The End?

Quick update from Rob & Marcus at WOM tonight. Tank was delivered to them this afternoon and after a brief inspection by Marcus, it seems that turbo failure is confirmed and there's a lack of compression on cylinder 1, possibly from oil lock, or from swarf.

So, a new turbo, probable charge cooler and head work will be needed, but they'll advise further next week when they've dug deeper into the issue. Time to start saving!!
 
Hi Mike,

Tank is in good hands, Rob and Marcus just rebuilt the front suspension on my 1.4 petrol.
Last year they sorted out a botched gear linkage for me after my local independent butchered it and claimed it was "Spot on".
Ace guys! I wouldn't go anywhere else now.

Good luck,
Mike
 
Update from WOM tonight and it's not good. It seems that the entire turbo has been ingested into mainly cylinder 1 and has ruined the head there and the valves, plus scored the bores and taken out the piston. There's minor debris damage to cylinder 2 and Rob is of the opinion that the head is non-salvageable as there's severe pitting and it's also likely that the bores and block are scrap too.

It's looking like I'm going down the donor engine route - I've got a couple of sources of ATL engines and talking to Rob, we'd recondition the turbo from the donor while it's easy to get to. Ancillaries (cambelt, water pump, etc) will be done too and the clutch/DMF will be inspected too.

I have a niggle that I should be looking into going down the path I've always wanted for Tank and to have a DSG (s-tronic) box and engine installed - I know there was one done in Europe not long ago, but I can't seem to find details on it now.

However, as time and funds are not limitless, I'm probably going to do the donor swap and have discussed this with Rob.
 

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my God what a mess
agree that the head is scrap and the piston / block

best of luck on the donor engine front
 
That's the badger. Thanks Graham. So a 1.9TDi mated to a 6-speed DSG. The parts are pretty cheap and readily available, but it's the electronics and mating it all to the car and keeping it looking OE which will be the challenge.
 
I don't know if it is of interest but there is a chap on facebook based near Lanark selling a complete engine for £200 as he is doing a 1.9tdi conversion.
 
Sounds interesting, although I don't do Facebook. £200 sounds a little cheap - wonder if it's all sound, or if the 1.9 conversion is because something's gone wrong. Any other details you can send me?
 
Update from WOM tonight and it's not good. It seems that the entire turbo has been ingested into mainly cylinder 1 and has ruined the head there and the valves, plus scored the bores and taken out the piston. There's minor debris damage to cylinder 2 and Rob is of the opinion that the head is non-salvageable as there's severe pitting and it's also likely that the bores and block are scrap too.
...

Hi Mike

That’s very similar (damage worse on yours, to be fair) to what happened to my 90 all those years ago. Bits of debris ingested and bounced about in the cylinders.

Sounds like it’s in good hands though. Good luck getting it back together again.

Al
 
Interesting that all the damage is so concentrated in one cylinder - you'd think if the intake was full of shrapnel it would find it's way into all the cylinders but maybe the shape of the intake manifold runners directs it to one cylinder.

Best of luck getting it all back together.

Simon.
 
I feel your pain , and the sinking feeling as you talk over the details and start adding up the numbers , there way a ATL engine on eBay around 10 weeks ago , it was in Spain ..

Good look

Just batting this round , my ATL block was fine , but the crank was cracked , may be worth a chat with WOM , happy to hand over the block , if they stil have it in the corner of the workshop ....
 
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Yes, I was surprised at how localised the shrapnel was and even though the damage was largely limited to a single cylinder, it appears this hasn't helped the repairability of the engine.

Thanks for the kind offer of a block - it would be helpful if not for the fact that the head is scrap and would therefore require a new one. A donor engine seems to be the way to go. Just need to decide on whether to go for a straight swap or take the opportunity to go down the 1.9 route, with a manual box at first.

Have messaged WOM to gauge the latter option and have the former in hand.
 
Yes, I was surprised at how localised the shrapnel was and even though the damage was largely limited to a single cylinder, it appears this hasn't helped the repairability of the engine.

Thanks for the kind offer of a block - it would be helpful if not for the fact that the head is scrap and would therefore require a new one. A donor engine seems to be the way to go. Just need to decide on whether to go for a straight swap or take the opportunity to go down the 1.9 route, with a manual box at first.

Have messaged WOM to gauge the latter option and have the former in hand.

From what I've seen, the 1.9 TDI conversion isn't a massive undertaking, moreso if its being fitted to a BHC or ATL engine A2 because the N75 valve is already a very similar setup.
 
What a mess!

Is there anyway of predicting turbo failure or detecting early signs? Or does it just go bang?

If this happen to my car I'm sure it would be the end.
 
I think it shows how determined Tank was to get you back home! If I’d just eaten something that made my insides look like that you’d be walking... but the little A2 kept pulling!

Good luck with the repair/rebuild. Obviously I want to see the 1.9 conversion because I would love to see how this goes but whatever works best for you is obviously the best.



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I had a turbo fail on a 1.9 Octavia the car had 130k with a full main dealer service history,without any warning heard a loud bang followed by a loss of power and loads of smoke from the exhaust,the turbo body had disintegrated the impeller was never found,debris wrecked a couple of pipes and found its way into the intercooler!
I decided to cut my losses and sold the car for spares or repair.
Best of look with Tank a 1.9 conversion sounds like a good way forward!
 
Well, after discussion with Rob at WOM, I've decided to go for another 1.4TDi, ATL engine. I've found one that appears to be a good one, with 2/3 the miles on that Tank's had and it'll be with WOM the middle of next week. They'll be doing a partial strip and inspection first, taking off the new turbo for reconditioning and then piecing it all back together.

The biggest challenge in fitting a 1.9 was the time factor - I need Tank back on the road as soon as possible and as WOM have never done a conversion like this, it'd likely take a good couple of months if not longer. I'd obviously like to go down the DSG route if at all possible, but for now, Tank will be back to standard, albeit with a younger, fresher engine and turbo, new intercooler, EGR deletion etc.

When this new engine eats itself at some point in the future, I may well re-visit the idea of doing a proper auto conversion, possibly with the 1.6TDi, if diesel is still legal by then. Failing that, it'll be popping the motor and battery from an i3 in possibly.

I know there'll be a few disappointed forum contributors who'd have wanted to see the conversion, but it's not to be at the moment. Sorry!!
 
Something to look forward to. I also like the idea of an electric conversion but need it to be a bit more mass market than it is just now.

Best of luck with the younger replacement.


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