A4 Avant 2.0 TDI Engine problems..Seized? English

2005 Audi A4 Avant 2.0 TDI. I am not sure the model of the engine as I don't know how to find it. I can only speak English so I hope someone on here can help me. They did not sell the 2.0 tdi's for that year in the states so they are no help.

Story: My girlfriend was driving home last night and the car just shut off on the Autobahn, She said that no lights came on the dash, it just literally shut off. She pulled over on the side and could not get it restarted..This is when I arrived. I went to start it and all I got was a single "click" from the starter-nothing else. All the lights were working good, battery is fairly new. My 1st thought was starter but it doesn't explain the sudden shut off of the car..2nd thought was alternator but the lights ect did not dim out and then kill the car. Had the tow truck come and he put a booster pack on-same single "click" from starter . Plugged in my code reader and there are no codes stored. After the car got dropped off in my driveway I tried to bump start it ( my driveway is on a hill) as soon as the popped the clutch the tires just locked up. I had a friend come over today and we tried pushing it to get a little more speed..same thing, just came to an abrupt halt.

Some things I tried today: Drained some oil to see if any metal was in their, it looked good..no shiny metal pieces at all. I took serpentine belt off to make sure all the pulleys roll freely-they are all good. I jacked up the front of the car and put it in gear and spun the wheels..the wheels turn fine and I can hear the trans spinning fine..I was under the assumption that it would also spin the engine over?? Not sure why it locks up with tires on ground but not jacked up? I tried to get a socket on the harmonic balancer but it is so tight in between the radiator and balancer that I cant get anything to fit.

Oil level was good
Timing belt looks good, still tight and no missing teeth
No loss of coolant
I am at a loss!!

Does anyone have any idea? or come across any problem like this before? I just cant believe the engine would lock up with no warning and no audible bang or anything. Just blows my mind.

Maybe the oil pump drive shaft got killed and the engine seized due to lack of lubriction. There should be a signal on the dash for low oil pressure, however you can not rely on all the electronics. First of all, I would open the valve cover and check the camshaft.
Is it a manual or automatic gear box?
How many kilometers or miles did the engine run so far?
When was the engine oil changed last time and how frequently did you change it?

In order to reach the harmonic balancer you need to remove the front bumper and remove the bolts of the front frame, then you can pull it 10to 15 cm forwards and get enough space between cooler and engine.

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Zitat von stef

Maybe the oil pump drive shaft got killed and the engine seized due to lack of lubriction. There should be a signal on the dash for low oil pressure, however you can not rely on all the electronics. First of all, I would open the valve cover and check the camshaft.
Is it a manual or automatic gear box?
How many kilometers or miles did the engine run so far?
When was the engine oil changed last time and how frequently did you change it?

In order to reach the harmonic balancer you need to remove the front bumper and remove the bolts of the front frame, then you can pull it 10to 15 cm forwards and get enough space between cooler and engine.

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Thank you for the reply, the car has approx. 210km on it right now and was not do for oil change for another few thousand. It is a Manual gearbox.

Checked the camshaft today and everything looked good, no weird wear on the lobes and also no dropped valves.

Can you check the cylinders and pistons with a borescope? If you can not turn the engine something has to be seriously damaged.

I've never seen the aftermath of the oil pump failing, but it is the most common engine killer on the 2.0 TDI. You might want to take the oil pan off and check the pump (particuarly the allen-wrench-like pump driver. it ussually dies at 150.000 km and should be replaced as soon as after 90.000 km, as far as I've read).

if it suddenly failed, the engine ran with no oil = total failure. Probably a piston got stuck.

In this case, you'll be better off buying a new engine.

If it's something else, let us know! Now I'm curious :)

I am going to try and pull the bumper off this weekend and see if I can spin the crank from the harmonic balancer. I really hope the engine is not blown. There was no low oil pressure warning or anything :(

It sadly happens very suddenly. And warning systems sometimes fail.

Take the spark plugs off and take a look. It also makes turning the engine easier. And be sure to leave it in neutral! ;)

Once I had an engine dying on me going full speed, no warning. The engine was running too lean and the ignition was too hot (motorcycle). The piston melted under the spark plug away, then the pieces got caught between piston and head and blocked it. It turned until I got to stop the motorcycle, tho.

It is a Diesel engine , there are no spark plugs.

Hahaha I'm such a moron some times 😆

Update: Pulled front bumper and cr.ash bar, pulled all 4 glow plugs. put car and neutral and tried to turn engine over with socket and ratchet on the crank....nothing. Cant even get it to move a cm. Put a wrench on the ratchet for more leverage and still cant get it to move. I guess this means the engine is completely seized somehow.. Now for the next question... Where can I source an engine for my car in Germany? I am located in the eifel region near Trier. Thanks for the help guys

also, How to I find out my engine code? Not sure if its BRE or what.. Did Audi have a recall on the oil pump drive shaft? and if they did would my car be covered?

:shock: very unfortunate that this happened. Usually one gets the oil pressure warning as indicator if the oil pump ceases functioning, so it may not be the actual cause.

