[Teix]

Hi,
I have had quite a journey with this mk2 TT and its driving me mad and draining my wallet.
I love the car but it seems to always give issues, and this one seems to be a big one.

I have recently done an oil change, in April and the car has been used about 2-3 times a week since then, I also did 5 Launch control launches within 30 minutes back in April, never done them before so I played around on a empty road no serious speeds and not going over the limtit but just to feel how the stage 1 works and how the car spins, was trying to feel how the car spins and if P4S tyres would reduce that spin as it just goes crazy, was perfectly fine after those launches back in April, recently I noticed the shaking more than normal last week, in Park and netural its pretty shakking and the seats move and the engine is really shaking, doesnt shake in Drive or sport or reverse, noticed a noise from the DSG area so thought its time for the DMF and clutches (80k miles), this morning i was going to take it to a garage to get it done, and the car started and it sounded like a go kart, it was misfiring and popping sound and popping smoke on a cold start like a machine gun, garage has not seen anything like that, car has lost a bit of power and it doesnt feel right and there is a noise towards the back of the engine. They suspect its the Balance shaft thats gone, they cant guarantee the £1650 balance shaft repair will repair whats going on as they have never seen this based on all the stuff I have had done already.

Im looking for some thoughts before I scrap the car as i cant afford a balance shaft and oil pump replacement and a DMF and clutches and then the possibility of it not working.

This is what i have done in the last 10k miles / since July 2021 when i got it:


-Timing belt with water pump
-DV
-Boost pipe
-Irdium spark plugs
-5w40 oil changes every 6 months
-APR coil packs
-DSG service was done Jan 2021
-Stage 1 map as the one on there was causing fuel cuts
-Cam chain
-PCV
-Charcoal canister
-Cam tappet

I have spent loads of money since July 2021 and its disappointing to see it has a new issue everytime something new gets changed, most of the work done was to prevent future issues, only thing that i have not done is the pick up pipe, injector clean and carbon cleaning, doubt this much of shaking is due to that, had a slight shake since i have had it and i knew that was the carbon build up but this seems to be a bit extreme for that.

Looking for some help/advice, maybe I am trying to find reasons to keep this car, I am about £10k into this car with the price of the car and the repairs, not sure if im willing to just let it go but i got £3k offeres for the car when it was working so im at a loss here.

Thanks.

 

[Hoggy]

Hi, Has it had a fault scan? a failed balance shaft may cause shaking but I don't think it would cause a misfire. Perhaps the shaking has dislodged a coil or 2.
I will move your post into the main MK2 section, you should get more replies.
Hoggy.

 

[Teix]

Thank you for the reply and moving the post,
no faults came up with the paid version of carista and the garage i took it to has vw diagnostic tools and they said nothing came up, it was a case of they ran live data and found cylinder 2 misfiring, new plugs and coil packs, ill try insert the old coil packs and spark plugs as they were fine and see but they dont believe thats the issue.

With a balance shaft issue what would be symptoms? i dont have any low pressure oil lights, and there is definatly a noise near the back of the engine and then the obvious smoke which when holding a bit of a rev had a brief amount of black smoke.

I will try check the oil pressure through the Torque app, but im not sure on the values im looking for

thanks.

 

[wsantos]

Considering the low cost I'd do a carbon cleaning to see if it improves the symptoms. By garage do you mean an Audi specialist? Have they run a cylinder compression test on all pistons? Perhaps if you tell here where you are in the country people could recommend a specialist.

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[Teix]

Just a local mechanic, the technician worked for an Audi garage for many years.
I stay in oxfordshire, i have volkstechnik* which is not to far a way, but the last time it felt impossible to get them to have look at the car when i needed the chain done.

I would like to do the carbon clean but i dont think this is due to carbon build up, it seems to aggressive to be carbon build up and it started to shake all of a sudden, like something has broken.

 

[Teix]

Quick update, its going to Halfords to be checked out as i know someone there that knows VW cars, i changed the PCV,spark plugs, coil plugs, nothing changed. Unplugged the MAF sensor and the car didnt misfire on start up, still shaking but that could be the DMF on the DSG, car revved fine and no more popping from the exhaust, does that mean the MAF sensor is broken? the a bit pricey.

