touareg 2.5 pd update.

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Discussion

seagrey

Original Poster:

385 posts

166 months

Monday 4th April 2011
quotequote all
A while back I posted on a thread about pd engines giving my view on my own experience with my 2.5pd Touareg,this engine is sort of a five cylinder version of the 2.0litre they share a lot of components,pistons,rods etc.
A few major differences like gear drive camshaft/everything and being back to front,that is the gears are at the box end,not at all nice to work on.
Any way since around 2009 it started playing up,just every now and then it would take a minute to start,straight back to VW who changed a fuel filter then gave it back and it did it again.
Back in for new fuel lines,filter housing,tank cleaned and given back.
Five days later same again,luckily the only thing around me is cows otherwise I`d have had some irate neighbours,cranking the thing over for a minute every few days was getting tiring.
Back to VW,this time a new set of injectors were fitted with new seals,still the same.
Back again,new double pump(fuel/vac)given back to me then failed again.

By this time I`d decided to look my self,I spent the best part of 30 years doing it for a living so whipped off the rocker to discover a strong smell of diesel, checked the dipstick to find the oil too high because it was mixed with the diesel.
I suspected injector seals which vw had replaced,took out the injectors and found the head was shagged,deep ruts in the head where the injector chatters and the seal wears the ally.
Phoned them up and got no its fine the car has only done 43k should be good for 250 blah blah blah......
In the end they changed the head as they agreed it was shagged.(poor injector clamping)
Because of the time it took and as we only had a 3 door focus ST,a capri with rose jointed suspension or a landie to use and my o/h`s obvious reluctance to use any of them for her and our young daughters we were forced to go and buy an S-max,which has been faultless.the touran we had as a loan car was dreadful.

I got the Touareg back and at last it was fixed,it started fine for two weeks only for the starter to fail because of the prolonged cranking it had endured for so long.auto cranking once the key is in,
Back to VW,new starter all good.
I go to pick it up and it stops at a roundabout dead,not a dicky bird from it just lights on the dash.
back to vw,they find a crank sensor fault,take out the crank sensor to find the end sheared off.
then they say the engine needs stripping to find out whats in it causing the damage.
its quite a job doing the crank sensor and when I got there it was in bits.
they said it would have to go elsewhere to have the engine removed at the cost of £1500 because it was a "big job that need a special crane"WTF?!
anyway I took it away after a lot of shouting with the dealer principle and after contacting vw and explaining my situation,which they were aware of through the dealer contacting them previously for assistance with it,they agreed to take the car back and swap it.
I thought about it and decided no,I want my car fixed.ive been mucked around for 18 months and now its my turn.
As I had them over a barrel even though my warranty was coming to an end I told them I would strip and inspect it,then what I found myself they would cover the cost of parts to put right and if it didnt work I was on my own,a more than fair deal I thought,which they would never agree to but they did,more from desperation than logic I would have thought.

I stripped it out,it took four hours to remove without a `special crane` just a draper one tonner.
I then stripped it down to find the front of the sump baffle had sheared and wound its self round the rod on number one and squeezed itself between the crank webs,smashed the bottom of the piston to peices,bent a rod,smashed the crank sensor and ruined the no 1 cylinder.
There were clear wear marks on the big end bolt heads where it had been hitting the baffle for some time,which normally stood 18-20mm clear.

This car was the best part of 50k with the options and its a fking lemon.
There were two more sitting long term at the same dealers,one looked like it had been there for longer than mine,had stuff stacked on it.
They are coming to take it away on thursday,we have agreed on a settlement for the value of the car as it would have stood in 2009,Im happy with the outcome and VW have behaved perfectly throughout apart from their niave young fitters,just soured by the whole experience.
Beats me how a large dealership can survive without a wise older head in the workshop.
It sounds as though someones crusher is whats in store for this Touareg.
A bit long winded but a word of warning,maybe.