Engine Damage: Faulty Head Gasket Audi AEL / Volvo D5252T

Hello, fellow diesel enthusiasts,
I drive a Volvo 850 TDI with an Audi AEL 5-cylinder engine producing 140 horsepower.
After a long drive on a country road, the car suddenly started shaking and vibrating noticeably when I stopped at a traffic light – there were no problems beforehand. Starting the car resulted in a lot of black smoke and less power than usual, and you almost had to be careful not to stall the engine. There was also noticeable vibration even after starting. The faster you drove, the less you could feel it, and above approximately 80 km/h, the car behaved more normally, including in terms of performance.
I then drove another approximately 15 km to get home. Once there, I turned off the engine and tried to start it again: despite the engine being warmed up, it was barely possible. Only by artificially forcing the glow plugs (by disconnecting the engine temperature sensor) could I get it to start, and that was with great difficulty and a significant amount of black smoke.
I then loosened the injector nozzle retaining nuts slightly while the engine was idling – fuel leaked out of each line, and the sound of the engine also changed.
'Question for the experts: What's broken here? I suspect it's the ESP, but I'm open to suggestions for other possible causes.'

P.S. The nozzles may have been used for about 30,000 km, so they are practically new.

Hi,

What do timing belts do?

Best regards, Rainer.

The dynamic timing check was okay, so the timing belt should not be misaligned.

Hello.
Does the engine have extremely high pressure in the crankcase ventilation system when starting? If so, I would suspect a cracked piston, which I recently experienced with a 5-cylinder ANJ engine.
Best regards,
Dirk

So, from 80 km/h onwards, the engine runs normally - that should rule out a cracked cylinder, right?
I took the oil filler cap off while the engine was idling, and it stayed put without coming off.

Hello.
If the lid is sitting still, it's unlikely to be a piston issue. In the case of the ANJ, the lid already flew off during startup.
Best regards,
Dirk

Just got a call from the Bosch service: The cylinder head needs to be removed. They say there's no compression on the first and second cylinders. If it's just the head gasket, the repair will cost around 1500 euros.
I'm going to pick up the car now and leave it as it is, without getting it repaired.

"Head poetry" for €1500? That's quite a price.

A headstone for 1500 euros? That's quite expensive.

Well, those are just the Bosch service prices in Hanover.
I've already paid 232 euros just for the diagnosis.

That's really amazing.
Are you going to do the repair yourself now?

Unfortunately, I don't have a suitable garage for doing it myself. It's not ideal to work on it in the yard where it's exposed.
But now, thanks to a kind person (thank you, Peter!), he was transported from Hanover by trailer to my trusted mechanic in Bielefeld. I will continue to provide updates.

http://img.

/albums/v484/morti850tdi/Volvo/Motorschaden/Trailer.jpg

Diagnosis:
Head gasket failure between cylinder 1 and 2, measuring 7 mm.
Most likely, a piston seized due to deposits in the head gasket of cylinder 2.
Cylinder 3 has a cracked piston crown.

I am looking for a replacement engine, either a Volvo D5252T or an Audi AEL.

Is the Audi AEL engine actually the same as the AAT, or are there any differences between them?

Cylinder head gasket:

http://img.

/albums/v484/morti850tdi/Volvo/Motorschaden/ZKD.jpg

Knocking in cylinder 2:

http://img.

/albums/v484/morti850tdi/Volvo/Motorschaden/Zyl2.jpg

Crack in the cylinder head near cylinder 3.


http://img.

/albums/v484/morti850tdi/Volvo/Motorschaden/Zyl3.jpg

The scoring in cylinder 2 is definitely caused by remnants of the head gasket.
I have no idea where the crack in the piston crown of cylinder 3 came from.
It probably overheated, but I'll also have the fuel injector checked.

How many kilometers were on this engine?
Was he chipped?
Due to the crack, the timing belt may have broken once, causing the valves to hit the pistons -> crack! It's difficult to see how deep the crack is and how severe the damage is. However, the damage marks don't look too bad. But you really need to see it in person to assess the extent of the damage; it's hard to tell from pictures.

The engine has 347,000 kilometers on it and is not chipped.
Since I've owned the car (for 150,000 km), it hasn't had any timing belt failures, but I can't say for sure what happened before that.
Please provide the German text you would like me to translate into English.

If you have the time, have a mechanic rebuild the engine. The engine block is now in good condition and free of stress. Otherwise, consider an AT (alternative) engine. In my opinion, any partial repairs are not worth it given the mileage. However, it's probably more economical to sell the entire car to Eastern Europe and invest the money in a vehicle with lower mileage.

Best regards.
Christian.