So my loose plan is to rebuild this engine with some IE internal goodies, buy a wrecked MK7 GTI, DSG and make a full prep track car. That type of content doesn't seem super relatable, but id love your thoughts on it...
id honestly love that! im more of a mk6 guy but please go super indepth on some suspension stuff for these cars! Adjusting roll center/ all the geometry stuff i always find super interesting!.
I would never attempt this. I'm here for the learning experience as well. From watching Charles over the years, I can understand what my mechanic is telling me when issues arise. Also, I can ask intelligent questions.
I must've been following you since the beginning because I remember watching your videos when I lived in my first apartment in 2011-2012. I remember back then you were still working at the dealer. It's cool to see you've come such a long way since then. You're a well respected figure in the VW community.
I have never and will likely never take an engine apart, but I still enjoyed watching this video. Your explanations and walkthrough make the material very accessible. Thank you!
I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to understand with these 2.0 motors….swap the timing chain at 100k, water pump, change oil every 5k miles and you’re gtg.
@@reelrocknrolla4251 EA888 are mint but the pumps are bad. Really it's the only issue with them. Yes it's a few hundred to sort but it's not timing chain like an F30....
I've had many Audi's in my life and have always paid their high price [for a VW like product] because of the great ergonomics, beautiful Bauhaus-inspired design styling and good general build quality. If I look at my current A4 in detail, I am astounded at the lack of both good ergonomic design and honest build quality. The buttons fail early, don't work in terms of ergonomics and the car is clearly designed with Pre-determined product obsolescence in mind. "Everything will be worn out by 200kkm". My first TDI lasted 500kkm with no issues [1000km range on a 48l tank of diesel!] The next generation lasted 400 [1990's], the next gen lasted 350 [200's] and the next, 250. I take care of my cars, I pay a high price for them [chunks of my life] and have been loyal to Audi. My current Audi is KAPUT at 215kkm. Everything is worn out! MADE TO FAIL. Flimsy! ...... As an Electrical Engineer and Industrial designer, I have to admit that my professional opinion is that this sucks! I am no longer seeking and Audi as my next car, after 30years at the wheel of the 4 circles. I note their presence on the list of the 'You shall own nothing and be appy" club, with great sadness. Herr Hoch would be doing high RPM's in his grave, if he were to see the sorry state of the once wonderful marque that he created. Sandy Munro is quite right, of course. SAD, very sad.
Your videos are always the best and your attention to detail awesome. As a mk7 GTI owner with 110k miles on the clock, I am learning a tremendous amount and plan on keeping the car for at least another 50000k miles. These videos help a lot
We don’t particularly dig EA888s around here but I still love watching these videos just for the pure engine nerd porn. I love your whole approach especially the fact that you’re looking at it with reusing it in mind. The world is too quick now to just shotgun new parts or cars at everything and toss out tons of stuff that may still have a lot of life left in it.
I had to replace a burnt exhaust valve (injector clogged and went lean) on my B8.5. When I went to install the exhaust cam, since the lobes move it didn't quite fit so I pulled the lobe a bit to slide it in... Next thing I know a ball bearing and a spring go flying! Luckily I was able to find it and put my cam lobe back in the correct place. The car runs fantastic now BTW... Also I didn't know there was a specific way to but the solenoids back in for the cam... I just tossed them in and sent it!
That electrically-controlled rotary valve based thermostat is the first one of such kind on a passenger car(EA888 gen3 was announced 11 years ago, then gen3 bz in 2015, gen3-evo for Euro-6d in 2017, evo4 in 2020). It has been a great design of engine thermal management, but it tends to fail(leak) at an early mileage. The thermostat is being improved continuously that almost a new iteration is employed every 1~2 years. The leak issue is said to have been fully fixed in an version released in 2019.
Man, I love my boring but reliable 2.5 engine in my 2012 Passat. Knowing that no kid ever had a picture of a Passat on his bedroom wall. I went from 1970 Buick Skylark GS to Turbo Saab to the boring yet fun to drive Passat SEL. No regrets. I love Audi groups and VW sports clubs but I'm done with those other engines. Love their performance, but I'm too old now to be working every year on engines.
80k miles here. I've been tuned since 30k miles, and stage 3 with an IS38 making ~400hp on e48 for almost 20k miles. Still solid, but I do consider this the limit to stay reliable. I do need a yet stronger clutch though, but I consider that a consumable at this level.
Great video as always Charles! I look forward to seeing what you will do in the future with this engine. I have this engine in my '19 GLI and I love it. She's sitting pretty at 74.5k, and I'm hoping to get at least another 125k out of it.
I like to hear that. I have a 35th Aniv. GLI at 31K miles. No issues so far. Have you had to replace Haldex fluid or do carbon cleaning at that milage?
@@DJ.1001 I've done both. I have my car serviced by DAP's repair shop, and they recommend getting the LSD oil serviced every 30k miles. I had a carbon cleaning done at 65k. So far I've only had a CV axle boot, and an oil temp sensor failure.
@@Tdfries the Mk7 GLI got the front diff from the GTI, since it now has the same powertrain. I assumed that was what DJ was referring to. I just called it an LSD for short.
Hey Charles! You're my last hope.. Bare with me for the long post! Bought my 2011 A4 last December. Bought at 96000km and had an android head unit installed on the same day.. The issue started 2 weeks later. Previous owners put 87 in it for 10 years. ive been putting obly 91 Only happens when temp is sub-5 degrees celsius after the car has been sitting for 4+ hours. Only codes showed were p0300 intermittent misfires occasionally but car runs great once its on. Took it to 4 mechanics (including Audi). 2 said nothing was wrong and the other 2 tried all the following: - replace all sparks and coils - replace all 4 fuel injectors - replace engine air filter - replace fuel filter Car doesnt have oil consumption issue (had stage 1 fix under a recall under previous ownership). Timing chain not done yet. - engine oil interval is 10000km under my ownership as I do lots of highway driving Car is now at 130000km. Issue has persisted since. Any ideas? Also I recently noticed that I dont always hear my fuel pump prime upon door opening, and usually that dictates how the car will start.
