Help !! Engine died after replacing oil pump hex drive

[Geoskoda]

I have a bit of story here. My engine showed low oil pressure warning 2 weeks ago and I stupidly drove it for approx. 3 miles then engine went into Limp mode, then I stopped and got it recovered. 

 

It is 2.0TDI 2009 Skoda superb 140BHP. engine code BMP. The engine had oil and new filter and no issues with pressure sensor when the problem took place. Upon researching here, I came across the known hex drive issue / failure for these VAG engines. So I got it recovered after Christmas to a nearby garage and indeed it was the hex pin rounded. Up till this point the engine sounded normal when it was started as I had to start it to reverse the car from my drive (as the RAC man refused to help me pushing it).

 

I got the garage to replace the pin with a new one (the solid pin rather than the hollow) as I did not want to dive into replacing the balancer shaft given I was not sure if I had caused more damage to the engine or not hence did not want to spend a fortune on it. When the garage removed the pump I tried to put the undamaged end of the hex key into the balancer and it looked solid so I concluded it is ok to not replace it until I know if I can salvage the car.

 

Today the garage phone me saying my car is ready and working good again with no engine damage. Apparently he said that he put the new hex key and drove it for a couple of miles and everything is fine. Apparently I was lucky with escaping engine damage. I took the car and drove home (which is only 1.6 miles away). During my journey I heard engine whistling noise as I put my foot on the accelerator then when I release it that noise goes away/ reduces.  After a couple of uphill short slopes the car lost all power and the engine shut itself (no sounds of bangs / breaks or drama etc.). I noticed the battery red light came on split second before that happening. I got the car to stop then tried to restart it and I wont start. Engine turns a bit with struggle then does not start. No oil pressure warning or light were on before this...

 

Any idea of what has happened ? Is this likely to be an inevitable damage due to me driving the car for 3 miles with no oil which was going to happen regardless of me replacing the balancer or not? or is it a something else failed triggered by the oil loss earlier on (turbo etc.). Or is it shortfall of the repair garage? I cannot understand how the garage tested the car with no issues (according to him) then I got sudden failure... I don't want to go back to the garage as I had a fall out with him due to taking ages to change the hex pin on my car and not taking this repair seriously so I just wanted to get out. I started to doubt if he has done something on purpose !!

 

Appreciate any thoughts from you... is this now a car for scrap or do i still have some hope? 

 

[DEL80Y]

you need to get it to another garage to inspect it

The whistling noise could be a simple turbo intercooler pipe loose and if they left that loose it also could be something silly

have you checked to make sure the drive belt is still attached which would explain battery light.

The first thing to go would be the turbo with oil starvation but that should of been checked before repair of hex

And the low pressure oil light would come on as you said

[Geoskoda]

2 minutes ago, DEL80Y said:

ave you checked to make sure the drive belt is still attached which would explain battery light.

do you mean the belt that runs the alternator ? Yes it looked fine. 

 

Is the turbo has gone would the engine stop and not start again ?

 

Do you recon there is still some hope in the car then?

[Derbyshirebod]

I'd use a scan tool and see if there are any error codes before trying to second guess what might be wrong.

[DEL80Y]

7 hours ago, Geoskoda said:

do you mean the belt that runs the alternator ? Yes it looked fine. YES

 

Is the turbo has gone would the engine stop and not start again ?   NO

 

Do you recon there is still some hope in the car then? SEE BELOW

Yeah there is still hope 

"During my journey I heard engine whistling noise as I put my foot on the accelerator then when I release it that noise goes away/ reduces."
 
Could be a loose pipe  or the turbo whine

 the garage giving you the car back after them saying they test drove it and it drove with no issue   SO this should rule out the turbo whining with oil starvation

It could be just  some thing silly

 "I don't want to go back to the garage as I had a fall out with him due to taking ages to change the hex pin" 

I know you say you dont want to but you need to phone the garage and tell them whats happened they will see with the mileage that its not went far and should come out and have a look or get it recovered to them.



 

[Geoskoda]

A bit of update from today... I charged the car battery again for few hours then tried to start it. The engine definitely is rotating as normal trying to start with no luck (no dodgy noise). It does sound as engine is flooded with fuel and some smoke came off the turbo area then the engine sounded about to start but it did not and more smoke came out from the turbo area. 