Wanted to know if i could drive without for a day to see if the car feels fine aside from the shaking in park and netural.

 

[Rufflesj]

Halfords? Really? Best get it booked in somewhere for a proper diagnosis.

 

[Hoggy]

Quick update, its going to Halfords to be checked out as i know someone there that knows VW cars, i changed the PCV,spark plugs, coil plugs, nothing changed. Unplugged the MAF sensor and the car didnt misfire on start up, still shaking but that could be the DMF on the DSG, car revved fine and no more popping from the exhaust, does that mean the MAF sensor is broken? the a bit pricey.

Wanted to know if i could drive without for a day to see if the car feels fine aside from the shaking in park and netural.

Hi, Disconnect the MAF & it will run rich, but will not do any short-term damage.
If it approves either the MAF is faulty or you have air leaks causing a weak mixture.
ESP will alarm but that will clear when reconnected & taken for a run.
Hoggy.

 

[Teix]

Thanks Hoggy, ganna see if I can get hold of a MAF and drive it around and see if that helps, don’t hear any leaks so I’m hoping it’s just the MAF.

I know @Rufflesj, but I don’t see any other garage willing to take a look without charging, I’ll try the Volktechniks* garage again and see if I can get a booking unless you guys know another garage near by?

thanks

 

[Rufflesj]

Thanks Hoggy, ganna see if I can get hold of a MAF and drive it around and see if that helps, don’t hear any leaks so I’m hoping it’s just the MAF.

I know @Rufflesj, but I don’t see any other garage willing to take a look without charging, I’ll try the Volktechniks* garage again and see if I can get a booking unless you guys know another garage near by?

thanks

If you're struggling, any good indie mechanic should be able to tell you what's up, doesn't necessarily have to be a VAG guy.

 

[TT'sRevenge]

If the balance shafts

Thanks Hoggy, ganna see if I can get hold of a MAF and drive it around and see if that helps, don’t hear any leaks so I’m hoping it’s just the MAF.

I know @Rufflesj, but I don’t see any other garage willing to take a look without charging, I’ll try the Volktechniks* garage again and see if I can get a booking unless you guys know another garage near by?

thanks

No good garage is going to diagnose something without charging. Diagnosis is a big part of [proper] repairs (i.e. not just parts-cannoning) so it takes time and labour and that in turn costs money. Especially on a car where you have little idea as to what is actually wrong and are just making guesses, it's important to have a competent shop diagnose it and fix it properly, else go down the parts-cannon route which may not only cost you more in the end but also still leave you with a car that's not working right.

Anyway, as for the DMF, when those go bad they make a fairly unmistakable rattle. With regards to the balancer assembly on an EA113, best way to go there is to just pull the oil pan and check the balancer physically. Any play in the shafts and you know its a goner and needs to be addressed before low or no oil pressure causes the end of your whole engine. I dunno what kind of shop tells you they suspect something and gives you some insane price (balancer is insanely expensive) but doesn't even tell you it's easily checked--i.e. doing the diagnosis. A lot of cases on older cars the oil pan seal is leaking anyway, so pulling the pan and resealing it (in the case that the balancer is fine) isn't a total waste of money. If they pull the pan and find the balancer is the problem, at least you'll know then that it is the problem and know it's a serious one, not just be left thinking "Hmm do I spend 1700 pounds or not", randomly.

You seem to have already thrown parts and money into it and were almost just going to randomly pay to do the DMF and clutchpacks in the gearbox without even really knowing that's the problem for sure? Textbook parts cannon! So, what you need is that proper diagnosis and as you aren't able to do that on your own, you need a competent shop to do it, and you need to pay them accordingly. Otherwise, get used to the parts-cannon train and spending money endlessly and needing chance/luck to have it be the right thing you replaced.