I have no desire to ever buy a Volkswagen, although I would have loved a 1990 gti when I was a kid but the manual sunroof pushed me to a civic si, but I love this guy
One thing I've noticed on many modern engines is the engineers have been moving the piston wrist pins closer to the top of the piston. This leaves very little space on the piston skirt for the bottom ring lands in order to allow for piston wrist pin insertion and crank clearances. I believe this came out of racing to increase mechanical advantage and reduce piston drag. Problem is, racing engines aren't expected to last for years in various driving conditions without meticulous maintenance. Add to that a possible performance tune and lugging the engine at low speed in a too-tall gear is enough for catastrophic failure. That piston displays all those shortcomings. It used to be that engines had "overhead" built into them. This allows for aftermarket performance upgrades. The LSx and 2JZ are prime examples of that design philosophy. Today's engines are built to finite limits. Sadly that engine demonstrates that clearly. That engine absolutely needs forged pistons for any medium performance upgrades. Maybe VW should've had those from the factory. Looks like the bean counters won that decision. Thanks for the video Charles - very interesting teardown!
I like your explanation. So if you have a tune car, maybe whit poor fuel and smash the throttle on to high gear and to low RPM, the result can be what we see in the video...
Those rear main seals are almost a given I’ve changed a few over the years the ea888 is a complex but great engine if you treat it like a baby great video 💯
@@shanemitchell5807 where they’re made & how they’re assembled makes all the difference unfortunately no 2 engines are built the same I believe you nonetheless that’s terrible smh
@@shanemitchell5807 CDAA here and yes, it's starting to show. Already arranged the rebuild as my Superb is worth saving. It's so sad they killed the engine in such a stupid way. I love how they drive and I'd even consider them very reliable, if it of course weren't for their fatal and completely unnecessary flaws with original timing chain tensioner and the bad piston rings.
5:40 That's not counter-threaded, it's a left hand thread! Counter is when two threaded things are tightened towards each other to lock them in place (aka nut + lock nut).
Hey there Charles.. it's always good to see your videos, you and Paul crack me up. The wagon that Paul posted on his site a few days ago was interesting, for sure . Perhaps you all can do a video on mapping and coding.. Your friend.. Volvo snob
EA888s are crazy expensive to build right now. Was in the ballpark of 9k to if you include full rotating assembly, complete fuel system, gaskets and hardware, and a complete head rebuild on my 8P A3Q.
Have you ever encountered misfiring at cold start? It drives me crazy. Had several mechanics look and couldn't find the issue. No codes, no check engine light. When the engine is cold I can feel the car misfire between 1000 and 1500 rpm, always at the same point. Once temp is up it goes away. I have replaced spark plugs, maf sensor, O2 sensor, pcv valve, coils, chain and tensioners, had the engine resealed, injectors cleaned. It is just weird!
That was my next point as I believe it has never been done. Is there any other way of cleaning without removing the intake manifold? Any miracle or spell?
I've got a '16, APR Stage 2 Golf R. I take really good care of the car, it's my daily. I noticed it developed a mild vibration around 3K RPM on the highway. Thought maybe it as a wheel out of balance and continued to drive the car. About 3 weeks later, spun a bearing. Located a used block with 55K miles and it's getting rebuilt and put back in the car. It's going to set me back about 9K all in. Soooooo frustrating!
He said quite clearly, that LSPI happens mostly in tuned engines. And it`s true. Stay stock, just play with the intake and intercooler if you wish. Leave downpipe couse than engine has to be remapped. Also stay with the dedicated oil with sort intervals up to 6k miles at max and you will be happy with your cupra for a long time.
If you are going to track it, bore it to 83 mm in all 4, the IE rods you showed are it. Use mahle racing pistons. Replace all main and head fasteners with ARP stuff. Rebuild the head with better valves, springs, keepers and deck it to the block. I would also replace the harmonic balancer with a Fluidampr. I have a KTM x Bow with the EA113 and just finished doing all the above. Runs awesome. I've got about 30,000 track miles with stock parts at 350 HP by the time #4 piston ringland cracked. Now I built it for 600 HP but still run 350 HP. Mega reliable. Best of luck with your project. Love your videos!
@@HumbleMechanic I tracked the KTM yesterday in the Autobahn in Joliet which was my home track for a long time. After all the upgrades it ran amazing! I gave it the beans with break in oil for about 2.5 hours total. I burned 20 gallons of fuel. I will change the oil and filter and move on for another 30k of track duty 😀
Hey Charles, I have 2016 R and I've head an issue of oil seeping into the #4 cylinder spark plug well. I was hoping you can use this engine to show how to properly reseal the cam cover as a DIY, I can't find any videos or guides on this process.
that shattered piston ring is more likely caused by the very tight piston ring clearance. when the engine is running stock, the temperatures are not such extreme. so volkswagen decided to make the clearances very tight. however when tuned, the piston assembly is getting hotter, and so the ring expands so much, than the ends contact each other and so they cannot expand anymore. and since they are in the bore and piston, they lock up against that cylinder wall and piston and destroy everything. so you need to put the clearances bit more loose, to make sure the rings will be allowed to expand..
I have a 2017 Skoda RS that was tuned, and did exactly the same thing. Clean smashed the ring land off no 3 piston. Had a strange ping one day for half a second as i was driving, nothing more. Next day the wife took off from the traffic lights and boom, engine ruining rough. No other warnings. Just ticked over 60,000km. I swapped the engine for 10,000km MK7 GTI engine and deleted the tune. Apparently, the Skoda EA888 had a different piston material and its not as robust as the MK7 EA888 piston.
