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