Acceleration problems

[Iamtony]

Hi all. I'm looking for a little point in the right direction. Van is a t5 caravelle/trAnsporter 1.9tdi. The problem seems to get better or worse at each start up. It is noticable during acceleration mostly but if the van is in neutral it's the same. There is a bad vibration or judder that comes in at about 1600rpm and keeps on goes out at about 3000rpm. There seems to be a good bit of smoke during this process and lack of power.

Thanks for any help.

[Alan02]

Seems like a misfire.A fault code read is your best option.

[Iamtony]

Well with a bit of luck it's not too serious. Any ideas what would cause a misfire? Injectors?

[Alan02]

Possibly,or the Injector wiring loom in the head.But a code read is needed really.

[Iamtony]

Ok I'll get it plugged in and then post. Thanks.

[Iamtony]

hi all I have had the van plugged in and it had a few codes. First was the wts and the second was pd unit injector 1 intermittent fault. The guy cleared it and told me to come back the next day and we plugged it in again and it can up with the injector fault again. But he didn't want to do the job for some reason and sent me to this diesel injector specialist who is book up till the end of next week. He said the best thing to do is ring traynors(a breakers yard) and get an injector from them. So I did and they said they need the code of the injector before they could send me one.
The van has 200k miles on the clock and needs a timing belt done shortly so my question to you lot is do you think I should try just get a reconditioned engine? I don't want to repair it and do the timing belt and then another injector fails on me and I'm back to square one.
Also if anyone knows the injector part number(Bosch not Vw) that would help it's an axb engine 2004 t5.

Also i have heard they can seize into the engine is this true?

Any finally are they hard to change? Any special removal tool?

Thanks for any replys in advance.

[zollaf]

do you happen to have the exact code for the injector fault ? there is a common misconception that a fault with injector 1 means the injector is faulty, when in fact it is usually the wiring harness that is starting to fail. this costs about £55 and takes 1-2 hours to change. basically the cam cover comes off, the harness is unplugged from the injectors and pulled out. the new one is slid into place and connected back up. very simple to do. the fact is that pd injectors rarely fail, but a new injector will temporarily cure the fault. most dealers will keep the harness in stock.

[Iamtony]

Hi I don't have the exact code I have texted the guy who did it for me but he hasn't come back to me and I don't think he will, he didn't seem to want to do the job in the first place. Would you recommend trying the harness before I do anything. I will explain the exact problem in as much detail as possible.

Heavy black smoke on heavy acceleration.

At night time there is a constant clowd of smoke following me althought it's not so black.

Constant lack if power noticably on hills etc.

Intermittent major lack of power which usually only happens when it's warmed up. Sometimes restarting engine solves it for a few hours, other times for a few seconds.

With the intermittent major lack of power comes irratic idling.

Hoping this helps....

[Iamtony]

Oh yes forgot to mention fuel comsumpion gone from 32 to 25 mpg.

[zollaf]

the other code you had, wts ? could that have been cts (coolant temperature sensor). from what you describe, it doesnt sound like the harness. black smoke on acceleration is unburnt diesel. it sounds more like the egr valve sticking open. i think you possibly need the harness due to the injector code, but i think you also have another fault, possibly egr, or the cts sensor playing up and telling the ecu the engine is cold when its hot, thus overfuelling.

[Iamtony]

Hi yes it is supposed to be cts I was thinking water temp sensor sorry. This fault hasn't reappeared on the second scan though. Yes the smoke is very heavy if I rev the engine in neutral it leaves a black mark on the ground and I wouldn't fancy driving behind me at night.
I don't know if this is normal, the van has done this since I bought it 8 months ago before I had any real problems but the coolant temp sensor on the dash doesn't move if I start the engine in the morning until I'm actually driving it no matter how long I leave it and also if I park up and leave the engine running the needle slowly drops back to 0 degrees, and the heater blows cool air even when set to high so I do actually thing the temperature is dropping. A couple of months ago the gauge was acting up and wasn't Reading anything and then on a restart it would read normal(90 degrees) although this hasn't happened in a while and holds a steady 90 until I'm ticking over.

Should I try cleaning the egr?
What about maf sensor?
Would these not throw up a fault code?

[Iamtony]

Just another quick point I'm driving now and when the fault occurs like it just did, and I get the really bad loss of power, it really throws out a lot of smoke.

[Iamtony]

Another thing I've notied is the amount of back pressure when I take oil cap off. The engine gets louder and chucks out smoke from the opening. I know a certain amount is normal but when the engine makes more noise and is like a steam train it seems to be a problem.

[Iamtony]

anybody any suggestions on this I am waiting desperately for a reply..

[zollaf]

chuffing like that from the oil filler cap is usually a head gasket fault. the warming up problem sounds like the thermostat.

