2014 diesel beetle error code

[jpadie]

on a friend's beetle (1.6 TDI) she is seeing error codes P0407 and P0406C (from OBD Eleven). This morning the engine went in to limp home mode.

the egr seems to be 'challenging' to get to in the beetle so before I take it off and replace it, is this a well known code for the beetle's and is there anything else I should check/try first? I've not had a look at where the contact is for the sensor, but if it is easily accessible I will take that out and give it a clean before doing much else.

Just in case relevant, the weather has become very cold in the last few days and when the car was started this afternoon (in full sunshine, about 12C) the light did not appear and the car sounded fine.

any thoughts or advice?

many thanks
Justin

 

[Crasher]

The EGR unit on the CAYB/C engine is extremely prone to failure and without being on a lift it is almost impossible to replace... it would be unimaginably unpleasant doing it on stands with you on your back. Also I strongly recommend you only fit a genuine VW unit, I have used aftermarket versions and they all failed, one before the car was even off the lift. The unit is bolted to the back of the engine and requires the DPF disconnecting and moving to one side, a new turbo to DPF clamping ring is essential as they do not like being reused and have a habit of leaking so fumes get into the car.

 

[jpadie]

thanks @Crasher. Excellent answer.

Where I am we have 'cooperative' garages in which you can hire a lift by the hour. So definitely was going to do that rather than put on pyramids and crawl under. Thanks for the tip about a new clamping ring.

 

[Crasher]

There was one like that in Nottingham in the late 70’s into the early 80’s when I first started working on cars 40 years ago, called Autoplus but they stopped doing it and became a normal garage again, the current owner is Mike, a good friend of mine. A few companies have tried to start up such enterprises in the UK but seem to die out as it is such hard work dealing with DIY mechanics, the common issue was a car being dead on the lift waiting for a parts delivery with the clock ticking away by the hour, a two day delay in delivery could bankrupt the customer. Autoplus had a paint booth and it is where I resprayed my first car, a 66 Beetle called Veronica owned by a friend and which is still on the road.

 

[jpadie]

@Crasher - finally gearing up to book time and get this car back on the road.

may I ask a couple of quick questions?

1. Re parts:
a). is there a good source of official exploded diagrams so that I can identify the gaskets that I will need to replace? I'm thinking that the turbo oil gaskets should be replaced at both ends. most EGR kits seem only to come with the EGR end.

b) ditto the DPF clamp and potentially the clamp for the DPF to the tail pipe. It looks easier to remove the whole DPF assembly rather than push it out of the way. It also looks that it removing the right half-axle and the cross-strut of the sub-assembly might create a lot more space

2. the owner cannot afford the original VW part. garages here are talking in the 600+ range and that's way out of her budget (teacher). Is there any model of aftermarket part (Vemo perhaps?) that has a greater reliability than others? I don't mind spending a day of my time fixing the car if it fails again in a couple of years. Annoying if it fails on the ramp but that's a risk. My guess is that the original valve just might be salvageable. The most common failure mode that I've read about seems to be the hemi-circular attachment to the solenoid that gets gummed up. So the thinking is that I might be able to get that cleaned out and service it and reinstall if the new one fails. It's a gamble; but needs must where the devil drives.

3. the coolant is forever dropping. never below the low limit but dropping from full to 1/3 above min-line. Is this the usual failure of the EGR valve?

Many thanks as always.

 

[Crasher]

I use the VAG parts system ETKA but there are other versions on the internet but the gaskets, clamp, seals etc are very difficult to obtain aftermarket.

We just move the DPF to one side, removal means dropping the subframe and that ands other level of parts and pain.

I fitted a VEMO unit to a CAYC engined Golf 6 two years ago as the owner was pleading poverty and he had checked the price of an aftermarket against genuine and insisted that was what we fit. This one failed within a fortnight and so the supplier sent us another (and a warranty labour form) but this replacement failed before we could even get the car off of the lift. The supplier upgraded us to another (I can't remember which, it was two years ago) and this has been OK until a few weeks ago when it brought the MIL on with the usual fault code and now it is out of warranty... he is giving us grief for what he insisted we fit which is not fair.

Now we will only fit genuine under any circumstances BUT a couple of years ago we had to do another on a Golf that we had only done three years before and that was genuine and of course out of warranty.

 

[jpadie]

not fair indeed.

unfortunately the EKTA database doesn't find the VIN. and although I think I can find the right parts, at these costs I'd rather be sure before I get the car on the ramp!

 

[Crasher]

Send me the VIN by conversation.

