The Project Pad

Also check the central convenience module under the drivers side floor. They like to get water in them and cause all sorts of strange problems with the locking and alarm system.

Which I think would make it an inconvenience module...

elaw wrote:Which I think would make it an inconvenience module...

Touché

So speaking of broken electrical bits...

I'm pretty sure coil connector housings aren't supposed to look like that, and neither are wires. And silly me, thinking I could get away with just replacing the housings...

It's pretty amazing that this car 1) actually runs pretty well and 2) hasn't caught fire!

Well folks I'm back... and with questions, as always.

First, a progress (or lack thereof) report:
Being that this is the wife's car, I had to tackle the most important issue first: the radio's lack of Bluetooth connectivity. That's fixed now, by installation of an aftermarket head unit. A bonus was that it gave me the opportunity to pull apart the factory CD changer and release the 5 discs it was holding hostage (from the PO).

Next was coil wiring. As I posted earlier, when I went to install a new set of spark plugs, all the coil connectors self-destructed to various extents. So I cursed a bit, got online, and ordered some new connector housings. When they showed up and I went to install them I cursed a whole lot more: when I pulled back the boots I saw that much of the insulation was deteriorated on the wires, and I think some may have been intermittently shorting. So I ordered one of those VW repair harnesses and spent several hours installing it. It's not a direct fit and I didn't do it the way VAG wants you to and run new wires all the way back to the ECU - I just cut & spliced it to the factory harness behind the head. Here's a pic of what the wiring looked like:

The good news is the misfire fault codes seem to have gone away. :-)

Lastly, I'm starting to get a handle on why there was a bottle of coolant and a bottle of oil in the trunk when we got the car - it seems to consume both! And I'm a little worried because I'm not seeing any of either on the garage floor - although with the coolant especially it's a little hard to tell because of all the puddles of melted snow.

In about a month and well under 1,000 miles of driving, it's consumed about a pint of coolant and a quart of oil. Aside from leakage, there's really no other sign of where those things are going - there's no unusual smoke or smell from the exhaust.

And that brings me to my question. Suppose this is the (almost) worst case, and the coolant loss is through the head gasket, and oil consumption means new rings and valve seals are needed. In other words, more or less an engine rebuild.

If that ends up being the case, I'm thinking to minimize downtime it might make sense to get a junkyard engine, rebuild it, then swap it into the car. But... them thar engines are pricey! Specifically it's an "AMB" code engine and on car-part.com I'm seeing prices in the $2,500 range - not exactly pocket change.

But earlier engines (not a *lot* earlier but even 2003) seem to priced a lot lower - closer to $1,000. Still not pocket change but a bit easier to swallow.

So does anyone know (or can point me to) the differences between the various engines? I'm sure some sensors and fittings would need swapping between different variants, but are the longblocks the same? I know the much earlier engines don't have VVT, but I'm thinking later like 2001-2003. :? :?

Oh, and am I right in thinking the other likely cause of high oil consumption on this car is a bad turbocharger? I've only ever replaced a turbo once due to bad seals and in that case it was wicked obvious - it smoked like crazy at idle. The car certainly performs well and as I mentioned it doesn't smoke. But assuming it's never been replaced (I haven't had a chance yet to get the service records for this car), isn't it pretty much a given at 200K miles that the turbo is likely to be a problem?

elaw wrote:Well folks I'm back... and with questions, as always.

First, a progress (or lack thereof) report:
Being that this is the wife's car, I had to tackle the most important issue first: the radio's lack of Bluetooth connectivity. That's fixed now, by installation of an aftermarket head unit. A bonus was that it gave me the opportunity to pull apart the factory CD changer and release the 5 discs it was holding hostage (from the PO).

