black smoke no power help

**minty0_10** · 13-05-2007,11:15 PM

hi all just bought a 1999 a4 tdi problem with the car is the lack of power.
when the turbo suposed to kick in it just blows out black smoke so im guessing the turbos dead.
but while driving today i had no power from the turbo at all (there was a little before) but also no smoke the car was struggling to pull past 60 and also had a slight miss at the higher rev range but not all the time. then sometimes the black smoke comes back and a ever so little bit of turbo pull,

so if it is the turbo how much am i looking at for a new one and how much work is involed in fitting it

sujestions anyone thanks

**Huweth** · 14-05-2007,12:22 AM

Have you ckecked the boost pipes? Sounds like one is very loose!

**minty0_10** · 14-05-2007,09:40 AM

yes ive had a look around nothing that i can see. i would have thought if a pipe was holed or off you would be able to hear it?
what would cause the black smoke to come and go?

**Huweth** · 14-05-2007,05:22 PM

I would have thought you would have heard a big pop when it came off but if you bought the car already like it then you wouldn't have! Some of the pipes are probably very hard to see/access properly, maybe a knowledgable mate could have a look? If no pipes are off, then it could also be that the intercooler is blown. The black smoke could be caused by overfuelling when the turbo should be boosting but can't. Of course, it could be something else entirely. Can you get it on VagCOM?

**minty0_10** · 14-05-2007,05:30 PM

it only smokes when the turbo coming it theres not a lot of power when it does mind. but then a lot of the time theres no power from the turbo at all when that happens theres no black smoke either in other words

when the turbo tries to work there smoke
when its not working at all no smoke

whats vagcom?

**minty0_10** · 14-05-2007,05:52 PM

just been out to the car now and checked all the intercooler pipes cant see any holes or splits. ive also taken the inlet pipe off the turbo cant feel any play in the shaft either.

**Huweth** · 14-05-2007,06:31 PM

Hmm this is strange. It's still sounding like boost pressure loss.
VagCom is the software you connect to the using a laptop that can tell you all of the electronic functions of the car. If there are any faults detected it will highlight them, and you can also see various readings from different sensors which can help you diagnose faults.

Ah, I just thought. You might also have a severely blocked intake manifold. It can cause fuel/air starvation issues giving similar effects. If you are mechanically minded it's not too difficult to remove the manifold and check it. Should take a few hours to do and is always worth cleaning. Don't try to clean it on the car as any debris that gets into the engine will be catastrophic!
How many miles has the car done?

**minty0_10** · 14-05-2007,06:36 PM

the cars done 150k i have found a small vacum pipe off at the back of the engine i conected it back up and there was a diffrence made in 1st and 2nd gear. rest of the gears still flat with no boost. its not smoking as much now either but its a still long way off runing as it should be.

**Huweth** · 14-05-2007,06:39 PM

At 150K miles the intake manifold could very well be sooted up. The fact that a pipe was off at the back suggests someone has been prodding around. I reckon the first thing to do is get the intake off. All it will cost is some engine cleaner and maybe some tools.