[ben3042]

Evening all,
Need to pick your brains about an issue I have with my van. Its a 2.5 2009 T5 with 135k on the clock.
Its just had a new clutch and flywheel done by a local garage. Since the new clutch and flywheel was fitted, I am now getting vibration under full load when the engine speed is between 1500 and 2000rpm. If the engine speed is in this range and you floor it, just after the turbo spools up (so full torque is being output) the whole van vibrates like you're driving over a cattle grid.
My gut instinct was a dodgy flywheel being fitted, so took it back to the garage. They had a look and diagnosed play in the off side drive shaft. So, I replaced it, took it for a test drive, same issue! So I crawled underneath and noticed a bit of play in the near side drive shaft, so I changed that, took it for a drive and still the vibration prevailed! So I'm now £650 down for the clutch and flywheel (although this needed doing anyway due to clutch slip) and £100 for a pair of J&R shafts.
Anyway, took it back to the garage again who have had it for 3 weeks until today when I picked it up. They also then diagnosed it as a faulty flywheel and raised a claim with Euro car parts where they got it from. Eventually, Euro sent out their "specialist" to sign off the claim, and he declined it saying its actually play in the gearbox output bearing..... Garage have quoted me £700 for replacement!! So thats where I am now....
Has anybody else had similar problems to this?
I am very sceptical of it being the bearings because I had no such noise/vibration at all before the clutch and flywheel was done. It just seems too coincidental to me and I can't afford to throw £700 at it without first being convinced that the diagnosis is correct...
Cheers all in advance for any response

 

[Quattrodave]

I’d be very suspicious of a diagnosis of a bearing failure. I always look at the last part worked on as the first port of call when faults crop up. What make of clutch and flywheel was it ?
Has the flywheel and clutch plate been torqued up correctly ?
Is everything aligned correctly ?
Is the friction plate free from contamination ?
Have the gearbox mounts been tightened, are they free from damage ?
Maybe the dmf IS faulty but it would need dismantling first to find out. I would probably have a chat with the garage to see what they recommend the way forward is, there’s obviously a problem that wasn’t there when you took the van in and it needs to be sorted.
Good luck!

 

[ben3042]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your reply.
I am very suspicious of the bearing failure diagnosis. Everything points to the flywheel. I also believe that the frequency of the vibration is related to engine speed, not vehicle speed, which would eliminate the gearbox output bearing.
Unfortunately I can't answer any of your questions as I wasn't there when it was fitted, but I imagine asking them if they torqued it up correctly, the response would be "of course we did". So I don't know how I can prove it without paying someone else to do the job again.
Im tempted to get a second opinion from the garage that did my remap a few years back as he was a very keen T5'er and has a dyno he could spin it up on.... will give him a call tomorrow.
I have VCDS and just scanned the ECU's to see if there were any codes stored as I've read up a lot about injector looms causing similar problems, but no faults recorded. Long shot, but I want to try as much as I can before I go back to the garage and question their competence...
Cheers

 

[Quattrodave]

Yeah that's a tricky one, a dyno sounds like good way to try and replicate it in a controlled environment. You'll then be able to see at what point on the torque curve the vibration happens. Hope you get it sorted quickly T:

 

[festa]

Is the van mapped as it does sound like torque vibration. The first motion shaft in the gearbox does wear as it is a helical gear on that shaft that pushes the shaft onto a bearing. The bearing does fail but normally it wears the case as well...I would just change the dmf again with a no quibble tps unit with a two year warranty if the box has to come out anyway. Some stuff for Euro's imo is not the best.

 

[ben3042]

Hi Festa,
Yeah it is mapped to 165 from 130. No issues with vibration prior to the dmf change, so I would have thought the shaft and bearing you are referring to would be ok....
I will need to discuss again with the garage. I would expect they would only replace with another Euro unit as that is who their warranty is with. I definitely dont want to be paying out for another DMF, these things arent cheap!
Cheers.

 

[Itchy Spanners]

I'm not an expert, but could this be an early symptom of the famous injector loom failure, where it runs through the cam box and gets attacked by the oil? This does go on to feel lie it's running on 4, or 3, when under full power. Which then goes on to vibrate all the backlash in the drivetrain - dmf, gears, driveshafts etc.

 

[ben3042]

I have seen that and was considering changing the harness just in case. But just conscious of throwing money at it... And also it’s still so coincidental that this vibration has only just started at the same time a new dmf was fitted... how much is the harness? And what’s involved to change it? Bumper and rocker cover off?

 

[festa]

I have seen that and was considering changing the harness just in case. But just conscious of throwing money at it... And also it’s still so coincidental that this vibration has only just started at the same time a new dmf was fitted... how much is the harness? And what’s involved to change it? Bumper and rocker cover off?

Seem to get more trouble with the 1.9 loom in the oil than the 2.5. the 2.5 sits in a plastic box tube which runs across the injectors and helps protect it from the direct hot oil, not saying it doesn't get oilly but you need to remove the front , inlet manifold and rocker cover to get to it. As said didn't do it before and I'll edge my bets on a faulty dmf. .

 

[ben3042]

Just to update you all incase anyone else has the same issue. I took the van back to the garage to get the clutch and flywheel changed again - if it fixed it, they pay, if not, I pay... seemed a fair enough deal.
Got it back today and the vibration has gone!! So fingers crossed I was just sold a duff flywheel and thats the end of it. Need to get some miles on her to make sure it doesn't return, but its already very different from when I picked her up first time round!

 

[Pac Man]

I have this very same problem after gear box recon and duel mass and clutch. Took it back they said they changed clutch and duel mass again but still have the vibration. Got another mechanic looking at it next week.