Seatdriver

Hi all, Now as the weather has become colder I have noticed my 2005 1.9 TDI (130) PD is not as keen as it used to be on starting on these cold mornings, engine turns over no probs and quickly so the battery is fine. I strongly suspect the continual stop start routine has taken its toll on the glowplugs. I am going to check their resistances this weekend but not sure of 2 things 1. Where are they and what do I need to remove to get at them? any photos 2. How are they removed form the engine? can you snap them off if you aren't careful. Perfectly at home with meters and electrics. Oh and I noticed by its absence that the aux heater appears to be dead! (temp 2 degrees) Done this fix once before and changed its glow plug. Cant remember if a reset by Vag required once its given up the ghost (ie Try to start 3 times, no start call it a day) Many thanks

Hi all, long time since my last post. I am convinced that the engine vibration I can hear in the cabin has become more noticeable in recent months, the car has only covered 32,000 miles but is coming up to its 5th birthday soon. Any ideas what to check for, I have a very friendly local garage so getting round the car underneath isnt a problem, may get gearbox oil level checked at the same time (it still likes to whine very slightly when decelerating down past 2300rpm). Many thanks

Hi all, long time since my last post. I am convinced that the engine vibration I can hear in the cabin has become more noticeable in recent months, the car has only covered 32,000 miles but is coming up to its 5th birthday soon. Any ideas what to check for, I have a very friendly local garage so getting round the car underneath isnt a problem, may get gearbox oil level checked at the same time (it still likes to whine very slightly when decelerating down past 2300rpm). Many thanks

The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum (L.), also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic. Wow how did you grow that in your water pump! lol My personal opinion is to give this type of work to a garage as you are possibly into changing the timing belt at the same time. Getting this wrong could be rather expensive and the whole job turn into a bit of a nightmare. Cost me

nope there are no warning lights lit on the dashboard, it just came up with this message so quickly I barely had time to read it then it was gone. When I start the car the coil light (yellow) lights and several others, once engine starts they all go out. Odd eh, any other thoughts?

Hi all, Just had my 05 alhambra beep at me something like d/s airbag pretensioner fault? Was only on display for a split second so by the time it went bleep and I looked the message went off so I only got a glimpse of what it said. Anyone had this fault, never seen this message before. thanks

Thanks for the response, how do i blank off the EGR, do i need to buy a kit? thanks again

Hi, Can anyone tell me where the EGR valve is on a 1.9tdi 130bhp 2006 Alhambra. My car has developed a slight stutter and poor low acceleration. Also when decelerating in gear there is a whistle from the engine area that dissappears once revs drop under 2000rpm. Suspect as my car has only covered 29000 miles 90% round town driving this EGR valve may have choked up. What exactly does this valve do and how does it work? Is it better to disconnect or replace? Are there any links on this forum on how to replace it? Many thanks in advance

Good point, Yes engine temp still registering cold when it happens, suppose Aux heater on max and cold water + -3 deg ambient temp = very quick cool down. Will keep an eye on it and see what happens.

Strange one this. Aux heater fires up no problem, but If the car is driven for a short run ie 5min and I turn off the engine there is a perculiar clunk/click sound from the Aux heater area as it cools down, the clunks/click only happens about about 3 times then is quiet other than the humm as it is cooling down which continues for a few minutes. However if the car is driven until its nearly warm and then turned off there is no sound? Any ideas?

Hi Suspect that if you get low fuel warning the Aux heater gets switched off. Mine fired up on the drive when first starting car in the morning but then I got the warning low fuel and next thing i could hear the Aux heater slowing down. Sure enough arrived at garage, filled up with diesel and as I pulled out of the garage away went the Aux heater. So I think yes it does get switched off, makes sense really. If youre low on fuel the less burned the better! Oh and I have noticed that the engine runs lumpy when the Aux heater runs. Done this on both of my cars. Mine however has started making a clicking sound when the engine is turned off and its obviously still been on full heat. Hey ho if mine goes wrong it will get permanently disconnected!

