[Alton]

I have a '92 TDI std. wagon ALH with 120,000 miles. A few days ago after getting off the freeway about a half mile, we (wife and I) heard a noise like some kind of mechanical problem. I pulled over, prepared to see oil or water or some engine part on the pavement. Nothing seen. Got back in and drove a few blocks home. Everything seemed OK. No knocking, no smoke, no uneveness, rev'd engine to 3-4 k. Next day I noticed a pronounced lack of power, especially uphill. Had to shift down on a hill I took easily before in "high."

My diagnosis: Must be the turbo injector. Took it off, but vanes turn OK and appear undamaged. When I shake it, nothing heard. Engine is now out of the vehicle.

Question: Could it still be something inside the turbo? If not, what else could it be??

 

[grizzly]

You took the engine out for lack of power? Try shaking the engine, see if anything is loose! You took the turbo apart already? It could have been something as simple as a broken vacuum line. Check out the article on limp mode.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Yes, it could be sticking vanes. Check out the FAQ article for low power, I don't know what the mechanical noise is. Do you still hear it?

 

[Alton]

You took the engine out for lack of power? Try shaking the engine, see if anything is loose! You took the turbo apart already? It could have been something as simple as a broken vacuum line. Check out the article on limp mode.

Would a broken vacuum line make a noise?

 

[Alton]

I have read all the FAQ's on turbo injectors. Don't still hear the noise, as engine is out. Could it still be sticking vanes if they turn freely by hand?

 

[chittychittybangbang]

Broken vac line will not make a noise. An EGR, exhaust, or intake leak may make noise.

Sticking vanes, just to make sure that we are talking about the same movement, you can move the external lever with a light fingertip effort? There should be no resistance once the VNT actuator lever is disconnected.

 

[larrysmiths1]

I have a '92 TDI std. wagon ALH with 120,000 miles. A few days ago after getting off the freeway about a half mile, we (wife and I) heard a noise like some kind of mechanical problem. I pulled over, prepared to see oil or water or some engine part on the pavement. Nothing seen. Got back in and drove a few blocks home. Everything seemed OK. No knocking, no smoke, no uneveness, rev'd engine to 3-4 k. Next day I noticed a pronounced lack of power, especially uphill. Had to shift down on a hill I took easily before in "high."

My diagnosis: Must be the turbo injector. Took it off, but vanes turn OK and appear undamaged. When I shake it, nothing heard. Engine is now out of the vehicle.

Question: Could it still be something inside the turbo? If not, what else could it be??

Let's start at the beginning shall we? Noises can be divided into several sub-groups.
Can this "mechanical" noise be best described as: ticking, clicking, knocking, thumping, banging, clattering, buzzing, droning, screeching, grinding, scraping, squealing, rattling?

Next question:Is it a "rotational" noise and if so does the noise seem to correlate more to: road speed, engine RPM?
Is the noise more prevalent in turns? Deceleration? Acceleration? Or is it a steady, constant noise?

Next we have hydraulic and pressure/vacuum noises: best described as: hissing, swishing, gurgling, sloshing, singing (like a tea kettle) splattering, sputtering, whistling, wheezing?

Please.. give people something to go on here. The fact that you have already removed the engine from the car tells me a couple of things about you. 1) you are in way too much of a hurry to make any logical diagnosis, ( the systematic checking and testing of theory's). 2) you have done no research to further your understanding of the car.

Seems that there are also many "senior" members jumping to conclusions and offering many possible scenarios..... but not much "Questioning".

I understand that I'm a "newbie" on this board and several of you guys are really up on all the new stuff. I am not trying to be insulting to anyone. Everyone seems to be stuck in the "turbo rut". Maybe more questions are in order.... not that it matters now that the engine is out...... just sayin'..... I'll let the '92 ALH slide as a typo

 

[diesel4ever]

Was there any engine code displayed? I would like to figure out what the problem was prior yanking the engine out of vehicle. VCDS could guide you to the source of the problem.

 

[stroud2010]

On my beetle, while removing the turbo and intake, there were several times where it would have been A LOT easier to drop the engine out of the car because of space... in Alton's defense