3.0tdi pros and cons

mattyb6

mattyb6

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I'm after a 3.0tdi quattro very soon

I've seen an a5 3.0 but want a a4.

I want to know the pros and cons of this engine.

I think I remember reading the swirl flaps or something but would like to know more as I really don't wanna spend money on parts on a newer car

I do about 200miles per week, but after living with a pd130 and smaller cars I want something with some power, plus a quattro

Ideally I want little maintenance and reliability. Other than servicing costs obviously
 
Very reliable engine in the B8 A4 ,A5 incarnation. earlier versions in the B7 used to suffer with injector issues.
As you say the most common issue with the B8 version is the swirl flaps but they are easily and cheaply resolved with some new actuator arms, just over £30 for the pair and not difficult to do. Changed mine recently whilst changing some glow plugs.
The engine is a chain cam good for around 200K apparently. The engine needs to be removed to do the work and the parts are expensive but thats at 200K miles.
The engine doesn't really suffer with any other common issues.
Really responds well to a map and a few other tweaks mine is runs 13.3 seconds at 105mph at Santa pod which posts a 0-60 time around 5 seconds so they aren't slow.
I used to have a 207bhp PD130 Passat before and I wanted something that was as reliable could be made to go quick but wouldn't cost me the earth to run. I think it fits the bill very well.
Have a look at the build thread linked in my signature at the bottom.

Karl
 
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My waterpump went at 87k but part from that the 3.0TDi is a beaut. Doesn't sound like a diesel and after 89k miles it doesn't need any oil between services. Must be one of the best engines Audi does.
 
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Very unlucky having the waterpump fail on you, at least it's fairly easy to do being on the front of the engine driven by the serpentine belt .
Karl.
 
Karl I've read your thread twice now haha
And seen you on the b6 section a few times, I would love it to get to the 300bhp mark, which in sure Paul @ unit 9 can help me with lol



Is the a5 engine identical to the a4 one apart from wether it's capa or cawa?

I'm guessing the water pump is driven by the belt at the front of the car so it's an easier fix?
Every car I've had has been a vag with over 100k
But I think it's time to get a lower milage car so I can enjoy with less maintenance and for longer

My b6 pd130 has 193k on so has served me we for the last 3years.

As for the a4 it self, can the likes of cruise control, mmi, and most other toys be retrofitted.

I want iphone connectivity, and cruise but if I can't find them in a good car, il retrofit them.

Likes of leather, drls, bigger alloys, I'm not fussed about really.
 
The CCWA engine and the CAPA are essentially the same but I think have slightly different EGR set ups and mapping and the High pressure fuel pump is different on the CCWA, some later CAPA engines have the same pump as the CCWA.
Mine is an earlier CAPA engine and is EU4 plus so the C02 is a little higher than the slightly later EU5 cars which means the road tax is slightly more expensive.
CO2 on mine is 184 I think, slightly later cars are something like 176 so are the next tax bracket down.
As regards reliability and tuning potential I don't think there is any difference.
The most powerful 3.0 TDI i have come across is an A5 running just over 400bhp and thats an early CAPA engine like mine.

Karl.
 
Thanks Karl

I'm not bothered interns of slight differences with emissions etc and Egr's

400bho would be awesome in a diesel but from 240bhp roughly to nearly 300bho would be more than enough for me.
Especially coming from an untouched pd130.

Only i tensions I have, is dpf removal, egr mapped out and a map it's self.

Ive seen you still get about 40mpg with the mods too, I'm getting that out my a4 ATM so won't feel the difference, and the tax is only £30/£40 more per year.
 
I've got a 3.0 tdi a4 s line,like Karl I got the dpf delete and a re map at unicorn Motorsport. Touch wood everything with the engine has been spot on just started getting a fault with the central locking not unlocking the drivers door but this seems like a common fault with the a4s.
 
I had a 2007 B7 3.0 TDI sold it a couple of months ago, missing it already! I replaced one swirl flap and the Turbo had a rebuild due to a build up of carbon which stopped something working properly. Any stoking car stonking MPG and stonking power.. Bit of a stonker I guess. Only sold it as I bought an low mileage CLK 270 CDI and B5 S4 Avant and have no need for 2 Avants. The Benz nice as it is is not a patch on the Audi and already looking at A5's with you guessed it a 3.0 TDI engine !
 
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Go for it, a very infectious car to drive, journey's becomes a joy and sometimes even fun.
 
I'm going to see how much the b6 is going to cost to fix first, think it's an oil cooler... But that's another story

A turbo rebuild is a rarity really, and I think il go for a test drive and see how infectious they really are.

How easy is 300bhp with them?
Just exhaust (dpf out) maybe stainless?
Egr/regenerate mapped out
And a map itself ?

What sort of torque too?
 
Most mappers offer about 290bhp/600+Nm

I have the S-Tronic auto box, this Box is rated at 550Nm so I've not bothered mapping. I'll just stick with me 245bhp/500Nm, it's still fun.
 
I've got an a4 b8 3.0 tdi and it is great to drive. My advice would be to take vcds with you as many of them suffer from carbon build up in egr.
From other point take a test drive on bumpy roads as you can get some rattles around dashboard, armrest, doors and the rear shelf (saloon)
 
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I took my VCDS with me when I went to look at the A4 I bought. Told me the car had a duff fuel cap lid solenoid, a common problem. Fuel cap doesn't lock but most people never notice as it's unlocked when ever the car is anyway.
Also a duff glow plug. Used these little gems of info to get £150 off the car. Cost me about £45 to replace the solenoid and glow plug.
There are plenty of things on a car that can be duff / intermittent so it really makes sense to check a car out.
 
I don't own vcds, I know my mate Paul@unit9 rentals does
I've been meaning to buy it for ages now, but it's actually a good idea, even if the car looks mint

Stuff that's easy fixes could still mean some scent money off the price
 
You could buy a 2.0 TFSI that uses 1L of oil every 500 miles, those are not cheap to fix, or a 2.0 TDI with duff oil pump/ balancer shaft problems again not cheap to fix. The 3.0 TDI doesn't have any major well known issues like this unless you buy one of the earlier B6/B7 cars where they suffered with injector issues.
They seem to have resolved this with the B8 cars.
There does seem to be evidence of possible water pump issues on some cars but thats not that expensive to change and is well within the scope of the average DIY bod.

Karl.
 
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That was my point Karl, yes if it does go wrong it's mega bucks but there seems to be less chance on the 3.0 than the smaller engines.

Yes the mpg is slightly lower but it's not that much, and the torque I would imagine would make up for that and the tuning capabilities
 
There is always a cost to running a bigger engine, lower fuel consumption, more road tax, increased servicing costs ( an oil filter costs no more than a 2.0 TDI one but the car takes 7.5L of oil instead of 4.5L ) . But in the scheme of things I wouldn't classify these as mega costs. An alternator, glow plug, air filter , pollen filter, brake discs or pads don't cost that much more if anything at all than a 2.0 TDI car.

Karl.
 
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