Right from you open the top I can tell the person didn’t take care of her care well lol. Heads are burned . Cylinders look alright. I think the reason why the spring broke probably from the pressure build up maybe when driving it and not working on the engine itself. The other day we had a bad case of one cylinder was not working it been broken for awhile, the second when just broke, there was gasoline from injectors, the water pump gasket was broken and since it was it made the car overheated. It was a headache and a rare case.
Shame that they had the ring gap too tight But worst of all is having a timing chain instead of a belt as they often fail between 70 to 190k Km Every VW Audi with a chain is a ticking time bomb 😂.
1.9 pd tdi Volkswagen's best modern times engine ever developed. In my opinion after having two in a space of almost 20 years all bought used. the current 2006 passat has got 221.000 miles and pulls like a train.as long as economical. Always serviced with original mann filters and liquimolly oil.
I have the exact same engine with the exact same issue and the exact same symptoms as you guessed (tuned, low speed pre-ignition). When the oil pan was removed, there was debris from a piston in it. So it’s been sitting in my garage since then. Got a new engine and I never even bothered to take it apart. To this day I still don’t know what to do with it.
Your 100% right with the engine that’s been literally thrown back together. Warranty don’t pay for the engine rebuild (as that’s an exchange part) so it literally gets thrown back together without care, ready to be someone else’s problem.. or in this case, your problem! 😂
This is why im not going to tune - seems like risk of timing misfire increases resulting in catastrophic failure. Cars are quick enough for me with a few bolt ons, sans tune.
Hi Charles, any chance to make an DIY video for the camshaft/valve cover on the EA888 Gen 3 ? mine is leaking as well with the Upper Timing Cover (that last one i know is easy peasy), but the cam/valve cover i know for sure its not that straitforward... and i don't want to mess my timing
Is it possible this was caused just by low octane fuel? I know several GolfR/Audi owners who just fill their tank up with regular fuel. Does the anti-knock system completely prevent detonation?
Many years ago, as an apprentice, one of our jobs was to rebuild any engines and manual gearboxes that were going back on warranty exchange, any missing parts or wrongly assembled components, and the warranty claim was rejected
@@HumbleMechanic it was a rule from the Warranty company, but it was the best training an apprentice could get, instead of doing one engine or gearbox rebuild every few months, it was more like one a week. Lots of manufacturers have slightly different riles regards warranty, I used to work for one in 🇬🇧 as an auditor, a certain number of job cards were selected every 3 months, if the Dealer had claimed too much time, or more parts than required, and put it through as a claim, not only that job was rejected, but a % of all the claims in the same time period. The Manufacturers thinking was you screwed us on that job, refusing one claim, doesn't hurt much, won't stop you doing it again, but refusing 10% of the claims you made in those 3 months, might!
Bro hope that you can help me, A while ago my car was broken into and almost stolen. Luckily I still have it but I am stuck with some problems. I have a Polo 1.9TDI ASZ. When the thieves broke into my car they seemed to have flashed it in some sort of way either the cluster or ECU I am not sure. Right now the car can start without a key which I am not comfortable with. Another part of this is that it has been flashed with a tune that does not make the car run at its best. I had tuned the car with MMPS before the incident and now I am no longer able to do it again. I'm not sure if it is because of this that's causing the second part of my problem. When I try to flash the ECU it does not accept the file. When I do a read it takes a file that's about 150KB and when I open it on VAGEDC all the figures are blank. Once again when I flash/write the car with MPPS and it does not accept the 512KB file, and when I do a read the same unreadable file comes out. Just cant find a fix for this anywhere. Thank you
I found an engine out of a GLI with 4k mi and put that in. But now I have the 4k RPM EPC bug that resets every time you turn the car off… it’s frustrating. Never throws a code. Still using the original ECM
Hi Charles, i have oil in the spark plug wells of my Seat Leon ST Cupra 290. Could you show us how to seal the valve cover on the EA888 Gen.3 with as little effort as possible? Is there a way to do it with just relaxing the timing chain and leaving the camshafts in? I would be very happy if you could make a video about it. Best wishes from Germany. Cheers Frank (one of your biggest fans)
Now, how cool was that?! loved it! I have an audi A3 (8V) 1.8 TFSi with EPC light on but no errors in the ECU and the car drives as it should!!! what can it be?
I know you said it "could" be fixed by replacing that one piston, but would that be considered acceptable practice, even for warranty work from a dealership on a vehicle still under warranty? Would an engine rebuilder do that on a reconditioned engine if that was the failure point? I would not entertain the thought of replacing one piston, though I must say I have only ever worked on engines that have high miles. Technically speaking, each piston and piston ring assembly is a stand alone item, and subject to failure on their own, and if it is a low mileage engine I guess you "could" replace one piston only, it just doesn't rest comfortably with me. Having said that, if I had one or two valves that require replacing, I would only replace those valves, not all of them. Maybe I don't have a "real" argument for not replacing one piston if the rest are okay, though I feel I would replace all the rings on all pistons.
Hi Charles. There is a guy in Greece, if you want i can give you a link and his name is Emmanouil Tatouris- AMG Specialist. He describes this catastrophic failure in the older 1,4 tsi vw scirocco. He had 2 engines with the same exactly broken pieces in the pistons. If you check more careful the bottom side of the pistons you will see that the one side is blackish and the other side looks cleaner. That is because of lack of oil flow and that makes the piston of the one side to be cold and the other side to be hot. He create a double head oil beck to eliminate the temperature difference inside the pistons. His videos are in Greek language but you can search with this words: "Γιατί τα VW Scirocco σπανε εμβολα.Η ΛΥΣΗ! Why do the pistons break in CAV 1.4VW Engines?THE SOLUTION" to find the video and watch from 12:00. You can just watch and you will understand even without knowing the language.
