Because it will come up... I mentioned chain stretch several times. This is the common language that is used in the scan tool and repair manual. Technically that is wrong. Chains wear not stretch.
I was about to comment about that.. Great and informative video. Can't wait to see the rest of it. Probably some carbon in the oil pick up... By the way, the proper term is schmoo, not residue and debris ;)
Hi I am thinking in buying a b8 2010 audi a4 with a 2.0 with 92k .owner claims that bought it with a bad timing tensioner then fix it up. new chains and tensioner, guides and new headgasket!?!. claims is running well should I stay away or go for it??. I haven't seen it in person yet. at the same time for around the same price of $6 there is 2009 a4 2.0 prestige with 101k that needs an engine ? which one you will recommend ? planning to do all the work myself. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge
nathan55 Check if piston rings were changed. 2.0T TSI/TFSI until 2012.5 CCTA, CBFA, CCZA and others if I am not mistaken (Charles can correct) came with faulty piston rings which wear out under 60,000mi and cause very high oil consumption (~1qt/700 miles) and if left unattended it will cause other components failure if the engine starves from oil. You'll end up treating the engine as a two-stroke, adding oil each time you fill the gas tank.
Just sold my 2010 GTI with 241k on the clock and replaced it with a new 2019 GTI. Reason being, I had $2200 worth of work done on it after the water pump finally failed. Ended up having the tensioner, water pump and camshaft seal all done before selling it. That said, the car always ran great and still continued to do so after I sold it. I've always followed all of the common failure points of this engine and was always curious to see one torn down. This was a super interesting video Charles, thanks for making it.
I love buying cars from guys like you. They do all the nessary maintenance needed, then trade it in. Very nice! I remember owning a 69?Pontiac where the nylon teeth all sheared off and the timing jumped. I did all the work myself. Old school 101.
You were very lucky if after all those miles you only had to do one pump and a tensioner. I had an R that was already on it's 3rd waterpump, new throttlebody and 4 new injectors by the time it had barely passed 80.000 miles.
Back in the day, we had auto shop in highschool. The teacher brought in a failed engine for us as a class to tear down together and learn on. The knowledge we gained from tearing down that engine made many of us weekend warriors of our own project cars. Many were given to us as a deal to get them going again as a first car. Sometimes, guys would combine resources and the fixed vehicle became shared property, those involved with helping get the car back on the road got turns at using said car on certain weekends for dates. When the draft took away one of the gang, he simply passed ownership rights to the remaining buddys. Life was simpler but not.
Same thing in my HS auto shop. That is when I learned the starter on a Cadillac Northstar is in the cylinder valley. For a couple of years they even had a WATER cooled alternator. I have never had to work on a Northstar yet, even I was I woudn't do it.
Very few kids care to learn how to work on cars these days. It's sad. I have been able to give away bad engines and transmissions, but only to people over 30 or 40.
damn i wish my high school was like that, i'm a senior in Europe in Gymnasium (it's like normal highschool but harder and without practical stuff, except chemistry) and i'm mostlikely going to mechanical university. i just can't wait for uni, so i can actually study something i'm interested and get some practical knowledge
@@kollederboss1594 yea it's stupid. It does give a lot of general knowledge, but non of it is practical. Which is a shame as I, and many others, prefer some technical skills over philosophy or learning useless stuff about our language
I've found that the best thing about owning a 2011 Audi A3 with one of these engines is that it has made me allot more knowledgeable about the inner workings of cars. I've never been so in tune with every piece of preventative maintenance that has to be done on a vehicle, every possible thing that can go wrong and the signs leading up to those failures, and the cost and level of effort of fixing each one of those failure points. I've learned how engines work, how direct injection and fuel delivery work, what a water pump does, how an intake manifold works, and so much other valuable information! Anyway, I think my next car will be Japanese.
man i genuienly am saying this from experience because i own a 2011 gti, this is the most relatable comment ive ever seen in my life. this was my first car, had around 80k miles when i bought it, i drove it up to 140,000 miles before there was catastrophic engine failure, since then, the amount of knowledge ive learned just from how engines work, has expanded my knowledge so much that its as if im one with my car, that being said, my next car will be a lexus. 😂
have a mate who is a mechanic, who took a 2010 a3 sport on that wasn't starting. even before he took a look at it, I said I know the problem. sent him the info that I had and lo and behold, tendon had failed. unlike this video where there wasn't too much damage, the engine was a complete right off. not only bent cables in 1 and 2 but damage to the piston and cylinder and had punched the spark plugs out.
VW isn't the only manufacturer that has had problems with guide tensioners. GM and their eco tec line have had 3 revised designs, and the static guide tends to break. They are FAR less complicated and easier to work on than this. This looks like a total f------ nightmare to do in the car.
yup - Gotta take the whole passenger side engine mount off and jack the engine up and down a few times to get to all of the tourqe bolts holding the lower timing cover on. Why they couldn't use normal 6 sided bolts? IDK but it is a pain in the ass, if they had used "normal" bolts the job actually would not be THAT bad. Also the balancer likes to be destroyed in the process of taking it off. Mine now has a slight wobble I gotta fix in the spring.
@@Soph27199 What's the issue with torx bolts? They are very common. They do it because torx bits wear less than regular ones and are more reliable on the production line.
Hey, I just wanted to stop in and say thank you for all of the quality videos, especially this one and the TSI timing chain video. I just got done replacing my cylinder head (myself, in my garage, woo go me!) and I couldn't have done it without your channel as a resource/guide for my work. Car is running smoothly as of tonight, I'm stoked to have the Wolfie Jetta back on the road again. Timing chain tensioner failed, jumped 8 teeth, bent all 8 intake valves. New cylinder head went in smooth, new timing chain and tensioner, and I'm back on the road. Love you channel, makes me miss my R32t something fierce though! You rock.
@@HumbleMechanic since VW products are so crappy, you really have a lot of work to do, that means you keep the money flowing. Keep working on VW/Audi/Skoda products and soon you'll be a humble rich man too. Wish you health & strength!
This video reaffirms everything I have learned about the 2L engines. I know lots of people have had good experiences with the engine provided they have treated it well but the number of people that have serious issues (some of whom even took good care of their engine) seems to be greater than prior generation of multi-valve engines (16V, 20V and 24V) imagine if you put all of the potential maintenance nightmares worst case scenario into a single video for the 2L engine, nobody would ever buy one. They are heavenly when under 50k miles but then its rolling the dice is my opinion. Thank you for a great video
@Peder Hansen also I seem to remember some PD150 engines eating their camshafts for some reason. The PD130 was a peach of an engine though that's for sure.
Peder Hansen mines still going and it shouldn’t be. Scrapping it thus weekend though, 751k km. Smashed the pan on the weekend, couldn’t afford a tow so I drove home 200 Kim’s with no oil and it still purs
There is no way in hell you would want to rebuild this pile of crap. It will be good for another 30k miles (max!!!) before it will fail again. What's the point?
As a VW enthusiast and repairing as a hobby for the past ~13 years, this kind of video brings me at ease with the new motors. Yeah, it's more complex than the ABAs, ALHs, and 1.8Ts (god help me those) I have history with, but seeing it torn down like this helps me a lot in coming to grips with getting this kind of thing in a track car. Maybe even going as far to consider this for a swap into my Coupe versus the 1.8T that's planned. Speaking to your newer videos with the R as well. Can't thank you enough for content like this!
To date one of the most involved engine rebuilds I've done. Absolutely horrible design throughout. Plastic junk components here there & everywhere just waiting to start leaking! One item in particular is the small coolant joining sleeve in the back of that rubbish water pump! Seriously who the hell designs these engines? As for that early chain tensioner? Unbelievable. Keep up the great work Charles love watching your informative videos you put together. All the best from the UK.
Leaking plastic junk parts on a VW engine? Shocking (sarcasm). After working for a shop specializing in VW/Audi I would tell people is VW could figure out how to make the block and head etc out of plastic they would do so. I would never buy one again, they’ve just consistently gotten worse since the mk2 and don’t learn from their mistakes (1.8t timing tensioner failures new engine timing tensioner failures, 1.8t water pump issues new engine water pump issues etc etc), while everyone else has gotten better or at least tries not to remake the same mistakes over again.
Hans Frank I went from MB to VW/Audi to Acura and then GM. VW is already at US quality standards (or slightly worse). Sure you can buy the cheap shit on eBay or you can buy smart (Japanese) and then not have to constantly replace cheap parts every other month (especially once it ages) and only have to spend money on oil, gas and tires. As a tech you get to see the differences first hand.
Agreed. I have rebuilt a bunch of different engines over the years and this was the worst experience I ever had. It is just depressing to work on these cars: access is difficult, so many weak points, oils leaks....and certain failure some time down the road. Bah.
I thought the exact same thing after watching this. That engine is a debacle. There is no way I'm ever going newer in the VAG engine lineup than my 1.8T 20V.
I think the external look of that engine was indicative of how well the owner had maintained the engine. I don't get it how people can spend so much money on a machine as expensive as a modern car and then cheap out on simple maintenance. Thanks Charles for the high-quality interesting and informative videos. I wish I had had something like videos like this to learn from when I was young and learning about cars. What I would do is go to the reference section of the public library, read the sections on whatever part of the engine I was working on and then go back to the engine I was working on. Actually, the most important thing I learned was to develop a good sense of intuition and hands that had a good sense of feel.
