Another rough idle thread

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Alex_007

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Hi everyone,

I've had a problem with my 2006 2.0 tdi since purchasing it , the car shakes at idle, it feels like the engine is missing a beat, it's not constant , It doesn't shake all the time when I'm driving but it will do it a lot if the time, it makes no difference whether the clutch is up or down or air con on n off, also the rpm needle is stable when it shakes . Ive also noticed when I come on and off the accelerate I can feel the engine kind of rocking back n forth . I had this same engine in my 08 golf and I never use to feel any movement no matter how hard I accelerated so its making me feel like something isn't right there too.

Also thanks to dannykn9 for letting me come round at short notice to hook up the car on to vagcom, no related faults found to the problem that I'm having.

Any help and suggestions are much appreciated.
 
I've got the same issue, it's not always there. But apparently changing the idle speed to a lower figure with vagcom can work
 
Hello mate , interesting... May need to contact member dannykn9 again and see if we can have a go at it . I take it that you e not attempted this yet?

Cheers
 
Can anyone recommend a garage in east London or surrounding areas , I'm in chingford and would like to get the timing checked ,I've also noticed that when its idling which looks like around the 820 mark it shakes but as I said it doesn't happen all the time but most of the time it does, there's times when I would let it idle for 15 mins and it idles perfect but...I've also noticed that of I touch the pedal and rev to around 900 it stops but if I rev to 1000 rpm it then tends to shake again.
 
I have change fuel filter and clean MAF sensor. problem solved. it is cheap fix that maybe work for your car.
 
cera said:
I have change fuel filter and clean MAF sensor. problem solved. it is cheap fix that maybe work for your car.
Click to expand...

Hello thanks I will give that a go, don't mind changing service parts and seeing if there's an improvement...I have just noticed 2 holes in a plastic pipe that goes to the maf sensor, not the air box side of the sensor , the back of it.
 
Alex_007 said:
Hello thanks I will give that a go, don't mind changing service parts and seeing if there's an improvement...I have just noticed 2 holes in a plastic pipe that goes to the maf sensor, not the air box side of the sensor , the back of it.
Click to expand...

If you've got holes after the maf sensor then it won't be reading right, tape the holes over and see if that improves things & replace the pipe...

The timing can be checked with VCDS, not something I've done much of though & can't remember what it should be but there is plenty of info on here for torsion value

Also if you're getting movement on acceleration/backing off, have you checked all the engine mounts? Dogbone more likely of the 3
 
Boon said:
If you've got holes after the maf sensor then it won't be reading right, tape the holes over and see if that improves things & replace the pipe...

The timing can be checked with VCDS, not something I've done much of though & can't remember what it should be but there is plenty of info on here for torsion value

Also if you're getting movement on acceleration/backing off, have you checked all the engine mounts? Dogbone more likely of the 3
Click to expand...

Hello there thanks for the info , I was thinking to check them , I'm not really sure how to though to be honest so may have to take it to a garage , I did get under the car to take a look at the dogbone but didn't really know what to look out for , they don't seen that expensive do may change it anyway.

Apparently you can't check the timing on my year/engine through vcds ? I think it was on a site called rosstech or something like that .

I've just got the pipe off and taping it up as we speak.

Cheers
 
My previous 2004 2.0tdi used to shake and i spend 6 months trying to diagnose this problem and heres what i found
1. The DMF is almost always the cause of this so unless its been recently changed, change it, we've had 4 2.0 tdi's with this fault and the DMF has been the culprit. Infact my new one is occasionally doing the same just really faint but i can hear the dmf chatter so i know exactly what it is.
2. The cambelt, if its been changed recently...was it done properly by someone who has experience working on this engine because the timing may be off, happened to my mum before and it had to go back to the dealer.
3. changing the idle speed can be done on VCDS will only make it better if its not the above two from my experience
4. check the pipes, vacuum reservoir, egr, throttle body and although the injectors may be fine, change your fuel filter
5. The Injector wiring loom, cost me £83 from the dealer and this is anther thing which is overlooked
6. Alex_007 is spot on, engine mounts and dogbone mount will 100% cause the jerk
 
