Cupra tdi ARL 150 no power

[Leon_1.8T]

Hi guys,

Cupra tdi has been a bit on off with power over the last few weeks, mainly really sluggish in 1st and 2nd gear but last night it seemed completely dead and had a load of black smoke coming out the back. I scanned obd and it said turbo pressure low and I had another code mentioning catalyst efficiency below on bank 1.

Any ideas as to what may be wrong, anyone know how difficult turbo change on these are if it is the turbo itself?

Thanks

Mike

 

[Degsy]

boost leak? pipe blew off possibly

D.

 

[Leon_1.8T]

Thanks for the reply mate.
I have checked all the usual pipes but they look fine, I think I'll have to jack it up and get a better look at the pancake pipe maybe.
Just hoping its not a turbo as haven't done one on these so a little unsure of it.

 

[Davidh124]

Hi guys,

I scanned obd and it said turbo pressure low and I had another code mentioning catalyst efficiency below on bank 1.



Mike

well maybe by the sound of what the scanner brought up it could be the exhaust manifold join to the tubo or possibly the down pip to the cat ? or maybe just a faulty boost sensor

 

[MOZ_LC_TDI]

How old is it and have you ever cleaned the EGR valve and inlet manifold?

I would suspect inlet manifold entry from EGR valve is well and truly coked up.

Possibly some sticky vane in the turbo too.

My recommendation for what its worth would be to remove the EGR valve and check what thats like (give it a clean, but more importantly check that inlet manifold. the entry to that cokes up with crud and reduces the diameter for air to flow, if thats as clogged as I suspect (seen plenty) then your air fuel mix may be overfueling - hence the excessive smoke) and lack of air getting through affecting performance.

If the intake manifold is clogged, then really you should remove it to clean it out. Many have cleared the entry port in situ carefully scooping it out but beware that if any large bits drop down into the inlet manifold they could be pulled into the engine (and may trap a valve open?).

A good clearout of those would be worth while. After that or at the same time you could do the classic Mr Muscle treatment of the Turbo to help with the possibility of sticky vane (easiest access is under the car and remove the exhaust to turbo pipe and squirt it in there.

if you dont fancy the mr muscle process, the try using some forte diesel turbo cleaner in your fuel and getting things hot and then a major high revving thrash to clear out the turbo.

hopefully this will all work for you (and is all cheap DIY - just takes a bit of time- allocate a good day - £2 for a can of mr muscle and £10 or so for replacement gaskets - if needed) well worth trying before considering changing turbo's). Do a search on here or you tube - plenty of DIY's to show how to do it.

if it works then a damn good Italian tune up thrashing once or twice a week should keep it sweet.

Good luck.
Moz