Its ignorance. I had a friend who thought it was a money spinner and a con, he didn’t bother to service his car. His engine failed at 50k miles and he had to learn the hard way. He was throughly confused. Went as far as to blame the garage, because he took it in with weird engine noises and they told him that it was gone, was suspicious they sabotaged it and were lying to him so they could get extra work. He took it elsewhere, that mechanic said the same. After forking out for a new engine, he became obsessive about maintenance. Was checking his dipstick all the time, became annoying to go with him anywhere. Hs isn’t a stupid person either, a project manager at a large tech firm, has a degree from a reputable university.
At least the timing chain looks way stronger than on my BMW 118i N46B20 engine. But i got mine tested and changed my tensioner years ago, so it should be fine until 150000km. Right now it's 12 years old and has run about 97000 km.
Don't expect german cars to be "the best" or "better than the others" anymore. They build the same shit like other manufacturers for double the price. Happy Abarth driver here, greetings from Germany.
I'm also a member of the "chain gang" . 2011 GTI , at 67,000 miles. Thankfully I had no piston damage, and was able to source a 10,000 Mile head from a CC, for cheap. Car was back for another 20,000 miles, and traded in for a 2016 Golf R.
@Thomas Hood I feel you. Only VW I actually have personal experience with is a '94 Golf I bought my nephew for $600 with like 310,000 miles or something insane. That car was a little tank. He neglected the hell out of it and it just kept going. They really had it well sorted back then. Started to go awry for a while in the late 90s it seems. Sorta picked back up, but over time they just got so complicated. Subaru is my personal fav brand and you look at them. Hell, lots has changed since the early 90s when they really started to homologate everything, but at the same time the design and engineering ethos has gone largely unchanged. They are a great example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They do still improve over time, but they don't overcomplicate for the sake of being fancy or paying more engineers.
Charles, very very good Video. Yesterday I met a college with a Golf MK4. He is no mechanic, a navigator working at the latest navy-ship. But he did an engineswap by himself....very great respect from my side! This 1.8T engine has been run 220.000 km when he swopped it and it's still runnning. My self had an Audi TT Quattro in nimbusgrau for 15 years.....at the end the speedometer showed 85.000km on it an I sold it because of an new Dodge R/T. Never though, that the 1.8T survive that long time...wow. For wintertime, I drive my 2.4 VR5 20V MK 4 and I am very pleased with it.....it's at 80.000km now...runniung good and sounds great. But what about these TFSI-Engines....timing-chains wear and tear at what of mileage ? V/r Andreas
Bought a mk6 GTI about 6 months ago. Really enjoying learning about these engines, found you via EE. Coming from a SBC background, these things are so novel and clever I really like it.
@@kd23se4 Good question, I am not sure. The engines are as stated amazing when they are working, but can you imagine doing a timing service on that thing, especially as a home mechanic.
@@calvinhutton57 It´s miserable.....in Europe we have 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, now 1.5, 1.8 and 2.0......the smaller ones are even worse......all have problems with chains. The Turbodiesels had for years problems with turbos but are more reliable the the petrol engines. And lets not start with the DSG transmissions........
had a 2007 golf 6 with the 1.4tsi 122hp, got a dephaser lock up at 37000 km that caused piston & valves kissing. 5k€ repairs VW took at their expense (but after the fact they still tried to get me to pay, but did not happen since I did not sign any repair order) Now I have an 2016 Audi S3 300hp, blew the connecting rod bearing at 56000 km. Oil was full of metalic particles (maybe they also dicovered more, not sure), so they swapped the entire engine including turbo. Luckily Audi took the engine at their expense and the leasing took the manual labour at theirs, so I did not see the bill but apparently it ended up 20 to 30k€ in total. Both cars where under the extend oil service plan. Not sure I want to stick with Audi after that... certainly not without a leasing plan!
Good video, clear and descriptive, I had a Q5 2.0 T engine started using oil at 150 000 Km. Audi had to rebuild it changing pistons and con rods. Got rid of it afterward. But after watching this video I certainly understand that engine a whole lot better now. Thanks👍
Ppl always underestimate themselves when they see this kind of engines.. they actually easier when you have your hands on them they just look complicated on videos.. but when you have the engine in front of you any mechanic that knows what they're doing will just get it done ...... I've been a street mechanic for 15 years and I actually find this lots of fun... I just bought mk7 with this engine and after warranty is over I'm getting my hands busy with this engine...
i got that failure on the 1.4 TSI engine at 60000km. But i had luck the valves are good. SO i have to change "only" the Chain and the Pulleys also the chain adjuster and the water pump. 700€ for the material! thx VW
Holy F.... and I got annoyed when i had to replace the chain on my 125cc Honda Wave 125 at 63.000km. That's a tiny motorcycle where the engine spends most of its time at 80%+ throttle.
@ISSA VIBEZ I had a '00 Audi TT with a 1.8T. It was running great at 260k miles when someone rear-ended it last spring. I've since replaced it with an '87 Porsche 924, which I am going through right now.
Covert Person don’t buy tsi engines not maintained. My buddy had a 2010 jetta Wolfsburg 2.0 tsi got it with 230,000 from his dads friend drives like a maniac always in sport mode banging it off 7,000 he’s put 20,000 on it still runs like a top
@@whydoihave6neutrals772 i will believe you but how much oil drink this engine now??? I'm pretty sure a lot also i am pretty sure he changed a lot of stuff to be on the road until now.
I owned several Audi, BMW and VW when I was younger. Learned my lesson at a very young age. These cars are good when brand new and then........run away from them!
Really appreciate HM's video and his others....he does such a great job explaining things and is quite clear. Definitely can see the effort in the editing. Great for learning for sure!
Hi guys! First of all sorry for my English, I am not a native speaker). In my origin country, I was working with Audi-VW engines a lot (not only repairs but more in tuning for more power)-starts from 2.2t r5 and ended up with ea888 in 2016. Now i am a carlot mechanic in Florida, and usually, i have around 2 cars every month with this ea888 with no compression because of jumping timing chain. First of all, in this video new timing chain is the very old revision one-do not use this one, because its most likely China fake. Even if not-the new revision chain is way more reliable. Second thing-always check camshafts after timing chain failure. The problem is, in this engines (it starts from ea113) camshafts are consist of hollow pipe and lobes are pressed on it. If the timing chain jumps on high rpms, lobes can be twisted around, and you can not reuse this camshaft. It happens a few times with me. For everybody who doesn't understand- ea888 is the excellent engines. At auctions, i regularly see these engines with 140, 160, 190 kmiles. This engine has extremely strong internals, it can hold 350+ hp and 500nm in a stock form (and more if you understand what to do). With one click, you can have around 270-280 hp out of this engine and beat all that v6-v8 around left and right, and still you have 28 hwy mpg. Just a few rules-when it hit 70k miles change tensioner and chain for the latest revision, use only good synthetic oil and premium gas from good gas stations-and you good to go other 100k miles at least. And please do not believe in these myths about extremely reliable modern Japanese/Korean cars. I am checking around 100 cars every week, and i see a lot of broken engines and transmissions in 2010-2012 Hondas and Toyotas with around 100k miles on it. Korean crap is usually broken at 90k miles. And trust me-ea888 st1-st2 +dsg driving just amazing, after that when you driving some asian crap you feel like from the jet fighter you jump on a wheelbarrow and driving it from the slope))
What Hondas and Toyotas you saw with failure? You give good advice on VW EA888 maintenance but what about the carbon build-up? One day I want a VW again with a built VR6 motor. Now I drive '17 Civic.
I miss the days of my Austin Mini 850. All you needed was a socket set and a few screwdrivers. Now I have a '98 Passat to work on and the entire front end has to move forward 6" on 'special' rails just to get access to change the timing belt. Getting the access to anywhere in the engine bay is now the biggest challenge. And having a garage four times the car's footprint for work space and somewhere to put all the tools.
I bought an 09 Passat with 15 miles on it May 2009. Loved the hell out of that car when it worked, of course. Owned it only seven years, only for it to be scrapped and parted out at the local junkyard because it was beyond repair after I paid off the car. Steering wheel lock failed twice, tires wore every 20k miles (oddly), water pump went out after a year and had to be replaced twice thereafter (second and third time under warranty), PCV valve failed and drained the battery while out holiday shopping one time, electronic parking brake malfunctioned and left me having to get it towed to the dealer, heated seats were stuck to "ON" for a month in the passenger side, paint was peeling at the interface between the roof and windshield, and finally the timing chain tensioner failed, along with there being rear main seal leak. That repair was quoted to be $7k, according to the dealer. At that point, I felt enough was enough. The car had just 110,000 miles on the ODO and was serviced through two VW dealers. I bought a 17 Accord EX-L afterwards, and after letting the Passat sit in the driveway inoperable for a year, I decided to sell it to a junkyard so it could be parted out and scrapped. I would've felt horribly to have sold it to anyone, giving them the same headache I had all those years with the Passat. I really loved the Volkswagen cars from the 2000s for their Audi-esque flair, but the cost of ownership SUCKED!!! P.S., the Accord isn't as premium as my Passat, but so far ownership has been great!
When you find yourself using unique terms like "Camshaft Bridge" or "Timing Chain Circuit" to describe overly complex solutions, you know your in trouble.