 

[Rufflesj]

FWIW, none of the guys that have worked on my car are VAG techs and all did perfectly good jobs on it

 

[Teix]

Thanks @TT’srevenge, i understand your point, for the diagnostics , I don’t mind paying for a diagnostics if they can tell me what is the issue, it’s more the fact of the garage telling me they “think”, not really convincing.
For the DMF, aside from the loud engine , there does seem to be a sound near the DSG, a rattle, I know someone with the same box I might go have a listen under there car and see if it’s the same noises , but it only shakes in Park and Netural and in any other gear it’s fine , which is my belief that it’s when the DMF is disengaged, not sure if that’s correct.

was thinking about dropping the sump, I’m not good with that so I will just see how much a garage will charge to do that for me,will be a potty as I just did a service end of April this year. if it’s all good and that MAF sensor does the trick ,might as well get the pick up done as preventive.
most of the work done on the car is a preventative measure for future fails if that makes sense, aside from thinks like the DV, chain and charcoal canister.

I don’t mind Indy garages, it’s just the case of most of the stuff that has had issues they weren’t able to figure out I normally just did some research and read forums and told them what to do and it worked out, this might just be a big one to be honest and is probably the case of like you said get it checked before I throw parts at it .

I will only be able to get the car on Sunday from Halfords as it’s my day off and I will give that MAF sensor a try first as I have the part and can return it if it does nothing , hopefully the Autocentre can also tell me what there diagnostics is just out of interest and then I’ll try get that sump off before I look into changing it without knowing.

thanks for the help

 

[BauhausBrick]

For this kind of issue, which sounds a bit more involved than some creaky trim or a dodgy button, instead of reading forums and trying to diagnose something yourself, spend the time researching a good, competent expert mechanic. Pay them a fair sum to investigate and for peace of mind knowing what the problem is. Then you can cost the repair. It sounds like some of the money you've spent has been chasing guesses.

The problem with forums is that you have no idea what expertise people are relying on. A lot of it is just guesswork. Also people seem to mod and mess about with their cars and mess around with the subsystems without ever bothering to read a manual - which are available for free on this site. Even then, you need actual competence and experience to understand exactly what is going on. These are extremely complex systems designed by huge teams of extremely competent engineers. Some bloke on a forum who has owned one or two and changed a few air filters or whatever isn't going to be able to give you a thorough and measured assessment of your precise problem. Messing around with maps etc... you have no idea what is going on in the ECU let alone the rest of the engine, which may be causing the issues. Have you at least tried removing the map and seeing if the car runs normally with OEM settings?

TT's Revenge is spot on. I'm sorry that it's cost you a lot of money so far, I guess the best thing to do is carefully plan your next step.

 

[Teix]

Thanks @BauhausBrick, car is running stock.

I’ll be booking it in to a proper garage next week who I’m sure can investigate it properly then I’ll just bring the findings/results here.

 

[TT'sRevenge]

Thanks @TT’srevenge, i understand your point, for the diagnostics , I don’t mind paying for a diagnostics if they can tell me what is the issue, it’s more the fact of the garage telling me they “think”, not really convincing.
For the DMF, aside from the loud engine , there does seem to be a sound near the DSG, a rattle, I know someone with the same box I might go have a listen under there car and see if it’s the same noises , but it only shakes in Park and Netural and in any other gear it’s fine , which is my belief that it’s when the DMF is disengaged, not sure if that’s correct.

Yes that's correct the sound will change depending on engagement and load, it may become more quiet in gear. When in P, it'll basically sound like a bucket of bolts being tossed around in the area where the gearbox meets the engine. Various videos on YT (on similar cars and completely different ones) will let you hear the noise.

If that's the noise you've been hearing this whole time then perhaps that's the main issue. However there could be more than one issue. I would probably hold off on dropping the oil pan (unless it is leaking and you want to get that fixed anyway) as failing a balancer (though it could make noise) tends to have other symptoms. Your issue of misfiring and smoking could be totally unrelated to either the balancer or DMF--it could just be a coil or something. Should probably take it one step at a time.

 

[Teix]

Thought I would give an update, took it to VolksTechniks, great garage, and found what they think is the issue really quick as they have experience with these engines, they reported the following:
-Carbon Build up more so in Cylinder 2
-Injector 2 sticking

They believe thats what is causing the popping/misfire on a cold start and the violent shaking in Park and neutral, today i also noticed its slightly happening in drive as well, as if its getting worse now.

