ID codes

103 kilowatts (140 PS; 138 bhp) — BKD, BKP

125 kilowatts (170 PS; 168 bhp) @ 4,200 rpm; 350 newton metres (258 ft·lbf) @ 1,800-2,500 rpm — ????

Edited 22 February, 201115 yr by andyvee

Attached are some instructions, can't find the rest though Installing toothed belt BKD.pdf

Having changed the belt on my 16v BKD 140PD in September, I don't remember locking the fuel pump - locked the two cam wheels and the crank with the official tools and did the adjustment of the tensioner etc. as per VAG instructions, plus the slight adjustment of one cam wheel as per VAG instructions to get the new belt spot on on the pulleys.

For reference, from Wikipedia so may not be 100% correct , the 16v PD engines use the cam lobes for injector timing, the pump is just constantly driven. If the cam tining is out, the injector timings are out. On the 8v engines you can adjust the pump timing independently and graph it using VCDS, but AFAIK the 16v is controlled directly by the cam.

But, I stand to be corrected!

Hang on a minute now, the old clogs in my brain is starting to turn and if im reading a part of this correctly and i quote from above paragraph " IF THE CAM TIMING IS OUT, THE INJECTOR TIMINGS ARE OUT". Does this mean that this could have caused the failure of one of my injectors ????????????? or even damaging it ???????

Doubt it - more likely the knackered wiring harness!!

All it would mean is that the diesel is getting injected at the wrong point in the cycle.

Even more of a concern would be when the valves are opening in respect of TDC if the cam timing is out.

You need to get it looked at by someone who knows these engines inside out and can tell you what the state of the cam timing is. I suggest a good local VAG specialist. It is only about an hours work to get to the cambelt, check the timing, and put it back together again. Takes a bit longer if you are removing the belt, tensioner and water pump though and doing the job from scratch.

Even so, £50 or so should get it checked out properly. If in doubt take it to a VW main dealer and ask them to look at it - it will cost a fortune but you can probably get a report from them should you need it to pursue losses from anyone involved up to now.

Are you in the Preston area? Who was the Skoda dealer, Simpsons?

Edited 22 February, 201115 yr by andyvee

I took the car back to the Garage who fitted the cambelt in the first place as a result of the Skoda Main dealer telling me that the cam was out and who advised me to take it back to them. I now realise it was a mistake, on my behalf .I am due to have the car back tomorrow.

The injector and wiring loom was fitted by Skoda Pant Waen Garage nr Carnarfon,Bangor North Wales.

Could the ill fitting cam have caused any other engine damage then??

Edited 22 February, 201115 yr by bertie1249

If it had done, you would have known about it by now, and the Skoda dealer would have noticed.

Lets hope you get it back fine with the cam timed in correctly, and all is well and you can put this behind you.

The injector and loom failure were probably nothing to do with the cam change and just bad luck that it was all at the same time.

If it had done, you would have known about it by now, and the Skoda dealer would have noticed.

Lets hope you get it back fine with the cam timed in correctly, and all is well and you can put this behind you.

The injector and loom failure were probably nothing to do with the cam change and just bad luck that it was all at the same time.

Thanks andyvee, you don't know how ill this has made me. I was just worrying that this nightmare was going from bad to worse. At least i now have piece of mind knowing that it was just a BAD coincidence(injector/wiring loom) :'(

and i know that if the car comes back tomorrow and the smoke is still there and strong smell of fuel, then it still isn't right :no:

I will then take it straight to the Skoda dealer. I think i have learn't a big lesson here. :wonder: