[stugodfather]

Hi,

About 6 weeks ago I bought a second hand Treg 2004 2.5 TDI PD and after a couple of weeks a message saying "Insufficient Coolant" came on. I researched this a bit on the forums and eventually topped up with water as the liquid in the tank appeared clear and I didn't want to put in G12 after what I had read. It took approximately 1 litre of water before the level was on the Min mark. It has since done this twice more and I would say I have put 4-4 litres of water in in total.

I am no mechanic but this weekend I decided to have a look to see what I could see!!

Firstly - when the engine is turned on there is a hissing noise coming from it and what appears to be exhaust gas coming from (what I think) is the exhaust side of the engine. I cant see exactly where. The gas does not pour out but can be seen if watching carefully.

There is also a lot of dried liquid as can be seen in the picture. When I turned the engine on for the first time there was also liquid coming from what I think is the pipe that takes exhaust gases to the Exhaust Gas Recirculation unit near a joint in the pipe. This only happened the first time although I did only look for about 15 minutes and I don't think the engine ever really got hot.

Anyway - to cut a long story short I have it booked in at the dealers next week but just wanted to give myself an idea on what I was in for and wondered if anybody could help.

I am also not 100% sure if all the "bits" are in the right place as I think some hoses may be slightly out of place and one in particular is quite worn from rubbing on the engine cover.

In addition - I have also noticed liquid on the floor under the passenger (left) side of the car slightly being the front wheel. I have collected some of this liquid which is very clear in colour but only seems to leek when the Air-Con is switched on.

I have attached a couple of pictures to give an indication of the situation and also pose a couple of simple questions.

Thanks

 

[CsTDI]

I will take a stab at two of your issues. I encountered the same issue with coolant color upon purchase-it was clear. In my case, it was coolant- best guess was that it was factory filled G12 spec. but from a different supplier, hence no color. Mine had quite a bit that evaporated rather quickly, and as instructed, I filled with G12+. That was over 1 1/2 years ago and I have not had a problem nor any evaporation since. You should or when you take it to the dealer, have them check the coolant and add G12+ as appropriate for proper temperature protection- if you were adding water to clear colored coolant. If in doubt what was in there prior to your fill, then it should be flushed and refilled with G12. Use only the VW G12+ coolant ONLY.

Second, since you only notice water under the AC after running it, I would think it is condensation coming off of the compressor- very normal. If you dip your finger in it, it should be water. Otherwise, it sounds like something may be leaking

In terms of the EGR, do you smell diesel when you are driving? If so, this is a critical safety issue and the vehicle should not be driven until it can be looked at. That being said, when I purchased my Jetta years ago, I drove off the lot and 100s of miles with a leaky injector before the dealer would agree that the diesel smell was not some kind of "new" engine burnoff smell. The engine didn't catch fire but maybe I was lucky...

Others may have more for you and keep us posted!

 

[AndrieK]

1. I haven't looked at my R5 in this much detail, but from what I can see it seems like the leaking pipe is the coolant supply for the turbo. I'm not 100% sure if the R5's turbo is actually water cooled, but I've heard of other VW's with water cooled turbo's that do spring a leak from time to time. Probably because of the high heat stresses on the turbo and it's connecting bits.

2. I definately do not have the "hose rubbing against engine cover" problem on mine.

3. The A/C water "leak" is normal. It's condensate / ice on the evaporator melting and leaking out. It becomes even more obvious in high humidity climates.