Loss of power in my TDI

[jshodgson]

I noticed a loss of power like the turbo had stopped working many months ago and the problem went away but recently it has reappeared and happens on almost every journey especially if the engine is revved fairly high.

I have taken off the air mass flow sensor and sprayed teh insides with carb cleaner and I have sprayed the electrial connector with cleaner to see if that helps but it hasn't.

I am reluctant to take it to Audi as the bill for a new turbo will be more than the car is worth I expect and don't want to have to buy a new air flow sensor if I can avoid it. I will if it will definately fix the problem.

The car is a 1998 TDI (red I) and has 216000 miles on the clock.

Any ideas or suggestions are really appreciated thanks, James :1zhelp:

[hoggy]

I noticed a loss of power like the turbo had stopped working many months ago and the problem went away but recently it has reappeared and happens on almost every journey especially if the engine is revved fairly high.

I have taken off the air mass flow sensor and sprayed teh insides with carb cleaner and I have sprayed the electrial connector with cleaner to see if that helps but it hasn't.

I am reluctant to take it to Audi as the bill for a new turbo will be more than the car is worth I expect and don't want to have to buy a new air flow sensor if I can avoid it. I will if it will definately fix the problem.

The car is a 1998 TDI (red I) and has 216000 miles on the clock.

Any ideas or suggestions are really appreciated thanks, James :1zhelp:
Take a look at my thread.....
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19944

[siddlem]

Take a look at my thread.....
http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=19944

Mine has had a similar problem for the last year or so. Have finally got rould to sorting mine this last weekend. First thing I would check is the movement of the actuator rod that goes into the top of the turbo, you should be able to move it about 15 mm nice and smoothly. Mine was sticking and causing the turbo to overboost. Took the turbo off this weekend cleaned the vnt mechanism and hey presto good as new, better than its ever been. If you check your actuator and its stuck, mail me at mark.siddle3@ntlworld.com and I will tell you how to clean it. Its not that hard.

mark

[hedonist]

i had a similar problem (no power, smoke, no turbo) was simply a leaky pipe on pressure side of turbo. I replaced pipe and good as new (well almost)

[jshodgson]

How did you find out it was a leaky pipe? What checks/tests can I do?

[Isoproturon]

On a high mileage car, while you're in the mood for working on it, it's worth cleaning out the EGR valve and intake manifold.

[jshodgson]

many thanks. What is the EGR valve and intake manifold. What do they look like how do I clean them please.

Thanks

[hedonist]

I traced the fault by visually checking the entire length of inlet pipebut look for oily/sooty deposits as a clue. originaly i scanned with a fault code reader which gave an " inlet pressure different to reported" fault which knocked the car into limp mode (no turbo)
hope this is some help and good luck

[jshodgson]

I cleaned the EGR valve today and it was COKED up big time. It was full of blank gunk. I didn't take on the challenge of the intake manifold. I'll do a long drive tomorrow so will see how it goes!!

[jshodgson]

I got much better fuel economy on a long drive after cleaning the EGR valve but the problem of losing power is still there. Today it was only losing power once revved beyond 3000rpm.:aargh4:

[dutchman41]

Hi there
Jost looked at this forum to try and get an answer for something else and noticed your problem. I had a similar thing happen to me, fault code was showing manifold pressure anomoly.
It turned out to be the brick in the catalytic converter had come loose and turned round partially blocking the exhaust pipe.
Took the downpipe off, got a rod and hammer and bashed the brick out...
Problem solved, loads of power back and no problems with the emissions at the mot.
Give it a look...might be lucky and have a cheap fix.