FR TDI fumes on tick over?

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
This is the one that was changed on mine

2F9871E0-0E23-4891-9EF6-F39D618F5CCA.jpg


63E0ABAF-E310-4737-91BC-7513026C7DB9.jpg

I think this gasket is going on mine as I have a smell of burnt diesel in the car when in traffic, and the under side of the bonnet plus the clamp, probe etc all have a covering of black soot.

How hard is it to change this gasket? Any one know? Is it just undo the clamp, push the dpf out the way, swap the gasket and repeat? Or is it a lot harder than that?

Ta
 

dMack14

Active Member
Nov 26, 2016
26
0
West Lothian, Scotland
Mines the same, stinks of diesel when you're sitting still, so strong it makes my eyes sting both inside and outside the car. Went in to get it checked and they went to check timing and the belt tensioner was worn causing slight fluctuation in the timing. Once that's sorted they're going to check the torsion values and see how it runs after.
My MK1 FR TDI was running a full stainless turbo back and didn't smell half as bad as this does!
 

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
update, just had mine on the ramp and the clamp was lose! tightened it up for now and I will see if that stops it as changing it looks to be a bit of a pig
 

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
Update, it didn't stop it. Tried to remove the clamp and it was stuck fast! So it appears doing the bolt up tighter didn't actually make it clamp any better.

After hours of hassle on the ramp trying to remove the clamp if finally released..it was then a faff to swap the gasket out as the dpf didn't want to move out of the way.. finally got it apart, came to fit the new job gen clamp and it wouldn't go on right as the dpf wasn't tight enough to the turbo. In the end the clamp broke. So I had to straighten out the old clamp and even getting that back on was a pita as it wouldn't go on well enough to enable to the bolt to do up, ended up using some threaded bar for now. Got it done up tight. If it's still not right.

So it's booked in at my local seat next week, £80 plus vat labour cost and about £24 for the bits (I had to get them on trade from TPS for the £3 or so I will save). And it turns out there is a TSB for this due to customers smelling exhaust gases, they need to fettle a bracket apparently. (Which would make sense as the dpf did appear to be being held away from the turbo by the brackets).

I will report more next week.
 

dMack14

Active Member
Nov 26, 2016
26
0
West Lothian, Scotland
Mine got the tensioner done but still not quite right, it's fine when you're driving but as soon as you sit still the smell creeps in, so I think they've only adjusted one cam once the belts in and it's overfuelling at idle, fuel consumption is pretty naff too.

Fingers crossed they get the clamp sorted on yours, let us know how you get on! Not sure why I'm so bothered about mine cause I'm planning a DPF delete soon so it'll smell regardless... haha!
 

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
If your a tooth out on the belt then it will drink, however it will only smell in the car if the fans suck it in. The air intake is at the bottom of the windscreen, in the middle right over the joint that leaks.

Don't forget to change your pollen filter too as that will hold on to the smell, so if you do fix the leak but don't change the filter it will still smell.

Got the car back today, new gasket and clamp fitted. Apparently mine didn't need the mod on the bracket as due to being a late mk2 it has an updated bracket. They have fitted the clamp the other way round now so the bolt head is facing up, and the gap that isn't covered by the clamp is now nearly at the top. The bonus being that I can see that the turbo and dpf are sitting nice and tight together with the gasket which is good.

I also had a new pollen filter fitted, and fabreezed the interior as well so fingers crossed!

On the plus side the bill was less than expected, just over £100 inc the pollen filter which was £13 (cba to do a special trip to TPs for just a filter)
 

m1tch3m

Active Member
Mar 14, 2017
5
0
I've had this problem for quite some time.

It's been to 2 garages each spending roughly £500 a time...

It will smell ok for a short time (are they just sticking something in to make it smell clean?), then it comes back.

I'm at a loss of what to do with it and fed up of the smell through the vents when at lights and putting it on recirc and juddering sometimes when idling.

Do I bite the bullet and take it to a proper Seat and pay the extortionate prices or can anyone reccomend what type of garage I should take it to to finally get it sorted?

Thanks in advance for any advice! :)
 
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M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
Have they ever changed the pollen filter? As that will absorb the diesel smell. Since having mine done I can't say I have smelt the diesel any more. And £500 is a shed load, seat was way cheaper than this.
 

m1tch3m

Active Member
Mar 14, 2017
5
0
Have they ever changed the pollen filter? As that will absorb the diesel smell. Since having mine done I can't say I have smelt the diesel any more. And £500 is a shed load, seat was way cheaper than this.

£500 x2... :cry:

It's a really strong smell that comes out of the exhaust also, and when stationary comes through the air vents. I have to make sure I press the recirculate button before I stop in traffic, then press it back to auto once I set off... :(

I think that filter will need to be changed once the source of the issue is fixed? Apologies if I'm talking rubbish, haha.
 

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
The filter must be changed and it will still smell faintly for a while as the soot and smell will be impregnated all along the air vent tracks and in the seats etc.. I fabreezed all my seats, carpets, etc etc to help get rid of the smell once Seat had done the fix.