@@jeanfrancoismenard705 it's because the small nozzles that spraying the back side of the pistons with oil to cool them down is not enough. This guy made a double nozzle for each piston to cool the whole piston and not only the one side like with the original one.
I would like to see what is the sequence to install solenoids for camshaft sliders👍 I cant get info anywhere, have to install them to my golf r engine. When I was asking around one mechanic said you just put them in, one said its a sequence to install 🤦
QUESTION. sorry to be annoying, but im doing a valve cover gasket replacement and im wondering if i need to do anything with Timing or the cam's in order to remove the valve cover. will removing the valve cover affect the timing, chain or cams in a anyway ? do i need to take extra step in order for everything to be at the right timing ? thank you
Can't believe I gave serious consideration to buying either a VW GLI or a GTI as my next car. In the market for a new one. Thing is, I keep my cars for a very long time before replacing them. Seems not much has changed in the last 15 years. If you want long-term reliability, get a Japanese car. Usually Honda or Toyota. Glad I found your video before I made a stupid mistake.
Melted piston, usual failure of TSIs, VW had a series of pistons that did not respect the manufacturer's tolerances (manufactured with a non-calibrated machine) the oil goes back into the combustion chamber and creates self-ignition, plus number large jam on scraper rings, the proposed ring kit requires replacing the pistons and connecting rods.
The problem is a decent manufacturer would just accept responsibility and repair the factory caused faults without charge for the customers, but VW usually let's the customer pay for their faults
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
So my loose plan is to rebuild this engine with some IE internal goodies, buy a wrecked MK7 GTI, DSG and make a full prep track car. That type of content doesn't seem super relatable, but id love your thoughts on it...
I’d watch the heck out of it!
Are you serious I'd love to watch that
heck yes!
id honestly love that! im more of a mk6 guy but please go super indepth on some suspension stuff for these cars! Adjusting roll center/ all the geometry stuff i always find super interesting!.
I'll watch anything you put out Charles. It would be cool to see a side by side vs. your Mk7.5 Golf R, the Mk8, and maybe even Paul's GTI?
I find your teaching method particularly engaging. You speak clearly and concisely, never repeating yourself. Always something to learn here.
Thank you!
@@HumbleMechanic you need to buy a Honda.
@@unclejoe6811 he has like four Hondas
I would never attempt this. I'm here for the learning experience as well. From watching Charles over the years, I can understand what my mechanic is telling me when issues arise. Also, I can ask intelligent questions.
I must've been following you since the beginning because I remember watching your videos when I lived in my first apartment in 2011-2012. I remember back then you were still working at the dealer. It's cool to see you've come such a long way since then. You're a well respected figure in the VW community.
Also I had a mk5 2.0 tfsi engine die on me last year. It died in catastrophic fashion at high speed. This brings back memories lol
I have never and will likely never take an engine apart, but I still enjoyed watching this video. Your explanations and walkthrough make the material very accessible. Thank you!
You are one of the best RUclips,machnic channel, everything clear, áudio, visual,are all top, thanks man .
I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to understand with these 2.0 motors….swap the timing chain at 100k, water pump, change oil every 5k miles and you’re gtg.
Wrong. I did that and still water pump goes at at 39k miles. Have an Audi care plan plus did a 5k oil in between each. These engines are trash.
@@reelrocknrolla4251 EA888 are mint but the pumps are bad. Really it's the only issue with them. Yes it's a few hundred to sort but it's not timing chain like an F30....
@@dreamcrusher112 I hope you are right. Not confident in these on long road trips anymore.
I simply love your engine tear downs/inspections or rebuilds. I am patiently waiting for the r32 turbo build to continue 😁
Thank you!!! I’m so ready to get that car back
I've had many Audi's in my life and have always paid their high price [for a VW like product] because of the great ergonomics, beautiful Bauhaus-inspired design styling and good general build quality. If I look at my current A4 in detail, I am astounded at the lack of both good ergonomic design and honest build quality. The buttons fail early, don't work in terms of ergonomics and the car is clearly designed with Pre-determined product obsolescence in mind. "Everything will be worn out by 200kkm". My first TDI lasted 500kkm with no issues [1000km range on a 48l tank of diesel!] The next generation lasted 400 [1990's], the next gen lasted 350 [200's] and the next, 250. I take care of my cars, I pay a high price for them [chunks of my life] and have been loyal to Audi. My current Audi is KAPUT at 215kkm. Everything is worn out! MADE TO FAIL. Flimsy! ...... As an Electrical Engineer and Industrial designer, I have to admit that my professional opinion is that this sucks! I am no longer seeking and Audi as my next car, after 30years at the wheel of the 4 circles. I note their presence on the list of the 'You shall own nothing and be appy" club, with great sadness. Herr Hoch would be doing high RPM's in his grave, if he were to see the sorry state of the once wonderful marque that he created. Sandy Munro is quite right, of course. SAD, very sad.
I agree, from owning many vw's and audis in my life the most reliable was my 2.0 Golf 3 , that engine was built to last. Now, I buy BMW diesel.
Your videos are always the best and your attention to detail awesome. As a mk7 GTI owner with 110k miles on the clock, I am learning a tremendous amount and plan on keeping the car for at least another 50000k miles. These videos help a lot
Hate to say it, but it's not going to last another 50 million miles.
@@ferrumignis unless it becomes the Golf of Theseus
@@ferrumignis Let’s aim for it anyways
Mine just started knocking and rough idle at 105k. I immediately shut it off and hoping it is just a cam adjuster magnet. Good luck friend.
@@SSmokin What ended up happening with it?
As a cupra ea888 owner, thanks for the SEAT shout-out!
