Hi guys, I am new to this forum so if this question has been addressed then I apologise in advance; Having said that I have been searching the web for the last few days and not found anything relating to my issue. Basically, the car is absolutely fine as far as I can tell and I am not having the dreaded oil consumption issues - However, when the car reaches around 2,700 - 3k rev range and the turbocharger kicks in (In both D & S Mode) I can hear a very loud rattling that would seem to be coming from the dashboard, but right at the back near where the windscreen meets. From my research I have found that it could be AC Lines, Fuel Lines, sound actuator rattling and vibrating but it seems odd that if that was the issue, it would only create the noise when the turbocharger kicks in and not at any other point, regardless of how fast I am going and the terrain I am driving on. If I were to just be driving fast and not stamp down on the pedal I do not get the same rattling, only when the turbo is active. From there I decided to have a look at any recalls or bulletins from VW and I noticed many people complaining about the wastegate actuator rod vibrating and I figured that this could be the actual issue. VW seem to have released a clip to steady the rod and I thought this could be applied to mine, however I can't find info on whether the clip will fit a Polo GTI. When I called VW UK and gave them the part number for the clip which supposedly rectifies the issue, one tech told me they don't fit Polo turbos and the other told me the Polo GTI turbocharger is completely self-contained and does not have a rod...or at least any access to it. Is this true or have the techies got it wrong and I should just buy a clip and get it fitted by a local mechanic. This is is the clip I am referring to: Hopefully I haven't been too confusing and someone else has had/rectified this problem! Cheers!
Hi and welcome! First up; the turbo doesn't "kick in" at 3000rpm. Indeed, the very opposite is true! The turbo is always spinning whilst the engine is running, and starts to become effective (generating boost pressure) from around 1500rpm. At around the 3000rpm mark the wastegate starts to open to divert exhaust gas away from the turbine, and stop boost production. Now since you're experiencing a noise at 3000rpm just when the wastegate is beginning to operate, then I'd suspect a problem in that area, but you'd need someone else to confirm the Polo turbo setup, re; wastegate rod or lack of, since I don't have any direct experience. If it is truly self-contained internal actuation though, the clip will almost definitely not be a fix.
Ah Ok, I not that knowledgable about all this stuff so cheers for the reply. I cant seem to get any info from VW regarding the problem or what can be done....
Hi, thanks for your reply and correcting my mistakes. Whilst I can't find any actual schematics for the turbocharger in this car, I have come accross this listing for a turbocharger from a 1.4 TSI SEAT; Pretty sure all the 1.4TSI Skodas, VWs and Audis are the same with regard to engine, turbo and supercharger. From this image and my limited knowledge I would say that the actuator rod is accessible and the clip should sort it out, am I wrong?
