Hello

I am looking at a 2005 55 plate Octavia estate - 2.0 TDI 140, L and K model.

I've been reading all sorts of stories both on here and the Audi forums in regards to porous cylinder heads on the 2.0 140 engine being very common.

How common is this, and was there a recall on the Octavia? If so how would I know if the car has the replacement head or how would you know it's about to go? What price would this be should it fail?

Also when did they fix this problem, in terms of model years (plate years).

Sorry for all the questions, I've tried searching to no avail.

Cheers

Edited 24 August, 201213 yr by UKKayaker

Anyone?

I have the same model and year.

It has just hit 150K and isn't suffering from a porous head (yet!).

AFAIK, it has the revision B head, which is supposed to suffer from the porosity to some extent, but not as bad as the A revision which you need to avoid.

IIRC the Skoda engines were quite some time behind Audi and VW in terms of using the revision C head. I think it was about 2007 for Audi/VW.

Just for reference went to see it and had a coolant level way lower than minimum. Guess that answers the question.thanks for advice though, Will look for a newer version.

Unfortunately the revised heads did appear to take longer to filter through to the L&K spec cars than the lower models for some odd reason. Possibly as the L&K was a slower seller?

Eg Elegance and Ambient 2.0 TDi Octavias rarely seem to give this problem from 2006 onwards. My October 2007 registered 57 plate Elegance for example has the revision C head and has never had any coolant issues. Conversely I have known 2008 2.0 L&Ks with porous head trouble and the earlier revision B head still fitted.

Apart from loosing coolant because there are plenty of causes for that. What are the signs of a porous head???

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Very poor starting, with smoke/steam from the exhaust when it eventually does fire seem to be a common symptom. From what I can gather a failing EGR cooler can do the same thing though, so its not always an easy diagnosis.

had a 2005 55 reg PD140, sold at 100K miles, run perfectly and never lost water /oil or had problems with starting / steam etc. I am not aware of any of our members having issues with Porous heads on this engine, it seems quiet rare on the Octavia.

Low coolant could have many causes, especially on a car which is now 7 years old, including leaking hose joints or radiator.

had a 2005 55 reg PD140, sold at 100K miles, run perfectly and never lost water /oil or had problems with starting / steam etc. I am not aware of any of our members having issues with Porous heads on this engine, it seems quiet rare on the Octavia.

Low coolant could have many causes, especially on a car which is now 7 years old, including leaking hose joints or radiator.

There have been a few. Was it not dstev2000 who had endless starting problems with his (2007/08 L&K I think), and Skoda had refused to believe such a late car could have a duff cylinder head and replaced virtually everything else possible before changing the head? I've know there have been others on here too. Worth doing a search perhaps. Its not common but not unheard of either.

How can you tell what version head you have ?

Also would it just be hard to Start in the morning like glo plugs not working 100%

How can you tell what version head you have ?

Also would it just be hard to Start in the morning like glo plugs not working 100%

There's some info about it here:

http://www.audi-spor...-hasnt-yet.html

Basically, there are 3 references for the cylinder heads on your 2.0 Tdi BKD engine.

Open the hood, remove the engin cover, and to the right of the cylinder head under the metalic fuel lines, you will see a references written upside down, with a letter at the end. Over in another forum, a survey was made with the following results.

03G 103 308 A years 2003 to 2005.55 allmost all cracked

03G 103 308 B years 2005.5 to 2006.6 only a few cracked

03G 103 308 C years 2006.5 to 2007.5 none cracked

Hello

I am looking at a 2005 55 plate Octavia estate - 2.0 TDI 140, L and K model.

I've been reading all sorts of stories both on here and the Audi forums in regards to porous cylinder heads on the 2.0 140 engine being very common.

How common is this, and was there a recall on the Octavia? If so how would I know if the car has the replacement head or how would you know it's about to go? What price would this be should it fail?

Also when did they fix this problem, in terms of model years (plate years).

Sorry for all the questions, I've tried searching to no avail.

Cheers

I had a 2005 (55 reg) Seat Toledo Sport DSG with the 2.0 PD engine and that developed a porous head which was change under warranty.

It was about a year old when this happened (from memory) - the signs were the sudden requirement to top up the header tank on a weekly basis.

John.

Was the coolant dripping from the car leaving puddles or was it simply disappearing??

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No physical signs of a leak if it is the porous head issue, the missing coolant ends up in the cylinders.

Paul

No physical signs of a leak if it is the porous head issue, the missing coolant ends up in the cylinders.

Paul

Ahh. That might explain why on my old vRS PD, the coolant often needed a top up (almost every 2 weeks) but there were never any signs of leakage!

Steve

No physical signs of a leak if it is the porous head issue, the missing coolant ends up in the cylinders.

Paul

This info is a relief to hear. Mine leaves a little puddle underneath. I have just had the EGR + cooler removed and replaced a couple of dodgy hoses so fingers crossed.

I also had the CAT knocked out and the intake cleaned, can't wait to drive it.

Hello

I am looking at a 2005 55 plate Octavia estate - 2.0 TDI 140, L and K model.

I've been reading all sorts of stories both on here and the Audi forums in regards to porous cylinder heads on the 2.0 140 engine being very common.

How common is this, and was there a recall on the Octavia? If so how would I know if the car has the replacement head or how would you know it's about to go? What price would this be should it fail?

Also when did they fix this problem, in terms of model years (plate years).

Sorry for all the questions, I've tried searching to no avail.

Cheers

FYI My 2.0 TDI L & K has a C head on it........It was built in January 2006.

I recently looked at buying another Octavia, and viewed one built in October 2005...It had a B head on it.

Mine was built end of August 2005 and registered October 2005 and has a revision B

This info is a relief to hear. Mine leaves a little puddle underneath. I have just had the EGR + cooler removed and replaced a couple of dodgy hoses so fingers crossed.

I also had the CAT knocked out and the intake cleaned, can't wait to drive it.

The aircon will also leave a little puddle under the car, so make sure that it isn't from there causing the puddle you can see.

It has a run-off drain valve near the bulkhead between the engine and passenger cabin.

Simplest way to eliminate that is to run with the aircon off for a bit.

Paul

Oh I think we can rule out the AC, it would have to be working for it to be leaking :-( :-(

I have put about 500kms on the car since the EGR delete and it seems to be holding on to the coolant, throttle is also crisper since the de-cat and manifold clean.

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