Next was coil wiring. As I posted earlier, when I went to install a new set of spark plugs, all the coil connectors self-destructed to various extents. So I cursed a bit, got online, and ordered some new connector housings. When they showed up and I went to install them I cursed a whole lot more: when I pulled back the boots I saw that much of the insulation was deteriorated on the wires, and I think some may have been intermittently shorting. So I ordered one of those VW repair harnesses and spent several hours installing it. It's not a direct fit and I didn't do it the way VAG wants you to and run new wires all the way back to the ECU - I just cut & spliced it to the factory harness behind the head. Here's a pic of what the wiring looked like:

The good news is the misfire fault codes seem to have gone away. :-)

Lastly, I'm starting to get a handle on why there was a bottle of coolant and a bottle of oil in the trunk when we got the car - it seems to consume both! And I'm a little worried because I'm not seeing any of either on the garage floor - although with the coolant especially it's a little hard to tell because of all the puddles of melted snow.

In about a month and well under 1,000 miles of driving, it's consumed about a pint of coolant and a quart of oil. Aside from leakage, there's really no other sign of where those things are going - there's no unusual smoke or smell from the exhaust.

And that brings me to my question. Suppose this is the (almost) worst case, and the coolant loss is through the head gasket, and oil consumption means new rings and valve seals are needed. In other words, more or less an engine rebuild.

If that ends up being the case, I'm thinking to minimize downtime it might make sense to get a junkyard engine, rebuild it, then swap it into the car. But... them thar engines are pricey! Specifically it's an "AMB" code engine and on car-part.com I'm seeing prices in the $2,500 range - not exactly pocket change.

But earlier engines (not a *lot* earlier but even 2003) seem to priced a lot lower - closer to $1,000. Still not pocket change but a bit easier to swallow.

So does anyone know (or can point me to) the differences between the various engines? I'm sure some sensors and fittings would need swapping between different variants, but are the longblocks the same? I know the much earlier engines don't have VVT, but I'm thinking later like 2001-2003. :? :?

Oh, and am I right in thinking the other likely cause of high oil consumption on this car is a bad turbocharger? I've only ever replaced a turbo once due to bad seals and in that case it was wicked obvious - it smoked like crazy at idle. The car certainly performs well, but assuming it's never been replaced (I haven't had a chance yet to get the service records for this car), isn't it pretty much a given at 200K miles that the turbo is likely to be a problem?

All 1.8t engines from 2001 up share the same long block. All the changes were in various breather and accessory changes. Check your water pump under the timing belt cover and the coolant flange on the back of the head. Those are the typical coolant leak culprits, along with a small plug on the left side of the block. As far as oil, if you aren't seeing any visible leaks I would pull the lower boost hose off of the intercooler to see if it is full of oil. Those intercoolers can hold a lot of oil before you really notice a burning oil smell from the exhaust.

Thanks... I'll check those things out!

Is this one of those engines where automatic vs. manual transmissions have different crankshafts? So if I got a junkyard motor I'd need one from an auto car?

elaw wrote:Thanks... I'll check those things out!

Is this one of those engines where automatic vs. manual transmissions have different crankshafts? So if I got a junkyard motor I'd need one from an auto car?

No, all the 06A blocks have the same cranks. Only the older 058 blocks have different cranks which are all the pre 2001 engines.

At that mileage these engine tend to blow/ crack head gaskets. Especially if the car had a leak and they mixed coolants. It will start with a low heat symptom (clogged heater core).
I have an AMB engine pulled out of a 03 that had only 68k miles. Was holding on to it for a craigslist find.

Well the car did have low heat... I bled the system and added some coolant and the problem went away. For about 2 weeks, then it came back and I noticed the coolant was down.

So luckily it seems the heater core is not clogged (or at least not much) but there is coolant loss taking place. I should have expected that from the fact the car came with a bottle of coolant in the trunk, along with a bottle of oil...

elaw wrote:Well the car did have low heat... I bled the system and added some coolant and the problem went away. For about 2 weeks, then it came back and I noticed the coolant was down.

So luckily it seems the heater core is not clogged (or at least not much) but there is coolant loss taking place. I should have expected that from the fact the car came with a bottle of coolant in the trunk, along with a bottle of oil...