You kept it in, glad you did. Would love to see a waterpump video, not an R&R, more of a how it works and why! Nicely done!
We don’t particularly dig EA888s around here but I still love watching these videos just for the pure engine nerd porn. I love your whole approach especially the fact that you’re looking at it with reusing it in mind. The world is too quick now to just shotgun new parts or cars at everything and toss out tons of stuff that may still have a lot of life left in it.
Which engine is your favorite?
Thanks for taking the time to help me with my 2012 Audi TT 2 L I am currently having a heckuva time getting my camshaft bridge out
I had to replace a burnt exhaust valve (injector clogged and went lean) on my B8.5. When I went to install the exhaust cam, since the lobes move it didn't quite fit so I pulled the lobe a bit to slide it in... Next thing I know a ball bearing and a spring go flying! Luckily I was able to find it and put my cam lobe back in the correct place. The car runs fantastic now BTW... Also I didn't know there was a specific way to but the solenoids back in for the cam... I just tossed them in and sent it!
That electrically-controlled rotary valve based thermostat is the first one of such kind on a passenger car(EA888 gen3 was announced 11 years ago, then gen3 bz in 2015, gen3-evo for Euro-6d in 2017, evo4 in 2020). It has been a great design of engine thermal management, but it tends to fail(leak) at an early mileage.
The thermostat is being improved continuously that almost a new iteration is employed every 1~2 years. The leak issue is said to have been fully fixed in an version released in 2019.
Yes they made so many revisions of thermostat housing by now. It's hilarious.
Man, I love my boring but reliable 2.5 engine in my 2012 Passat. Knowing that no kid ever had a picture of a Passat on his bedroom wall. I went from 1970 Buick Skylark GS to Turbo Saab to the boring yet fun to drive Passat SEL. No regrets. I love Audi groups and VW sports clubs but I'm done with those other engines. Love their performance, but I'm too old now to be working every year on engines.
Thanks!
It’s always a good day when Humble Mechanic uploads a video !
Humble Mechanic FTW!
This is the dude that gets invited to everyone’s party!
Just a cool guy sharing knowledge! 👏
80k miles here. I've been tuned since 30k miles, and stage 3 with an IS38 making ~400hp on e48 for almost 20k miles. Still solid, but I do consider this the limit to stay reliable. I do need a yet stronger clutch though, but I consider that a consumable at this level.
Great video as always Charles! I look forward to seeing what you will do in the future with this engine. I have this engine in my '19 GLI and I love it. She's sitting pretty at 74.5k, and I'm hoping to get at least another 125k out of it.
I like to hear that. I have a 35th Aniv. GLI at 31K miles. No issues so far.
Have you had to replace Haldex fluid or do carbon cleaning at that milage?
@@DJ.1001 I've done both. I have my car serviced by DAP's repair shop, and they recommend getting the LSD oil serviced every 30k miles. I had a carbon cleaning done at 65k. So far I've only had a CV axle boot, and an oil temp sensor failure.
@@christheturdherder9096 ummm… Haldex?…. LSD?… in a GLI? Since when?????
@@Tdfries the Mk7 GLI got the front diff from the GTI, since it now has the same powertrain. I assumed that was what DJ was referring to. I just called it an LSD for short.
@@DJ.1001 Haldex in a GLI? Sign me up! I wish we got AWD Jettas haha
Hey Charles!
You're my last hope.. Bare with me for the long post!
Bought my 2011 A4 last December. Bought at 96000km and had an android head unit installed on the same day.. The issue started 2 weeks later.
Previous owners put 87 in it for 10 years. ive been putting obly 91
Only happens when temp is sub-5 degrees celsius after the car has been sitting for 4+ hours.
Only codes showed were p0300 intermittent misfires occasionally but car runs great once its on.
Took it to 4 mechanics (including Audi).
2 said nothing was wrong and the other 2 tried all the following:
- replace all sparks and coils
- replace all 4 fuel injectors
- replace engine air filter
- replace fuel filter
Car doesnt have oil consumption issue (had stage 1 fix under a recall under previous ownership).
Timing chain not done yet.
- engine oil interval is 10000km under my ownership as I do lots of highway driving
Car is now at 130000km. Issue has persisted since.
Any ideas?
Also I recently noticed that I dont always hear my fuel pump prime upon door opening, and usually that dictates how the car will start.
I have no desire to ever buy a Volkswagen, although I would have loved a 1990 gti when I was a kid but the manual sunroof pushed me to a civic si, but I love this guy
One thing I've noticed on many modern engines is the engineers have been moving the piston wrist pins closer to the top of the piston. This leaves very little space on the piston skirt for the bottom ring lands in order to allow for piston wrist pin insertion and crank clearances. I believe this came out of racing to increase mechanical advantage and reduce piston drag. Problem is, racing engines aren't expected to last for years in various driving conditions without meticulous maintenance. Add to that a possible performance tune and lugging the engine at low speed in a too-tall gear is enough for catastrophic failure. That piston displays all those shortcomings.
It used to be that engines had "overhead" built into them. This allows for aftermarket performance upgrades. The LSx and 2JZ are prime examples of that design philosophy. Today's engines are built to finite limits. Sadly that engine demonstrates that clearly. That engine absolutely needs forged pistons for any medium performance upgrades. Maybe VW should've had those from the factory. Looks like the bean counters won that decision.
Thanks for the video Charles - very interesting teardown!
I like your explanation. So if you have a tune car, maybe whit poor fuel and smash the throttle on to high gear and to low RPM, the result can be what we see in the video...
I agree, in combination with small turbochargers that makes alot of boost on low revs, produces alot of tq but its not good for the engine.
I love that you kept the silliness. Awesome!
I’m wondering if they used cheap gas in the car or wrong octane like cheap 91 when it was a 93 tune.
