Timing belt incorrectly installed?, even though the injection timing is correct!

Hi everyone,
I'm still trying to figure out why my performance is down, and I'm pretty much at the end of my rope now. I've created several threads here and checked everything that has been suggested, but everything seems to be fine. I ran the standard diagnostics, and nothing appears unusual! Even with the dynamometer test, I'm only getting around 100 horsepower (approximately 8 seconds). Something is definitely wrong.
My latest thought is that the timing belt might be misaligned. I bought the car with 120,000 km on it, and it's never really run properly, and the sound isn't as good as my old 1Z either.
"In the low-speed range, there's simply a lack of torque, despite having sufficient low-end and mid-range power."

Could it be that the timing belt is misaligned, but the valve timing (injection timing) is still correct?

Greetings.
Reuselkopp.

PS: Maybe I'll take up Rainer's offer, if he still offers it, and have a professional mechanic look at my little Golf.

Hi Reuselkopp,

Quote:

P.S.: Maybe I will take up Rainer's offer, if he still offers it, and have a skilled professional work on my little Golf.

Sorry, I don't perform any troubleshooting or repairs. I keep getting requests related to that, and now people are even showing up at my door .

To put it bluntly: if you ask an engineer to troubleshoot a problem, you should be able to pay them accordingly.
Unfortunately, people are constantly contacting me by phone, private message (an overwhelming amount), through the shop's contact form, and now even at my doorstep, expecting that I will quickly ("casually," meaning for just a day) troubleshoot problems with their cars in exchange for a donation or an act of kindness.

Anyone who needs the appropriate tools for troubleshooting is welcome to visit our diagnostics and tuning online shop, and there is certainly enough helpful information available for free in this forum to assist with troubleshooting.

In the short term, we are planning to create a workshop directory where independent and brand-specific workshops can register without any costs. I will moderate this list and try to maintain a certain standard. This means that any workshop repeatedly flagged for unfair pricing or unnecessary repairs will be removed from the list.
Then anyone who has a problem can find a workshop nearby.

Best regards, Rainer.

Fuel injection timing can be correct, but it's also possible that the camshaft and crankshaft are not aligned properly. This is the most common problem when a timing belt has been incorrectly replaced.

reuselkopp wrote:

Kann es sein das Der Zahnriemen Falsch aufgelegt ist aber die Steuerzeiten (Spritzbeginn) trotzdem stimmt?

Yes and no.
The start of injection (or initial pump setting) and valve timing are adjusted independently.
It's entirely possible that only your valve timing is incorrect. This can significantly alter the performance characteristics of an engine (even before the pistons and valves collide).

No: you can't test that with VAGCOM; instead, tools like the NW measuring gauge are needed for that purpose.

Oops, bastion was 1 minute faster .

@Rainer
Hi, have you offered this service in the past? I seem to remember reading somewhere that someone was offering troubleshooting for €75. Just the troubleshooting, not the repair. Basically, going there and having it checked out, then getting told what the likely problem is, and then driving home and doing the repair yourself.

@everyone else
Okay, so it's quite possible that the timing belt was not replaced properly. The next timing belt replacement is due soon anyway. Hopefully, if it's really a misadjustment, I haven't damaged anything yet. Driving almost 90,000 kilometers with a wrongly installed timing belt is no small matter.

I just need to check if the timing marks on the transmission, camshaft (using a ruler as a substitute), and ESP (with locking pin in top dead center) are aligned.

"What I don't understand is that when the car had 120,000 km, the VW technicians installed a new ESP unit. Wouldn't a misconfiguration have been noticeable by then?"

reuselkopp wrote:

Ich muß dann eigentlich nur schauen ob KW-Kerbe im Getriebe, Nockenwelle (mit Lineal-Ersatz) und ESP mit Arretierdorn im OT fluchten?

Yes.

Quote:

Was ich nicht verstehe, bei 120kkm haben die VW Fuzzis mir eine neue ESP eingebaut. Hätte da eine Falscheinstellung nicht schon auffallen müssen?

If they didn't pay close attention to the northwest direction (or didn't have a compass handy), then, in my opinion, no.

