2007 Passat needs a totally new engine - $25k!

[SilverWagon]

Started the thread below, now a month on wanted to come back with an update and more advice it's getting worse!

Analysis of the problem has now revealed that there is metal in the engine and they removed what appears to be a wheel balance weight from the oil sump and there were metal shavings through the top of the engine.

We're now talking to the insurance company about what is covered as this is going to be a very expensive exercise. Everyone is aking how it happened - i have no idea, nobody does.

Details of the report from VW below....

RATTLE FROM ENGINE
CYLINDER 1 MISSFIRE
ASSESSED VEHICLE FOR WARNING LIGHTS ON DASH & RATTLE
COMING FROM ENGINE - CARRIED OUT COMPUTER DIAGNOSIS &
FOUND MISSFIRE IN CYLINER 1 - CARRIED OUT COMPRESSION TEST
& FOUND LOW COMPRESSION IN CYLINDER 1 - REMOVED ENGINE FROM
VEHICLE - REMOVED TRANSMISSION TO CHECK CHAINS & TIMING -
FOUND TIMING SLIGHTLY OUT - REMOVED CYLINDER HEAD & FOUND
DAMAGE TO CYLINDER 1 & CYLINDER 3 PISTONS - CAUSED BY
FOREIGN OBJECT - REMOVED SUMP TO REMOVED PISTONS & FOUND
WHEEL WEIGHT IN SUMP. SUSPECT A WEIGHT HAS GONE THROUGH THE
INTAKE & CAUSED ENGINE FAILURE. VEHICLE REQUIRES NEW ENGINE
DUE TO PISTONS, HEAD & BLOCK DAMAGED.

Original Post:

Compression loss cylinder one
2007 v6 passat, 45k km

Short version...
car loss power, rough at idle, was throwing an error code saying cylinder 1 was not firing properly

Long version...
Coincidently (or not) had the cats changed two days before at hitech in darlinghurst sydney. When i took it back and we put it on the hoist we could hear that the cats were fine and there was now a new problem. A rattle from further up front in the engine

VW now has the car, they did the usual checks - spark plug, leads, coils and still the problem. They did a compression test and cylinder one has lost compresssion. Now they are pulling the head off (10 hours labour).

Has anyone heard of this problem before or got any ideas. The car has pretty low km and is not driven hard very often as it's my wifes.

[Woogler]

Well now I have heard it all... Keen to hear how you go mate. Good luck!

[clip]

Why would they suspect a wheel weight has gone through the intake? That would just rattle around your cylinder head getting bashed to peices, possibly smashing the top of the piston (is this what they mean by "damage to the piston"?), or it would get spat out into the intake in bits and then get caught up in your cat. Only other way is if it did really destroy a piston allowing it to drop into the sump. But you'd have more than just "low" compression and a bit of misfire! Of course the first thing is it would had to have got past your airbox and filter unless you lost the intake between the inlet and the airbox, or when they say gone through the intake, is there a big hole in your intake manifold?

Lots of unanswered questions and a major hassel for you too sorry. Not good whatever it is. Hope you can find the culprit.

[shakespeare]

I'd contact your insurance company and see if this can be covered! Wheel weight entering the engine via the intake is pretty bizarre though! Kinda like the incident that killed one of the Walkinshaw XJS Jags at Bathurst many years ago, that was glass from a damaged headlight assembly being ingested!

[brad]

I can't quite see how a wheel weight, even a little 5 gram weight, could get past the plastic grid in the air filter box (10mm openings?), then the paper air filter (the corrugations are 50mm deep), then the wire screen on the MAF, then past the curved valve opening (3mm-5mm?) and then past the piston into the sump.

GL with getting some financial assistance, you must feel sick to the stomach.

[2muchcoffeeman]

Interesting- but damn scary thread.

I'd be very keen to hear their explanation as to how they think that a wheel weight found its way there...

[PASHN8]

Something is not right with this story, smells very fishy to me. Wheel balance weight??


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[Dan W]

Ingestion?, yes getting through the filters would be a very long shot, but then fitting through a pin-head sized hole in the injectors? And then, like others have mentioned somehow get into the sump? There is no physical pathway it could take to get into the sump following ingestion! - it couldn't even get into the cylinder! I'm going out on a limb and calling this explanation "bullsh*t"

I'd be worried about the qualifications of the person who came to that conclusion?

I'd also question if the weight had anything to do with the damage - while I'm sure a weight in the sump could cause massive issues, there's no way it caused the damage to the Head unless it broke the piston from below, and a piece of the piston bouncing around in the cylinder cause the head damage.

One thing I'll bet my house on - that weight didn't get in the sump by ingestion, or by any other fluke.

---------- Post added at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:52 AM ----------

Sorry - and should have also reinforced what others have said about contacting your insurance company. If VW reckon it was ingestion then that is accidental damage and should be covered, but I'd be willing to bet the insurance company will look a little bit closer at how this could possibly happen.

BTW - my wife destroyed the top half of our Disco 3 TDV6 engine by filling it with unleaded and driving it 'til it stopped ...and then she managed to restart it and drive it some more, until it really stopped....and that was covered under our insurance. It is an at fault claim, but the excess was a lot easier to swallow than the $12k repair bill!

[brad]

Dan
I agree with what your saying but the air inlet system is divorced from the fuel injection system with the advent of Direct Injection. ie: Your premise is good but the technical side needs a polish up.

Lucky you got the disco fixed. I believe most insurance companies have been burnt by refuelling errors & have included incorrect fuel as one of the items they don't cover.

[Dan W]

Dan
I agree with what your saying but the air inlet system is divorced from the fuel injection system with the advent of Direct Injection. ie: Your premise is good but the technical side needs a polish up.

Still reckon I'm ahead of the dude who reckons the weight got there by ingestion!

Lucky you got the disco fixed. I believe most insurance companies have been burnt by refuelling errors & have included incorrect fuel as one of the items they don't cover.

My heart sank when the service guy at Land Rover starting telling me the list of stuff that needed replacing, and I rang the insurance company expecting them to knock it back, but my day got a lot better mid way through that phone call!