Rodney5950 said:
My previous 2004 2.0tdi used to shake and i spend 6 months trying to diagnose this problem and heres what i found
1. The DMF is almost always the cause of this so unless its been recently changed, change it, we've had 4 2.0 tdi's with this fault and the DMF has been the culprit. Infact my new one is occasionally doing the same just really faint but i can hear the dmf chatter so i know exactly what it is.
2. The cambelt, if its been changed recently...was it done properly by someone who has experience working on this engine because the timing may be off, happened to my mum before and it had to go back to the dealer.
3. changing the idle speed can be done on VCDS will only make it better if its not the above two from my experience
4. check the pipes, vacuum reservoir, egr, throttle body and although the injectors may be fine, change your fuel filter
5. The Injector wiring loom, cost me £83 from the dealer and this is anther thing which is overlooked
6. Alex_007 is spot on, engine mounts and dogbone mount will 100% cause the jerk
Click to expand...

Hello and thanks for your reply. I've taped up a couple of jokes that I spotted in the pipe work , seems to pick up better from low revs but rough idle still there.

Regarding DMF, if that was in need of replacing would it clatter on idle ? There's no noise from it whether I have the clutch up or down .

Cambelt was done 30000 miles ago by previous owner, I will get this checked, I'm just trying to find a reputable garage ATM , couldn't get in to the timing options using VCDS.

I've heard about the wiring loom, would VCDS be able to tell if its the loom or if the injectors are the problem ? It doesn't run rough all the time so assumed... Well hoped it wouldn't be injectors.

I'm going to change fuel filter tonight and see if it improves anything .

Cheers
 
Is there any certain tests I can so to check the dogbone mount/engine mounts as I feel a lot of movement when on and off the accelerator .

Cheers
 
turn idle down in vag com to 800 - 820 max see what happens
 
tdi-man said:
turn idle down in vag com to 800 - 820 max see what happens
Click to expand...

Hello and thanks, I will give that a go, I will shout up dannykn9 and see if we can do this using VCDS.
Do you know any decent garages around east London chingford that could check the timing ?

Cheers
 
audi upgrades
Just changed fuel filter and still no change, disconnected maf and it still run rough on idle....I took it out and and it drives and pulls perfectly, it's just blooming idle issue, will have to get engine mounts checked and the timing.
 
I've also noticed a lot of white powder completely covering the battery terminals ?
 
Sorry to drag this on...I'm just noticing little things and wondering if its related , when the car is shaking the interior light dims in time with the shaking !

As much as I love cars they drive me up the wall !! Worse than what my mrs does!
 
my car was showing lots of errors, over 10 and 6 of them were cleared after replacing the wiring loom, your torsion value is most probably off and im 99% certain of this, usually happens after cambelt change or a few 000 miles after, you can check this with vcds, mine was 6.6 which was completely off 3 months after cambelt change at 216,000miles, car drove perfect but idled extremely bad.

A worn dogbone mount will feel like engine is seperating from gearbox of chugging back and forth when changing gear, taking off or coming to a stop, engine mounts can also cause shaking at idle, quite easy to replace, i changed the top two by jacking the engine up with two trolley jacks in an hour or so.

changing my alternator and battery cured the dimming of the lights which ive seen on another A3.

first step check your torsion value, that will rule of timing, then check to see if injectors are firing correctly on vcds
 
Alex_007 said:
Sorry to drag this on...I'm just noticing little things and wondering if its related , when the car is shaking the interior light dims in time with the shaking !

As much as I love cars they drive me up the wall !! Worse than what my mrs does!
Click to expand...

thats only because at idle the car isn't producing as much voltage/amps as it would when at a higher rpm.

Its kind of the same as when you use a certain electrical appliance in your home and some of the lighting dims.
 
Rodney5950 said:
my car was showing lots of errors, over 10 and 6 of them were cleared after replacing the wiring loom, your torsion value is most probably off and im 99% certain of this, usually happens after cambelt change or a few 000 miles after, you can check this with vcds, mine was 6.6 which was completely off 3 months after cambelt change at 216,000miles, car drove perfect but idled extremely bad.

A worn dogbone mount will feel like engine is seperating from gearbox of chugging back and forth when changing gear, taking off or coming to a stop, engine mounts can also cause shaking at idle, quite easy to replace, i changed the top two by jacking the engine up with two trolley jacks in an hour or so.

changing my alternator and battery cured the dimming of the lights which ive seen on another A3.

first step check your torsion value, that will rule of timing, then check to see if injectors are firing correctly on vcds
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that info, what errors was you getting that made you change the wiring loom?

I'm defo going to get the timing checked, I'm trying to locate someone decent localish .

I changed fuel filter and last night I also Notcied the battery terminals caked in white powder, I disconnected the battery cleaned them all up and the car is running a lot better ? Well basically it's boosting a lot earlier and pick up speed is a lot better when at low speed in 4th gear for example , very confusing. I didn't go for a long drive so don't know if the shaky idle has gone , I still felt the car shake slightly every 5 to seconds or so but no where near as much, but as I say I will have to take it out for a longer drive but im 100% that its boosting earlier since cleaning terminals and battery .

I've been told that you can't check all of the timing with VCDS on the earlier 2.0 tdi 140 engines .

With regards to the mounts, basically Im sure i can feel the engine rock back n fourth a couple of times when I'm off and on the accelerator and sometime I hear a minor thump at the same time. I may search for a 'how to' and see how easy it is and give it a go.

But really want the timing checked firdt so going to get on the case .


Cheers
 
smurfworth said:
thats only because at idle the car isn't producing as much voltage/amps as it would when at a higher rpm.

Its kind of the same as when you use a certain electrical appliance in your home and some of the lighting dims.
Click to expand...

Ah I see thanks , I think I may be being a bit picky, the headlights and dash lights don't dim so it's probably ok.

Cheers again mate
 
to check timing you have to set flywheel to tdc by looking threw inspection plate once that's set you can adjust the front cam and lock in place with locking pin then adjust rear cam and lock in place . then u should also get your injector timing set as well to be on the safe side but this doesn't need doing.
 
tdi-man said:
to check timing you have to set flywheel to tdc by looking threw inspection plate once that's set you can adjust the front cam and lock in place with locking pin then adjust rear cam and lock in place . then u should also get your injector timing set as well to be on the safe side but this doesn't need doing.
Click to expand...

Hello tdi-man

Unfortunately I wouldn't have a clue how to do it myself, hopefully a decent garage won't charge to much to check it for me and I will mention the injection timing... I better off going to a vw/audi specialist for the timing am I not?
 
Last edited:
Hi mate,

i have recently had similar issues to what you are experiencing.
I have had some work done to the car although most of it was done just to maintain the car and not directly for this issue...
The work i have done so far is:

Stage 1 clutch and flywheel from Darkside Developments
Cambelt and water pump changed
glow plugs changed
new injector loom
new rocket gasket.

i did have an injector misfire on one of the cylinders which i havent checked in the last couple days but i have a massive improvement on the rough idle issue.

also last time i had a rough idle problem (2 years ago - see this thread - http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/137639-engine-mounts.html) it felt like the whole car would shake and rumble when the car was on a hill which turned out to be faulty engine mounts, i replaced those with uprated THS ones and i used a polybush dogbone insert which cured the issue. The dogbone one wasnt changed as i didnt want to drop the subframe to do it, though i am thinking that i should now replace the dogbone mount as i can feel a bit of play in the dogbone bush.
 
audi upgrades
Ash187 said:
Hi mate,

i have recently had similar issues to what you are experiencing.
I have had some work done to the car although most of it was done just to maintain the car and not directly for this issue...
The work i have done so far is:

Stage 1 clutch and flywheel from Darkside Developments
Cambelt and water pump changed
glow plugs changed
new injector loom
new rocket gasket.

i did have an injector misfire on one of the cylinders which i havent checked in the last couple days but i have a massive improvement on the rough idle issue.

also last time i had a rough idle problem (2 years ago - see this thread - http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-sportback-8p-chassis/137639-engine-mounts.html) it felt like the whole car would shake and rumble when the car was on a hill which turned out to be faulty engine mounts, i replaced those with uprated THS ones and i used a polybush dogbone insert which cured the issue. The dogbone one wasnt changed as i didnt want to drop the subframe to do it, though i am thinking that i should now replace the dogbone mount as i can feel a bit of play in the dogbone bush.
Click to expand...

Hello mate

Cheers for all the info. Why did you have the injector loom replaced and glow plugs , did that show up on the diagnostic machine as faulty ?

