golf tdi turbo

[jasonchat]

i have just purchased a mark 4 gt tdi 130 golf 2002.its got 69k on the clock and full service history and has been well looked after,i drove up a hill fairly fast and lost power and could no longer here the turbo,i was worried so pulled over then turned off the engine for a minute then started it then drove away ,the turbo was back to normal,there was nothing come up on the warning on the dashboard,could anyone tell me if this is normal or what it could be,many thanks

[zollaf]

hi and welcome. your problem is called limp home. the ecu detects a fault and reduces power to prevent damage. if you have a fault code read you will have either an under or over boost situation. this can be down to a perished vacuum pipe controlling the turbo, or a failed n75 valve, or a few other things. it can also be the turbo itself, where the vnt ring gets blocked by carbon deposits. if you use the search facility, you will find many examples of this problem, along with various solutions, across the whole vag range.

[Crasher]

I would lay money on this being the reason the car was sold and I find actions like that extremely dishonest. I presume the purchase was a private one, why is it that private sellers are allowed to get away with this when trade sellers are fully liable, it is wrong. You need a fault code read doing, if that code is 17965 I am 99% certain you are looking at a rebuilt turbo and that will cost you at least £500 or even up to £1000 if the turbo requires more than a simple rebuild. There are chemical treatments available but to be honest I am having very mixed and variable results from this, next week I have one in I chemi cleaned a year ago and most I have done have required a removal clean now.

[zollaf]

unfortunately, not everyone is quite as honest as you, or me. they only care about themselves. if this is the case, then they have obviously washed their hands of the problem. i dont suppose you had an inspection carried out by aa/rac or the like before you purchased it. if so, then you may be able to claim from them.

[jasonchat]

thankyou very much for your replies,i jumped in at the deep end when i brought this car,it has 69k on the clock which tempted me and is in mint condition,with full vwsh,as i have no experience with cars it drove well so i purchased it,i checked the history and realised that the cambelt was due which cost me £311,then it was pointed out to me the flywheel and clutch need replacing shortly at a cost of £720,now this,i havent started paying the loan off for the car yet.my fault i know but the low mileage and fvwsh and condition tempted me and now its costing me bigtime,not happy,i thought these cars were bulletproof,thanks jasonchat

[Crasher]

It would have paid you to have had the car checked when you looked at it but hindsight is a wonderful thing.