P000A code

[Graham1990]

How many of the sealing rings are there ? I’m thinking 3 but don’t have a clue why lol.

[Mark_DF05]

Not sure if this of any help to you guys as I see you've already tried this but finally got round to replacing the n205 on Monday, done around 150 miles so far and code hasn't come back. I'll scan again when I've done a few more miles and update.

[Graham1990]

Alright lads,

I’ve plugged my car into the proper vcds today, it’s very confusing 😆. Wasn’t 100% of what I was looking at but no misfires were logged so it’s not a misfire on idle just feels like a misfire 🤔. Also the only thing that looked strange to me was the ignition timing angle on engine 01 group 010. It was jumping from 3 to 19.5 sat on tick over. Does this seem normal ? To me it seems funny that it’s jumping around that much surely it should stay around the same figure on idle. If you rev the engine and keep it at a steady amount of revs the number stays the same. Any advice/help greatly appreciated!! Car still stutters on idle and has the p000a code coming up. Running out of bits to replace!

[pudding]

Was that from cold?  It does allsorts of weird sh*t when cold to heat the cats up.

It does use ignition timing as well as the throttle plate to maintain idle speed though, but it uses timing first as a 'fine tune' before adjusting the throttle angle.   It shouldn't be jumping up and down wildly when hot though.

[Graham1990]

Was that from cold?  It does allsorts of weird sh*t when cold to heat the cats up.

It does use ignition timing as well as the throttle plate to maintain idle speed though, but it uses timing first as a 'fine tune' before adjusting the throttle angle.   It shouldn't be jumping up and down wildly when hot though.

The car was up to temp as I had to drive to the lads house who was helping me out with the vcds. Could it be the vacuum leak I have through the pcv valve pipes causing it to jump about that much ?

[pudding]

If you are still getting the P000A code after replacing the N205 valve, it may be the VVT adjuster itself that's faulty, or one of the plastic oil control rings in the chain cover has broken, or possibly an oil flow restriction.  Has it had the chain and tensioner done yet?   Could be a good time to do all that.

I know what you mean about the idle feeling like a misfire, but it's just lumpy from not running optimally.  It will only log a hard miss, like a failed coil or injector, and you would definitely feel it running on 3 cylinders!

[Graham1990]

@Pudding I am still getting the p000a after replacing the n205 yes 😞. I don’t know if the car has had the cam chain and tensioner done yet. I will check all the paperwork tonight. I’m going to check the cam sensor and the three little rings you mentioned next. I don’t think there is an oil restriction any more. I replaced the pick up pipe and oil and filter a few hundred miles ago. I probably should of used an engine flush to clean the oil lines out as well. Hopefully the pcv replacement and fixing the vacuum leak will solve my rough idle. I will report back with results when I have replaced the parts 👍 thanks for all advice so far 😁 hopefully one day the car will be fit enough to get mapped 😅

[pudding]

OK cool.  I think if you're going to the trouble of removing the chain cover to inspect the oil rings, you may as well do the chain and tensioner as well.   But if you want to do more diagnosis first, you can use VCDS to test the VVT adjuster and also check the cam phasing and VVT adjustment ranges etc.
Keep at it, you'll get there eventually!

[Graham1990]

OK cool.  I think if you're going to the trouble of removing the chain cover to inspect the oil rings, you may as well do the chain and tensioner as well.   But if you want to do more diagnosis first, you can use VCDS to test the VVT adjuster and also check the cam phasing and VVT adjustment ranges etc.
Keep at it, you'll get there eventually!

Chain and tensioner are a lot of £££’s though aren’t they? Hopefully I can resolve the issue before I get to the point of inspecting the oil rings. I’ve just spoken to a mechanic who has had this problem before (p000a) and he said it was resolved be fixing a vacuum leak. I didn’t think a vacuum leak would pop this code up but I know I do have a vacuum leak. I also have collected the parts today and will be sorting it Saturday so I’m really hoping that gets rid of the code now but I’m not getting my hopes up lol. If it doesn’t solve the issue would you be able to let me know how I check the vvt adjuster and cam phasing ranges ? Thanks, I’ll get there in the end 😅

[pudding]

OK cool.  I think if you're going to the trouble of removing the chain cover to inspect the oil rings, you may as well do the chain and tensioner as well.   But if you want to do more diagnosis first, you can use VCDS to test the VVT adjuster and also check the cam phasing and VVT adjustment ranges etc.
Keep at it, you'll get there eventually!

Chain and tensioner are a lot of £££’s though aren’t they? Hopefully I can resolve the issue before I get to the point of inspecting the oil rings. I’ve just spoken to a mechanic who has had this problem before (p000a) and he said it was resolved be fixing a vacuum leak. I didn’t think a vacuum leak would pop this code up but I know I do have a vacuum leak. I also have collected the parts today and will be sorting it Saturday so I’m really hoping that gets rid of the code now but I’m not getting my hopes up lol. If it doesn’t solve the issue would you be able to let me know how I check the vvt adjuster and cam phasing ranges ? Thanks, I’ll get there in the end 😅

The VVT is 100% oil pressure, so nowt to do with vacuum leaks I'm afraid.  Nothing is that easy on these cars!

Measuring blocks 91 - 93 are the ones you need!

[Graham1990]

Yep, they go onto the shaft with the 2 holes pictured here.   New ones are flexible and go on OK, but old ones are brittle as hell and always break.

I’ve replaced all it can be now apart from cam chain, tensioner and the sealing rings. Is it possible to take the cam chain cover off and inspect the oil sealing rings without taking all the rocker cover, fuel pump and everything else off ? 

[pudding]

You might as well do the chain & tensioner mate, and do the oil control rings whilst you’re there. The hpfp and vacuum pump have to come off to check the rings. Removing that and the rocker cover (to do the chain) isn’t a big job, imo.

[Graham1990]

You might as well do the chain & tensioner mate, and do the oil control rings whilst you’re there. The hpfp and vacuum pump have to come off to check the rings. Removing that and the rocker cover (to do the chain) isn’t a big job, imo.

I think you’re right 😅 just costing me an arm and a leg atm! Is it worth spending the big bucks and getting it all genuine from vw ? Or are the kits on eBay worth considering ?? Also what/where is the vvt adjuster and is there anyway of telling if that has had it ? Thanks mate

[Graham1990]

I’ve just got a price from vw, for all the parts and tools to do the cam chain and tensioner, including the sealing rings it’s about £350 including vat. Not as bad as I thought. Before I buy the bits I’m just wondering about the vvt adjuster. Where abouts is that and how can I tell if it is working correctly ? Cheers 👍👍

[Graham1990]

Sorry to keep going on lads, getting excited lol. Just gone through cars history and found the cam chain and tensioner has been replaced at 85,000 the car is only on 101,000. So the chain and tensioner must be ok. So i suppose now all I need to do is take it apart and check the oil sealing rings and hope they are knackered ? If they are it’s probably them that is causing my code to keep appearing ?