Help me keep my taxi on the road pleeease!

[jemthetaxi]

Hi everyone.I own a 2001 Passat estate tdi pd (avb) engine which I have a number of issues which need sorting out.Due to family reasons, I am not working or earning as much as i would like to at the moment, so I cant go running to the mechanic every time i have a problem, so with your help I would like to try and sort out what i can myself. I have recenty treated myself to some basic tools (axle stands, torque wrench, trolley jack, sockets etc) to help me get started. I have problems with intercooler oil leak, suspension arms,squeaky steering column, and various other strange noises. It has done 170,000 miles, but i have always changed the oil at 10k miles with quantum pd oil and genuine filter.
I am going to tackle one problem at a time, and the first thing i would like to tackle is the small amount of oil seeping from the intercooler.I believe this could be caused by a blocked crank case breather hose, so would like to try and clean this and the intercooler and pipes and anything else connected with this (EGR ?).I'm not sure which is the crank case breather hose so if someone could point me in the right direction here i would be very grateful.I have worked on cars before in the past, without too much trouble and quite enjoyed it, but this TDI engine seems pretty complicated.Many thanks in advance.

[Baron_Samedi]

Well, first, get yourself a darned good manual

Then trawl the threads on here and other reputable forums for help as I'm sure the task you propose has been carried out many times

[chrisvrscrx]

A small weep of oil is normal comming from the intercooler pipes I wpouldn't worry too much.
I may be using my Passat as a taxi later this year, how has yours been?

[caldirun]

Oil leak from intercooler, I went through my turbo system and cleaned everything (the inlet manifold was well gunged up), the intercooler is a pig to remove. I now think the best way is to jack the front up and put axle stands in, remove the plastic under cover. The leak should be evident from the large diameter rubber hose joining the intercooler to the tube that crosses the bottom of the radiator. The tube end has a hose clip on it (the tube is oval so the clip does not stop oil leaking from the bottom of the tube) slack it off. The other end has a spring clip in a groove on the intercooler flange, push it up and off. The pipe will now pull off, catch the oil that comes out, let it drain well. Clean the inside of the pipe and intercooler and tube then apply high-modulus silicone sealant to the mating areas, slip the pipe back on and tighten the clip. This does the job in stopping the leaking oil but it still builds up inside, I have drilled and tapped a hole in the intercooler flange and fitted a plug, with a hole cut through the under panel I can now drain the intercooler in a few minutes.
I did not find any problems with the engine breathing system except that the hose exits the head cover on the lower side, it may be fine on a testbed when the cylinders are vertical but seems a strange arrangement with the engine canted over in the engine bay.

[jemthetaxi]

Thanks for all your help. I have indeed just bought a Haynes manual, which if you are interested, is on special offer on wh smiths website.
As a Taxi, it has been pretty good. Its not been without its problems, but ten times better than a peugeot! And always puts a smile on my face.Incidently, I work for a radio firm in Bournemouth where half the drivers are scousers.You should see the staff room when Liverpool play Everton! They are a nice bunch of lads though.
Thanks Caldirun for the intercooler tip.When my haynes book arrives, I will give my system a "de-coke".