Guest Posted May 6, 2011 Report Share Posted May 6, 2011 (edited) Here's a bit of a headscratcher. For the past few months when the weather was cold or wet, I would feel a hesitation on acceleration, or a lack of power, and sometimes the engine would feel as though it 'misfires'. Not often, and not really repeatable. Over the past few weeks, I've found that the misfire feeling is tending to happen when accelerating to and travelling at motorway speeds, especially if I had the bikes on the roofrack. It feels similar to that when the engine is running out of fuel, as it hesitates and then runs well again. However the fuel level is not a factor. I plugged in my VAG-com and there was no code thrown, but there was a discrepancy between the accelerator position sensors. Yesterday I turned it on and it was shaking as though it were running on 3 cylinders (it wasn't). Switched off, and back on, and it ran fine. Later on the journey it started shuddering and shaking again, with poor acceleration. Swiching off and on cleared the condition for the remainder of the journey. I'll be plugging in the avg-com again tonight as I don't have it with me this week. When the engine is shaking, the traction control light is lit on hte dashboard. How much pressurisation is acceptable coming from the cam cover ventilation? I took the breather pipe off, and I plugged with my thumb. After 20 seconds I left off my thumb, covered with oil, and there was a decent hiss from the port, lasting maybe 2 seconds. If I reconnect the breather pipe, and take off the oil filler cap I can hear a rather worrying sound that is not heard when the cap is in place. This sound may be due to the volume of air that is moving in and out of the filler cap though, but it does sound weird. There is no oil being used, there appears to be no oil in the coolant, and there appears to be no coolant in the oil. I have videos of the pressurisation, and of the engine rocking on the mounts, and the sound of the engine when the oil filler cap is removed, I'm copying these across from the phone at the moment, and I'll link to them later today. Ideas? Crankshaft position sensor? Cracked piston rings? The amount of movement is definitely not usual for this engine in the car. There are 287,000 kms on the engine, about 140,000 of those since a remap from 100 to 130-ish. It's a 2002 Avant. http://www.swibble.com/files/IMG_0769.MOV - engine shuddering at normal idle (16mb) http://www.swibble.com/files/IMG_0771.MOV - another showing the engine moving (17mb) http://www.swibble.com/files/IMG_0773.MOV - oil filler cap removed - very odd noise. (20mb) http://www.swibble.com/files/IMG_0778.MOV - Covering the breather pipe and then releasing the built up pressure. (16mb) Edited May 6, 2011 by cathalferris video links , year of car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2011 Report Share Posted May 6, 2011 Bugger. Vag-com picks up a 16688 cylinder 4 misfire detected P0304-35-00 Also picked up is a fault with the "18077 valve for pump-jet: cylinder 4 (N243) : electrical malfunction" P1669-35-00 Looks likely to be an expensive repair :'( I take it if an injector needs replacing, it's correct to do 4? Which cylinder is 4? Furthest from the TB? cylinder 4 injector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIDYDUBS Posted May 6, 2011 Report Share Posted May 6, 2011 Dude.....no 4 cylinder is furthest away from cambelt end. I would suggest an injector replacement and wiring loom in head first.......check the compression of all cylinders also first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted May 8, 2011 Report Share Posted May 8, 2011 Definitely check the wiring loom in the head, and if the loom is ok try squeezing the connectors together with a pair of needle nosed pliers befor refitting the connectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 According to the local VAG/Merc garage, the spare parts list is heading for €1000 inc vat (single exchange injector €599, timing belt kit ~€125, water pump ~€75, head loom ~€55). I contacted two mechanics and one didn't want to take the job as he thought that the injector removal could be a much bigger job than planned if the injector doesn't come free easily. The other mechanic suggested that the correct thing to do is to change the 4 of them especially if one has misbehaved. The other option is to try and locate a lower mileage engine and do a straight engine swap. Given that the car is 180,000 miles, the real value post-repair is not far off the cost of either of these options, and as it's hard to find an Audi A4 tdi 100ps engine that is both low enough in mileage and scrapped without damage, I'm looking at scrapping or selling the car at a low value. It looks as though I'm going to have to suck it up and look at other options. At least it's an opportunity to improve my lot.. looking at a Merceded S124 E300D (24v) or even possibly an S320CDi.. nice chats with the bankmanager or credit union to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 S320 CDi or E300D (turbo version I hope) will be a big move up! The 300 D is the quietest 'old style' diesel I've heard! How about the E320CDi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 I'm at that stage in life where a step up would not be a bad thing, as I've outgrown the silly driving stage, myself and the GF will be moving in together as I'm finally going to be in the same city, and we've got an MR2 targa non-turbo for the fun driving. I've started to appreciate my comfort when driving, and this was reflected in the shortlist I had made up (A6 2.5tdi quattro sport, Audi Allroad, BMW 530D touring, E-class diesel) The BMW (E39) has a small boot for the type of car, I'm a little bit wary of the 2.5TDI camshaft wear, the 3.0 A6 is out of reach, and I'm scared by the amount of rust that the E-class mercs in my price range are showing and living in Ireland that would be a bit of an issue! When I went trawling the classifieds I saw a few S320CDis in my price range and my interest was piqued, so I'll try to get a drive in an S-class this weekend at the local garage. I saw a lovely S320 in Dublin, just in my probable price range, a 2003 with 85,000 miles on the clock. The more that I read of that car type the more I want.. Not a good frame of mind to be in looking for a car! I'll find out what the car is worth to a breakers yard, and I'll try to price up a replacement engine, and see exactly what my options are. Cheers for the inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Why do you need a cam belt kit? All you need to do is change the wiring loom in the head first and then you'll know if it's that or not. It's a common problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 Ah, now I didn't think of that as an option, and that's a job I can do myself. head loom, camshaft cover gaskets, time and effort. Thanks for that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 No worries, I guess at times like this it's easy to panic and not think of the simple/cheaper solutions first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 I've picked up the replacement part from the VAG garage. It's definitely going to be "fun" getting it around that corner. Any tips other than heat the plastic tray to allow it to deform? At least the garage is within walking distance if I screw it up or break it (oo-er) as once I start this job I have to finish it. I'll take it apart this evening I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Haven't personally done one so can't offer advice on the actual job I'm afraid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Job done. Yes, the old loom broke taking it out of the head, but who cares about that. I put the oven on to a low heat and gently baked the new loom (about 60 degrees only) while I removed the intake piping and the rocker cover. Some of the rocker cover bolts are very hard to get to! I didn't take off the intake manifold so I persevered with the two bolts near the manifold - they took some persuasion for sure. Removal of the old loom was not hard, gentle persuasion and manipulation got it out. It was nerve wracking bending the new loom as I put it through the holes in the head. It was easy to plug in the connectors, after cleaning the sockets with isopropanol-soaked cotton wool to give a clean connection. The metal clips that centre the loom in the holes caused a bit of bother alright but they finally clipped in. I cleaned off the gasket and the mating surface before reassembly, put everything back, double-checked I'd tightened and reattached everything. After clearing all of the tools away, I fired up the car and it appears to be running smoothly now. I took it for a spirited drive to enjoy the return of the horsepower and it didn't misfire. Fingers crossed this is the end of the issue! Cheers and appreciated for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Good result! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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