My 52 plate 1.4 Tdi has a knackered engine. It fails to start and stalls once it has started. Mechanic says the sparks are knackered and can not be got at to replace them. Is it worth fitting a new engine & how would I go about finding a suitable engine ? Don’t want to scrap my car as I love it but it can’t sit around on the drive forever. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Help / advice
- Thread starter Coley1874
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. Wow. Thanks. Really appreciate your reply. He said they’re not firing and the engine is a sealed unit and couldn’t be replaced ! He’s serviced the car for years which is a worry ! Thanks again. I really do appreciate it.
depronman
A2OC Donor
if it is only in very cold weather that this happens he may be referring to 'glow plugs', these work in the first few seconds of the engine starting from cold and carry on working for up to 60 seconds after the engines are started. There purpose is to help the cold engine fire the diesel charge. They are changeable if any or all of them are none working
A VAGCOM scan would help greatly to diagnose what is actually wrong, maybe a member local to you could scan your A2
A VAGCOM scan would help greatly to diagnose what is actually wrong, maybe a member local to you could scan your A2
The mechanic may have meant the glow plugs which assist cold starting but these are fairly easy to replace.
I'd also recommend you find a better mechanic as it is very unlikely you need another engine - just someone who can do a bit of methodical troubleshooting.
Cheers Spike
I'd also recommend you find a better mechanic as it is very unlikely you need another engine - just someone who can do a bit of methodical troubleshooting.
Cheers Spike
Brilliant. Thanks. I’ll look into that. I’ve taken such good care of it & had it 10 years. It’s immaculate with the exception of the fact that it won’t start !
Thanks Spike. Really appreciate your reply. Honestly wish I’d looked for this site months ago. Might be running the car now instead of it sitting on the drive !
A2 Louis
Banned
Yes definitely don’t need new engine the tdi is the most reliable engine in the a2’s I’d say and I’d advise getting a different mechanic hope you get the car back up and running
Cheers
Echoing earlier advice, action to take:
1. If the mechanic really said 'can not be got at to replace' sack the mechanic and take the serious action of crossing him off your Xmas card list (being doing these all afternoon
)
2. Get a VCDS scan and post it on here. I think there are a few local members local to you.
3. Know nothing about diesels but can I assume they have the notorious engine earth that needs checking?
4. Empty brain of any idea notion of a new engine. What is the mileage?
Andy
1. If the mechanic really said 'can not be got at to replace' sack the mechanic and take the serious action of crossing him off your Xmas card list (being doing these all afternoon
)2. Get a VCDS scan and post it on here. I think there are a few local members local to you.
3. Know nothing about diesels but can I assume they have the notorious engine earth that needs checking?
4. Empty brain of any idea notion of a new engine. What is the mileage?
Andy
Hi Andy. Thanks very much for your reply. I’m currently looking for another mechanic. Hopefully someone who knows what they’re talking about. All the replies I’ve had on here have been really helpful. Cars got 90k miles on it & I’d love to get her up & running again.Echoing earlier advice, action to take:
1. If the mechanic really said 'can not be got at to replace' sack the mechanic and take the serious action of crossing him off your Xmas card list (being doing these all afternoon
2. Get a VCDS scan and post it on here. I think there are a few local members local to you.
3. Know nothing about diesels but can I assume they have the notorious engine earth that needs checking?
4. Empty brain of any idea notion of a new engine. What is the mileage?
Andy
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
90K is a baby, at least a further 50K before I would expect problems. Sealed unit talk is a complete nonsense so I would be suspicious of anything that has gone before.
Step one, pull out the dipstick and check the oil is good, if not replace it, charge the battery and turn the key. Let us know what happens and advice will come from there.
Step one, pull out the dipstick and check the oil is good, if not replace it, charge the battery and turn the key. Let us know what happens and advice will come from there.
audifan
A2OC Donor
Another thing to try when it is cold is turn the ignition key on but do not start, wait for glow light to go out turn off and repeat twice more, if it fires into life and sounds lumpy then smoothes out at least one glow plug is not working. Cheap to change the glow plugs but can be very tight to remove with a danger of shearing them off so go easy and use penetrating oil. Make sure you get OEM glow plugs of the correct length and voltage as the wrong ones will cause damage. If the engine runs normally when warm and starts ok when outside temperature is "mild" then glow plugs are culprit. I would change the fuel filter be careful with the drain plug ( later types ) as they are only meant to be finger tight, better still get a far better replacement drain plug from Paul ( @depronman ) as your "mechanic" may not have replaced the filter. As for mileage covered to echo @philward your car is not even run in yet!!! Worth checking what else has been skipped such as cam belt ,water pump, coolant, brake fluid and filters.
Having your car scanned is always a good idea as programs like vcds will show up problems before you can notice them and also help diagnose any faults found.
Having your car scanned is always a good idea as programs like vcds will show up problems before you can notice them and also help diagnose any faults found.