VTEC to Turbo

I know a few of you on here have these so wanted to know if you could give me or point me in the direction of where I can research these engines, whether it be in the Seat, VW or Skoda etc

I've phoned up two cars now that have had the cam-shafts replaced at huge expense! (Golf TDi 150's)

Luckily the sevicing VW dealers were able to tell me the history before I went and viewed them.

What major problems are common that I should be looking out for?

Thanks in advance.

brickboy

The PD130s / PD150s are usually pretty reliable, but they MUST / MUST have had VAG spec 505.01 or 506.01 oil through their life or they lunch their cams in a short time -- which is presumably what's happened with the two cars you mention.

The oil is not hard to get -- Halfords sell Castrol stuff to this spec and any VW, Audi, Skoda or Seat dealer has it -- so look for genuine dealer stamps etc. There are people out there that think any synthetic oil will do. Not so. If there's any doubt it hasn't had proper spec oil, walk away.

Because the cam operates the PD injectors and they develop 30,000psi, the shear pressures remove the oil film if a "normal" oil is used, which means the hardening on the lobes wears away in a few thousand miles. The special VAG oil has an EP additive to counteract this.

Apart from that, the 150 is higher strung than the 130 but has stronger rods and block etc to cope with it. Injectors and pumps are usually reliable to 100K+

Matteeboy

Just FYI, I tested the Bora and Golf 150PD and was shocked at how bad they were - Yes they pull well but the engine is horribly agricultural and the handling is shockingly poor.

May be out of the question but just try an early Astra 1.9CDTi 150PS or a Focus 2.0TDCi for much better refinement (and performance in the Astra) and massively superior handling.

Generally agreed that if you MUST have one, go for the more refined 130PD and chip it.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yep, I will second this, tried to get our Sharan PD serviced at the local fast fit place and they proudly told me they would put GTX in it, I explained the above and they said they would get some, I cancelled the service as one look at the price of the VW stuff it would have had any old crap put in it.

MattW

Even Halfords do a VW spec oil.

VTEC to Turbo

Thanks guys

Both cars had full VW service history!

I am now leaning towards the TDi 130 but I don't like the Golf version, so am thinking about an A4 or A3.

My reasoning behind this is that they will not have been driven by younger people (of which I still class myself) thus will not (generally) have been driven as hard.

I may still go for a Golf 150 TDi but only if it hasn't had any work carried out other than servicing. The second one I phoned had been into the garage more time for mechanical repairs than it had servicing.

Thanks again and will definately be asking what grade oil they have been using.

johnnyroper

my brother has got a 2003 gt tdi 150 its done 65000miles and proved to be reliable and economical so far defo needs the correct spec oil in it
as said before halfords do a castrol long life oil that is for modern vag engines it is quite expensive but works out to be cheaper than new cam shaft
i also change the oil and filter in my bro's car between the recomended service time and this seems to help as i found the oil condition deteriorates if the car gets a bit of stick

VTEC to Turbo

Thanks for the further input

I'm looking at an A3 1.9 TDi Quattro tonight phoned up the servicing dealers (Audi) and they have confirmed all servicing is in order, with dates and mileage, with no advisory comments other than tyres need replacing.

It sounds like a fantastic example with a complete documented history

S11EPS

I had a PD 150 prior to my Impreza. I had it from brand new and covered 60k miles in two years with no problems whatsoever.

When I got the Impreza, I moved the Golf onto someone else in the company.

They had some boost-hose issues and then, at 64k miles, the camshaft failed.

The car was always serviced on the dot according to the VW schedule, always at main dealers, always with the correct oil. Hearing this now makes me wonder if the guy I gave it to topped the oil up with incorrect stuff (he's no longer with my company now).

Up until that point it had proven utterly reliable and pretty quick (a session on AMD's rolling road also revealed that, as a standard car, it was actually putting oput 186bhp and nearly 300 ft/lb's torque).

The 130's are certainly more plentiful in supply, so you will have a greater pick of examples, but there were changes beyond the engine that make the 150 a better car, including 16" vs 15" wheels, better interior spec, superior suspension etc (although that said, the 150 was still a blamanche, as any Mk4 golf, so budget for coilovers no matter what variant you get).

monkeysan

i have an ibiza PD130 and will agree with what has been said - use the correct oil and engine is strong as a horse, use poop oil and expect death LOL

Janspeed

iTrader: (1)

hi,

Had a Golf IV TDi 150 PS for 4 years, and did 130,000 km in it.

Only issues I had were:


Turbo tube split thanks to defective piece of plastic, sorted

The window elevators in the my version (3 door) were always breaking down, in this case 4 times total, 2 for each window, thanks to crappy VW cost-cutting (for them) measures, also sorted

The rims were getting all Fubar thanks to our roads

That is it really. Was a load of fun, but I hate diesels now!

Be careful with cars that have been remapped, not a good idea!