Your'e very good in explaining the problems with these engines and how to deal with them. Chain and tensioner wear issues are also kown with VW other TSI engines, the 1.2, 1.4 and 1.8 engines. It makes itself known in the form of a rattling noise after starting, especially when starting a warm engine, the noise should disappear within a few seconds, when oil pressure operates the tensioner correctly. When there is wear in any of these parts it takes longer for the rattling noise to disappear, and a visit to the workshop is due to get the tensioner, guides and chain checked. As my engine shows some wear in these parts (rattling noise for 10 seconds after a warm start) I have them checked regularly with my services to check if they are still within specifications. Also a warning about the balance shaft chain in these engines, a works colleague had his one broken due to excessive wear and caused the engine to seize. He had to pull the bottom end apart, had a new chain sprocket to be fitted onto the crankshaft (specialist work) and assemble everything back together. He had luck that no damage was done to the other moving parts, and could do most of the work himself as a car mechanic, but the message here is to keep an eye to all these chains, any of these breaking can cause fatal damage to the engine. These engines clearly do not the Volkswagen quality anymore they were known for with their older engine designs, porbably this is the reason why there are new engine models launched now, their 1.2 liter and 1.4 liter engines are now replaced with new 1.0 liter and 1.5 liter designs, it still has to show if those new engines are any better.
I have same noise with 2015 czjc vw polo engine. It started after oil changing. It plays during 5 seconds and stops when the engine stabilize at the correct rpm. When engine is heated and i turn off it, and then when i crank it again, engine runs nearly 650 rpm's and the noise starts for 10-20 seconds. I've thinked when they changing oil filter, they lose a small ball in the filter's facing surface but vw doesn't have this small ball (I've saw this ball in nissan GA engines. When you lose it about heating the engine, same noise starts with same situations.). So i think that tensioner is my problem.
@@MokokoMokoko That's what I think as well, the tensioner which starts to wear out and doesn't build oil pressure inside quickly enough. It's one of the known problems beside the chains wearing quickly and stretching out. One of the symptom remedies VW did was fittng a slightly different upper timing chain cover, which has a notch on the inside not allowing the chain to jump over the teeth of the timing gears. By the time this happens there will be a real nasty ratling present right after starting from the chain touching that cover.
@@Tom-Lahaye I just opened the cover and what is that? There is no chain. Vw used belt in newer series. But what is the terrible noise when i starting it? I will explore it whatever. I know nothing about VAG, i adopted to use ford's and nissan's so that things are very strange to me. Anyway thank you for helping and replying me :)
@@MokokoMokoko In that case it can't be the timing gear which makes the noise, it could be the hydraulic valve pushers, as they also need a build up of oil pressure before taking the slack up, in case they are worn it can take longer for sufficient oil pressure to build up and the valve train can make a ratling noise during this time.
Another way to check timing is to check the camshafts timing marks with a micrometer spec between the 2 I believe is 124-126 each tooth is equal to 6 mm just saying Audi/VW tech here👋🏽 There is a extension on the chain and tensioner as well now. Love your work bro 👍🏽
all these modern turbo engines are designed to provide peak torque at low rpm. the downside is precisely what you just said - people don't rev them out
Brilliant! Thanks. About to tear into mine in the same situation. Gifted from a neighbor 2008 Passat. I can already see through the oil fill that the cam in there isn't turning when I turn it over. Sounds like I'll need to follow t he same route to see whether it's fixable or it's getting a rehab motor
VW/Audi engines always seem needlessly complex... with many things that can fail, that really shouldn't, that can cause major engine damage (like that SCREEN)
@@juanrodriguez-ry6yt even in the early 1980's some of the pre-electronic Mercedes diesels in the big saloons could easily do 300,000 + miles with no bother at all. Made them very popular as taxis .
Around 1987 was the last good year for Mercedes Benz. I don't care if the new ones have more horsepower and air conditioned foot massagers. The old Benz's were built to be maintained, adjusted and repaired for a lifetime.
What is it with VW and their screens failing? This has been an ongoing issue for years. Why don't they change the design, or get rid of them altogether?
I don't have hardly any experience with any euro cars, but from the research I've been doing lately for my freinds new(to him) audi I'M IMPRESSED at how easily repairable and maintenenced they are. ...where have I been, under a rock? They even have Honda beat in that department. I never really wanted to work on just one line of vehicle, so as to keep my skillset as wide as possible for increased side work potential $$$$$....but if I ever decide to go the dealer route career wise. ..I might look into vw/audi....seriously.....I'm loving these things so far. ...and it doesn't seem like you need a very big variety of tools either. ...currently. ..working on a littler bit of everything the tool situation is kinda ridiculous. ...I'd be able to buy a big house before I ever had EVERYTHING I could ever need. ...those vw/audis use alot of specialty oddball tools though it seems like huh
@@LynxStarAuto No, you can't. No matter how good the oil is, it will still pick up contaminants and circulate them through the engine. The only way to get rid of them is with an oil change.
Is there a part of this engine that doesn't fail? I've also heard of balance shafts seizing in really cold climates. Not to mention turbo bushings, high pressure fuel pumps (more common on bpy) coil packs, injectors, intake manfolds, wire harness for throttle body, ffs vw.
So glad I just went ahead and replaced my chains guides and tensioner (with the new revised part!) when I hit 100,000 km. Never will know for sure if it would have failed but its nice to have the piece of mind that my engine has it's most common MAJOR failure sorta covered. Im sure there are still tons of things that could go wrong, but at least that's one big one off the list!!
@@HumbleMechanic Love the videos. At the current state of this engine, do you think lower octane fuel played a part in the build up on the pistons and valves? I own a 2017 GLI and religiously put 91 or higher in my tank. Will this make a difference when my car gets upwards of 100,000 miles?
I hear the 1.4 tsi went back to a dry belt design instead of wet timing on the last gen. I warned the masses about chains not being lifetime service. They don't understand the complexity and problems with the tensioners and guides. I think my leased Jetta has one. But short lease; What, me worry? Now I might worry about the spouse's newish Impreza wagon That thing has too much cold start racket up front and that's a chain timing motor with the FB20. Regardless of my problems-to-be, I'd would like to say great video and nice professional quality work to boot. Thank you - Sandy
I'm in the middle of building a CAEB that lost compression, so it's cool to see this video. The one I'm doing was previously repaired by Audi for the same problem, I decided to tear it all the down, hot tank it and machine hone.
Not sure older engines were built that way, I have rebuilt engines from as long ago as the 40's but a modern VW small engine can not have the crank removed without distorting the crank cases making a rebuild impossible.
I'm not exactly sure. VW state that once the crank bearing blocks are loosened the block will distort and can not be re set. I read on a forum that the factory builds them and trues them and then uses a heat treatment but that is really only hearsay. The odd thing is that OE parts suppliers will sell you bearings etc. but VW will not supply new bolts.
Charles, Great explanation of details and pitfalls of this TSI engine. I am buying me a Humble Mechanic Gear, T-shirt. Thanks my friend! Keep up the good work.
Very helpful video. I have a MKV with the tsi (2009) and the tensioner failed. There are some minor differences with the lovely turbo facing the opposite way from the newer gen TSI engines. Carbon buildup was INSANE, and it had a walnut blast 20K ago.
@MB Saghiri, I'll keep my 1992 MB W124 230E. 100kW is more than enough once one gets going, and those engines are bulletproof. These VW/Audi engines remind me of my time at Jaguar - head gasket, engine and gearbox failures were a daily issue, repair were a temporary measure due to poor engineering.
@@Visionery1 The W124 is a top car with a super engine. The timing chain is a double chain. All new cars are not good one is in the workshop longer than driving ... The new ones have a lot of horsepower the machine has to work so fast, the material is cheap ... BMW 5 Series is built in China VW in East Block ... disaster. I have a BMW E36 320i that drives and drives and drives my son has E46 320i he has to fix something every month ... My colleague E60 320i has very bad. I had a Passat 2.0 TDI the oil pump, turbo and other components have broken at one time, the repair has cost 6000€ ¬ ... Why? A hexagonal pin for the oil pump has become round and that broke the engine. the hexagon component costs 15 € ... VW has saved and the VW owners have to pay. We've become like cows ... Milks us every day. The car industry now wants to build cars that only live 5 years ... That's what I heard on TV. Sorry for my English
@MB Saghiri, your English is fine, it's better than my Swahili. :) Yes, the new cars will be throwaway cars. It seems such a waste of resources though, in the old days Mercedes-Benz built one model for 10-11 years before changing, now they change so often that parts have to come from Germany, there are just too many for the dealer to carry the cost of stocking everything.
My VW had PCV failure & still leaks oil, AC also died, & the dash... Great when it runs though. I did buy it used with high milage & previous owner was probably an idiot so... It loves to rev & I drive it very hard always, but maintain it so it's fine now.
only money pits if you play 'parts-darts'. Knowledge of valid diagnostic methods, part number schemas for VAG group and have a good alternative OEM parts, its really not bad. For example, complete brake job on Golf including new discs, pads, fluids etc $180. Not too bad. VAG are and have always been highly intolerant to maintenance lag. Even my old Kombis did not appreciate late oil changes. Keep up the oil changes and most of the engines are fine.
