A3 1.9TDi Blown Engine

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Hi chaps, I'm new to these forums and need some help and advice please.

Our 2007 A3 1.9TDi's engine broke on the motorway at high speed a couple of days ago, the recovery mechanic said one of the pistons had broken away and come out through the "bottom of the engine".

There was no warning, just a loud pop/thump and then dead.

I've not had a chance to get under to see exactly what happened or where yet.

Is this as common a problem as it seems? What is the probable cause for a piston to break away and come through the bottom or side?

I seem to remember it's got the BXE engine but can anyone tell me how to tell for sure?

I'm after some info on who/where we can contact about the possibility of repairing the engine, or a source of a replacement engine in Berkshire.

Or are there other options from your experience?

Or pros and cons to just selling the car as it is, approximate value?

All input is very welcome, it's quite an unexpected pleasure to be here ;)

Thanks.

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Must admit I had a vague but slightly uncomfortable feeling about buying an Audi right from the beginning.

Same when I did other things that went wrong later.

Next time I should listen to my feelings :)

Anyone else had a disaster or huge expense with your Audi?

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Any thoughts at all chaps?

Would anyone here be interested in buying the rest of this car for a reasonable price?

It is black/black, in excellent condition, excellent tyres all round, with 2 of them about 3,000 miles old, with only a couple of bumper rubs from car parks.

Maybe as a project to put in a souped-up engine, and play with it, make it an exciting car again?

By the way, it wasn't a piston, it is a whole conrod, minus big end and little end! lol

It came out through the front-facing side of the sump, towards the radiator. Left a nice hole.

[James]

Hi Jim,

Sorry to hear about your predicament. 

Have you had and quotes for a replacement engine? I'm guessing you're looking at sourcing something used?

You may find there is a sticker in the spare wheel well that tells you the engine code.

How many miles had the car done?

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Hi James, thanks for your reply, it's very quiet here isn't it ;)

Yes I had a quote of £1600 to fit a recon engine.

It has done about 133,000 miles

The engine is a BXE.

They have a habit of doing this. The last oil change was only on November, about 10k miles ago.

The info from the audi-sport.net forum I posted on is that the oil and filter must be changed more frequently, and to replace the con rods and conrod bearings before it happens!

Definitely not what we would expect from an Audi or VW.

So this is yet another warning to other 1.9 BXE engine owners. Check my thread there, with the same title, for more info, with pictures of other similar damages. It's not a pretty sight.

We will sell it as it is because that would take it over its value. If anyone is interested please let me know, it's advertised elsewhere too.

Many thanks James.

[James]

That's a shame Jim.

How much are you hoping to get as it is?

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Think it would be worth £3750 not the top £4,500 (top Autotrader price for 57 plate with similar mileage, 133k), because it has a couple of marks, one is a car-park scrape on the bumper, the other is the grill edge surround was cracked, it has been repaired but not rechromed.

So hoping for £2,250.

What do you think, is this reasonable?

[James]

I don't think that sounds too bad if you've had a quote of £1600 to repair it. I'm sure someone will try and knock you down a bit more though as they always do!

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Is there a forum here to advertise the car James?

[James]

Jim we to have a a for sale section in the forums that you can advertise your car in. If you go back to the main forum page it's near the bottom.

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Many thanks James.

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Hi James.

Just to update you and end this thread.

The car sold a couple of weeks ago for near to the price we wanted, so all ended well.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

All the best.

[James]

11 hours ago, Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007 said:

Hi James.

Just to update you and end this thread.

The car sold a couple of weeks ago for near to the price we wanted, so all ended well.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated.

All the best.

Hi Jim, glad you managed to sell the car.

It sounds like you made the best of a bad situation to be honest. Have you bought a replacement yet?

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

Yes we got a used Ford Kuga

It's a very nice car to drive and being higher the view of the road is great.

[James]

On 5/4/2016 at 11:43 AM, Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007 said:

Yes we got a used Ford Kuga

It's a very nice car to drive and being higher the view of the road is great.

Cool, I actually quite like those. Prior to Audi, I've always quite liked Ford. I used to own a Focus ST.

[Jim-A3-1.9TDi-2007]

James I wanted to give you and other members an important heads-up.

Our blown engine was very probably caused by diesel fuel in the engine oil sump.

BXE engine owners have just accepted the problem as a defective engine or long oil change intervals (20k miles) but no manufacturer would expose themselves to this without being well within the risk, and modern oils don't deteriorate as they used to.

 

The diesel fuel is forced past the piston rings into the sump during extended DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) regen cycles, diluting the oil.

This causes loss of lubrication at the big-end bearings, which in turn causes either big-end wear and knocking, or the big-end to seize and break the conrod, which is what happened to ours.

Thousands of diesel cars are damaged in this way every year particularly ones doing short journeys and low speeds so the regen cycles don't complete and restart ad infinitum.

The problem can be detected by the oil level in the sump rising.

So the level must be checked weekly at least.

There's a lot of evidence and warnings on the web, including from the AA, so you can find it easily.

Please pass on this info and warning to other members, if even one engine is saved it will be excellent.

Many thanks for your kind response to a newbie, I wanted to return the favour.

Best regards,

Jim