Nearly zero power since changing injector seals and timing belt

[MattWag]

Hi Guys/Girls,

I’m new to the forum so first of all hello! Hope it’s not out of order to just come on here looking for answers but scratching my head a bit on this and recommended the site by a mate. I’m no mechanic so really after some advice on how best to proceed to hopefully avoid too much more wasted time and money!

So here’s my problem… I have an 2006 A3 2.0 TDI which started spluttering while accelerating in high gears on the motorway. I took it in to a local recommended mechanic (actually a BMW specialist) who fixed the issue by replacing the fuel filter but pointed out that the filter was clogged with oil and that the car idled a bit roughly which was true.

The mechanic believed this to be the injector seals leaking which made sense and as the cam belt needed changing anyways I decided to bite the bullet and get the seals replaced and the cam kit changed at the same time. Now, with this work done the car drives like a milk float! It idles lovely, there is no oil in the filter but I’d say it has about 1/3 power, almost stalling when you pull off in first if you don’t spend a few seconds winding the revs up.

The mechanic has since re-fitted the timing belt a number of times fearing this could be the issue, also changed the fuel pump which collapsed when the fuel system was depressurised and put a new cam sensor on. Still it drives like a milk float. All the diagnostics come up clean with no errors or fault codes and stats apparently similar to those Audi supply for same model. The turbo is spinning up ok, air flow apparently ok as is exhaust out. So, the next suggestion was this could be an issue with the injectors – them being the only part of the fuel system that sensors can’t monitor - so took the car to a diesel specialist where the injectors have just tested ok.

So my problem is that all who have looked are scratching their heads. My options seem to be to go to an official Audi garage and start again or follow the diesel specialists latest advice and get an expert to look at the electronics. So I wondered if anyone had any advice? As I say, I’m no mechanic but struggling to see how changing the seals and cam belt could have messed up the electronics. That said, I’m concerned that if I start again with Audi I could spend another load of cash to get to the same position.

Any word of wisdom gratefully received. Cheers in advance,

Matt

 

[Ian-83]

Have the injectors been set up correctly when the seals were replaced? There a bit like tappets on old cars where they need to be set in a special way for them to be spot on. The injectors on these PD engines do actually feed back to the engine ECU so you can see things like injector duration etc. Might be worth finding an Audi specialist or maybe one hour at the main dealer.

Also replacing the seals on these injectors needs to be done with special tools as it's easy to stretch,twist or tear a seal fitting it without the tools. Were new bolts used to fit the injectors and the rocker shaft as there all stretch bolts and one use only.