My wife was driving her 91 Talon TSI AWD turbo home and felt like she lost power, the engine got a little warmer than usual but still not hot, after a couple miles the power came back to normal and she drove the 60 miles home. The next day when we went to start it it was really rough, I had her bring the RPMs up a little to see if it would smoothe out but it died instead and hasn't started since. The shop said they could turn the engine by hand but there was a spot where it stopped and that we need to get a new engine. Is there anyone here who has worked with these engines a bit and might be able to tell me what it is? Also anyone on AK that might be willing to take a look at it? She really loves this car so if it needs a new engine we will put one in it but it will have to wait a couple years as I don't have an extra $3000 laying around.
Since I don't think it is actually frozen maybe it could be rebuilt? If it could be rebuilt would it be as good as a new engine or would I get better life from a new one?
Thanks for your patience and help.
Josh

 

Well im not sure whats a better path to take but i gotan entire 91 tsi for sale with only 73k on it.

 

maybe the timing belt just jumped and the tight spot is when the piston is touching valves, or it might have blown up but very unlikely

 

they checked the timing belt and said it looked good and had proper tension. Hmm, that sounds promising, maybe there is a chance the engine isn't toast. Except that wouldn't keep it from running would it?

 

if its got a tight spot you could have spun a bearing, anything is possible though.
does it knock or have low oil pressure?
what does the oil look like on the dip stick?
maybe its only a sensor /electical issue and theyre just trying to sell you an engine, i dont ever trust anyone at a shop, especially with one of these cars.
normally you would get something, knocking, lifter clattering , metal on the dipstick, smoke, somethin like thatif the engine was toast.
does it crank over still or no?
i suppose it could have locked up - then youd see metal on the dipstick for sure
normally when a motor locks it locks and its done, it wont just loose power then come back.
theres alot of things to check over firstto be sure its the motor.

 

There is (was)a knocking in the engine. No smoke, low oil or metal on the dip stick but the oil did get dirty when it had been clean before.

 

my wife says she could smell fuel in theoil when she checked it.

 

Thats normal with the oil... i did in the GST and on these cars it doenst mean anything. Just make sure you change it every 3k : )

All this sounds like to me is like a vac leak or a boost leak. I dont buy that crap that the shop tells you AT ALL. Get a second opinion right away.

You can pick these motors up for pretty cheap actually. 3k is what you should pay for a basic race motor...

Check out some of hte prices on ebay for the 4G63 (6 bolt) and see what is the cheapest you can find... then you will see what im talking about.

What i want to know is, did they do a compression test? Did they do a wet test (put a little oil down the cylinder) to check the rings? Did they actually check the timing marks or just look at the belt? Is there any white goop under the oil cap?

My guess is this... in this order.

1) A pipe has split.. causing a boost/vacume leak.

2) A coil pack is shorting out

3) The rings are worn causing low compression.

 

The wet test you talk about sounds like it would have to be done with the head removed? If so they did NOT do that, we never even got the velve cover off. They said it would need a new engine and we don't have the money right now to do that so it has just been sitting.
On the timing belt, I don't think they checked the marks, just looked at the belt and said it looked good and had plenty of tension. I'll look under the oil cap for white goop next time I am up there (we haven't had it towed to our new place yet) but I don't remember anything funny there. I did have to put a new cap on it a while ago because oil kept leaking out there.
I suppose the rings could be worn, it's at about 80,000 miles. When I asked at the shop why it would suddenly have 0 compression he told me that if the engine got any hotter than normal it could cause some varnish like stuff in the cylinder to become liquid then when it cooled it would freeze the rings tight against the piston body so they didn't have enough contact with the cylinder walls. Sounds a little far fetched and although she got slightly warmer than usual shewas notrunning hot. I suppose if one cylinder was being dragged for some reason (broken crank shaft or cam shaftwas suggested by the shop) that could cause that cylinder to overheat? without showing the engine as overheated? It was about 45 degrees that evening so the air moving over the engine was nice and cool if that makes any difference.

 

The wet test is with the head on.. thats the point of it so you dont have to pull anything off. I would ask for compression numbers before you start pulling things apart. At 80k miles i find it very very unlikely that anything internally is wrong. Unless your wife drives like me : )

The wet test is done simply putting a little oil down the cylinder via the spark plug hole. This will tell you if the motor has low compression (you take the numbers before and after) If the numbers are really different after putting the oil down there... then the rings are worn. (they shouldnt be below 145psi) If the rings are worn then i would say replace the motor. You can actually get a used one for like 500 bucks.

If there is white goop under the oil cap that means head gasket.

What kind of repair shop tells you the timing is okay just by inspecting the belt? Thats f-ing retarded. Its possible the timing is off....