Major Engine Fault

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
What a nightmare, engine felt really laboured (i.e would not accelerate) then i heard a rattle from the front of the engine around the exhaust/Turbo.

Then the engine cut out, wouldnt start and I had to be towed home.

My first thought was a turbo issue, but the impeller seems fine.

What on earth might have happened?
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
A bit of an update - I just checked for fault codes and I have P0016 code (Crank-Cam Position correlation).

I wonder how much damage that could have done?
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
Car is back with the dealers where I bought it.

Engine change is looking likely.

If I have the choice do I want a CAVE or CTHE?
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
I would not think that you will have a say in this, any new engine comes without a serial number, the garage should stamp your old engine number on it - some people think that this is to avoid VW Group needing to admit that they have made a very big design error, doing it this way means that the DVLA or whatever their name currently is do not need to be informed about an engine change and any consumer research group who use that source of car records will never pick up that so many have been replaced! Now how anyone owning that car can work out which parts they need to order/replace in the future - who knows. I’d guess that the replacement engine, if supplied by Skoda will be a modified version of what was originally fitted to avoid anything else needing changing. So as close to a drop in replacement probably with S/W update and a few other things.
 
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Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
I would not think that you will have a say in this, any new engine comes without a serial number, the garage should stamp your old engine number on it - some people think that this is to avoid VW Group needing to admit that they have made a very big design error, doing it this way means that the DVLA or whatever their name currently is do not need to be informed about an engine change and any consumer research group who use that source of car records will never pick up that so many have been replaced! Now how anyone owning that car can work out which parts they need to order/replace in the future - who knows. I’d guess that the replacement engine, if supplied by Skoda will be a modified version of what was originally fitted to avoid anything else needing changing. So as close to a drop in replacement probably with S/W update and a few other things.

Apologies, I should have been clearer. The car is at the used car dealers where i bought it, still under its 6 month warranty. Not an official dealer.

I am just weighing up my options at the moment. I am capable of swapping an engine over myself, so can do that if need be. I am just looking to future proof the car, i guess.
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
I'd sort of hoped that even a non VW Group used car dealer might know what has been going on with these engines, and get stuck into SEAT over that, and if that happened, they would do as I outlined in my earlier posting.

If you do just accept a cash "inconvenience settlement" which includes taking on that car, I'd not think that anyone in the proper engine rebuild trade will stock or rebuild that model of engine to the latter SEAT spec - ie like the ones they supply when replacement engines charged for or FOC are requested, I don't think that there are enough numbers out there for anyone but a specialist to sort these engines out, and that would mean bigger money, so push that used car dealer to get it sorted out which if they do will take some time, so maybe get a run about to keep you mobile.

All my thoughts that I've written down are only based on various motoring forums communications from people that have been through this with SEAT/VW/Skoda - many people seemed to have been fobbed off and taken the hit, the more dedicated ones have pushed hard and got things sorted out some 100% of the cost, some a bit less.
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
Little update!

Head is of the engine and no damage to the the valves or pistons.

Before the head was off cylinder 3 was showing next to no compression.
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
A little update -

Garage wants to replace pistons/rings and cam chain/tentioner

Not really sure if this is a good offer or not. I guess this is what Seat/Vag did to these engines which were fixed under warranty?
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
It sounds a bit like it, so at least your garage does seem to know about these engines and what SEAT/VW Group did to improve/repair/update them.

I'm sure that there is a list of what normally gets done to these engine when they have failed, somewhere either in this forum or on a VW forum, seems like there was a few different "chain kits" that addressed some problems, but I'd hope that the newest versions and so part numbers, of these kits would be the best answer to sorting that engine out - along with the newer pistons and rings. I have no personal experience of these engines, but, I think that I read that because VW Group "sorted out" the piston design, if your car needed an original piston replaced, all 4 pistons would need to get replaced due in part to them being a different weight - and if these newer design of pistons are so much better, it makes no sense just to replace a single piston and keep repeating that as time goes on until all 4 have failed and been replaced with new ones.

Good Luck, it sounds like your engine is getting updated/repaired in the proper way!
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
These are the pistons that will be used - I assume these to be the most recent version?



oh0ruer.png
 

RUM4MO

Active Member
Jun 4, 2008
7,784
983
South Scotland
It would be good if a complete list of what is best to do/replace when these engines have been opened had been made public by people that have had to deal with this. "Lucifers guide" ia probably available on this forum as that is where it was placed in first, also all the advice that you have been given by people like Offski - also I think that someone in Italy used alternative newer engine parts when sorting out the cam chain, though he carried out some of the work himself so the extra time taken to work out what exactly to use and modify or extra time taken to allow the use of some of these newer engine parts did not cost him much extra. I don't know now where that extra information can be located.
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
So freshly built engine being put in next week.

In the end it was catastrophic damage to the engine. Numerous issue, chain, cracked pistons, one of the crank bearings had spun....

But back on the road real soon!
 

Coopercupra

Active Member
Jan 5, 2019
118
33
That is good news!

I wonder why or what allowed one of the crank bearing shells to move - excessive wear?
Excessive wear probable caused by not enough oil in the engine over at times. It was a heavy oil burner.
 
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