I'm hoping when I drive it later that the shaking has gone as I couldn't really feel it at all lay night but that was only a short trip , I can't work out why it's not shaking all the time, I'm thinking that I'd it was injector related then it would do it all the time but then again surely if it was mounts then it would do it all the time, I'm not a mechanic so I'm just guessing really.

As I mentioned earlier I changed fuel filter and disconnected the battery and cleaned it and the terminals last night as they was completely covered in white powder corrosion and i couldnt feel the shake but I only drove to the shop, I'm going on a long drive tonight so will find out if its cured , I still felt a little miss in the engine every 5 to 10 seconds but its vague and I probably being picky with it.

I'm going to get the insert for the dogbone and fit it myself , it seems pretty easy to do .

Cheers
 
Yh like I said most of the work I did was for maintenance reasons... I have had the glow plugs error on 2 cylinders for a couple years now but was always advised not to change them until starting the car became an issue. Recently as the cold weather has hit it was taking 2 seconds longer for the engine to turn so I figured I would replace them before something went wrong and left me without a car in the winter.
To be honest though the injector loom is probably the best fix I have done as the car feels so much smoother.

The best way to replicate my first issue with the engine mounts with that rumble and shakey idle was to turn the air con off and hold the brake pedal on a uphill climb. It was the most uncomfortable feeling but it puts the engine under load and the shaking could be felt through the car.
do you have the air con on all the time?
 
Ash187 said:
Yh like I said most of the work I did was for maintenance reasons... I have had the glow plugs error on 2 cylinders for a couple years now but was always advised not to change them until starting the car became an issue. Recently as the cold weather has hit it was taking 2 seconds longer for the engine to turn so I figured I would replace them before something went wrong and left me without a car in the winter.
To be honest though the injector loom is probably the best fix I have done as the car feels so much smoother.

The best way to replicate my first issue with the engine mounts with that rumble and shakey idle was to turn the air con off and hold the brake pedal on a uphill climb. It was the most uncomfortable feeling but it puts the engine under load and the shaking could be felt through the car.
do you have the air con on all the time?
Click to expand...

Hmm may change the injector loom ...I'v heard so much about them going faulty.

No I always have the air con off, I wonder why holding the brakes on a hill made a difference.

I see you got the red insert for the mount, what's the difference with regards to the different colours?

Just want this sorted do I can crack on with modding the car .

Cheers
 
On flat ground the engine doesn't move as much whereas on the hill you can feel how the engine moved front/back.

the red insert is for the diesels if I remember correctly, that's the one that I was told is compatible with my car/engine
 
Ash187 said:
On flat ground the engine doesn't move as much whereas on the hill you can feel how the engine moved front/back.

the red insert is for the diesels if I remember correctly, that's the one that I was told is compatible with my car/engine
Click to expand...

Ah I see ok cool I will give that a go.

I will get the insert too, just trying to find somewhere in London that sells them so that I can fit it on the weekend.

Do you pics of your car on here? It sounds nice from the description, what year is it? Mines a 55 plate
 
Ash187 said:
Lol my car is posted all over this forum... But have a click on my blog (link in sig) and you will see what I have done to it
Click to expand...

Haha ok I will have look and get back to you
 
Ash187 said:
Lol my car is posted all over this forum... But have a click on my blog (link in sig) and you will see what I have done to it
Click to expand...

Yep your car looks the nuts... Can't find a side on pic with the rims showing? I want those rear lights, what year is your car and what headlights are they ?
 
Ash187 said:
Lol my car is posted all over this forum... But have a click on my blog (link in sig) and you will see what I have done to it
Click to expand...

Yep your car looks the nuts... Can't find a side on pic with the rims showing? I want those rear lights, what year is your car and what headlights are they ? Or have put a whole new front on it from the facelift?
 
Does anyone anywhere in London/Essex area where I can purchase the power flex insert for dogbone mount? I'd rather go pick one up than buy online.

Cheers
 
Alex_007 said:
Thank you mate, unfortunately they don't stick them. The hunt is on lol
Click to expand...

Sweeeeeet sorted it.

If anyone needs powerflex bushes eurocarparts sell them, most of them are held at there main branch/headoffice being wembley but it will be at my local branch first thing tomorrow morning.
 
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