Oxi-Kat added to T4 2.5l TDI

Hello.

Today, I got my neighbor's 1996 T4 (engine code: ACV) for troubleshooting due to a significant loss of power (according to him, it's been happening for a while, but he's constantly needed the vehicle...).
After various measurements and tests, I came to the conclusion that there must be a blockage in the catalytic converter. So, I quickly removed the oxygen sensor and, sure enough, it was 80% clogged. When you shine a bright flashlight through one side of the sample, you only see light on the other side from a very small number of cells.

Regarding the car/engine: 177,000 km mileage, no water consumption, no oil top-ups needed between service intervals (15,000 km), and it uses 10W-40 oil with the appropriate specification, which is perfectly sufficient for this almost antique engine. The current owner has had it for approximately 80,000 km, and during that time, there has been no turbocharger damage or similar issues that could explain a high oil consumption into the catalytic converter. No tuning, normal soot behavior, just like a 5-cylinder engine.

Okay, here's the translation:

"Now my question: Can anyone explain how something like this can happen without significant oil consumption?" Does anyone have any idea what those white deposits might be?

177,000 km

Or 377,000 km and the injectors are simply worn out?

The mileage is correct, which you can tell just by looking at the car.

Canister tanker?
Bad gas?

I still wouldn't necessarily exclude nozzles from the range of possibilities.

I wouldn't know about tanker trucks; I also think he's too lazy for that.

Normally, people fill up their tanks at the gas station in the neighboring town, and I often do the same, and I haven't experienced any problems there.

Hello...

It seems like they're driving in a style that involves "warming up the engine for a long time and then flooring it."
Fill up with premium diesel, add a good dose of SATACEN 25, and then hit the road or the mountain with the digital accelerator.

After a few hours, he will be able to walk again.

SG
Alevuz.

alevuz wrote:

After a few hours, it will run again...

Engine, yes, turbo probably not...
I doubt that running at full throttle here would have been very useful; the AGT (presumably referring to a type of engine or component) would certainly not have been very responsive to load.

Furthermore, the problem is already resolved; my neighbor chose a different "repair" solution.

I actually don't think he drives very little; he drives about 200 km at a time, roughly four times a month. I don't know how else it usually moves, but it often gets stuck and/or is heavily loaded, so it must be doing something to get it moving.

My VW T4 TDI produces a large cloud of smoke, the size of a T4, when I normally drive and then suddenly accelerate hard at a traffic light. Despite a healthy engine, checked injectors, good engine oil, an oil sludge flush, a blocked EGR valve, perfect valve timing, new glow plugs, and a 1-liter oil consumption over 7000 km, etc.
I believe that, given the state of technology at the time, there was no other constructive way to proceed, and that the catalyst would eventually become inactive.
However, a clogged muffler could certainly contribute to that.

I've only experienced clogged silencers due to defective catalytic converters.

While it's certainly not impossible for a damper to become clogged with its own components, I have never personally experienced it or heard of it happening.

Quote:

While it is certainly not impossible for a muffler to become clogged with its own parts, I have never personally experienced it or heard of it happening.

In mufflers that incorporate a perforated tube surrounded by mineral wool or fiberglass...
Can blockages occur if the pipe dissolves due to rust?

For example, with the Astra F, this could occasionally happen. Although rare, I have encountered two such cases.

So, it's not 100% ruled out. However, I am personally not aware of any such cases at VAG.

Honestly, have you ever seen a rusty exhaust pipe on the inside of an old diesel engine? So I don't.

This kind of thing happens, but only with gasoline engines or modern diesel engines, because where there's a lot of soot, there's no water, and therefore no rust.

The engines I've seen so far that had clogged catalytic converters all shared one thing in common. They all burned too much oil.

I think the Oxikat could handle a fair amount of Russ, especially if you look at some of the modified steam locomotives.

However, the burnt oil permanently clogs the catalytic converter.

What does the customer say about how much oil they consume?

Sorry! Actually overlooked...