I still would call it a chain stretch! But well explained with excellent advice and all the obvious faults pointed out and the remedy. Mercifully, little
This was super helpful. I recently had a low oil pressure light during cooldown on the track on my vw GTI mk6 ccta 2.0t tsi. I replaced the camshaft bridge as recommended by a couple people in the community suggested from experience. Seeing you explain that the screen failure causes engine oil starvation was very reassuring that replacing this part was the solution to my problem. Thanks for sharing dude!
Having worked for Audi we used change the pistons on these engines when there was valve to piston contact, The trauma the piston receives when hit by multiple valves can cause, 1, hairline crack in a piston that cannot be seen , 2, broken piston rings. and 3, the main reason we did it was because the trauma travelled down the piston onto the conrod travelling down to the big end bearings causing a slight crush on the bearing. Failure of these bearings usually occurs within a year in the form of a lower end knocking noise and eventually conrod failure. Im not saying it happens to every one of these engines but it does happen, knowing what happens to these engines and the cost to repair them we now fit a brand new engine to these cars because it cost less than to repair them, dont get me wrong, we used to repair them but we had 3 returning vehicles in a period of 18 months, all up to date service records that had knocking engines and the 3 of them had undertaken work due to timing chain failure.
I’ll join in with rest about how poorly designed this and most other VW/Audi engines are. They have numerous problems at much lower mileages than comparable Japanese, Korean or even US designed engines. Superior German Engineering is a myth. Also the carbon build up, yet another chronic problem with the motors, was clearly shown. But good video showing multiple reasons why to never own a German car out of warranty. I also have to laugh at what many German car owners and technicians consider “maintenance” such as timing chain tensioners, water pumps, seals, etc. are considered “repairs” by the rest of us as non-German cars don’t typically need any of those things until well past 100,000 miles.
Fun fact is, that in Europe Italian cars are seen as unreliable, whereas latest Fiat ( Alfa Romeo, Jeep.. ) engines are the best you can get if you don't want a Japanese or Korean car. @ss
Emissions standards and turbocharging you can thank for all that oily soot. If there was no EGR and PCV was vented to the exhaust, there wouldn't be such problems. Turbo engines (well, any forced induction) need to run really really rich under loaded boost to prevent meltdown. Also, engines purposely run rich, as to send unburned fuel into the exhaust just to make the catalytic converter work. I don't think these pencil-pushing environmentalists realize how wasteful it is to have cars be 5-10 year throwaway items versus just letting a little bit of uncouth stuff come from an exhaust. Recycling is horribly inefficient. I see no problems with forcing emissions in places like CA, where smog is an issue. On a global scale, having these cars be throwaway items because emissions equipment just kills them, is more wasteful and pollutes more. All they look at these days is "carbon."
Emissions standards and turbocharging you can thank for all that oily soot. If there was no EGR and PCV was vented to the exhaust, there wouldn't be such problems. Turbo engines (well, any forced induction) need to run really really rich under loaded boost to prevent meltdown. Also, engines purposely run rich, as to send unburned fuel into the exhaust just to make the catalytic converter work. I don't think these pencil-pushing environmentalists realize how wasteful it is to have cars be 5-10 year throwaway items versus just letting a little bit of uncouth stuff come from an exhaust. Recycling is horribly inefficient. I see no problems with forcing emissions in places like CA, where smog is an issue. On a global scale, having these cars be throwaway items because emissions equipment just kills them, is more wasteful and pollutes more. All they look at these days is "carbon."
@@mattbite LOL NO. Fiat is a pos. So many issues have popped up with Alfa Romeo. The only good thing about them is that the brand is young so warranty should cover all the issues.
Never had any engine issues with them. Completely reliable, even older ones, just care about engine oil, sparks and camshaft belt intervals and they are bullet proof. Older TwinSparks had their issues though. @@Theaverageazn247
I had a 1998 VW Passat with a 1,8 Litre petrol engine about 10 years ago and had no problems. Looking at this video, I am happy I had an older generation VW. I am gazing at Japanese cars at the moment.
I slid one of those exhaust cam lobes trying to show a friend and the ball nailed me square between the eyes. Was lucky enough to find the ball and detint
Because it will come up... I mentioned chain stretch several times. This is the common language that is used in the scan tool and repair manual. Technically that is wrong. Chains wear not stretch.
I was about to comment about that..
Great and informative video. Can't wait to see the rest of it. Probably some carbon in the oil pick up...
By the way, the proper term is schmoo, not residue and debris ;)
But,due to wear, it is stretched as you showed when you hang them side by side.How many miles are on the engine?
Hi I am thinking in buying a b8 2010 audi a4 with a 2.0 with 92k .owner claims that bought it with a bad timing tensioner then fix it up. new chains and tensioner, guides and new headgasket!?!. claims is running well should I stay away or go for it??. I haven't seen it in person yet. at the same time for around the same price of $6 there is 2009 a4 2.0 prestige with 101k that needs an engine ? which one you will recommend ? planning to do all the work myself. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge
Michelle John The material isn’t stretching, it’s becoming loose because it’s wearing away.
nathan55 Check if piston rings were changed. 2.0T TSI/TFSI until 2012.5 CCTA, CBFA, CCZA and others if I am not mistaken (Charles can correct) came with faulty piston rings which wear out under 60,000mi and cause very high oil consumption (~1qt/700 miles) and if left unattended it will cause other components failure if the engine starves from oil.
You'll end up treating the engine as a two-stroke, adding oil each time you fill the gas tank.
Just sold my 2010 GTI with 241k on the clock and replaced it with a new 2019 GTI. Reason being, I had $2200 worth of work done on it after the water pump finally failed. Ended up having the tensioner, water pump and camshaft seal all done before selling it. That said, the car always ran great and still continued to do so after I sold it. I've always followed all of the common failure points of this engine and was always curious to see one torn down. This was a super interesting video Charles, thanks for making it.
I had a 2010 thank God I got rid of it
I love buying cars from guys like you. They do all the nessary maintenance needed, then trade it in. Very nice! I remember owning a 69?Pontiac where the nylon teeth all sheared off and the timing jumped. I did all the work myself. Old school 101.
Miles or Kilometers???
I recently got a letter that the water pump has a warranty extension on my '09 GTI. Something to look out for.
You were very lucky if after all those miles you only had to do one pump and a tensioner. I had an R that was already on it's 3rd waterpump, new throttlebody and 4 new injectors by the time it had barely passed 80.000 miles.
Back in the day, we had auto shop in highschool. The teacher brought in a failed engine for us as a class to tear down together and learn on. The knowledge we gained from tearing down that engine made many of us weekend warriors of our own project cars. Many were given to us as a deal to get them going again as a first car. Sometimes, guys would combine resources and the fixed vehicle became shared property, those involved with helping get the car back on the road got turns at using said car on certain weekends for dates. When the draft took away one of the gang, he simply passed ownership rights to the remaining buddys. Life was simpler but not.
Same thing in my HS auto shop. That is when I learned the starter on a Cadillac Northstar is in the cylinder valley. For a couple of years they even had a WATER cooled alternator. I have never had to work on a Northstar yet, even I was I woudn't do it.
Very few kids care to learn how to work on cars these days. It's sad. I have been able to give away bad engines and transmissions, but only to people over 30 or 40.
damn i wish my high school was like that, i'm a senior in Europe in Gymnasium (it's like normal highschool but harder and without practical stuff, except chemistry) and i'm mostlikely going to mechanical university. i just can't wait for uni, so i can actually study something i'm interested and get some practical knowledge
Adodoes haha exact same for me
@@kollederboss1594 yea it's stupid. It does give a lot of general knowledge, but non of it is practical. Which is a shame as I, and many others, prefer some technical skills over philosophy or learning useless stuff about our language
I've found that the best thing about owning a 2011 Audi A3 with one of these engines is that it has made me allot more knowledgeable about the inner workings of cars. I've never been so in tune with every piece of preventative maintenance that has to be done on a vehicle, every possible thing that can go wrong and the signs leading up to those failures, and the cost and level of effort of fixing each one of those failure points. I've learned how engines work, how direct injection and fuel delivery work, what a water pump does, how an intake manifold works, and so much other valuable information!
Anyway, I think my next car will be Japanese.
lol !!!
man i genuienly am saying this from experience because i own a 2011 gti, this is the most relatable comment ive ever seen in my life. this was my first car, had around 80k miles when i bought it, i drove it up to 140,000 miles before there was catastrophic engine failure, since then, the amount of knowledge ive learned just from how engines work, has expanded my knowledge so much that its as if im one with my car, that being said, my next car will be a lexus. 😂
Ive literally replaced the turbo myself... on my q5 haha
First time watcher: You're a more palatable, less scream-y Scotty Kilmer.
I like you.
Thanks. Lol
He is so unbearable with his childish clickbait bullshit
Omg I couldn't agree with you more.. can not stand Kilmer. Thanks for the great video, been a huge help with all your video's!!
Scotty Shillmore
@necro maniac it is a bit silli to compare 2 excellent mechanics that have their own approach and personality ,they both have their appeal.
As someone on the tools for 30 years some of the advice here is very sound.
This guy is the real deal with these👌👌
Those engine are so problematic, cool teardown
Thanks brother. Will I see ya later this week?
@@HumbleMechanic Couldn't do Vision this year, :(, traveling to the UK in November with the wife for 2 weeks
oh man, I Thought you'd be there.
