Warning light - VW Golf 1.4tsi petrol

George Dalton

corklad32 wrote: »

Eh gods is that a big job? Bigger than a timing belt? I wonder is it ok to drive for now.

Yes unfortunately it is a big job and costs quite a bit. The timing chain stretches on them and causes the cam and crank sensor signals to go out of sync hence the fault code and MIL. VW recommend changing the oil pump pickup pipe plus some other parts along with the chain, tensioner and guides to avoid repeat failure. It is fine to drive the car for now. As the situation gets worse the car will start to run badly.

corklad32

George Dalton wrote: »

corklad32 wrote: »

Eh gods is that a big job? Bigger than a timing belt? I wonder is it ok to drive for now.

Yes unfortunately it is a big job and costs quite a bit. The timing chain stretches on them and causes the cam and crank sensor signals to go out of sync hence the fault code and MIL. VW recommend changing the oil pump pickup pipe plus some other parts along with the chain, tensioner and guides to avoid repeat failure. It is fine to drive the car for now. As the situation gets worse the car will start to run badly.

Thanks for that. So again excuse my lack of knowledge but is it a case if a timing belt was starting to go you would need to replace it immediately as it could cause all sorts of damage would this not be the case with a timing chain also? what kind of money would you be talking sounds like an awful lot

George Dalton

Chains behave differently to belts. Chains rarely (if ever) break. What I reckon has happened in your case is that the chain has stretched slightly. Unfortunately any stretch in the chain is enough to knock the sensor signals out of sync and cause the warning light to come on. Later when it stretches more it will cause running issues as well. The chain is not in danger of breaking or slipping the timing so there is no real risk of engine damage like you would get if a timing belt breaks.

It should be pointed out that I am assuming the worst case scenario here. There is a possibility that your problem is with a sensor or wiring but any time I have seen that P3008 code on a TSI it has meant new chain time.

corklad32

George Dalton wrote: »

Chains behave differently to belts. Chains rarely (if ever) break. What I reckon has happened in your case is that the chain has stretched slightly. Unfortunately any stretch in the chain is enough to knock the sensor signals out of sync and cause the warning light to come on. Later when it stretches more it will cause running issues as well. The chain is not in danger of breaking or slipping the timing so there is no real risk of engine damage like you would get if a timing belt breaks.

It should be pointed out that I am assuming the worst case scenario here. There is a possibility that your problem is with a sensor or wiring but any time I have seen that P3008 code on a TSI it has meant new chain time.

Thanks for that good to hear from someone with experience of these. Can you tell me is this likely to happen very quickly as in weeks or months? Would you know of anyone in the cork area that would do this apart from the main dealers. Would you be looking at more than 1k or 2k to do this? Would it be obvious to a mechanic if the belt has stretched - would it be easy to see? Final question if the warning light was reset would you expect to see it come back on very quickly if it was a stretched chain. Sorry for all the q's but its good to have someone with first hand information

Nonoperational

I'd check the sensor the other poster mentioned first just in case...

Nissan doctor

As has been said, that fault is related to the reading the sensor is picking up, as opposed to an issue with the sensor itself. So, given that the car is still starting and driving ok, then a timing chain issue beginning is certainly the most likely cause.

George Dalton

Exactly, especially given the fact that these engines have an issue with chains stretching.

The full description of the code makes it clearer:

012296 - Camshaft Position Sensor (G40): Signal Out of Range
P3008 - 000 - - - MIL ON

So the cam sensor is sending back a signal ok it just isn't doing it when the ECU expects it. I posted pictures a while back of old and new chains on one of these engines showing the difference between the two. I'll see if I can find them again.

George Dalton

Pictures below, sorry about the delay. Things are mental work wise at the moment. I am actually posting this from work :rolleyes: This week seems to be timing chain week, had a Corsa and two Almeras in today.

Anyway, here are the pictures of the TSI chain, old chain on top, new chain fitted in the bottom picture. The circled area in each picture shows the tensioner, you can judge how stretched the chain is by how much the tensioner plunger is protruding from the tensioner body. It is clear from the pictures that the old chain had stretched quite a bit. The car in these pictures is a 2007 TSI 140 and had only 72,000kms done when we replaced the chain last year.

Neilw

What causes them to stretch George?

I know someone who got a goodwill claim from VW to have the chain changed. Cost him small money in the end.

mickdw

My 1.8Tfsi audi has a chain too. Please let there not be a chain stretching issue with this engine.

George Dalton

Lack of oil supply or insufficient servicing is usually blamed, that goes for any car that suffers chain issues. I personally think that the chains aren't really up to it though, you'd see better chains on a pushbike than you see on some modern engines.

Nissan doctor

George Dalton wrote: »

Lack of oil supply or insufficient servicing is usually blamed, that goes for any car that suffers chain issues. I personally think that the chains aren't really up to it though, you'd see better chains on a pushbike than you see on some modern engines.

I think, for the most part, the servicing excuse is the manufacturers way out of it.

As far as I'm concerned its poor quality parts as oil type supply issues can only really effect the tensioner/pulleys etc. It has to be poor quality metal for it to actually stretch.

The obvious comparison, N15 and N16 almera's both use chains. N15 chains never stretch, N16 ones do. Do Nissan expect us to believe that people with N15's service their cars better then people with N16's?:rolleyes:

spannerboy

hello, My daughter took her VW Golf Sport TSi 140 DSG (2007)(around 47000 miles) into a VW dealer. It had developed a fault with the mechatronic unit. A replacement was going to take around 6 weeks, but it was ok to use the car until then.

They also commented that the timing chain was noisy and would need replacing at some time in the future, but was ok to use for now.

However after a few days the engine 'blew up' . car stopped suddenly etc. (could have been a nasty accident)

Towed to VW garage and they say a nut fell off the turbo impeller and caused the failure.

She is now faced with a bill for £8000 to replace the engine and turbos an labour etc.

Any thought or advice would be more than appreciated.

GavMan

spannerboy wrote: »

hello, My daughter took her VW Golf Sport TSi 140 DSG (2007)(around 47000 miles) into a VW dealer. It had developed a fault with the mechatronic unit. A replacement was going to take around 6 weeks, but it was ok to use the car until then.

They also commented that the timing chain was noisy and would need replacing at some time in the future, but was ok to use for now.

However after a few days the engine 'blew up' . car stopped suddenly etc. (could have been a nasty accident)

Towed to VW garage and they say a nut fell off the turbo impeller and caused the failure.

She is now faced with a bill for £8000 to replace the engine and turbos an labour etc.

Any thought or advice would be more than appreciated.

This may well deserve a thread of its own OP. Might get more attention.

spannerboy

GavMan wrote: »

This may well deserve a thread of its own OP. Might get more attention.

Thanks GavMan, I've done what you suggested but as I've only just joined up to this site not sure if I have broken any rules putting it in two places at once ??

any idea ? and thanks again for the advice.