Those rear main seals are almost a given I’ve changed a few over the years the ea888 is a complex but great engine if you treat it like a baby great video 💯
I treated my EA888 engine like a baby and it still had many issues. Oil consumption anyone?
@@shanemitchell5807 where they’re made & how they’re assembled makes all the difference unfortunately no 2 engines are built the same I believe you nonetheless that’s terrible smh
@@nobatteriesincluded3968 Mine was made in Wolfsburg. No excuses then.
@@shanemitchell5807 in my Cupra 280, oil consumption is ~1l per 10t km after 150t km. And I drive quite often on the race tracks with this car
@@shanemitchell5807 CDAA here and yes, it's starting to show. Already arranged the rebuild as my Superb is worth saving.
It's so sad they killed the engine in such a stupid way. I love how they drive and I'd even consider them very reliable, if it of course weren't for their fatal and completely unnecessary flaws with original timing chain tensioner and the bad piston rings.
Amazing content as always
Glad you enjoyed it
@@HumbleMechanic the format is great and your energy and attitude when working on cars is on point.
Love these root cause failure analysis videos!
5:40 That's not counter-threaded, it's a left hand thread!
Counter is when two threaded things are tightened towards each other to lock them in place (aka nut + lock nut).
It would be amazing to see a 2.0t TSI engine build with aftermarket parts! Been considering doing that here soon..
Right. It would be great if you could build one that doesn't use any Volkswagen parts.
Hey there Charles.. it's always good to see your videos, you and Paul crack me up. The wagon that Paul posted on his site a few days ago was interesting, for sure . Perhaps you all can do a video on mapping and coding.. Your friend.. Volvo snob
EA888s are crazy expensive to build right now. Was in the ballpark of 9k to if you include full rotating assembly, complete fuel system, gaskets and hardware, and a complete head rebuild on my 8P A3Q.
Ouch!!! That’s more than I want to spend on the car. Haha
I spent $8k 2 years ago for a shop to rebuild with IE internals. The Mahle pistons slap terribly when cold
Can’t wait to watch a build series with a properly sorted gti
Have you ever encountered misfiring at cold start? It drives me crazy. Had several mechanics look and couldn't find the issue. No codes, no check engine light. When the engine is cold I can feel the car misfire between 1000 and 1500 rpm, always at the same point. Once temp is up it goes away. I have replaced spark plugs, maf sensor, O2 sensor, pcv valve, coils, chain and tensioners, had the engine resealed, injectors cleaned. It is just weird!
Usually that’s carbon on intake valves
That was my next point as I believe it has never been done. Is there any other way of cleaning without removing the intake manifold? Any miracle or spell?
I've got a '16, APR Stage 2 Golf R. I take really good care of the car, it's my daily. I noticed it developed a mild vibration around 3K RPM on the highway. Thought maybe it as a wheel out of balance and continued to drive the car. About 3 weeks later, spun a bearing. Located a used block with 55K miles and it's getting rebuilt and put back in the car. It's going to set me back about 9K all in. Soooooo frustrating!
Great video! Loved seeing the teardown. I just got a Cupra 290 and loving it so far. Am I risking this kind of failure if I do a stage 1 or 2 remap?
He said quite clearly, that LSPI happens mostly in tuned engines. And it`s true. Stay stock, just play with the intake and intercooler if you wish. Leave downpipe couse than engine has to be remapped.
Also stay with the dedicated oil with sort intervals up to 6k miles at max and you will be happy with your cupra for a long time.
@@maciekapocaliptic thanks!
I'm so incredibly jealous of your shop.
amazing content Charles! love the channel!
Another fab video Charles especially as I have the same engine in my GTI 🤞
I like your way of teaching ..ur funny thats y i learn wat u teach
When bolts are stripped like that, we call them "Apprentice marks"
Lol
If you are going to track it, bore it to 83 mm in all 4, the IE rods you showed are it. Use mahle racing pistons. Replace all main and head fasteners with ARP stuff.
Rebuild the head with better valves, springs, keepers and deck it to the block.
I would also replace the harmonic balancer with a Fluidampr.
I have a KTM x Bow with the EA113 and just finished doing all the above. Runs awesome.
I've got about 30,000 track miles with stock parts at 350 HP by the time #4 piston ringland cracked. Now I built it for 600 HP but still run 350 HP. Mega reliable. Best of luck with your project. Love your videos!
Nice!!!!!! I’ll for sure build the engine. I’ll probably have it ready to hot swap, and run the stock engine until she blows
@@HumbleMechanic I tracked the KTM yesterday in the Autobahn in Joliet which was my home track for a long time. After all the upgrades it ran amazing!
I gave it the beans with break in oil for about 2.5 hours total. I burned 20 gallons of fuel.
I will change the oil and filter and move on for another 30k of track duty
😀
I wish he would have show us the cylinder walls after he took out that piston - you can see him inspecting it @15:11 but he doesnt show it
How does one obtain core engines from the local VW dealer? 🙃
Hey Charles, I have 2016 R and I've head an issue of oil seeping into the #4 cylinder spark plug well. I was hoping you can use this engine to show how to properly reseal the cam cover as a DIY, I can't find any videos or guides on this process.
that shattered piston ring is more likely caused by the very tight piston ring clearance. when the engine is running stock, the temperatures are not such extreme. so volkswagen decided to make the clearances very tight. however when tuned, the piston assembly is getting hotter, and so the ring expands so much, than the ends contact each other and so they cannot expand anymore. and since they are in the bore and piston, they lock up against that cylinder wall and piston and destroy everything. so you need to put the clearances bit more loose, to make sure the rings will be allowed to expand..
