Golf GT TDI 150 (52) Acrid Exhaust

[horrocks]

My 150 PD runs pretty well for its age, apart from a very slight acceleration lag and some vibration when you accelerate from low revs that I put down to the age of the DMF. However, the exhaust absolutely reeks - a kind of acrid, sickly, oily smell that lingers when you get out of the car or when the car is idling in traffic and the windows are open. It is not typically reminiscent of the smell you get from oil-burners, being both bitter and sweet. It does not have the washing powder character of a clean running modern diesel engine. It is even there after a long motorway run.

There is often some blue smoke at morning startup, most particularly during the cold months, when the car is often very rough for the first few minutes. However, it uses hardly any oil, and seems pretty frugal in its diesel consumption.

A year or so ago the car overfuelled as a result of the gaskets in the diesel pump failing. During the process of diagnosis I had both 4 new injectors and a recon fuel pump fitted. I had unknowingly driven the car for some weeks with the sump full of diesel, and have therefore every reason to assume that the catalytic converter is US.

It has recently passed its MOT with a clean bill of health, and my garage independently ran a smoke test, which it passed easily. Nobody seems to be able to offer any advice, and I therefore wonder if any of the mechanically minded and professionals who use this board might be able to shed any light. I would be most grateful.

[Crasher]

I would start with a fault code read for anything obvious and if that was clear, I would check the cam timing and also the injector rocker arm lift setting. If they set it according to some sources, they will have backed the adjusters off too far as some VW info states that it should be 275 degrees when it should be 180.

[horrocks]

Crasher, many thanks for your swift reply. I had begun to suspect a timing/setting issue such as this. I will have it investigated.

[V9FOS]

hi there,

did you ever get to the bottom of why your car smelt badly from the exhaust??
i have the same car and have recently noticed an horrid smell from the exhaust that makes your eyes water and is really not what i expect from a diesel car and does not smell like it used to. car has has new cam belt,new turbo,new bosch remanufactured maf new n75 cleaned egr and has also been to crashers place C and R enterprises (which i would recommend to all) and no faults found.

[Crasher]

I would still suggest you start with a genuine VAG Air Mass Meter.

[V9FOS]

got the turbo place to change the maf under warranty which they did and i asked them to put a genuine vag one on.guy explained that even the vag ones are reconditioned that is why it is an exchange part??? is this true??

[Crasher]

Yes the VAG ones are exchange but I never have issues with them. I have had and seen many problems with Bosch reman units BUT if that is different to the one I saw it with I think it is unlikely that it is the same so probably not the fault. If I was satisfied with the AMM, the next thing I would do is check the cam belt timing.

[V9FOS]

thanks crasher,how long a job is it to check this out??

[Crasher]

Not too long, poly V belt and bottom pulley off so the tool can be inserted through the gap in the cover and then put the cam pin in. If the top pulley is out and the belt tension within limits (it is a bit more work to get at the tensioner to adjust it) then the top pulley can be tweaked to make it line up. I would say about 2 hours.

[V9FOS]

thanks for your quick reply crasher. So the car can run ok apart from an odd smell even if the cam timing is out???
Do you think this could also contribute to the turbo clogging up again after only 8,000 miles ??
if the timing is ok then how long does the check take as the belt was changed by vw derby so would take it to them for the repair under warranty.

[Crasher]

If it is more than a tooth out it will not run at all but a small amount out will not show up as a code or cause any damage, it just spoils the burn. The problem with asking VW to do it again is they will charge you if I am wrong.

[horrocks]

I am the OP on this thread, and glanced in to check Crashers comments before I drop the car into Abridge VW for a fault code check and oil change service tomorrow. Would be interested to know how things went with the member who has had a similar problem. I would add that my car has become increasingly rough running, most particualrly when cold, since I originally posted, and produces an alarming amount of blue smoke when I start up in the mornings. It also takes at least 15 minutes to come up to temperature.

[horrocks]

The car has now had a basic lube service at my local VAG agent. The diagnostics showed nothing untoward, and the oil/filter change has cleaned everything up. The car now starts easily and pulls properly. There is still a certain amount of blue smoke on first starting, together with the odd clonking/knocking at engine tickover that is often reported with the cold ARL engine here on the forum. Once the car is on the road there is no visible smoke (I had my son follow me), but the acrid smell, although not quite as bad, persists. Next task is therefore to check the cam belt settings as advised by crasher. However, I think the car is probably about due for a cam belt change (4 years). Guess that is the time to check all the settings.

[BLK99]

Hi all


Very new to this place and so far so good, all the VW forums seem much better from the some of the ones that I have used in the past.
Sorry for reviving this thread but I have been getting mixed reviews on this subject as well as information on the stinky diesel smell from the exhaust.
What are peoples views on here regarding this subject? Is it common? Do many people have a blue smoke on start up with the ARL PD150 TDI`s?
I have not yet since owning this beast experienced any issues with the car regarding loss of power or anything else, the only thing that will need replacing soon is the DMF, predictable and it was foreseen, the cams have been done on the car so happy days, any other areas that may be goo to explore?

[BLK99]

Hi all


Very new to this place and so far so good, all the VW forums seem much better from the some of the ones that I have used in the past.
Sorry for reviving this thread but I have been getting mixed reviews on this subject as well as information on the stinky diesel smell from the exhaust.
What are peoples views on here regarding this subject? Is it common? Do many people have a blue smoke on start up with the ARL PD150 TDI`s?
I have not yet since owning this beast experienced any issues with the car regarding loss of power or anything else, the only thing that will need replacing soon is the DMF, predictable and it was foreseen, the cams have been done on the car so happy days, any other areas that may be goo to explore?






Oh yes I forgot to mention, the ECU was scanned and the only thing that is apparent and that come up that needed changing is the engine temperature sensor.

[Crasher]

Then change the temp sender and see what happens.

[BLK99]

Hi there and thank you for the reply Crasher :D

This is on on to do list, just need to sort out my finances and then more work will be carried out on the car, I was not sure if the blue smoke and the stinky diesel smell could be related to the sensor, just out of curiosity the MAF on these cars, to test if their faulty, can you simply unplug the sensor and go for a drive would you know? On a previous Fiat diesel car I had this was a very accurate method of testing your MAF sensor as unplugging it and going for a drive would usually show if the car behaved differently, would this method also work on the VW`s do you know or more importantly is it safe to unplug it??

[Crasher]

No, ignore what idiots ont tinterweb tell you about unplugging the Air Mass Meter, it hardly ever works and stores a fault code. The only sensible way to test an AMM is to fit a known working part so we dispense with the messing around and fit a new genuine VW supplied exchange unit, it works out cheaper than spending two hours analysing data groups and preserves ones sanity.

[BLK99]

No, ignore what idiots ont tinterweb tell you about unplugging the Air Mass Meter, it hardly ever works and stores a fault code. The only sensible way to test an AMM is to fit a known working part so we dispense with the messing around and fit a new genuine VW supplied exchange unit, it works out cheaper than spending two hours analysing data groups and preserves ones sanity.

Thanks for the reply

Yea there is a lot of garbage on the internet on how to work on cars that is for sure, do not get wrong but that method on the Stilo JTD`s was the quickest way to rule out the MAF when experiencing either a drop in power and revs, smokey start ups and some other issues. I simply wasnt sure if there were any repercussions involved with these cars when unplugging the sensor other than the stored ECU error code. Thanks for your help :)