@@HumbleMechanic I would love to, but I will be up in NYC later this month at TST big event though
have a mate who is a mechanic, who took a 2010 a3 sport on that wasn't starting. even before he took a look at it, I said I know the problem. sent him the info that I had and lo and behold, tendon had failed. unlike this video where there wasn't too much damage, the engine was a complete right off. not only bent cables in 1 and 2 but damage to the piston and cylinder and had punched the spark plugs out.
VW isn't the only manufacturer that has had problems with guide tensioners. GM and their eco tec line have had 3 revised designs, and the static guide tends to break. They are FAR less complicated and easier to work on than this. This looks like a total f------ nightmare to do in the car.
Oh, it is.
Wait till you do a thermostat on one in situ😂
Just drop the engine out to do it.
yup - Gotta take the whole passenger side engine mount off and jack the engine up and down a few times to get to all of the tourqe bolts holding the lower timing cover on. Why they couldn't use normal 6 sided bolts? IDK but it is a pain in the ass, if they had used "normal" bolts the job actually would not be THAT bad. Also the balancer likes to be destroyed in the process of taking it off. Mine now has a slight wobble I gotta fix in the spring.
@@Soph27199 What's the issue with torx bolts? They are very common. They do it because torx bits wear less than regular ones and are more reliable on the production line.
Hey, I just wanted to stop in and say thank you for all of the quality videos, especially this one and the TSI timing chain video. I just got done replacing my cylinder head (myself, in my garage, woo go me!) and I couldn't have done it without your channel as a resource/guide for my work. Car is running smoothly as of tonight, I'm stoked to have the Wolfie Jetta back on the road again. Timing chain tensioner failed, jumped 8 teeth, bent all 8 intake valves. New cylinder head went in smooth, new timing chain and tensioner, and I'm back on the road. Love you channel, makes me miss my R32t something fierce though! You rock.
Did you re use the same cams?
Shout out to non-interference engines
An example is the 2.0 ABA it’s a non interference engine
I have a Audi 80 1.9TDI with 552k kilometers and still runs good.
1.9TDI is the gold standard of reliability in the VW family
@@BrianKariuki Yes i agree
I have a skoda with vw group 1.9 TDi PD 130, most reliable car I have ever owned.
Underpowered, not very fuel efficient (comparing to today's standards) but with proper maintenance these 1.9 are unbreakable.
yup i got a 1.9TDI PD130 and its nuke proof, rest of the car....meh not bad
You must have worked on Audi's and VW's for a very long time. Excellent video!!
Thanks. It’s been my life for the last 15 years.
@@HumbleMechanic im sorry to hear that ;) jk
@@HumbleMechanic since VW products are so crappy, you really have a lot of work to do, that means you keep the money flowing. Keep working on VW/Audi/Skoda products and soon you'll be a humble rich man too. Wish you health & strength!
This video reaffirms everything I have learned about the 2L engines. I know lots of people have had good experiences with the engine provided they have treated it well but the number of people that have serious issues (some of whom even took good care of their engine) seems to be greater than prior generation of multi-valve engines (16V, 20V and 24V) imagine if you put all of the potential maintenance nightmares worst case scenario into a single video for the 2L engine, nobody would ever buy one. They are heavenly when under 50k miles but then its rolling the dice is my opinion.
Thank you for a great video
Those engineers should hire your for some much needed advice. Glad to see this video gained a lot of traction.
the longer i watched the video the less i want anything to do with one of these engines.
kenabi mine just went to shit
@@evanschmidt8093 what year was it purchased / made? how many miles / km?
Yeh
Me too. And my daughters just bought one with bad chain 🙄😳sometimes i hate being the family 🔧 .
Why I got rid of my 2011 Tiguan after the warranty expired, and bought myself a Toyota lol
same thing went from 4-5 vw to toyota!!
Volkswagen after the 1.9tdi imortal engines went complete downhill in reliability
@Peder Hansen some series of 1.9TDI were shit too, like the BXE series would spin bearing because there is no lock.
@Peder Hansen also I seem to remember some PD150 engines eating their camshafts for some reason. The PD130 was a peach of an engine though that's for sure.
Peder Hansen mines still going and it shouldn’t be. Scrapping it thus weekend though, 751k km. Smashed the pan on the weekend, couldn’t afford a tow so I drove home 200 Kim’s with no oil and it still purs
You can clearly see the effect of Direct Injection.
Nice breakdown .. .please continue. . .the breakdown .. and add suggestions for improvement on the rebuild.
We will pull the bottom end down too. I want to show how to retime it, and do some other repairs first.
There is no way in hell you would want to rebuild this pile of crap. It will be good for another 30k miles (max!!!) before it will fail again. What's the point?
@@andrymashka1757 Anything can be rebuilt .. and improved including me and you ...
@@meeterhead462 Let me improve on that, you and I.
improvement? More like LS swap it for a honda or toyota engine. Too many things can go wrong on this
As a VW enthusiast and repairing as a hobby for the past ~13 years, this kind of video brings me at ease with the new motors. Yeah, it's more complex than the ABAs, ALHs, and 1.8Ts (god help me those) I have history with, but seeing it torn down like this helps me a lot in coming to grips with getting this kind of thing in a track car. Maybe even going as far to consider this for a swap into my Coupe versus the 1.8T that's planned. Speaking to your newer videos with the R as well. Can't thank you enough for content like this!
Theres a saying on the bmw forum. You need deep pockets to own an audi and even deeper pockets to drive one.
3.0 TDI 💪
To date one of the most involved engine rebuilds I've done. Absolutely horrible design throughout. Plastic junk components here there & everywhere just waiting to start leaking! One item in particular is the small coolant joining sleeve in the back of that rubbish water pump! Seriously who the hell designs these engines? As for that early chain tensioner? Unbelievable. Keep up the great work Charles love watching your informative videos you put together.
All the best from the UK.
Leaking plastic junk parts on a VW engine? Shocking (sarcasm). After working for a shop specializing in VW/Audi I would tell people is VW could figure out how to make the block and head etc out of plastic they would do so. I would never buy one again, they’ve just consistently gotten worse since the mk2 and don’t learn from their mistakes (1.8t timing tensioner failures new engine timing tensioner failures, 1.8t water pump issues new engine water pump issues etc etc), while everyone else has gotten better or at least tries not to remake the same mistakes over again.
Hans Frank I went from MB to VW/Audi to Acura and then GM. VW is already at US quality standards (or slightly worse). Sure you can buy the cheap shit on eBay or you can buy smart (Japanese) and then not have to constantly replace cheap parts every other month (especially once it ages) and only have to spend money on oil, gas and tires. As a tech you get to see the differences first hand.
Don't worry. I also broke one on my first rebuild. Had to wait 2 weeks for a plastic the size of my finger to ship
Agreed. I have rebuilt a bunch of different engines over the years and this was the worst experience I ever had. It is just depressing to work on these cars: access is difficult, so many weak points, oils leaks....and certain failure some time down the road. Bah.
@@crescentandstarglory Wow what a dick. Tf is wrong with you? And engines are not "made of plastic", that's utter nonsense.
After watching this video I feels like my 1.8t A4 is like a easiest Audi to work on 😌
And back in it's day when it came out the 1.8t 20V was considered complicated compared to other engines VW group had :D
I thought the exact same thing after watching this. That engine is a debacle. There is no way I'm ever going newer in the VAG engine lineup than my 1.8T 20V.
I now declare you Piston and Valve. You may kiss the bride
Bribe, VW bribe; none for me ,thanks...
BadAssEngineering I OBJECT! DO NOT KISS THE BRIDE!
@@djmystery7235 The objection was before the declaration, in the form of changing the timing kit lol
a bribe? is that what bosch gave vw to clear their name?
Oh they’ve already kissed
Really appreciate you taking the time to make this video, after watching and doing a little more AllData scrounging I made it run like new!
I think the external look of that engine was indicative of how well the owner had maintained the engine. I don't get it how people can spend so much money on a machine as expensive as a modern car and then cheap out on simple maintenance. Thanks Charles for the high-quality interesting and informative videos. I wish I had had something like videos like this to learn from when I was young and learning about cars. What I would do is go to the reference section of the public library, read the sections on whatever part of the engine I was working on and then go back to the engine I was working on. Actually, the most important thing I learned was to develop a good sense of intuition and hands that had a good sense of feel.
Its ignorance. I had a friend who thought it was a money spinner and a con, he didn’t bother to service his car. His engine failed at 50k miles and he had to learn the hard way. He was throughly confused. Went as far as to blame the garage, because he took it in with weird engine noises and they told him that it was gone, was suspicious they sabotaged it and were lying to him so they could get extra work. He took it elsewhere, that mechanic said the same. After forking out for a new engine, he became obsessive about maintenance. Was checking his dipstick all the time, became annoying to go with him anywhere. Hs isn’t a stupid person either, a project manager at a large tech firm, has a degree from a reputable university.
I don’t know why I started thinking about electric cars just by seeing how complex this engine is.
A lower likelyhood of making a design flaw?
all engines have their complications,even steam.
This is a Soap Opera for men. The suspense.
Hahah. It’s true
🤣🤣🤣👍🏻
That was a well made video! Great engine teardown.
MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED!!! I wanted insight into these damn 2.0 TSI engines since forums mention audi q5's engine failure. THANK YOU!
Flashlight trick to find gaps = awesome. Also works great when inspecting floorpans for pinholes.