You can find your motor code easiest in your Service booklet. There is a sticker somewhere on the first pages which Looks like this:
http://www.a4-freunde.com/attachment...hmentid=120431
"Motorkennbuchstabe" corresponds to your engine code.

There are several car Recycling facilities here in Germany, I guess the easiest source to find a lot of engines is eBay.

If something is not clear, you should always at first try to call a certain shop, the ability to speak English is not so rare and plenty of Dealers actually like to talk before selling. Maybe you can even find someone in your proximity who has some more in-depth Knowledge about this and tips where to buy.

Good luck!

Thank you very much! I had another question.. When I pulled out the glowplugs all 4 of them had oil on them is this common? I would think if the oil pump failed and the engine starved for oil that the top end would be dry. Is there anyway that the clutch or starter could be jammed? even though the car rolls fine in neutral?

I looked through my service booklet and there was no sticker with that info anywhere in there. Is there somewhere else I can find this information?

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Zitat von dct

:shock: very unfortunate that this happened. Usually one gets the oil pressure warning as indicator if the oil pump ceases functioning, so it may not be the actual cause.

You can find your motor code easiest in your Service booklet. There is a sticker somewhere on the first pages which Looks like this:
http://www.a4-freunde.com/attachment...hmentid=120431
"Motorkennbuchstabe" corresponds to your engine code.

There are several car Recycling facilities here in Germany, I guess the easiest source to find a lot of engines is eBay.

If something is not clear, you should always at first try to call a certain shop, the ability to speak English is not so rare and plenty of Dealers actually like to talk before selling. Maybe you can even find someone in your proximity who has some more in-depth Knowledge about this and tips where to buy.

Good luck!

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Jes, but I'm not 100% where else this sticker is. In my car, it is somewhere within the trunk hatch (where your spare Wheel well is located). Additionally, you should find these letters somewhere on your engine bloc.

To address your question regarding a recall: No, not in particular. They had a recall for the chain drive of the oil pump which was replaced by a spur Wheel drive, but this does not really have something to do with the actual Problem. Usually you can expect around 50% assumption of costs as a gesture of Goodwill by Audi, if your Service booklet is filled by all the necessary Services with Audi dealers. However, only for letting them build a new engine into your car, which would be still as expensive as buying a new engine yourself.

A good measure to verify whether the oil pump is responsible would be to check your turbocharger condition. If it is mint, that's a hint that it was no oil pump failure causing this.

On the "Serviceheft" or booklet it should be on the inside of the very first page. If not, on the trunk, maybe under the deck covering the spare tire. On my older B5 it is on the inside of said deck and on the booklet.

It seems that there's also a sticker under the engine cover where the engine code should be, close to or directly on the timing belt cover.

You could of course also ask a dealer with your serial number on hand. They should be able to give you all the information you need.

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Zitat von dct

Jes, but I'm not 100% where else this sticker is. In my car, it is somewhere within the trunk hatch (where your spare Wheel well is located). Additionally, you should find these letters somewhere on your engine bloc.

To address your question regarding a recall: No, not in particular. They had a recall for the chain drive of the oil pump which was replaced by a spur Wheel drive, but this does not really have something to do with the actual Problem. Usually you can expect around 50% assumption of costs as a gesture of Goodwill by Audi, if your Service booklet is filled by all the necessary Services with Audi dealers. However, only for letting them build a new engine into your car, which would be still as expensive as buying a new engine yourself.

A good measure to verify whether the oil pump is responsible would be to check your turbocharger condition. If it is mint, that's a hint that it was no oil pump failure causing this.

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Ok, I will try to find this code somewhere on my car or call the dealership.

I did take the hose off the front of the turbo and made sure the turbine spins and it does with no problem..is there anything else I can check on the turbo to make sure its working fine? I also unbolted the starter to ensure it was not the problem and engine is still locked up. I still can't believe the engine just locked up with no warning lights or low oil pressure. Really makes me angry...at this point the only hope I have left is something with the clutch and trans getting locked up preventing me from turning the engine over..but I think it should still turn over in neutral.. I would think that if it was a severe engine failure there would atleast be some metal in the oil or some kind of clue.

I get your anger. Particularly if it is indeed the oil pump. Something like that is a design failure and should never have gone into production.

If you're able to shift gears, and to push the car around in neutral, the transmission isn't blocked. Terminal failure of the clutch is unlikely, I've never seen it happen like this.

Did you take the oil pan off?

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Zitat von quaipau

I get your anger. Particularly if it is indeed the oil pump. Something like that is a design failure and should never have gone into production.

If you're able to shift gears, and to push the car around in neutral, the transmission isn't blocked. Terminal failure of the clutch is unlikely, I've never seen it happen like this.

Did you take the oil pan off?

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I was looking at the oil pan and it looks like I need to drop the subframe to get it off? either that or undo the motor mounts and jack it up? Is there a write up on how to do the oil pan?

If the turbine has no radial clearance and spins well it is almost excluded that a lack of oil supply destroyed your turbocharger. Thus, I start to doubt that oil pump failure is the actual reason.