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Blown turbo? Maybe?

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
I totally guessed about needing a new turbo and ordered one without confirming the need. If I had it to do over again, I would put together an inspection procedure that's basically just the Pelican guide steps 21-26. (Note that those are actually 13mm bolts in step 24).
 

vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
Sorry to hear that, did you found a way to get the bolt out? You can remove the CV axle without stepping on the brakes, you just need to jam a screw driver in the vents of the brake disc to prevent the axle from turning. You could also put the car in gear, it's just much faster being two.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Sorry to hear that, did you found a way to get the bolt out? You can remove the CV axle without stepping on the brakes, you just need to jam a screw driver in the vents of the brake disc to prevent the axle from turning. You could also put the car in gear, it's just much faster being two.

Appreciate the tip. I'd have to go out and buy a 27mm socket. And I would still need to remove the stuck bolt to move the support bracket to the "new" turbo. But removing the CV axle and dropping the turbo would give me more room to work on the stuck bolt. I'll keep trying to remove the bolt in situ, but if I can't get it within the next day or two, I'll try removing the CV axle.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Sorry to hear that, did you found a way to get the bolt out? You can remove the CV axle without stepping on the brakes, you just need to jam a screw driver in the vents of the brake disc to prevent the axle from turning. You could also put the car in gear, it's just much faster being two.

Before running out to buy that 27mm socket, I decided to try your suggestions. Neither jamming a screwdriver in the brake disc vents (even a very long one) nor putting the car in "D" arrests the CV axle. It looks to be a two-person job for sure with one person standing on the brakes. It's also looking more and more like cutting the bracket is my only option.
 
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vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
The idea is to jam the screw driver in the brake caliper so that it prevents the disc from turning, never did it myself but as I have to replace the CV boot that's what I found. As for the gear, D will not work but P should prevent the wheel from turning (but I would get a second advice if it's OK to do it with an auto, on a manual it's fine at least). Note that without an impact you should crack the axle bolt with the wheel on the ground (remove the center cap)
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
The idea is to jam the screw driver in the brake caliper so that it prevents the disc from turning, never did it myself but as I have to replace the CV boot that's what I found. As for the gear, D will not work but P should prevent the wheel from turning (but I would get a second advice if it's OK to do it with an auto, on a manual it's fine at least). Note that without an impact you should crack the axle bolt with the wheel on the ground (remove the center cap)

Sorry for the delay in responding. We were on holiday here in the states. Neither D nor P arrests the CV axle on a DSG. However, sticking a screwdriver in the brake rotor vent right at the caliper does work.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
So I ended up having to cut the turbo mounting bracket in half. It was not fun having a shower of sparks just inches away from my face, but a Dremel 4000 and an EZ456 wheel made short work of it. I also tried to cut a slot in the bolt, but because I couldn't see what I was doing working upside down in the dark, my cut was off-center so that plan was doomed to failure.

I will post feedback on the various steps of the Pelican guide in a later post but for now...

I put everything back together and started the car. There was a lot of smoke for the first few minutes but it settled down and started to smoke less after that. After about 15 minutes of idling, the smoke was mostly gone, so I assume it was still burning leftover oil in the intercooler.

Then I went for a test drive. There was some smoke upon initial hard acceleration. Again I assume that was just residual oil. After a few moments the smoke stopped. I drove for a mile normally, then attempted a big hill. Immediately there was a problem making power. The car started to shake. I turned off on a side road. After a while the car completely died. Pending DTCs were related to random misfires and system too lean.

I thought it might be bad spark plugs since I was using garbage Autolite double plats -- the only plugs Autozone had in stock. Examining them, I saw that they were gapped to between .040 and .045 which seems rather high for a turbo application. So I regapped them to .028. Made no difference. I then went to Carquest and purchased a replacement set of NGK plats for $57. It also made no difference. When I try to start the car now, it makes exactly the same sound as it does during a compression test. It's as if the spark plugs aren't even there.

