GT TDI - White smoke on acceleration.

[AjayB]

Sorry to be a pain but the one last quick question.. Does anyone know of any good VW specialists in leeds/bradford? VW want £80 an hour i've been told to do diagnostics.

Also the car seems to be getting a bit more smokey.. smells almost like burning rubber (closest thing i can compared to  )

[AjayB]

Been driving my car with the head faulty for the last 3 years the turbo not so much not good if you know for defo its going to bust at some stage soon. Egr cooler wont do any damage either it can drop coolant into the cylinders but it just burns off when you start the car.

Darren

Thanks for the invaluable information Darren, I'm really lost in what to do.. get rid or just repair. Dreadful time for it to all go wrong too.. Exam time at uni which means stress i don't need!

[AjayB]

So i've had he car looked at.. My friend managed to get a VW Tech (JCT600 VW Bradford) to look at it for me and hook it up to the computer.. no faults showed up. He also said that

1. He doesn't think it will be the EGR Cooler as he's never seen one got on the older PD engines only the new cars
2. He doesn't think it's the turbo as that wouldn't smoke (But i thought it would?)
3. Needs a pressure test to see if the head has any visible leaks..

He told me to carry on driving it as normal as it shouldn't give me much problem if i keep the coolant topped up.

[Andy]

when my turbo went it was chucking out blue smoke

[mortygttdi]

1. He doesn't think it will be the EGR Cooler as he's never seen one got on the older PD engines only the new cars
The EGR cooler is not a common part that goes but its the first and easiest thing to check if your losing water(other than the obvious leaks from pipes)
2. He doesn't think it's the turbo as that wouldn't smoke (But i thought it would?)
The turbo doesn't smoke much before it goes but once it blows it bellows thick blue smoke
3. Needs a pressure test to see if the head has any visible leaks..
You cannot do a pressure test to check for a porous head! it has to be left over night under pressure to see any discrepancies

[AjayB]

Thanks for the replies guys, Darren i'm not sure i want to keep the car now.. seems to be costing me too much! Dont want to be repairing it and then next week something else crops up :( so i think i should just get shut of it even though i had many many more plans for it.

What do you guys think a fair trade in value would be? 2004 GT TDI, 70 000Miles with FSH. I really can't be botthered to get this car sorted.. once things go wrong on a car like it has on this you just lose love for it.   I've seen a cheap 2007 Astra 1.9 SRI 3 Door with low miles which i think would serve me well without much cost until i finish uni and get a good job.

[sandancer]

I'm in the same boat as you, 2004 GT tdi 140 losing water and siren turbo !
Mind you, changed the EGR cooler last weekend and it hasn't used a drop of water this week so fingers crossed ! Just got to sort the turbo.
I also thought of changing mine but the cars out there just don't compare to this one, i was thinking of a 1.4 TSI but less MPG, more road tax and having to shell out £3000+ for a cheap one changed my mind. Better the devil you know I supose so I guess it's new turbo time.....
Trade in value for mine on a £7k 1.4 TSI was around £3000-£3300 (FSH, 115000 miles standard spec). There's loads of GT's out there now from £4k at dealers with FSH and warranties !
Keep it and sort it !

[Andy]

i was in the same boat last year as i got a turbo fitted and for a month it was fine,then it started filling the turbo with oil again :fighting:went through 4 turbos luckly under warranty-fitted new engine breather but still the same.after the car had been away a while (4 months) they put another turbo on and rocker cover and it as sorted it out..

[stevw1]

i was in the same boat last year as i got a turbo fitted and for a month it was fine,then it started filling the turbo with oil again :fighting:went through 4 turbos luckly under warranty-fitted new engine breather but still the same.after the car had been away a while (4 months) they put another turbo on and rocker cover and it as sorted it out..

Andy, did they replace the whole rocker cover or just the gasket ?

[Andy]

you have to replace the whole rocker cover as the breather is moulded in to it,think they are £100 as well.You would of thought vw would of made it chaneable as its the only breather on the engine

[stevw1]

you have to replace the whole rocker cover as the breather is moulded in to it,think they are £100 as well.You would of thought vw would of made it chaneable as its the only breather on the engine

Thats a silly design or not, depends how you look at it. £10 breather or £100 cover 

[Andy]

in fact i had 2 so what would of cost say £20 for the  breathers infact cost me £200

[mortygttdi]

To be honest Ajay the Astra is just has bad and personally Id rather be sat in a golf with a busted head than in the astra,

Don't get me wrong I used to be a griffin man for quite a few years then tried every thing else until I got into the golf and that's been it for over 5 years, When I get rid of this ill be back in a VAG car after I move house.

Keep it and run it, if it is a busted head it is not going to blow up just keep topping it up when it needs it and it'll be fine for has long has you have it.

Darren

[AjayB]

I get what you mean Darren, i've seen a Seat Leon what i may check out tomorrow as well although the Golf smokiness seems to have subsided now :S I can hardly notice it when driving like i could before.

I'll have to wait to see what happens with this car..

Thanks for the advice, it's really appreciated! 

[AjayB]

Seems the smoking issues could have been due to the remap Awesome GTI installed! It was overfueling a lot so it has been removed now! shall see how things go.