 

My logic: there is something wrong with the turbo which meant the engine ran rich which I was driving it yesterday which caused it to stall... Does this logic make sense at all? If so am i looking into a turbo failure here? I don't think it is a loose pipe given the problem seems to happen on the exhaust side of the turbo.

 

Shall I focus my effort in removing the turbo and have a look on the turbo bearings to see if it can spin or not... In my mind given smoke came out from the turbo area that means there is some blockage in the exhaust turbine or maybe the turbine itself cannot spin anymore due to its bearing failing when the oil pressure dropped !! Assuming the engine is flooded and no enough air is getting into it it is struggling to start again...

 

Any thoughts are welcome

[DEL80Y]

Charge the battery for a full 24 hours minimum

Could be not turning over fast enough to start 
Common problem with weak battery

Do not start removing turbos till you tried the obvious Scan codes,Fuel.Air adequate battery

Regarding turbo its situated at the back of the BMP engine you should be able to take of pipe first to check for play or seizure (while your waiting for your battery to charge😉)

This should of been checked before any repair was done to engine

As said before. Bite the bullet and take it back. They repaired it and gave you it back saying all is well

Edited 9 January, 2022 by DEL80Y

[xman]

22 hours ago, Geoskoda said:

Is the turbo has gone would the engine stop and not start again ?

 

No! Not even a fully disconnected or seized turbo (which is not since it whistles) would prevent the car from starting. Just little or no power.

 

First check the battery terminal connectors are not loose. They forget to tighten them?

 

After that its more likely the battery has died (one cell) or the alternator is not charging. A dead battery cell can't be recharged. A battery tester will confirm.

 

Check all wiring has been reconnected after the repair.

 

Get it back to your repairer and get them to check their work.

 

The other avenue to check is fuel, have you got enough diesel in the tank, has it been contaminated with petrol, has the fuel filter been changed correctly, is the lift pump working are just a few things to check

Edited 9 January, 2022 by xman

[Geoskoda]

Agreed @xman but both battery and alternator were fine with no issues 1 day before the oil pump failure. How do you justify the smoke coming from around the turbo? unless the DPF has blocked with oil which is preventing the engine from starting now... 

[DEL80Y]

45 minutes ago, Geoskoda said:

but both battery and alternator were fine with no issues 1 day before the oil pump failure. 

2 weeks sitting about over that cold spell could easily kill a worn battery.

They could of used a booster pack to get it started then its just died

DPF could be blocked but wouldnt happen over 2 miles

[Derbyshirebod]

If the DPF is blocked then there should be a warning light on the dashboard telling you? 

 

If it was mine I'd scan the car for error codes instead of trying to second guess what the problem is. If there is a turbo issue then you should get an under boost or even over boost error code. If there is an issue with the fuel system then you should also get an error code.

[Geoskoda]

On 09/01/2022 at 21:26, Derbyshirebod said:

turbo issue

Thanks. It turned out to be a turbo issue and when i scanned the car it did give under boost error code. New turbo has been order and i ll fit that this weekend. 

Engine started fine when i disconnected all turbo pipes which were full of oil... now i need to clean all pipes and intercooler... 

 

[Derbyshirebod]

41 minutes ago, Geoskoda said:

when i scanned the car it did give under boost error code. New turbo has been order and i ll fit that this weekend. 

Engine started fine when i disconnected all turbo pipes which were full of oil... now i need to clean all pipes and intercooler... 

 

Sounds like the the turbo oil seals must have failed! Hopefully the engine won't have suffered from the excess of oil being delivered to the turbo. Guess you were lucky it's not uncommon to hear of engines getting destroyed when the turbo seals fail and the engine carrys on running on engine oil until the sump is empty!

 

The DPF won't appreciate having had engine oil through it! Though some DPF cleaner in the fuel tank and a good run out and getting the engine hot and letting the engine do a regen should sort that out.

 

Has the impeller seized ? If it's been spinning too slowly that's probably the reason for the low turbo pressure "under boost" ? Though there are other reasons for the code.

Edited 24 January, 2022 by Derbyshirebod

[Geoskoda]

12 hours ago, Derbyshirebod said:

Has the impeller seized ?

It is not seized but the blades are damaged and bent. i dont think the car was driven much since the oil leaking... prob 2 miles max. 

I started the engine without the turbo and it did start as normal without any struggle. so finger crossed engine and DPF are fine !!