This is a failure which can also happen on gas chain saws if you don't warm them up but go to 13k RPM with a cold engine
I have a 2017 Skoda RS that was tuned, and did exactly the same thing. Clean smashed the ring land off no 3 piston. Had a strange ping one day for half a second as i was driving, nothing more. Next day the wife took off from the traffic lights and boom, engine ruining rough. No other warnings. Just ticked over 60,000km.
I swapped the engine for 10,000km MK7 GTI engine and deleted the tune. Apparently, the Skoda EA888 had a different piston material and its not as robust as the MK7 EA888 piston.
2:10 yoda voice "Buy a volswagen I must, maximum money it must consume. Okay, here we go"
I’d love to see you build an EA113 TFSI in depth.
Oh yeah. An EA113 could be little bit less expensive, more straightforward, and it make big power and reliability.
Right from you open the top I can tell the person didn’t take care of her care well lol.
Heads are burned . Cylinders look alright. I think the reason why the spring broke probably from the pressure build up maybe when driving it and not working on the engine itself.
The other day we had a bad case of one cylinder was not working it been broken for awhile, the second when just broke, there was gasoline from injectors, the water pump gasket was broken and since it was it made the car overheated. It was a headache and a rare case.
Shame that they had the ring gap too tight
But worst of all is having a timing chain instead of a belt as they often fail between 70 to 190k Km
Every VW Audi with a chain is a ticking time bomb 😂.
I think a shorter oil change interval helps with that. Not that 10,000 mile bs. I change my Tiguan every 3,500 miles.
Do these take 93 octane? Would lower octane fuel cause the pre ignition?
221st thumbs up brother and awesome video and enjoyed watching and have a great week 👍👊😎
1.9 pd tdi
Volkswagen's best modern times engine ever developed. In my opinion after having two in a space of almost 20 years all bought used.
the current 2006 passat has got 221.000 miles and pulls like a train.as long as economical. Always serviced with original mann filters and liquimolly oil.
I have the exact same engine with the exact same issue and the exact same symptoms as you guessed (tuned, low speed pre-ignition). When the oil pan was removed, there was debris from a piston in it. So it’s been sitting in my garage since then. Got a new engine and I never even bothered to take it apart.
To this day I still don’t know what to do with it.
One of these days I’ll do a build video on it
Your 100% right with the engine that’s been literally thrown back together. Warranty don’t pay for the engine rebuild (as that’s an exchange part) so it literally gets thrown back together without care, ready to be someone else’s problem.. or in this case, your problem! 😂
HAHA YOU'RE 100% right! HAHA
@@HumbleMechanic I work for a VW main dealer so I’m first hand guilty of this 😂 I done the same thing to a 7 speed wet clutch DSG back last week 😂
This is why im not going to tune - seems like risk of timing misfire increases resulting in catastrophic failure. Cars are quick enough for me with a few bolt ons, sans tune.
Hi Charles, any chance to make an DIY video for the camshaft/valve cover on the EA888 Gen 3 ? mine is leaking as well with the Upper Timing Cover (that last one i know is easy peasy), but the cam/valve cover i know for sure its not that straitforward... and i don't want to mess my timing
Is it possible this was caused just by low octane fuel? I know several GolfR/Audi owners who just fill their tank up with regular fuel. Does the anti-knock system completely prevent detonation?
These engines are made to run on lower octane, you just don't get all the power you could be getting. It was more of an issue on the first gen.
any vw tfsi o tsi needs premium gas only otherwise well you have seen the video.
Many years ago, as an apprentice, one of our jobs was to rebuild any engines and manual gearboxes that were going back on warranty exchange, any missing parts or wrongly assembled components, and the warranty claim was rejected
Jeez! Super lame especially if they didn’t pay to reassemble
@@HumbleMechanic it was a rule from the Warranty company, but it was the best training an apprentice could get, instead of doing one engine or gearbox rebuild every few months, it was more like one a week.
Lots of manufacturers have slightly different riles regards warranty, I used to work for one in 🇬🇧 as an auditor, a certain number of job cards were selected every 3 months, if the Dealer had claimed too much time, or more parts than required, and put it through as a claim, not only that job was rejected, but a % of all the claims in the same time period.
The Manufacturers thinking was you screwed us on that job, refusing one claim, doesn't hurt much, won't stop you doing it again, but refusing 10% of the claims you made in those 3 months, might!
These failures seem so common...
This happened to my 2016 Audi A3 2.0t Quattro model.
No tune, no mods. It just blew in the same fashion.
Bro hope that you can help me, A while ago my car was broken into and almost stolen. Luckily I still have it but I am stuck with some problems. I have a Polo 1.9TDI ASZ.
When the thieves broke into my car they seemed to have flashed it in some sort of way either the cluster or ECU I am not sure. Right now the car can start without a key which I am not comfortable with. Another part of this is that it has been flashed with a tune that does not make the car run at its best. I had tuned the car with MMPS before the incident and now I am no longer able to do it again.
I'm not sure if it is because of this that's causing the second part of my problem. When I try to flash the ECU it does not accept the file.
When I do a read it takes a file that's about 150KB and when I open it on VAGEDC all the figures are blank. Once again when I flash/write the car with MPPS and it does not accept the 512KB file, and when I do a read the same unreadable file comes out. Just cant find a fix for this anywhere. Thank you
Do these motors have forged internals like the 1.8t did?
Pre-ignition creates excess crown heat, causes rings to expand beyond end gap provided. Rings have nowhere to go so blow the ring lands/skirt apart.
Es el mismo motor el que lleva un solo sensor de árbol al que tiene 2 sensores de árbol????
I had the rings fail on Cylinders 3 & 4 on my MK7 GTI at less than 40k mi
Were you tuned? Just curious
@@FU-Utube APR stg 1 high torque and Carbon intake
I found an engine out of a GLI with 4k mi and put that in. But now I have the 4k RPM EPC bug that resets every time you turn the car off… it’s frustrating. Never throws a code. Still using the original ECM
Do you happen to know the part number for the gasket to the valley pan on the 2.0 tsi?