If they didn't check that during an ESP change, I would shut down the entire operation...
Basically, you have to loosen the timing belt to remove the ESP (electronic stability program) unit... If they just re-tension the part without checking anything, I don't understand how things work anymore... But just check it yourself. Remove the valve cover, turn the crankshaft from below, and as soon as the mark aligns with the transmission, insert a wide piece of metal into the notch on the camshaft. If that's the problem, you should be able to see it immediately!

If you've already checked the injection timing using VAGCOM and TDI-Graph and everything seems correct, then the workshop might not have done anything wrong. Even a slightly misaligned camshaft won't necessarily cause any loss of power or engine damage.

Regards!

I can only speak from my experience with the AFN TDI engine, and in that case, to check the camshaft timing, you have to remove the valve cover from the engine. I don't know if you want to do that.

However, if there's already a loss of power, it should also be noticeable through an unusual engine sound (loud, rattling, uneven). In my case, when the tensioner for the timing belt failed, the engine still ran smoothly, but produced almost no power anymore. It was also misfiring and extremely hard to turn over due to incorrect valve timing. The sound was almost as if there was no oil in it.

Hi,
Well, it's not that much work to remove the cover. I haven't really experienced any uneven engine running. But the engine does sound strange. It's very smooth at idle, but when you give it a lot of throttle, it sounds weird, and you can feel the engine revving up, but the power isn't getting to the wheels. The RPM increases, but the perceived speed doesn't. It completely lacks that typical TDI "kick" in the lower end. When I compare my AFN to a 2.0 DTI from an Opel Astra, which has the same torque (235 Nm), my AFN feels like a slow and weak machine. Even after the popometer adjustment, my 1Z had significantly more power from the bottom! Something isn't right here, and I haven't found anything in the last 57,000 km.

Okay, so you're experiencing a loss of power, but all the values read correctly with VAG-COM. Maybe consider checking the basic things first before starting a systematic troubleshooting process with VAG-COM (see FA). Even if those things can be ruled out (e.g., catalytic converter, fuel filter,...), then you'll have no choice but to check the valve timing, right? Additionally, you could perform a compression test.
"What surprises me is that you have a VNT17 turbocharger on it. Your AFN engine doesn't come with that turbocharger from the factory, does it? Why is it there? It seems like people recommend sticking with the original turbocharger when running stock power and boost levels. If absolutely nothing else works, I might consider trying that."

I've had the car for almost 2 years, and I believe I've checked everything except the timing belt and transmission! I've also already inspected more basic things like the fuel filter and catalytic converter. The catalytic converter is empty, and the fuel filter is clean. I had an air bubble problem, so I replaced the original hose with a complete PA (Polyamide) hose system. I've also replaced the mass airflow sensor, pressure transducer, vacuum pump, injectors, and all the vacuum hoses. The EGR valve has been disabled. The intake manifold has been cleaned. I replaced the turbo because the boost pressure was incorrect when I first got the car (the wastegate actuator stuck). However, I don't think the VNT17 variable geometry turbine is the problem, as the boost pressure seems to be correct now. There are almost no overboosts, and it already has full boost at 1800 RPM.

Have you checked if the fuel injection amount is correct under full load? If the engine isn't smoking and the boost pressure is there, then a lack of power could only be due to insufficient fuel. Even the best horse can't perform without hay. You need to figure out why not enough fuel is getting into the engine. Otherwise, you should really measure the compression.

Fuel injection volume at full load is approximately 42 mg/stroke. The torque limit always has the lowest value.
I would actually also rule out compression issues, because the engine starts perfectly well when cold, with no hesitation or anything like that. Only when it's warm, which is typical for an AFN engine, does it take a little longer, but still less than one second.

42mg/H... hmm, I'm not entirely sure about that, but shouldn't it be around 51mg/H?

According to the specifications, the value should be between 40-45 mg/H. However, I've also seen values around 50 before, but that one was probably modified.

I'm confused! I just checked again, but there's nothing listed for the AFN in the expected data list.

but what should the target injection amount be now, in mg/H? Definitely, I have a maximum of 42 mg/H. Could this be a software problem or an ESP (Electronic Stability Program) problem???