If you are having heat problems inspect the plug on the side of the block. There is a TSB from Audi about it.

U mean this plug?


I couldn't find the TSB anywhere but it seems like that plug is a trouble spot.

elaw wrote:U mean this plug?


I couldn't find the TSB anywhere but it seems like that plug is a trouble spot.

Yes

You would need one from an auto, all Audi four cylinders have different cranks even 2.0t. The only exception is tt/a3 which all have manual style cranks.

scubagli wrote:You would need one from an auto, all Audi four cylinders have different cranks even 2.0t. The only exception is tt/a3 which all have manual style cranks.

You are correct, with longitudinal engines. All transverse blocks share the same cranks. If you find a junkyard engine from another Audi then make sure it is from an auto. Also keep in mind you can use Passat motors as well as long as its from an auto car.

If you don't know what car the engine came from, can you match the engine code? The car has an AMB now, so will any AMB fit?

elaw wrote:If you don't know what car the engine came from, can you match the engine code? The car has an AMB now, so will any AMB fit?

No, AMB's came in both auto and manual. The only way to tell is to look at the crank and see if it has a pilot bearing installed in it

rs4tech wrote:All transverse blocks share the same cranks.

Do you happen to know if that crank will work with an automatic Audi?

I know the engines used in transverse applications have some things like manifolds different, but those are easier to swap over than crankshafts...

No all transverse engines have manual cranks.

:(

So changing the subject yet again... it seems that "baby" needs a fuel pump. Well maybe not "needs" - it's running fine, but the pump has started making noise and I don't want to take any chances.

I ordered a new (VDO) pump from GAP, it looks like this:


But... ELSAWin seems to think this car has a "suction jet pump" on the driver's side of the fuel tank which appears to be connected via a couple of lines to the main fuel pump (see attached PDF).

The pump I got doesn't appear to have anything to connect to the suction jet pump... did I get the wrong thing?

If you are hearing a noise from the right rear it is likely the fuel filter. Those cars have the fuel pressure regulator built into the filter. The regulator breaks loose and makes a very odd noise that is very easily confused for a noisy fuel pump. And to answer your question the suction pump is normally not provided with the actual pump, it is just connected via lines. The suction pump rarely goes bad so I wouldn't worry about replacing it.

Yeah but this pump has no lines to connect to the suction pump... if there is one.

I *think* I may have it figured out... I found a few online sources that indicate there's a VIN split in the 2005 model year, and it's the later cars that use the suction jet pump. So hopefully I'm okay with what I've got... I guess I'll know when I open it up.

I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but in my experience ELSAWin seems pretty good at spitting out misinformation - it's been completely wrong on some other things I've done to this car.

And what you say about the regulator makes sense, although to me it sounds just like other noisy pumps I've heard. But out of an abundance of caution I'm going to replace both the pump *and* the filter.

The b6 cars have issues with cracked heads. number 2 and usually number 3. I have seen many passats and A4's with this problem. I really haven't seen many blown head gaskets on these cars. The oil consumption might be the turbo with that many miles. I just built a n04 passat for my sons gf. Got a cheap 179 dollar ebay k03, btw the ko4 is an almost straight swap and not much more so why not.... And the filter will make a nasty humming buzzing noise and sound like a bad fuel pump. Scubadave just got a b6 and his filter was screaming. There are four ports and they are all the same size, so take note of position, or mark them before you change it, they are way easier to get mixed up than you would believe.

Can you diagnose the cracked head with a leakdown tester? I just bought one, but haven't had a chance to use it on the car yet.

One thing I find odd with the whole head/head gasket theory is the coolant is absolutely pristine - it's color is great and there are no bubbles when the engine is running. But on the other hand, I haven't found any leaks either.

Do the head problems seem related to mileage? Just wondering if a low-mileage junkyard motor would be a good solution. I think if we had to buy a brand-new head we'd probably junk the car. :(