Auxiliary Heater for V6 TDI Engine

Hello!

Although it's not really the right time of year for this topic, here's some information I have about it.

I've always had auxiliary heaters in the last four generations of cars I've owned.

Before, I had a Ford Grand C-Max, and there were never any space problems with that.

Vorletztes Fahrzeug: Audi A4 (B5), 1.9 TDI (AFN) mit 81kW. Front-wheel drive.
It has a manual transmission. My VAG workshop installed it, and it cost almost 4,500 Marks. The installation was done according to Audi's specifications.

After that, an A4 B5 2.5 TDI with a QTip.

The VAG workshop simply said: 'Forget about it, there's no room for that here.'

The Bosch service representative simply said: 'Just bring it in; we've already made the impossible possible.'

The initial approach was a design with a powerful pump and a burn time of 60-120 minutes, intended to be installed in the area near the rear axle, as there is simply no space at the front. Without xenon headlights, i.e., without the large windshield washer reservoir, it might have been possible to find a place closer to the bumper... but that wasn't the case.

After a long search, an Eberspächer model was eventually installed, which allows for separate mounting of the pump and burner... The burner is located at the top, quite close to the windshield washer fluid filler neck, while the pump is likely mounted lower down.

http://www.eberspaecher.de/de/heiz/tech/wheiz/daten/daten.htm

I would only advise anyone who is being turned away by their authorized dealer to contact the Bosch service center nearest them. According to a long-standing specialist in auxiliary heating systems there, even Audi obtains installation recommendations from them (in Mannheim).

And it's definitely cheaper.

So, Bosch Service Blickle in Mannheim (I am neither related to nor acquainted with them, and I don't receive any discounts for this advertisement).

Regards,
Felix.

P.S. By the way, this is NOT approved for use with biodiesel. According to Eberspächer, the combustion doesn't work very well. However, it is supposedly (since 1999) being developed into an 'all-fuel' burner that can also run on vegetable oil...
Webasto says the same thing... but nothing ever happens.

'I also ran my Webasto auxiliary heater on biodiesel for a while without any problems. They're probably just worried that something might happen. After all, the newer Mercedes C-Class CDI models are also approved for biodiesel, even though they have a Webasto auxiliary heater...'

@flaufer!!!!

war beim Bosch-Dienst,... habe denen das von dir erzählt,...... tolle Aussage: das wollen wir erstmal sehen,...... THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! / THAT WON'T WORK! / IT CAN'T BE DONE!

Great shop! Would it be too much to ask if you could email or post me a picture of your engine bay? Then the 'experts' could take a look... and I would FINALLY have a tachometer reading.

Thank you very much.

Merlin.

@flaufer!!!!

war beim Bosch-Dienst,... habe denen das von dir erzählt,...... tolle Aussage: das wollen wir erstmal sehen,...... THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! / THAT WON'T WORK! / IT CAN'T BE DONE!

Great shop! Would it be too much to ask if you could email or post me a picture of your engine bay? Then the 'experts' could take a look... and I would FINALLY have a reference image.


Basically, that's okay...

Problem: Right now, my engine compartment is completely disassembled due to the engine damage, and the auxiliary heater is lying around outside.

I'm not sure how or whether I'll be able to get to the right spot at the right time to photograph the engine compartment so that it's clear where the heater is installed.

Actually, I could take the Polaroid to the workshop so they can photograph it at a time when it's clearly visible.

Talk to them about it.

Alternatively, you could contact the company Bosch Dienst Blickle in Mannheim (see phone book). There is a gentleman there who...
He is familiar with that topic. However, it's questionable whether he remembers me, as it was back in 1999.

I also can't say whether there have been any changes to the requirements...

You could mention my name there (Laufer from 1999) and, if appropriate, mention that the shared pump was installed...

Otherwise, I'm happy to take photos, but right now it's not suitable because there's nothing to photograph.

And somehow, I have doubts that my contracted workshop will ever be able to fix it the way it was before .

Regards,
Felix.

It would be great if you could take a picture sometime! I will definitely bring this up with my Audi dealer/Bosch service center.

Take a picture tonight... then you can compare it to see if my engine bay is identical to yours!

I'm sorry to hear about your TDI... I hope they can fix it. However, given how the engine is installed, they're probably going to be quite frustrated! I've noticed this before at various Audi workshops; they don't really like working on those V6 TDIs.

M.

It would be great if you could take a picture sometime! I will definitely confront my Audi dealer/Bosch service center with this!

Take a picture tonight... then you can compare it to see if my engine bay is identical to yours!

I'm sorry to hear about your TDI... I hope they can fix it. However, given how the engine is installed, they're probably going to be quite frustrated! I've noticed this before at various Audi workshops; they don't really like working on those V6 TDIs.

M

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.

Meanwhile, I would advise against it, as the burner likely damaged quite a bit of tubing and underbody stone protection... and it has also been known to fail and be replaced.

'I'll choose my next car based on whether it already has a pre-installed wash system from the factory. That way, I know there's space for it, even if there might be other things like special water tanks in some cases.'

Regards,
Felix.