Hmm Now then there seems to be a common issue here fellas. Mine I am sure started making this noise after the cam belt was changed but it may be a red herrring. My sisters Alhambra Stylance 130 makes the sound you are describing 40,000 miles (still on original cambelt), mine does the same 28000 miles. I think we should raise a poll and ask all drivers of 130bhp Alhambra/galaxy/sharan to try accelerating hard in a low gear, lift off the gas whilst at the same time put down the clutch and see who hears this dry bearing/rumble/chatter sound. I suspect its either 1. DMF (the two parts oscillating) 2. Turbo vanes chattering (turbo spooling up then opening vanes to high exhaust flow) 3. The bearing in the alternator running dry (they sieze up and then fall off so at some point the bearings must have no lube in them). Just a thought as when the engine is under heavy load there is more of a thumping motion to the engine which the pulley is designed to smooth out. Its driving me daft at the moment as I have tuned into this sound and it really bugs me. Lets see who can make the noise and have a look at what your engine code is. Nice to get to the bottom of this, mybe I will harass Seat again However as a point of interest if you ever get to drive a new seat ibiza TDi and you press the accelerator down hard in a low gear and suddenly depress the clutch whilst coming off the gas you get a god almighty rumble/chattering noise from the engine bay.

Hi, Very good idea if you ask me. Cam Belt Change including tensioners etc (please make sure the quotes you get are inclusive of this as some will quote only for the belt) Original Seat Kit for 130 stylance quoted around

Hi all, 2005 130bhp alhambra stylance now done 29000 miles. Still trying to locate what is causing the annoying dry bearing sound when you accelerate hard in any gear and take engine off load ie off accelerator and depress clutch during hard acceleration (revs around 2000 rpm), or rev when static with clutch down again to 2000 ish rpm. Has no detremental effect on the running of the car its just annoying. Oh I checked my sisters 130 alhambra stylance same engine code and it mkes the same sound? Seat to their credit have had the car in several times and admit they hear the noise but cannot locate. I fully undestand this as I have been all over the engine and gearbox and cannot locate the source. I suspect now its either the DMF going noisy (dont know why) or the variable vanes in the turbo chattering as they return to the open position yet the turbo is still spinning very fast. Whatever it is its beginning to bug me and we will be parting company shortly if the source isn't found. Penny for anyones thoughts

Hi again, I am still attempting to track down this dry beating noise that has developed on my Alhambra 130 tdi. I have now been able to re create this noise repeatedly by the following. During an up hill climb (doesn't matter what gear other than not in first) if I depress the accelerator to the floor and as the car begins to accelerate quickly take my foot off the accelerator and at the same time depress the clutch, I get a much louder dry bearing sound. Now I do not believe it is the release bearing on the clutch as the noise can be heared (a lot quieter) when the car is static with the clutch in or out and revving the engine. Just wondering if there are any recirculatory valves on the turbo that could be blocked as at the time I release the accelerator in the scenario above the turbo will be spooling up. Is it possible to stall the turbo? or create a situation where the inlet rotor ends up driving the turbo blades and a reverse effect is created. Anyone out there with good turbo knowledge.

Hi all, Continuing the saga of the engine bay noise on my 55 1.9 130 tdi I have observed that the aux belt tensioner wheel (large black nylon) is very very close to the lower cam belt cover, so close I would have to use a feeler gauge to ascertain if there is infact a gap at all. Is this normal, can anyone who has changed a cam belt on a Mk2 PD 1.9 pd engine confirm this clearance. Or as I suspect is it possible to mis align the lower cover so it stands proud and fouls the tensioner wheel. thanks

Thanks for the response. Very good point regarding what to use when prodding the insides of the alternator. I used the brush supplied with my dogs grooming kit (to clean the cutting head) as it is made of nylon, is about 3mm thick and 4mm wide. Oh it also is tapered and fits through the openings in the alternator easily with no chance of any bits of it breaking off, creating an electrical short or damaging the coating on the windings. Mine will not move anti-clockwise at all, not a bit of movement so a polite word to my local main Seat dealer and time to discuss a price to change. There is about 5mm movement on the tensioner when the engine is running. I did notice that the alternator body seems to be corroded somewhat. Makes me wonder if water is being forced through the front of the car when driving in rain and washing with a power wash thus causing this corrosion and possible rusting of the insides of the pulley.