[Iamtony]

Hi zollaf, thanks for the help. I think original problem is the egr. The solenoid that controls it doesn't move whatsoever and is in it's neutral fully open position. Today I wedged it open with a small stone and the black smoke went almost completely. I also removed the pipe and cleaned out as much of the Gunge as I could with my fingers and this made a good difference with power. It's still throwing out grey/bluish smoke so I'm hoping the new egr will correct this also.

So I'm thinking I should get a cts, an egr, a thermostat and an injector loom and hopefully the head gasket holds up!

[GeorgeOK]

Yes, 99% it's the wired INJECTOR, nothing serious and you don't need its number.
The problem is there's leak on the injector nozzle allowing diesel to drip in the cylinder and when you start the engine it takes time to burn it up.

It's most probably the same engine as that in the Golf 1.9 TDi. Just call your local dealer with your van details and they'll put you right.

It's not hard to get it off.
You can do it on your own in a couple of hours max.
Just need a spanner to undo the nuts and and pair of grips.
You may have to use a hammer on the grips gently only if it doesn't move at all.
Try turning the grips left and right instead of pulling out.

Then, if the black smoke gets worse then you may be looking at a worn out engine.


Hi I don't have the exact code I have texted the guy who did it for me but he hasn't come back to me and I don't think he will, he didn't seem to want to do the job in the first place. Would you recommend trying the harness before I do anything. I will explain the exact problem in as much detail as possible.

Heavy black smoke on heavy acceleration.

At night time there is a constant clowd of smoke following me althought it's not so black.

Constant lack if power noticably on hills etc.

Intermittent major lack of power which usually only happens when it's warmed up. Sometimes restarting engine solves it for a few hours, other times for a few seconds.

With the intermittent major lack of power comes irratic idling.

Hoping this helps....

[Iamtony]

Hi guys thanks for all the help. I'm going to get busy ordering some parts and see how I get on. I will report back with the results. Let's hope I don't need to replace the engine although with just over 200k on the clock I'm not ruling it out as a possibility. Anyone know a good place to get a reconditioned engine?

[GeorgeOK]

Don't buy the injector from the main dealers.
Just ask them for price, part number and your engine code.
Then search on ebay, Europarts, GermanSwedishFrench, etc.
Don't buy a reconditioned engine or have your own done, they're never right.
Buy a used engine from a car/van with low miles.




Hi guys thanks for all the help. I'm going to get busy ordering some parts and see how I get on. I will report back with the results. Let's hope I don't need to replace the engine although with just over 200k on the clock I'm not ruling it out as a possibility. Anyone know a good place to get a reconditioned engine?

[rayl]

Have you got gunge in the header tank ? (ref head gasket)

[Iamtony]

Hi guys, thanks again for replys. I just got to look at my friends van exact same only his has 140k on it and the puffing from the engine is exactly the same and his runs fine and no there is no gunge in the tank ray. Funny thing, though I was almost 100% sure the egr was my culprit because it wasn't moving whatsoever no matter how hard I revved the engine only think is his is exactly the same so I'm presuming we both don't have a faulty egr. Anyway I cleaned mine out and it definitly helped but still no power and lots of smoke so I'm going to go down the injector route(and/or) harness. But can anyone explain when does the egv butterfly looking valve actually kick in??

[Iamtony]

Hi guys sorry for being a pain but does anyone know the part number on the side of the injector I need it's a Bosch part I'm told. The engine code is axb it's a 1.9. Thanks, Tony.

[Iamtony]

Lads me again, sorry if I'm becoming a pain:-). I'm looking around for a used engine. My local breaker has an axc engine and my original one is an axb so I'm wondering is it a straight swop? Or a big job to convert? Thanks again for any replys!

[Alan02]

Hi guys, thanks again for replys. I just got to look at my friends van exact same only his has 140k on it and the puffing from the engine is exactly the same and his runs fine and no there is no gunge in the tank ray. Funny thing, though I was almost 100% sure the egr was my culprit because it wasn't moving whatsoever no matter how hard I revved the engine only think is his is exactly the same so I'm presuming we both don't have a faulty egr. Anyway I cleaned mine out and it definitly helped but still no power and lots of smoke so I'm going to go down the injector route(and/or) harness. But can anyone explain when does the egv butterfly looking valve actually kick in??

The EGR valve is Duty-Cycled by the ECU. If you start it up and let it idle, it will cut-in / out. Once engine revved over 3K i think, EGR stops working. If engine is left to idle for a few while it will also stop working, to stop cylinder temp. dropping too low.

[Iamtony]

Hi alan thanks for the info. I googled this and from other sources I heard it only kicks in above 50mph? Is this true?