At least the timing chain looks way stronger than on my BMW 118i N46B20 engine. But i got mine tested and changed my tensioner years ago, so it should be fine until 150000km.
Right now it's 12 years old and has run about 97000 km.
Man I wish you had a video like this for the N20 BMW engine with notorious timing chain failures.
Don't expect german cars to be "the best" or "better than the others" anymore. They build the same shit like other manufacturers for double the price. Happy Abarth driver here, greetings from Germany.
Because Fit It Again Tomorrow is any better lol
FixItAgainTony, still rather have a FIAT than newer Audi longterm.
Fiat 1.9 jtd best diesel engine in the history along with hondas 2.2
MattyBoy Nope VW TDI is the best diesel ever produced. Fiat is straight garbage.
I'm also a member of the "chain gang" . 2011 GTI , at 67,000 miles. Thankfully I had no piston damage, and was able to source a 10,000 Mile head from a CC, for cheap. Car was back for another 20,000 miles, and traded in for a 2016 Golf R.
This video is very well balanced with information and time! Quick, good,very informative and no unnecessary "noise"information. Really liked it!
Thanks so much!!!
I was a GM tech for 20 years, I miss it, And being young!
I feel like these engineers need a lesson in Japanese effective simplicity. Wow, what an engine!
Agreed!
@Thomas Hood I feel you. Only VW I actually have personal experience with is a '94 Golf I bought my nephew for $600 with like 310,000 miles or something insane. That car was a little tank. He neglected the hell out of it and it just kept going. They really had it well sorted back then.
Started to go awry for a while in the late 90s it seems. Sorta picked back up, but over time they just got so complicated.
Subaru is my personal fav brand and you look at them. Hell, lots has changed since the early 90s when they really started to homologate everything, but at the same time the design and engineering ethos has gone largely unchanged.
They are a great example of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They do still improve over time, but they don't overcomplicate for the sake of being fancy or paying more engineers.
Oh maybe you can teach them how to engineer like that? 😂😂
Buy a Subaru & get back to us - LOL
Menachem Goldfarb what did they reengineer ? Think the engine is all bmw and they wanted that
What a complicated mess! Looks like a nightmare to work on. Makes me appreciate simple designs even more
Wouldn't that make these engines the perfect base for a custom made engine since you're going to replace anything you don't like on it anyway?
Charles, very very good Video.
Yesterday I met a college with a Golf MK4.
He is no mechanic, a navigator working at the latest navy-ship.
But he did an engineswap by himself....very great respect from my side!
This 1.8T engine has been run 220.000 km when he swopped it and it's still runnning.
My self had an Audi TT Quattro in nimbusgrau for 15 years.....at the end the speedometer showed 85.000km on it an I sold it because of an new Dodge R/T.
Never though, that the 1.8T survive that long time...wow.
For wintertime, I drive my 2.4 VR5 20V MK 4 and I am very pleased with it.....it's at 80.000km now...runniung good and sounds great.
But what about these TFSI-Engines....timing-chains wear and tear at what of mileage ?
V/r
Andreas
Hmm, 80,00 trouble free kms....My 4runner has 383,000 trouble free kms!
Bought a mk6 GTI about 6 months ago. Really enjoying learning about these engines, found you via EE. Coming from a SBC background, these things are so novel and clever I really like it.
Reliability is not exactly the strong side of this complicated engine
Seems incredibly over complicated, even being a massive VW fan this puts me right off ever owning one.
Is there a reliable VW engine at the moment?
@@kd23se4 Good question, I am not sure. The engines are as stated amazing when they are working, but can you imagine doing a timing service on that thing, especially as a home mechanic.
@@calvinhutton57 It´s miserable.....in Europe we have 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, now 1.5, 1.8 and 2.0......the smaller ones are even worse......all have problems with chains. The Turbodiesels had for years problems with turbos but are more reliable the the petrol engines.
And lets not start with the DSG transmissions........
@@kd23se4 DQ200 😖
I really enjoyed watching this, seeing how complicated these engines look, I suddenly have a greater appreciation for my '89 Eunos engine.
Thank you!
When I see the design details on this engine it makes me even more hesitant to get an Audi, VW or other brand in that family of vehicles.
Yes they are crap, BMWs of the same period are worse.
had a 2007 golf 6 with the 1.4tsi 122hp, got a dephaser lock up at 37000 km that caused piston & valves kissing. 5k€ repairs VW took at their expense (but after the fact they still tried to get me to pay, but did not happen since I did not sign any repair order)
Now I have an 2016 Audi S3 300hp, blew the connecting rod bearing at 56000 km. Oil was full of metalic particles (maybe they also dicovered more, not sure), so they swapped the entire engine including turbo. Luckily Audi took the engine at their expense and the leasing took the manual labour at theirs, so I did not see the bill but apparently it ended up 20 to 30k€ in total.
Both cars where under the extend oil service plan.
Not sure I want to stick with Audi after that... certainly not without a leasing plan!
i hate these cars
@@MaX271 they took care of you, didn't they?
@@marioncobaretti2280 why?
Good video, clear and descriptive, I had a Q5 2.0 T engine started using oil at 150 000 Km. Audi had to rebuild it changing pistons and con rods. Got rid of it afterward. But after watching this video I certainly understand that engine a whole lot better now. Thanks👍
Ppl always underestimate themselves when they see this kind of engines.. they actually easier when you have your hands on them they just look complicated on videos.. but when you have the engine in front of you any mechanic that knows what they're doing will just get it done ...... I've been a street mechanic for 15 years and I actually find this lots of fun... I just bought mk7 with this engine and after warranty is over I'm getting my hands busy with this engine...
i got that failure on the 1.4 TSI engine at 60000km.
But i had luck the valves are good.
SO i have to change "only" the Chain and the Pulleys also the chain adjuster and the water pump.
700€ for the material!
thx VW
Talk about lucky! We didn't get the 1.4 chain engine here in the US. The 1.8t EA888 has a few timing chain issues too.
Holy F.... and I got annoyed when i had to replace the chain on my 125cc Honda Wave 125 at 63.000km.
That's a tiny motorcycle where the engine spends most of its time at 80%+ throttle.
So, everything that could fail, did fail. Not good enough for an expensive vehicle.
Devil's advocate here : did the owner maintain the engine with vigilance?
@ISSA VIBEZ I had a '00 Audi TT with a 1.8T. It was running great at 260k miles when someone rear-ended it last spring. I've since replaced it with an '87 Porsche 924, which I am going through right now.
@ISSA VIBEZ Just don't buy these TSI engines
Covert Person don’t buy tsi engines not maintained. My buddy had a 2010 jetta Wolfsburg 2.0 tsi got it with 230,000 from his dads friend drives like a maniac always in sport mode banging it off 7,000 he’s put 20,000 on it still runs like a top
@@whydoihave6neutrals772 i will believe you but how much oil drink this engine now??? I'm pretty sure a lot also i am pretty sure he changed a lot of stuff to be on the road until now.
what was so wrong with a keyway in the crank pulley. also plastic water pump?
I owned several Audi, BMW and VW when I was younger. Learned my lesson at a very young age. These cars are good when brand new and then........run away from them!
Really appreciate HM's video and his others....he does such a great job explaining things and is quite clear. Definitely can see the effort in the editing. Great for learning for sure!
More chains than Mr T.!
Jonny Gg 😂😂
You should get a look at the back of an Audi V8. It's the stuff of nightmares!
👍🏻😆
Hi guys! First of all sorry for my English, I am not a native speaker). In my origin country, I was working with Audi-VW engines a lot (not only repairs but more in tuning for more power)-starts from 2.2t r5 and ended up with ea888 in 2016. Now i am a carlot mechanic in Florida, and usually, i have around 2 cars every month with this ea888 with no compression because of jumping timing chain. First of all, in this video new timing chain is the very old revision one-do not use this one, because its most likely China fake. Even if not-the new revision chain is way more reliable. Second thing-always check camshafts after timing chain failure. The problem is, in this engines (it starts from ea113) camshafts are consist of hollow pipe and lobes are pressed on it. If the timing chain jumps on high rpms, lobes can be twisted around, and you can not reuse this camshaft. It happens a few times with me. For everybody who doesn't understand- ea888 is the excellent engines. At auctions, i regularly see these engines with 140, 160, 190 kmiles. This engine has extremely strong internals, it can hold 350+ hp and 500nm in a stock form (and more if you understand what to do). With one click, you can have around 270-280 hp out of this engine and beat all that v6-v8 around left and right, and still you have 28 hwy mpg. Just a few rules-when it hit 70k miles change tensioner and chain for the latest revision, use only good synthetic oil and premium gas from good gas stations-and you good to go other 100k miles at least. And please do not believe in these myths about extremely reliable modern Japanese/Korean cars. I am checking around 100 cars every week, and i see a lot of broken engines and transmissions in 2010-2012 Hondas and Toyotas with around 100k miles on it. Korean crap is usually broken at 90k miles. And trust me-ea888 st1-st2 +dsg driving just amazing, after that when you driving some asian crap you feel like from the jet fighter you jump on a wheelbarrow and driving it from the slope))
Thank God!!!!!!!! At last somebody who knows what he's talking about !!!! Welcome and thank you very much !!!
@@DoNaSbaR Thank you) I am working now with my 2006 gli-i hope soon i will make an account on vwvortex and write something)
What Hondas and Toyotas you saw with failure? You give good advice on VW EA888 maintenance but what about the carbon build-up? One day I want a VW again with a built VR6 motor. Now I drive '17 Civic.