They also reported the rocker cover is leaking, i had the gaskets changed in Jan so they said the cover not the gaskets as they believe there to be oil getting into cylinder 2.

The only issue is getting the injectors cleaned might not work given the cars mileage at 83k, more so for injector 2 as it might possibly be broken , so they reccomend 4 new injectors since the intake is going to be already out, so its an expensive repair.

So im drafting a list of other bits i need fixing on the car, Pick up pipe, window regulators, Window switch, Bose amp, possibly the balance shaft delete, tyres, alignment.... and deciding if its actually a good idea to keep the car as its been close to £3k of repairs in about a year of ownership, its just the case of every repair I do I think its the last, I know these engines have common problems but I didnt think I would get them all😂

Im going on Holiday now so it will give me time to think, but in your guys opinions, is it normal to have these many issues maybe because of the mileage or is my engine possibly a dud

thanks

 

[wsantos]

I said it before I think you could get some great results doing a stage 3 HHO carbon cleaning which will clean the injectors as well. I paid £149 for the service in February and it really made a huge difference in the engine performance and torque delivery. What kind of fuel have you been using? I think it's very unusual to have an injector written off at only 83K miles.

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[Teix]

With these engines I’ve heard that only wallnut blasting is the way, car has been running Tesco 99 or sometimes shell v power since I took it over from my brother, when he had it , it was running BP premium, which I think is 97 Ron

 

[Barr_end]

I said it before I think you could get some great results doing a stage 3 HHO carbon cleaning which will clean the injectors as well. I paid £149 for the service in February and it really made a huge difference in the engine performance and torque delivery. What kind of fuel have you been using? I think it's very unusual to have an injector written off at only 83K miles.

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No mileage on failure TFSI injectors is unusual - It's a more than documented potential issue

Seen first hand 95k injectors being borderline before a rebuild - to spot on after
To 36k injectors flowing less than half and the reasoning for a killed 2.5
Plus a fair few more sets that needed saving.

Poor fuel / 'cleaning' additives / FOD in the fuelling system will kill injectors - plastic/paper OE filters within breakdown and block injectors, from minorly to majorly

No amount of 'cleaning agents' will save them - if anything only accelerate the process
Only way to do true preventative maintenance is to flow test, pull them apart, take the stock paper/plastic filter baskets out, replace with metal mesh filters, rebuild and check the flow is back at the correct level
This still doesn't mean they can't fail, but it won't be for the common reason.

With these engines I’ve heard that only wallnut blasting is the way, car has been running Tesco 99 or sometimes shell v power since I took it over from my brother, when he had it , it was running BP premium, which I think is 97 Ron

You're spot on with this.
It's been well shown that direct injection engines (not just this EA113 TFSI platform) do not clean up / respond well to the likes of 'hydro cleaning' - additives into the intakes
They may serve a very small improvement at best, but like you've said yourself.
The ONLY proper way to deal with it, is direct removal and walnut blasting is the best option for this.

Previously in the post, you said that there were no reported faults for the missing?
It was only on idle/live data these can be spotted?
If so the likely hood of the injector being salvable is more than possible - just of course get all 4 checked/tested and rebuilt with aftermarket filters
Also whilst the cars complete - for the simple task that is it, be well worth doing a compression & leak down test!

Personally wouldn't touch anything else reported in your first post until this is fixed.

Once that's the case however,
Is the car still running completely standard engine mounts? How much movement does the engine have?
Might be worth a £25 investment into a dogmount / lower engine mount insert (ideally the red diesel one - it's the softest) to see if this helps the issue you're experiencing
Could well be as simple as something like old OE mounts - if you take look around you'll see how fast these can breakdown

It's less likely that the DMF in a DQ250 is failing at your mileage but is definitely possible - certainly worth looking at other options before hand
Also wouldn't need to replace the clutch packs within the box IF you do end up replacing the DMF - it's not the same principle as a manual

On the case of the balance shaft ideas
Take a look at a VIS BSD free wheel sprocket - much cheaper option which will 'delete' the balance shaft assembly by not allowing it to spin - also removes the OE sprocket that has seen to fail and kill the oil pump chain / engines.