Cool! My uncle is about to rip apart my DSG and replace the solenoids in the mechatronics unit any tips?
Why not showing how the cilinder wall looks after removing the piston? Was curious😊
Hi Charles, i have oil in the spark plug wells of my Seat Leon ST Cupra 290. Could you show us how to seal the valve cover on the EA888 Gen.3 with as little effort as possible? Is there a way to do it with just relaxing the timing chain and leaving the camshafts in? I would be very happy if you could make a video about it. Best wishes from Germany. Cheers Frank (one of your biggest fans)
Now, how cool was that?! loved it! I have an audi A3 (8V) 1.8 TFSi with EPC light on but no errors in the ECU and the car drives as it should!!! what can it be?
I know you said it "could" be fixed by replacing that one piston, but would that be considered acceptable practice, even for warranty work from a dealership on a vehicle still under warranty? Would an engine rebuilder do that on a reconditioned engine if that was the failure point?
I would not entertain the thought of replacing one piston, though I must say I have only ever worked on engines that have high miles. Technically speaking, each piston and piston ring assembly is a stand alone item, and subject to failure on their own, and if it is a low mileage engine I guess you "could" replace one piston only, it just doesn't rest comfortably with me. Having said that, if I had one or two valves that require replacing, I would only replace those valves, not all of them. Maybe I don't have a "real" argument for not replacing one piston if the rest are okay, though I feel I would replace all the rings on all pistons.
Hi Charles. There is a guy in Greece, if you want i can give you a link and his name is Emmanouil Tatouris- AMG Specialist. He describes this catastrophic failure in the older 1,4 tsi vw scirocco. He had 2 engines with the same exactly broken pieces in the pistons. If you check more careful the bottom side of the pistons you will see that the one side is blackish and the other side looks cleaner. That is because of lack of oil flow and that makes the piston of the one side to be cold and the other side to be hot. He create a double head oil beck to eliminate the temperature difference inside the pistons. His videos are in Greek language but you can search with this words: "Γιατί τα VW Scirocco σπανε εμβολα.Η ΛΥΣΗ! Why do the pistons break in CAV 1.4VW Engines?THE SOLUTION" to find the video and watch from 12:00. You can just watch and you will understand even without knowing the language.
Interesting!!! I’ll check it out
Ok and when he talked about a lack of oil its because a low oil level or bad oil ?
@@jeanfrancoismenard705 it's because the small nozzles that spraying the back side of the pistons with oil to cool them down is not enough. This guy made a double nozzle for each piston to cool the whole piston and not only the one side like with the original one.
It's a bit strange, I'd would of thought it would of chewed up the bore 🤔 great channel by the way 👍
How are you enjoying the new m12 bit driver? Mine is on order
I must ask, im thinking of getting a gti with this engine. is an unreliable engine? or is due to massive tuning?
I would like to see what is the sequence to install solenoids for camshaft sliders👍 I cant get info anywhere, have to install them to my golf r engine. When I was asking around one mechanic said you just put them in, one said its a sequence to install 🤦
@humblemechanic great video as alway. Can you release number 1 piston from just removing the oil pump or does the secondary sump have to be removed
What causes an engine blast? The hole due to blast is on the chamber beside the Crankshaft.
If I bought you a running 2004 Golf 2.0 manual. Could you install a cam in it and tune it?
Realy like your teaching videos also nice tear down of this engine but i love vw 1.9 and 2.0 tdi and also this 2.0 tsi they are realy economic engines
Rebuilt many an EA113 and EA888. Piston sadness always ends up in the pan.
I’d love to see a full engine build with adding multiport injection and a big turbo 👍🏽🙂
Absorbing! Can't stop watching. Have to watch the video on the something something electronic bloody water pumps now!
I drove late 80's and 90's vws loved the simplistic engines and design tho think id never want to own a car with that engine there
QUESTION. sorry to be annoying, but im doing a valve cover gasket replacement and im wondering if i need to do anything with Timing or the cam's in order to remove the valve cover. will removing the valve cover affect the timing, chain or cams in a anyway ? do i need to take extra step in order for everything to be at the right timing ? thank you
Very educational! Thank you!
what ratchet is that by your right hand at 2:27 on the bottom magnetic strip?
have a 2004 passat runs good but key wont come out inginiton and the shifter will go in any gear without key on any ideas what up
weird. make sure nothing is binding the shifter to go into park
Have you ever did a teardown on a 1.8t mk6?
Such a coincidence. My Golf 7 just had a piston 1 failure just like this, last week.
71000km
Can't believe I gave serious consideration to buying either a VW GLI or a GTI as my next car. In the market for a new one. Thing is, I keep my cars for a very long time before replacing them. Seems not much has changed in the last 15 years. If you want long-term reliability, get a Japanese car. Usually Honda or Toyota. Glad I found your video before I made a stupid mistake.
These engines are a validation of a engineering degree
When will VW Audi come out with the plastic block
charles can modern engines such as this one even be rebuilt or are all of them one time use? i miss the old days
Melted piston, usual failure of TSIs, VW had a series of pistons that did not respect the manufacturer's tolerances (manufactured with a non-calibrated machine) the oil goes back into the combustion chamber and creates self-ignition, plus number large jam on scraper rings, the proposed ring kit requires replacing the pistons and connecting rods.
The problem is a decent manufacturer would just accept responsibility and repair the factory caused faults without charge for the customers, but VW usually let's the customer pay for their faults
My cousin just bought a Mk7 GTI TSI DSG with 100,00km(60k miles) what should we be watching out for?
Great channel.Have you ever worked on 1.4 TSI EA211 engine?I have some misfire issues on mine 1.4 TSi 110KW just on idle,.Spark plugs changed!