Every Dodge guy is hollering "it's got a hemi!" when the head is turned over
I miss the days of my Austin Mini 850. All you needed was a socket set and a few screwdrivers. Now I have a '98 Passat to work on and the entire front end has to move forward 6" on 'special' rails just to get access to change the timing belt. Getting the access to anywhere in the engine bay is now the biggest challenge. And having a garage four times the car's footprint for work space and somewhere to put all the tools.
I bought an 09 Passat with 15 miles on it May 2009. Loved the hell out of that car when it worked, of course. Owned it only seven years, only for it to be scrapped and parted out at the local junkyard because it was beyond repair after I paid off the car. Steering wheel lock failed twice, tires wore every 20k miles (oddly), water pump went out after a year and had to be replaced twice thereafter (second and third time under warranty), PCV valve failed and drained the battery while out holiday shopping one time, electronic parking brake malfunctioned and left me having to get it towed to the dealer, heated seats were stuck to "ON" for a month in the passenger side, paint was peeling at the interface between the roof and windshield, and finally the timing chain tensioner failed, along with there being rear main seal leak. That repair was quoted to be $7k, according to the dealer. At that point, I felt enough was enough. The car had just 110,000 miles on the ODO and was serviced through two VW dealers. I bought a 17 Accord EX-L afterwards, and after letting the Passat sit in the driveway inoperable for a year, I decided to sell it to a junkyard so it could be parted out and scrapped. I would've felt horribly to have sold it to anyone, giving them the same headache I had all those years with the Passat. I really loved the Volkswagen cars from the 2000s for their Audi-esque flair, but the cost of ownership SUCKED!!! P.S., the Accord isn't as premium as my Passat, but so far ownership has been great!
So you where giving this engine to play with? Great video, I liked seeing the chains and the tear down so far. Great info.
Yeah my buddies at Apex Tuning let me have it. Which is pretty rad
First thing I did on my scirocco was the timing chin tensioner
When you find yourself using unique terms like "Camshaft Bridge" or "Timing Chain Circuit" to describe overly complex solutions, you know your in trouble.
Your'e very good in explaining the problems with these engines and how to deal with them.
Chain and tensioner wear issues are also kown with VW other TSI engines, the 1.2, 1.4 and 1.8 engines.
It makes itself known in the form of a rattling noise after starting, especially when starting a warm engine, the noise should disappear within a few seconds, when oil pressure operates the tensioner correctly.
When there is wear in any of these parts it takes longer for the rattling noise to disappear, and a visit to the workshop is due to get the tensioner, guides and chain checked.
As my engine shows some wear in these parts (rattling noise for 10 seconds after a warm start) I have them checked regularly with my services to check if they are still within specifications.
Also a warning about the balance shaft chain in these engines, a works colleague had his one broken due to excessive wear and caused the engine to seize.
He had to pull the bottom end apart, had a new chain sprocket to be fitted onto the crankshaft (specialist work) and assemble everything back together.
He had luck that no damage was done to the other moving parts, and could do most of the work himself as a car mechanic, but the message here is to keep an eye to all these chains, any of these breaking can cause fatal damage to the engine.
These engines clearly do not the Volkswagen quality anymore they were known for with their older engine designs, porbably this is the reason why there are new engine models launched now, their 1.2 liter and 1.4 liter engines are now replaced with new 1.0 liter and 1.5 liter designs, it still has to show if those new engines are any better.
I have same noise with 2015 czjc vw polo engine. It started after oil changing. It plays during 5 seconds and stops when the engine stabilize at the correct rpm. When engine is heated and i turn off it, and then when i crank it again, engine runs nearly 650 rpm's and the noise starts for 10-20 seconds. I've thinked when they changing oil filter, they lose a small ball in the filter's facing surface but vw doesn't have this small ball (I've saw this ball in nissan GA engines. When you lose it about heating the engine, same noise starts with same situations.). So i think that tensioner is my problem.
@@MokokoMokoko That's what I think as well, the tensioner which starts to wear out and doesn't build oil pressure inside quickly enough.
It's one of the known problems beside the chains wearing quickly and stretching out.
One of the symptom remedies VW did was fittng a slightly different upper timing chain cover, which has a notch on the inside not allowing the chain to jump over the teeth of the timing gears.
By the time this happens there will be a real nasty ratling present right after starting from the chain touching that cover.
@@Tom-Lahaye I just opened the cover and what is that? There is no chain. Vw used belt in newer series. But what is the terrible noise when i starting it? I will explore it whatever. I know nothing about VAG, i adopted to use ford's and nissan's so that things are very strange to me. Anyway thank you for helping and replying me :)
@@MokokoMokoko In that case it can't be the timing gear which makes the noise, it could be the hydraulic valve pushers, as they also need a build up of oil pressure before taking the slack up, in case they are worn it can take longer for sufficient oil pressure to build up and the valve train can make a ratling noise during this time.
Another way to check timing is to check the camshafts timing marks with a micrometer spec between the 2 I believe is 124-126 each tooth is equal to 6 mm just saying Audi/VW tech here👋🏽 There is a extension on the chain and tensioner as well now.
Love your work bro 👍🏽
i loved working on the 1.8 audi tt engine. so simple compared to that thing
5 valves😍
A punishment for a sin. The sin being deferred maintenance.
That engine was under-revving all his life...
Yeah I’m sure she didn’t see WOT much
Alot of people dont realise its good for the engine if you rev it out every so often. Them intake valves were shocking.
all these modern turbo engines are designed to provide peak torque at low rpm. the downside is precisely what you just said - people don't rev them out
I had a 2013 TT with the TFSi engine. After 2 months old it had a complete oil tensioner kit change
Brilliant! Thanks. About to tear into mine in the same situation. Gifted from a neighbor 2008 Passat. I can already see through the oil fill that the cam in there isn't turning when I turn it over. Sounds like I'll need to follow t he same route to see whether it's fixable or it's getting a rehab motor
VW/Audi engines always seem needlessly complex...
with many things that can fail, that really shouldn't, that can cause major engine damage (like that SCREEN)
There was a time when German engines were well designed, engineered and bulletproof. Not so now :-( .
back in the 1960s
@@juanrodriguez-ry6yt even in the early 1980's some of the pre-electronic Mercedes diesels in the big saloons could easily do 300,000 + miles with no bother at all. Made them very popular as taxis .
Around 1987 was the last good year for Mercedes Benz. I don't care if the new ones have more horsepower and air conditioned foot massagers. The old Benz's were built to be maintained, adjusted and repaired for a lifetime.
Yeah, mercedes w123 andthe om 606 , om617 was the foundation of German engineering, never vw.
I love my 2.5 in my Rabbit. Tgise are bullet proof. The auto trans behind it.... not so much. :-/
What is it with VW and their screens failing? This has been an ongoing issue for years. Why don't they change the design, or get rid of them altogether?
I don't have hardly any experience with any euro cars, but from the research I've been doing lately for my freinds new(to him) audi I'M IMPRESSED at how easily repairable and maintenenced they are. ...where have I been, under a rock? They even have Honda beat in that department. I never really wanted to work on just one line of vehicle, so as to keep my skillset as wide as possible for increased side work potential $$$$$....but if I ever decide to go the dealer route career wise. ..I might look into vw/audi....seriously.....I'm loving these things so far. ...and it doesn't seem like you need a very big variety of tools either. ...currently. ..working on a littler bit of everything the tool situation is kinda ridiculous. ...I'd be able to buy a big house before I ever had EVERYTHING I could ever need. ...those vw/audis use alot of specialty oddball tools though it seems like huh
Woah Charles, totally enjoyed this one. It also gives me peace of mind that doing the timing on my Tiguan is not that hard
This is why I change my oil every 2500miles.
To stop the chain tensioner from becoming worn down mechanically?
A bit overkill. If you use liqui moly or similar, you can get 7k out of your oil.
@@LynxStarAuto No, you can't. No matter how good the oil is, it will still pick up contaminants and circulate them through the engine. The only way to get rid of them is with an oil change.
An aftermarket tensioner well designed should fix this poor engineered piece of metal not an oil change.
Awesome video man! Thank you for sharing!! =) It's really cool to see this engine apart like this!
Is there a part of this engine that doesn't fail? I've also heard of balance shafts seizing in really cold climates. Not to mention turbo bushings, high pressure fuel pumps (more common on bpy) coil packs, injectors, intake manfolds, wire harness for throttle body, ffs vw.
Yep those are all common too. I’d say that HPFP is as common as BPY. HAHAH 🤦♂️
@@HumbleMechanic Mine hpfp went out at 80k at least the follower was ok, should recheck it soon though with 125k on the clock
great video, didn't realize how complicated things have gotten since the 90's, this teardown almost make me regret buying my 15 a3tq
So glad I just went ahead and replaced my chains guides and tensioner (with the new revised part!) when I hit 100,000 km. Never will know for sure if it would have failed but its nice to have the piece of mind that my engine has it's most common MAJOR failure sorta covered. Im sure there are still tons of things that could go wrong, but at least that's one big one off the list!!
Im shocked how much build up there is on the piston heads and valves. I know DI engines can be dirty but wow!
This one is awful.
