Volkswagen TDI talk
- Thread starter Greg
- Start date
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Yeah, I'm sure you are right.
I had these headlights on my '06 TDI that got totaled and swapped them onto my '09. The headlights on my '06 were very foggy and I like having clear headlights. The Hella housings cost me $275/ea, not sure where I got them though. I was pretty happy with the lighting, but the best thing I did was add fog lights, then drop in LED bulbs from superbrightleds.com. I wired up the fog lights so they were on with both high & low beams and was very happy with the lighting. I ended up keeping those fog lights and LED bulbs, because they'll fit in my '14 Jetta.
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
Today I pulled out the intercooler and inspected it.. good thing because I can't see daylight through any of the fins and there was a fair amount of oil in it too.. Too much oil = runaway diesel
Thinking a new intercooler and aftermarket charge pipes will really help out as the stock pipes are super restrictive.
Thinking a new intercooler and aftermarket charge pipes will really help out as the stock pipes are super restrictive.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Damn!! Good find, I'll be curious if you see any gains with a new IC and aftermarket piping.
Tonkaman
Well-Known Member
- Location
- West Jordan
Wow that's horrible!
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
How did all that oil get in there?
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
Me too, still trying to figure out which route to take (tons of options!) but the stock lower charge pipe has to go. I didn't realize just how bad they are kinked off until I removed it.
All those years of commuting on Lewiston/county roads were not easy on this poor ol' car
It comes from the CCV valve (or PCV) on top of the valve cover. Oily crankcase fumes vent into the intake and over time oil will accumulate in the intercooler. It can happen to most any newer diesel but thankfully it takes a considerable amount of time before it can accumulate enough oil to cause any problems.
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
I had the intercooler off once and there was a tiny bit of oil, but nothing like that.
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
Hmm I wonder if this is an abnormal amount. It doesn't use a drip between changes... That said it wouldn't hurt for me to pull this thing off and clean it once in awhile I was surprised once the bumper was off (came of easily) everything it really easy to get to.
I was surprised once the bumper was off (came of easily) everything it really easy to get to.
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
I wonder if this is what is causing my boost issues?
Rotbox, all of these things that you're finding make me want to start looking into mine a bit.
Mine is an '06 with 156k. It has ok power, but seems a bit sluggish until it hits 2600 RPM's where it seems to have a jump in power. Even then, I think my 6.7 PSD would smoke it. I would have thought that it had a bit more oomph.
I just filled my tank for the second time. it went 497 miles in mixed driving on 13.5 gallons. 36.8 mpg's. Does that sound about right? I hear of some of you getting 600-700 on a tank. Is that 100% highway driving?
While I've done plenty of work on a 22re, the TDI is a bit intimidating to me....
Mine is an '06 with 156k. It has ok power, but seems a bit sluggish until it hits 2600 RPM's where it seems to have a jump in power. Even then, I think my 6.7 PSD would smoke it. I would have thought that it had a bit more oomph.
I just filled my tank for the second time. it went 497 miles in mixed driving on 13.5 gallons. 36.8 mpg's. Does that sound about right? I hear of some of you getting 600-700 on a tank. Is that 100% highway driving?
While I've done plenty of work on a 22re, the TDI is a bit intimidating to me....
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
I've noticed there are a handful of connections/fittings that could potentially leak. Hard to say but it might be worth pulling it down to look things over. Once that bumper is off it's very easy to access the intercooler and charge pipes.
Yeah sometimes I get bored and start taking things apart haha.
I was consistently getting 700+ miles per tank when I lived in Lewiston. Half hour drive to work and it was all highway. Now that I live less than ten minutes from work city driving my milage has plummeted. I'd be very lucky to hit 600 miles to a tank. That being said I can go almost two months without filling the tank
Don't be intimidated.. They're pretty simple to work on once you get familiar with them.
Unimog
Eric
- Location
- Stansbury Park, UT
Grab a scan-gauge or something like it and you can monitor MAP to make sure you are peaking around 22 psi. (That is absolute pressure obviously, not boost pressure) It's an easy way to verify no leaks
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
Until seeing the post by Rot Box I never would have thought to pull the intercooler out. After seeing the oil in his, I did just that and I would say that by the amount in the bottle and on the floor, that this may be the cause of my boost issues.
Spork
Tin Foil Hat Equipped
- Location
- Saratoga Springs, UT
Great, now I want to go pull my intercooler. 
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
What piping options are you looking at for the intercooler? I wouldn't mind doing an upgrade on mine while it is apart.
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
Wow that's a lot of oil!
I'm looking at this lower pipe from Kerma http://www.kermatdi.com/upgraded-lower-intercooler-piping-mk4-alh/ and a stock replacement cooler. The stock lower pipe is very restrictive at the 90º bend and I'm sure the smashed pancake portion doesn't help much.
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
Well........cleaning all that oil out of the intercooler still did not fix my problem. So to this point I have replaced tha actuator and cleaned the oil out, but still no boost. I guess my only 2 things left are the turbo itself or a vacuum leak causing the actuator to not move.
Rot Box
Diesel and Dust
- Location
- Smithfield Utah
Hmm, Have you tried replacing the vacuum hoses? Mine were collapsing under vacuum pressure which caused boost problems... Hoses looked fine on the outside but inside the rubber was worn out.
anderson750
I'm working on it Rose
- Location
- Price, Utah
Replaced the vacuum hoses and still having boost problems. Threw a vacuum guage on there and I was only getting around 12 inches. Noticed that the nipple coming out of the vacuum pump on the motor has play in it and when I fiddled with it, I got the vacuum to come up to around 22, so I think that is my problem. I have been scouring the tdiclub forum for a thread on it but have come up empty handed. Anybody have any experience with the vacuum pumps on these motors?