 

[Crasher]

The car is on the VIN look up system

03L 131 512 DQ

Cooler for exhaust gas recuperation with control flap

03L 131 531 A

Also Use According to Repair Instructions

04L 131 547 S	gasket	£10.24
N 908 946 01	hex. nut, self-locking	£1.63
N 101 961 03	oval socket head bolt with hex drive	£0.77
03L 131 547 N	gasket	£5.35
N 910 327 02	screw, button hd. With collar	£0.88

Frequently Ordered Together

1K0 253 115 T	gasket	£3.96
1K0 253 725	clamp	£20.72
WHT 005 635 A	banjo bolt	£11.25
N 103 320 02	shouldered hex. nut	£1.50
03L 145 757 H	gasket	£3.77
1K0 253 141 M	dual clamp	£21.24

 

[jpadie]

@Crasher - many thanks!

Did the work today. B**ch of a job, as you said! I spent most of the day on the end of 5 or 6 long 3/8 and 1/4 extension bars. bl**dy awful.

Took 4 hours to get the EGR valve out. Had to remove all the oil pipes; disconnect the DPF from the turbo and release it from the cross-strut. getting the top right bolt in the EGR valve was an absolute nightmare. Took 1h45m in total. I had to slacken all the other three bolts almost completely and then get on the top right one. The other bolts were a challenge but not as bad.

Final challenge was reseating the DPF - proved to be very hard until I slacked the two lower support nuts. Lift going up and down all day like a mad thing.

thanks again.

 

[Crasher]

I have read about people who have done this on their back on the deck, I can’t imagine my body being able to cope with that.

 

[jpadie]

I thought it may help future readers if I partly documented the process I went though, and the costs.

Process

1. disconnect battery.
2. remove air filter and duct, taking care of the sensors
3. from the top, remove the retaining clamp from the DPF.
4. from the top, remove the DPF retaining bolt from midway down on the left
5. from the top, remove the bolts from the top of the gas recirculation pipe. It's difficult to get into, but I got there from just behind and to the right of the oil cap. via the channel left from the air duct. If you've not got small hands, you might benefit from removing the duct below (to the intercooler I think).
6. Lift the car
7. remove the retaining bolts for the exhaust on the cross-member. remove the sensor.
8. remove the retaining nuts on the DPF support. Move the DPF to the right.
9. remove the rubber coolant hoses. There are two - the one on the right is behind the DPF and most easily accessed from the RH wheel well. having a caliper clamp is really useful as there is not a lot of space to get mole grips on. I lost virtually no fluid from the bottom left hose, and a litre from the top right. I clamped both once released.
10. remove the bolts to the gas recirculation hoses. there will be three sets of two remaining (the first being removed from the top). One set, from memory, are nuts. the others all being torx bolts. I attacked these mainly from behind the cross-member, armed with loads of thin extension bars and a wobble joint. having a second pair of hands to get on to the bolt head is really helpful.
11. remove the sensor to the EGR
12. remove the oil pipes. (there is a channel bolt on the bottom of each). I didn't lose more than a few drops of oil. The bottom right pipe takes a big spanner. 23mm from memory. I didn't have a socket or spanner for this, so a plumber's adjustable spanner. just got the jaws open wide enough. NB there were copper washers to keep hold of.
13. unbolt the EGR. It was easier to get in close to the EGR from the left wheel hub. the top right bolts needed a flexible joint.
14. the EGR can now be slid out to the left and removed.
pretty much reverse the above to replace. Some hints include

A. leaving significant slack in every bolt until all related bolts are seated. I lost 90 minutes trying to get the top right bolt of the EGR back in as you have to align it blind. slackening all the bolts worked first time.
B. don't tighten the DPF retaining bolts until it is reseated into the turbo. Lost about 25 minutes trying to get this seated neatly enough to apply the clamp.

I think if I had to do this again, I'd count on six hours. First time round it took from 09h15 to 13h00 and then 14h30 thru 19h15 on a Saturday.

In terms of cost

the EGR was 171 eur
gaskets were 12eur for the four (for the gas pipes)
DPF gasket was 2eur
DPF clamp was 9eur
oil gasket was 2.50.

all in, including shipping, 198eur.

I paid 130eur for the lift, garage space and access to tools for the day. the most useful tool I borrowed was the hose clip removal tool. my grips didn't get on one clamp at all. here's a link to something very similar.

Lastly a young cousin helped me as a second pair of hands and less bulk to get into the tighter spaces. He got 100eur.

All in roughly Eur425. Due to covid, I wasn't able to go to garages to get quotes, any the car owner was at work so couldn't do it. I've not idea whether I came in under what it would have cost commercially but I suspect so.

In the hopes that the above is helpful to someone. Sorry there are no photos. All the above from memory so apologies for minor inaccuracies too!