@@HumbleMechanic Love the videos. At the current state of this engine, do you think lower octane fuel played a part in the build up on the pistons and valves? I own a 2017 GLI and religiously put 91 or higher in my tank. Will this make a difference when my car gets upwards of 100,000 miles?
Poor maintenance, and slow stop start driving will do that
When I go to sleep tonight, I won't remember a thing I just saw. Other than, chains, gears, steampunk.
Hahaha
jesus. what a single 2 mm piece can do to a whole engine. What a mess, lmao!
I hear the 1.4 tsi went back to a dry belt design instead of wet timing on the last gen. I warned the masses about chains not being lifetime service. They don't understand the complexity and problems with the tensioners and guides. I think my leased Jetta has one. But short lease; What, me worry? Now I might worry about the spouse's newish Impreza wagon That thing has too much cold start racket up front and that's a chain timing motor with the FB20. Regardless of my problems-to-be, I'd would like to say great video and nice professional quality work to boot. Thank you - Sandy
Yeah it’s too bad these didn’t hold up better. Timing belt service is always cheaper than bent valves
I'm in the middle of building a CAEB that lost compression, so it's cool to see this video. The one I'm doing was previously repaired by Audi for the same problem, I decided to tear it all the down, hot tank it and machine hone.
Nice!!!
Work on VW and throw away most of your tools, because everyone seems to be a specialist tool just for the job!!!
Designed to last 100k miles then be uneconomic to repair. Single use covers give it away.
True😂😂
Not sure older engines were built that way, I have rebuilt engines from as long ago as the 40's but a modern VW small engine can not have the crank removed without distorting the crank cases making a rebuild impossible.
I'm not exactly sure. VW state that once the crank bearing blocks are loosened the block will distort and can not be re set. I read on a forum that the factory builds them and trues them and then uses a heat treatment but that is really only hearsay. The odd thing is that OE parts suppliers will sell you bearings etc. but VW will not supply new bolts.
If only, VW state that the crank bearing caps should not be loosened as they can not be re trued.
I like to call the failures "expensive noises" 😂
Charles, Great explanation of details and pitfalls of this TSI engine. I am buying me a Humble Mechanic Gear, T-shirt. Thanks my friend! Keep up the good work.
Very helpful video. I have a MKV with the tsi (2009) and the tensioner failed. There are some minor differences with the lovely turbo facing the opposite way from the newer gen TSI engines. Carbon buildup was INSANE, and it had a walnut blast 20K ago.
How many km the original tensioner hold?
Those engine are so problematic..Best Regards from Germany.
@MB Saghiri, I'll keep my 1992 MB W124 230E. 100kW is more than enough once one gets going, and those engines are bulletproof. These VW/Audi engines remind me of my time at Jaguar - head gasket, engine and gearbox failures were a daily issue, repair were a temporary measure due to poor engineering.
@@Visionery1
The W124 is a top car with a super engine.
The timing chain is a double chain.
All new cars are not good one is in the workshop longer than driving ... The new ones have a lot of horsepower
the machine has to work so fast, the material is cheap ... BMW 5 Series is built in China
VW in East Block ... disaster.
I have a BMW E36 320i that drives and drives and drives
my son has E46 320i he has to fix something every month ... My colleague E60 320i has very bad.
I had a Passat 2.0 TDI the oil pump, turbo and other components have broken at one time, the repair has cost 6000€ ¬ ... Why?
A hexagonal pin for the oil pump has become round
and that broke the engine. the hexagon component costs 15 € ... VW has saved and the VW owners have to pay.
We've become like cows ... Milks us every day.
The car industry now wants to build cars that only live 5 years ... That's what I heard on TV.
Sorry for my English
@MB Saghiri, your English is fine, it's better than my Swahili. :) Yes, the new cars will be throwaway cars. It seems such a waste of resources though, in the old days Mercedes-Benz built one model for 10-11 years before changing, now they change so often that parts have to come from Germany, there are just too many for the dealer to carry the cost of stocking everything.
endless money pit..
Rev up your timing chain failures!
My VW had PCV failure & still leaks oil, AC also died, & the dash... Great when it runs though.
I did buy it used with high milage & previous owner was probably an idiot so...
It loves to rev & I drive it very hard always, but maintain it so it's fine now.
only money pits if you play 'parts-darts'. Knowledge of valid diagnostic methods, part number schemas for VAG group and have a good alternative OEM parts, its really not bad. For example, complete brake job on Golf including new discs, pads, fluids etc $180. Not too bad. VAG are and have always been highly intolerant to maintenance lag. Even my old Kombis did not appreciate late oil changes. Keep up the oil changes and most of the engines are fine.
Thanks for the great video! Do you know how many miles the engine has done?
I don't know. It came from a local shop that are buddies of mine.
I still would call it a chain stretch! But well explained with excellent advice and all the obvious faults pointed out and the remedy. Mercifully, little
I just bought an A5 with that engine. The engine is in 6 different boxes. Millions of parts. Good luck to me to build it again. :)
If you are having problems like that in this engine, just do a Honda engine swap and it would made that Audi or VW to a reliable vehicle.
Thanks for sharing sir
Id love to see a comparison with the 1600cc twin cam Toyota engine, which we had, just ran like a sewing machine till written off.....
This was super helpful. I recently had a low oil pressure light during cooldown on the track on my vw GTI mk6 ccta 2.0t tsi. I replaced the camshaft bridge as recommended by a couple people in the community suggested from experience. Seeing you explain that the screen failure causes engine oil starvation was very reassuring that replacing this part was the solution to my problem. Thanks for sharing dude!
🙏🙏🙏
Having worked for Audi we used change the pistons on these engines when there was valve to piston contact, The trauma the piston receives when hit by multiple valves can cause, 1, hairline crack in a piston that cannot be seen , 2, broken piston rings. and 3, the main reason we did it was because the trauma travelled down the piston onto the conrod travelling down to the big end bearings causing a slight crush on the bearing. Failure of these bearings usually occurs within a year in the form of a lower end knocking noise and eventually conrod failure. Im not saying it happens to every one of these engines but it does happen, knowing what happens to these engines and the cost to repair them we now fit a brand new engine to these cars because it cost less than to repair them, dont get me wrong, we used to repair them but we had 3 returning vehicles in a period of 18 months, all up to date service records that had knocking engines and the 3 of them had undertaken work due to timing chain failure.
Maybe I missed it but what was the mileage on this engine when it failed?
I would say 80 to 119 k bad matanance less than 60 worked on many sad sad sad
I’ll join in with rest about how poorly designed this and most other VW/Audi engines are. They have numerous problems at much lower mileages than comparable Japanese, Korean or even US designed engines. Superior German Engineering is a myth. Also the carbon build up, yet another chronic problem with the motors, was clearly shown. But good video showing multiple reasons why to never own a German car out of warranty. I also have to laugh at what many German car owners and technicians consider “maintenance” such as timing chain tensioners, water pumps, seals, etc. are considered “repairs” by the rest of us as non-German cars don’t typically need any of those things until well past 100,000 miles.
Fun fact is, that in Europe Italian cars are seen as unreliable, whereas latest Fiat ( Alfa Romeo, Jeep.. ) engines are the best you can get if you don't want a Japanese or Korean car. @ss
Emissions standards and turbocharging you can thank for all that oily soot. If there was no EGR and PCV was vented to the exhaust, there wouldn't be such problems. Turbo engines (well, any forced induction) need to run really really rich under loaded boost to prevent meltdown. Also, engines purposely run rich, as to send unburned fuel into the exhaust just to make the catalytic converter work. I don't think these pencil-pushing environmentalists realize how wasteful it is to have cars be 5-10 year throwaway items versus just letting a little bit of uncouth stuff come from an exhaust. Recycling is horribly inefficient. I see no problems with forcing emissions in places like CA, where smog is an issue. On a global scale, having these cars be throwaway items because emissions equipment just kills them, is more wasteful and pollutes more. All they look at these days is "carbon."
Emissions standards and turbocharging you can thank for all that oily soot. If there was no EGR and PCV was vented to the exhaust, there wouldn't be such problems. Turbo engines (well, any forced induction) need to run really really rich under loaded boost to prevent meltdown. Also, engines purposely run rich, as to send unburned fuel into the exhaust just to make the catalytic converter work. I don't think these pencil-pushing environmentalists realize how wasteful it is to have cars be 5-10 year throwaway items versus just letting a little bit of uncouth stuff come from an exhaust. Recycling is horribly inefficient. I see no problems with forcing emissions in places like CA, where smog is an issue. On a global scale, having these cars be throwaway items because emissions equipment just kills them, is more wasteful and pollutes more. All they look at these days is "carbon."
@@mattbite LOL NO. Fiat is a pos. So many issues have popped up with Alfa Romeo. The only good thing about them is that the brand is young so warranty should cover all the issues.
Never had any engine issues with them. Completely reliable, even older ones, just care about engine oil, sparks and camshaft belt intervals and they are bullet proof. Older TwinSparks had their issues though.
@@Theaverageazn247
What is common problems on 1.6 tdi (77kw) vw engine?
I had a 1998 VW Passat with a 1,8 Litre petrol engine about 10 years ago and had no problems. Looking at this video, I am happy I had an older generation VW. I am gazing at Japanese cars at the moment.
I slid one of those exhaust cam lobes trying to show a friend and the ball nailed me square between the eyes. Was lucky enough to find the ball and detint