If it isn't leaking from the joint between the turbo and the dpf then it must be lower down post cat but that would be easier to see on a ramp. With mine when on a ramp with a torch you could look up at the turbo to dpf joint and see that there was soot around there, there was also black staining under the bonnet and under the sound deadening.

The smell is because the fresh air intake is in the middle of the scuttle trim, right above this joint. There is a rubber seal at the back of the bonnet and it keeps most of the engine bay fhimes out normally but if that joint is leaking it won't keep them all out.

Having tried to change the gasket my self it is a pig of a job unless you have the right tool to close up the clamp , and getting the gasket to sit right was also a pita, so that's why I sacked it back to seat.

Also depending how old yours is there is a known issue with the dpf mounting bracket which needs to be modified to allow a little more wiggle room when aligning everything, Seat have an official TSB for this mod which again you can ask them to do (apparently my 62 plate is late enough that it already has it, and I really struggled to get mine to line up, so god only knows how bad earlier cars are as naturally mine would not pull up straight).
 

m1tch3m

Active Member
Mar 14, 2017
5
0
The filter must be changed and it will still smell faintly for a while as the soot and smell will be impregnated all along the air vent tracks and in the seats etc.. I fabreezed all my seats, carpets, etc etc to help get rid of the smell once Seat had done the fix.

If it isn't leaking from the joint between the turbo and the dpf then it must be lower down post cat but that would be easier to see on a ramp. With mine when on a ramp with a torch you could look up at the turbo to dpf joint and see that there was soot around there, there was also black staining under the bonnet and under the sound deadening.

The smell is because the fresh air intake is in the middle of the scuttle trim, right above this joint. There is a rubber seal at the back of the bonnet and it keeps most of the engine bay fhimes out normally but if that joint is leaking it won't keep them all out.

Having tried to change the gasket my self it is a pig of a job unless you have the right tool to close up the clamp , and getting the gasket to sit right was also a pita, so that's why I sacked it back to seat.

Also depending how old yours is there is a known issue with the dpf mounting bracket which needs to be modified to allow a little more wiggle room when aligning everything, Seat have an official TSB for this mod which again you can ask them to do (apparently my 62 plate is late enough that it already has it, and I really struggled to get mine to line up, so god only knows how bad earlier cars are as naturally mine would not pull up straight).

Thank you for explaining all of that, greatly appreciated!!!

The year of the car is 2007, not sure if the rounder lights model is affected by what you say.

What does TSB mean? (had a quick Google which came back with Technical Service Bulletin)?

Just want to give as much info as possible to finally get it sorted, then clean everything like you say, haha.
 

M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
I am not sure if it does cover the PD vehicles or not, but call up or pop into your local SEAT and speak to the service manager, explain the issue and ask him to check if the TSB applies to yours (Yes TSB means technical service builtin).

have a look under the bonnet and see if there is a dark soot stain as well, that will give you a clue.
 

m1tch3m

Active Member
Mar 14, 2017
5
0
I am not sure if it does cover the PD vehicles or not, but call up or pop into your local SEAT and speak to the service manager, explain the issue and ask him to check if the TSB applies to yours (Yes TSB means technical service builtin).

have a look under the bonnet and see if there is a dark soot stain as well, that will give you a clue.

Went in to my local Seat, they checked the VIN on my car and said there were not outstanding recall jobs for it.

They want to charge £91.65 (not sure inclusive of VAT) to just look at my car for an hour. Is this normal pricing for all Seats dealerships? :/

Looked under the bonnet, can't see any soot marks etc anywhere.
 
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M7R

Nerd...
Mar 27, 2008
327
2
Nottingjam
It isn't an official recall, it's a technical service bulletin and they only do it if the customer complains of a diesel smell.

The £91 sounds like their hourly rate, do you have any other localish dealers? Or even try a skoda one as it's the same engine etc as an Octavia so replacing the cat to turbo gasket is the same
 

m1tch3m

Active Member
Mar 14, 2017
5
0
It isn't an official recall, it's a technical service bulletin and they only do it if the customer complains of a diesel smell.

The £91 sounds like their hourly rate, do you have any other localish dealers? Or even try a skoda one as it's the same engine etc as an Octavia so replacing the cat to turbo gasket is the same

Ah... I thought that was the recall name for it, my bad...

Yeah was £91 for the first hour then goes up to £130 odd an hour... Haha.

The dealer I went to was a Suzuki, Vauxhall & Seat dealer, random combination. But was an official one.

I do have a Skoda one round the corner from me, I'll try again tomorrow, thanks! Haha.
 
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Chris D

1.8 20v
Apr 30, 2016
19
0
Hi guys, I'm having some smoke trouble but it's coming from my engine rather than out the exhaust. It appears to be smoking near the turbo, the same area where JHunter_83 shows in the picture posted. Any ideas what this could be? Thanks!
 
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