Hi all, I am still tracking down the noise that hs developed on my Alhambra 130 55 plate. Can anyone confirm that the alternator can be carefully turned using the fan blades in an anti clockwise direction when the aux belt is still in situ to confirm the free wheel in the pulley is working. Also anyone know how much resistance from the pulley in the free wheel direction there should be. I ask this as I cannot get any anti-clockwise movement from the alternator blades and I put as much force on them as I dare. Suspect the puley has siezed up. Thanks

Big Wheel. Car returned to Seat main agent. They checked every moving part, re-torqued all bolts, used listening equipment on all rotating parts removed the cam belt cover and with engine running checked for noise, and came to the conclusion yes they could hear the noise but be damned if they could find what was producing it. They then ran an 09 tdi 130 and aparrently it made the same noise but a lot quieter. My conclusion at the mo is that the turbo is clogging up due to continual short cold runs. My solution is give it a 1 hour blast on the steep country lanes this weekend and change the car for a newer one early next year (2.0 140bhp Alhambra Stylance is getting rather tempting) as this Alhambra it is now getting on a bit. Out of interest big wheel what is your car driven like ie short runs never warming up and how many miles has your car done.

Checked release bearing, no noise nice and quiet. Funny thing is if you labour the engine ie 2nd gear 10mph floor the throttle and quickly dip clutch as taking foot off gas its a damn sight louder. Now I realise the turbo is spooling up at this time during hard acceleration but this dry bearing sound is reflective of the engine speed not the turbo (which I think will be spinning extremely fast at this point) Ok question for seatkid or anyone who knows the definate answer to this one. If the engine is accelerated hard in any gear the turbo will begin to spool up, if you suddenly take your foot of what happens to the turbo vanes (ie I think they open fully) but what happens to the boosted air that is no longer required as there are no dump valves on these type of turbos? Do the vanes just get rattled! Anyway dealer wants the car back asap to carry out investigation Will let you know the findings

Hi its been a long time since I have posted on this forum but I may have a problem with my 55 plate 1.9 tdi 130 Alhambra. It has just been in for its cam belt change at 4 years old, main Seat Dealer, full kit fitted. It has only covered 27000 miles. The problem is that if I rev the engine to about 2000-2500 rpm quickly and lift my foot off the throttle I can hear a definate whirr whirr whir sound (like a dry bearing) from the top left of the engine that quickly disappears as the revs drop to idle. I can also hear this sound faintly inside the cabin when accelerating and changing gear. If I rev the engine slowly to 2000-2500rpm and let the revs even out and slowly die the sound does not appear to be present. Now the car never gets a good long run, spends most of its time being driven round town, engine registering cold. I have checked the obvious ie press economy to turn off A/C and listen to the compressor. No noise so to speak other than hearing it come onto load when I press AUTO. The whirring noise is the same clutch up clitch down when revving the engine, put my ear to the gear knob and only a very very faint whirring sound can be heared which I would expect. Rev the engine to 3000rpm and the sound doesn't seem to be present when engine revs drop. Penny for anyones thoughts

Hi, My sharan alternator pulley failed at 73,000 miles. New one fitted by VW dealer

I used a jack off a Mkii to lift my Mk3 Galaxy (until I got shut of it cos bits kept falling off and the engine and geargox spent more time out of the car than in it). I had no problems, it located fine over the cill

Typically decelerating from 20mph. You know the type of driving where there are speed bumps, roll over the bump in second, accelerate to 20mph in second, take foot off gas and allow car to decelerate back to a crawl over next bump and repeat. Damned pain these road calming measures round our way

Hi did post this earlier in the week but it seems to have vanished! Anyway heres the irritation 2006 Alhambra 1.9tdi 130bhp 25,000 miles and a very annoying slight whine when decelerating in second gear, should I ask the dealer to check the oil level in the box or is it a common noise and ill just turn the radio up. thanks