Hi everyone,

 

I am driving a Skoda Octavia MKIII 2.0 TDI, I recently faced issues with coolant leakage and start-up issues when the car is cooled down. After showing it to a local specialist, the starter motor was repaired, and the radiator was replaced to stop the leakage. Got the car back home from these repairs, and faced the same startup issue again the next morning, informed the mechanic about this, and he took the car back in. After a few days, he identified the problem to be the intercooler, which is leaking water into the engine, and that is causing the startup issues. Is this a probable reason?

 

Your help would be appreciated in helping me solve this issue.

Yes, the charge cooler sits atop the engine and when it leaks it can leak down into the cylinders over time causing hydrolock. These charge coolers are known to leak unfortunately. 
 

not sure why the radiator would have been changed though before. 
 

There’s also a bit of a funny start up on these engines, something to do with the vvt solenoid and it sometimes takes a bit longer to turn over. Was your starter motor actually faulty at all?

6 minutes ago, T07 said:

Yes, the charge cooler sits atop the engine and when it leaks it can leak down into the cylinders over time causing hydrolock. These charge coolers are known to leak unfortunately. 
 

not sure why the radiator would have been changed though before. 
 

There’s also a bit of a funny start up on these engines, something to do with the vvt solenoid and it sometimes takes a bit longer to turn over. Was your starter motor actually faulty at all?

 

The radiator was changed as it showed leakage during pressure test performed. According to the mechanic, the leakage is the cause that the engine is not turning on normally, and is taking 3-4 turns to start the engine. Starter motor was blown due to these startup issues, had to get the armature changed. 

 

Is it true that the engine startup problem is due to the charge cooler leak?

Yes, it could be hydro locking the engine. The temperature sensor on the charge cooler can be removed and a endoscope stuck in to check for leaks. 
 

If leaking will look like the attached

15 minutes ago, T07 said:

Yes, it could be hydro locking the engine. The temperature sensor on the charge cooler can be removed and a endoscope stuck in to check for leaks. 
 

If leaking will look like the attached

 

Thank you, appreciate the help. Will keep you posted on this matter. Tomorrow my mechanic should be proceeding with the charge cooler replacement.

On 03/11/2023 at 16:59, T07 said:

Yes, it could be hydro locking the engine. The temperature sensor on the charge cooler can be removed and a endoscope stuck in to check for leaks. 
 

If leaking will look like the attached

Hi!

Could you give me some info about this? When is it recommended to remove the sensor, with a warm engine, with a cold engine?

Cold engine was fine, think it was a 17mm spanner or very deep socket needed

1 minute ago, T07 said:

A hideg motor rendben volt, gondolom 17 mm-es villáskulcs vagy nagyon mély foglalat kellett hozzá

What resolution endoscope did you use to take this image?

Thanks!

No idea to be honest. Was just a cheap one from ebay

Sorry about this. I have the same issue, tho on superb. I already deducted that its a charge cooler, and i am about to change it, but not until next week. Is it possible to bypass charge cooler to continue driving without making any harm to the engine, and to not be afraid of hydro killing the engine?