its broken

[nigeltee]

as soon as i work out how to post a pic i will, (what is mozilla 4+?). or PM me, i can mail it ok.

I too had the metallic rattle / vibration from the turbo / wastegate that some of the other people have been discussing. I only bought the car 5 weeks ago and the dealer said they would fix it before i picked it up. They didnt. Fed me some excuse and said it would settle down with use. I did my own research then, and found they had lied and eventually they replaced the turbo, a recon unit was fitted and i had to pay the difference between a 2nd hand one and a recon one. I gets the car home, go out the next day in it and when accelerating up to speed there was suddenly a lot of noise and whistling of turbo.

Popping the hood i was greeted by the cat hanging away from the turbo.

As i dont know how to get a pic on here, picture the back of the turbo where the cat joins it. You have 3 bolts holding the two pieces together. Well, all the bolts are there and the flange of the cat, but the cat is now totally separate from the flange!!

The car now sounds like a cross between a tractor and a tuned escort turbo!

Because of the hassle we have had with the dealer ( there lies, never phoning back etc ) the turbo not working and now the cat broke, we want to reject the car.
Guess what? the owners on holiday!

I wish we had never gone and picked it up.

I know cars are machines and machines do go wrong but i bought this car to jump in, drive up and down the country in, in comfort and be secure in the knowledge we would get there.

Owners away till monday, so will have to wait till then. This incident has knocked my faith in this car. Almost in cars in general.

Just thought i would air my woes, see if anyone else has any suggestions / advice.

The car is an s plate 1.8T with 88k on the clock.


Regards

Nige

 

[Kevint]

I've sent you a PM mate, mail me the pics and I'll post them up for you.

Sounds to me though like the exhaust was corroded and in swapping it (the turbo) over they've made it worse, to the point it failed.

Kev.

 

[madvw]

sh!t, that sounds like a nightmare.

sounds like you have some things to talk over with the owner of that garage.

If it was me, i'd park it outside the garage with a picture of the fecked turbo on the dash, and a sign saying who sold it. Then see how quickly you get a phone call.

but then thats me, and i usually fly off the handle, get nowhere and end up regretting it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bang.gif

I'm sure others can help in a more mature way /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[nigeltee]

thank you madvw, dealer is 1and a half hours away. It has been suggested we get there local paper round there. and there is a trading standard board that this garage are registered with.

 

[Kevint]

Here you go fella...

Kev.

 

[Kevint]

Now I've seen the pics it looks like a very clean break/connection.

I'm sure someone on here with more technical ability than me (i.e. more than none) can tell you what's going on there.

Kev.

 

[mtsakmakis]

It doesnt take technical ability - what has happened is the pressed collector flange has obviously failed and has caused the main part of the exhaust to come away. This is an easy fix if you know someone who can weld. Just take off the collector flange, cat (may require test pipe/front pipe disconnection) and have it re-welded, making sure it all lines up as per normal. If you were here in Australia, I would do it for you.

 

[PaulJC84]

Yeah its an easy fix.

Will not cost much to get it sorted if you dont want to take the car back to the garage.

The cat can be a bit of a pain to remove but one you have done it once its easy.

If you have access to a work shop you could just take it off yourself and get someone to weld it.

 

[madkebab]

Nige, I think you have been extremely unlucky mate. In general these cars are extremely reliable. I doubt you will have alot of joy with the dealers as this sort of thing will be hard to get covered on a warranty. Snoop is selling a cat on here at the monent. Might be worth having a look. Hope you gets things sorted.

 

[simon_golf_tt]

Well Nige - the exact same thing happened to me on my old B5. It sounded like a tractor for sure! Not surprising when you consider there was no exhaust attached to the engine!!

It is an easy fix and one that I did myself. Took the cat off which is the trickiest bit as the lower bolts are hard to access. Once off it's just a case of welding up the flange to the cat, making sure you have the same orientation as before. The alternative is a new cat - which will cost a few bob!

On mine the problem looked to be metal fatigue - a clean crack all the way round. Make sure that the hanger just down from the cat is still attached. If not the weight of the exhaust is being taken by the flange and this could have lead to the fatigue. Reckon this is what happened on mine.

 

[Danielson]

i have my old cat on e bay at the minute, look here! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?V...E%3AIT&rd=1

 

[nigeltee]

Guys, thanks for the words of advice. We havent decided what we are doing yet. But if it is that easy to sort out, then it may be that we decide to get it fixed. I think the dealer will just weld it anyway, cant see them coughing up for a new cat. Snoops one looks interesting though.

I realise any second hand car is likely to have problems, we have just been unlucky. I really enjoyed the car before it broke.

I will keep you all posted.

Thanks again.

Nige

 

[hop2407]

Nige..... the exact, and I mean exact thing has happened to me in the past.... I was nailing the car and then all of sudden I heard a noise (cant explain it) and the car then sounded awful (Tractor etc.) - I, like you, immediately thought, Sh! t - I've blown the turbo.
Upon nvestigation I spotted wha you have in your pic.
A phonecall to a garage in sheffield, ASCAR (www.ukexhausts.com), had me going VERY slowly up the bypass to them.
They assured me that by the time they had finished, the exhaust and connection would be stronger than the original...... I obvioulsy cant test it but they have made a damn fine job..... Cant remember how much but not dear, 1-2 hours labour..... and whilst I was there, they manage to sell me a S/Steel back box.....

If you decide to get it mended, then if he's good, it will be as good as the original (*touches wood*)

 

[hop2407]

Sorry, should read [url[http://www.exhaustsuk.co.uk/frames.html[/url]

 

[nigeltee]

thanks for the link hops, am checkin it now. Yep, i was giving the car some exercise when the pipe went. Thats what cars are for though isnt it?

Garage are arranging to come pick the car up.

I just hope that if they do weld it. they do it properly.

Will keep you posted.

Nige

 

[hop2407]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh_2.gif @ exercise...... good luck Nige, hope the garage sort it 4 you.....
I guess Exhaustsuk are a 'tad' too far from your location......

 

[nigeltee]

just a little bit out of me way. The garage are sending a recovery truck this evening. Will let you know how it goes next week.

Think i will wait till we change cars again! till i start modding. I have lost faith in this one for the moment. Its been a week and a half of no driving already, and a week of no car whilst the turbo was changed!


Regards

Nige

 

[A4 Quattro Sport]

The same thing happened to my 1.8T QS last night. I will be taking the exhaust off tonight to weld the flange back on.

Seems to be a common problem!