To review, it's definitely not the battery, starter, or plugs.

I'm going to try disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes or so today. If that doesn't work I'm going to try cleaning the throttle body and MAP sensor. I'm on Audi coilpacks which should be bomb-proof. But I'll also try swapping the coil packs with older VW coil packs. I may order a crank position sensor as well. If these don't work, I will have it towed to VW and have them do a diagnosis. ($100 for the tow and $125 for the diagnostic.) I've been reluctant to do this because I'm convinced my VW dealer is one of the worst in the country for ripping people off.

This saga has really dragged on. I just want my car back. <Sigh>
 
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1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Not sure if it's worth mentioning, but my tach was bouncing around like crazy for like the first two minutes after starting the car. Then it settled down and started behaving normally.

Also, for my turbo first-start procedure, I attempted to start the vehicle with the coilpack loom disconnected. I did this twice to get oil circulating in the turbo. Then, after reconnecting the loom, I started the vehicle and let it idle for almost an hour before doing any kind of driving.

And yes, I remembered to put oil in the turbo itself before re-attaching the oil line. It only needed maybe 50ml worth through the top hole.
 
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vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
Congrats for the installation of the turbo! I would investigate system too lean first, you might have a vacuum leak somewhere. Did you check the fuel trims (LTFT) to see how bad it is? Are the misfires on a specific cylinder or all of them? The good thing is that apparently you took care of the oil consumption issue. If you find a vacuum leak, repair it and delete all the DTCs then (which will reset fuels trims also).
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Congrats for the installation of the turbo! I would investigate system too lean first, you might have a vacuum leak somewhere. Did you check the fuel trims (LTFT) to see how bad it is? Are the misfires on a specific cylinder or all of them? The good thing is that apparently you took care of the oil consumption issue. If you find a vacuum leak, repair it and delete all the DTCs then (which will reset fuels trims also).

Thanks. I would be in more of a mood to celebrate if my car made it more than 2 miles before dying. Would a vacuum leak prevent a car from starting? That's where I am right now. I need to be able to start the car. Getting it back to top performance is something I can work on over time. I know my MAP and TB are still fouled from the blown turbo, but these wouldn't prevent a car from starting.

The cylinder misfires were random and the DTCs were only "pending" and not recorded. And it happened only on the big hill.

I'm racking my brain for all the things that can prevent our cars from starting. I'm pretty sure I've eliminated battery, starter, plug, and packs. What does that leave? I'm thinking CPS or one of the fuel pumps. I've already ordered a CPS that is coming in Monday. I may clean the MAP and TB on Sunday since I will have time to kill waiting for the CPS.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
One other small detail. The old turbo was a revision F. The new one is a revision G. Could this make a difference? What kind of difference? And would it prevent my car from starting? Why did it start once then?
 

vwengineer

Ready to race!
Location
Switzerland
Yes a vacuum leak can prevent the car from starting, happened to me when my N80 was stuck open, it took several tries to start the car. Not sure about the turbo revision but it will not prevent the car to start for sure.
 

GTI's

Drag Racing Champion
Location
MD
Is this car running now or is it turning over like if the plugs are removed and spinning fast than usual not firing up.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Is this car running now or is it turning over like if the plugs are removed and spinning fast than usual not firing up.

It's as I described in post #22. It's the same sound as you get when you do a compression test with the plugs removed. It's as if there is no spark at all. At this point I feel like it has to be the CPS. There's nothing else that controls spark. Plus it died on a hill. In the cold. AND my tach was jumping around like crazy on first startup. All these are classic bad CPS symptoms.
 

1131

Passed Driver's Ed
Yes a vacuum leak can prevent the car from starting, happened to me when my N80 was stuck open, it took several tries to start the car. Not sure about the turbo revision but it will not prevent the car to start for sure.

Thanks. I did not know that. I have a backup N80. I'll throw it on if the new CPS doesn't fix it.
 
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