[brey bush]

Ok. so my touareg(V8) was sludged up pretty bad. the oil was a bit old and past maintenance so VW isn't going to cover any damage under warranty so I'm basically screwed picking up whatever damage has been done. I honestly think who ever did the last oil change before this problem didn't put in synthetic and it got fried at around 10k miles where synthetic would have been just about broken in.

Right now there's a tapping noise coming from the top end of the motor and sometimes vibration when they car is under load. it's throwing a CEL code for bank 2 timing retarded.

Dealer wants to replace cam tensioner and lifters for the price of $3500, and they aren't sure that will even fix it.

My questions are would it be better to just swap out the motor at that cost for a used/rebuilt one?

Has anyone done a V6 to V8 swap or vice versa? I'm wondering if i can just swap in a V6 and V6 ECU? used V6's are a lot cheaper and easier to find.

Is there any difference between touareg V6 engine and ECU versus any other VR6?

just the parts and tools for com tensioner repair are $600 without any labor. this car is also my wife's daily driver, so I really want to limit the down time of the vehicle, so at some point cost of down time will outweigh cost of project/repairs.

any comments you have are welcome.

 

[Vegas Matt]

The bad thing is, if you invest $3500 and there's still engine problems after it, you now have to keep throwing money at it to fix it. That $3500 may be the tip of an iceberg.

The only thing I could think of is try junkyarddog.com or car-part.com for a used engine. If you search all areas car-part.com has 7 40-valve V8's listed, at a price from roughly $4000 to $6000. Labor-wise I don't know what the price difference would be for an engine swap versus repairing yours, but it may be neck and neck. At least you'd have an engine that should work OK if you get it from a reputable yard.

The other thought, which for me would be a last-ditch effort (and I don't at all know how kosher this is, especially long-term), is to try a can of engine flush in there yourself, and see if it breaks down the sludge. Honestly, it's been 15 years since I've seen this stuff used, in an old GM "Iron Duke" 4-cylinder, so I really don't know of the consequences that could be had in a highly sophisticated aluminum engine like your 4.2. But, if you get to a point where you're going to junk the engine anyway, it may be worth a shot as a last chance to save it.

Good luck,
Matt

PS-This is another prime example of why I like doing my own maintenance. I may get dirty doing it, but at least I know what's put in there...

 

[nickm]

Forget about a V8 to V6 swap. If you are swapping engines just go direct swap out, identical engines. Anything else is insanity.

I would personally use a few of the desludge methods Matt mentions, who cares, you will be swapping out the engine anyways. If that doesn't work then I'd personally just swap it out for another used engine.

 

[brey bush]

I know anything i do is going to be expensive, and labor intensive for either me or the dealer.

I read the part numbers on transmissions from the V8 to V6 and they are the same, so i thought the swap might not be that bad.

The local VW dealer did a de-slude type flush twice with some kind of not so harsh desludger. I've read a bunch of different desludging methods on the internet all over the place, and most of them are just too risky since i don't want to get divorced because i jacked up my wife's engine to the point where it no longer works

I know what you mean about doing your own maintenance. I'm almost 100% sure that this problem is due to regular oil being put in the engine BY VW, but i really have nothing to prove my case so I'm SOL. I've ran full synthetic in an evo for 15k miles and had it come out looking like it had another 5000 miles left in it.

I have more than 15k left on this t-reg loan too, so it's not like i can just dump the car completely without taking a HUGE hit.

 

[a4ncar]

Did they check the oil pressure? Check the paperwork to see if the oil suction tube (it is on the oil pump) was replaced during the desludging process by VW dealer, if not get it replaced ASAP. I bet they did not change or inspected the screen on this pick-up tube and chances are high that is clogged.

 

[trega]

get clean oil put in full synthetic and find another dealer. dont mention that you went somewhere else their systems are not linked. get your auto repaired thats why you have a warranty. the dealer your at is probably lying anyway. I took my treg to a dealer that told me that they could not find a tranny prob that was evident as today is thursday. now the that the warranty has just exp they want me to bring the car back; and check this out! I will have to leave the car until they are able to figure what the problem is. 2 weeks ago(still under warranty) it only took them a couple of hours. this week (no warranty) they need to hold onto the car all day' Will you be needing a rental to get back home? what the hell do you think can I walk from here you moron!?

go to another dealer and keep your mouth shut and get your car repaired thats there job!!!!!!!

 

[trega]

go to another dealer. get an engine flush at one of those pepboys and fill with full synth and take it in. play dumb until they ask you and still play dumb. they want pocket $ and they will still bill VWOA for parts and labor, you wont know VWOA isnt going to send YOU an itemized statement. these dealers are all crooks, afterall they aren't selling any cars they have to keep the lights on 1 way or another.

 

[brey bush]

I would love to just play dumb. the dealer was all set and ready to do the work under warranty, but their VW corp field rep said it was due to lack of maintenance because it was over 10k miles between oil changes and voided the warranty.

 

[VWZach]

How can he prove it was over 10K miles. You are allowed to do your own oil changes. I am missing something here. VW cannot void your warranty just because you did not use thier maint shop. Can they?

 

[brey bush]

without solid documentation from a reliable shop... that's exactly what they did.

As mad as i was about that, i'm sure the real problem was the last oil change at THEIR shop wasn't synthetic. that's the only way that oil could have been that bad with less than 30 miles on the change. I've seen cars with 15k on synthetic and have the oil be almost mint.

 

[trega]

thats bull****. I would still try and go to another dealer. theyare just trying to get over. synth oil is supposed to last anywhere between 8 and 10k

 

[trega]

i agree with you how does he know that the vw was over 10k between oil changes. your sticker could have just fallen off.

 

[brey bush]

They voided the warranty, and now it would be over the miles on warranty anyways.