Fault code P0299 Boost - 2019 Crafter

[MB999]

It took a while but I’m glad i
Was able to get the tin the right conclusion myself in the end…. I’m a heating engineer by trade so only motor mechanics by hobby and necessity…. My usual stuff is old aircooled VW’s so a world Apart from the complexities of modern diesels

Interestingly, improves a turbo at liverpoll
Vw commercial today, it was cheaper for a new one than a recon one from them but still over £2k!

The guy at vagtec Nw was great in explaining , at least I can buy the part with a degree confidence now so happy with the outcome.

He said to use midland turbos, and to ask for my turbo to be reconditioned rather than take an off the shelf recon part.

It will Be a couple Of Weeks now before I can get the turbo off and a replacement on but I’ll update this thread with the outcome incase it helps someone else with a silimar issue….

Thanks everyone for your input and help , especially to MMI, who has the patience of a saint

 

[MB999]

Hi, thought I’d check in on this thread to update, just incase anyone had followed it….

The van went into vagtecNw and the guy diagnosed the turbo not quite making actual boost in-line with the specified boost, just at some upper Limits, this showed as pressure at the charge air inlet or more to the point, a lack of it. It wasn’t out by a huge amount but enough to throw a fault.

He asked Me If the van had Been remapped. I didn’t know as the van is new to me, previous owner didn’t mention it. But he said it had plenty of poke.
It’s likely the map is Looking for a higher
Amount of Boost and the worn turbo can’t quite make it.
He also said it woukd Prob be ok in a standard map.

Anyway, the turbo came off and
Went to midland turbo. They called
Today and said thrust bearing was knackered.

There are two causes for this, oil starvation, or an over zealous aggressive map.

I had checked the turbos oil lines on removal, both seemed to blow through clear. With no issue of Blockage.
It did get me thinking about how I mentioned above that the oil change I did , did seem to reduce the frequency of the po299 unferboost fault…. So maybe there was somthing in it after all…. Maybe wrong oil, maybe dirty oil, maybe fuel In oil……..?
Maybe….. I’m suspicious of the fuel
In oil theory as I have an oil leak from crankshaft oil seal (which I’ll address when po299 issue is resolved), the oil seems to leak and spread quickly around the oil seal and
Sump , as if its viscosity has been thinned a bit but diesel…. Maybe this is the issue?

Anyhoo, I’ve still
Got to remove two broken exhaust manifold studs before the turbo comes back, and investigate the situation with oil before i refit the overhauled turbo.

 

[JB33]

Hi, thought I’d check in on this thread to update, just incase anyone had followed it….

The van went into vagtecNw and the guy diagnosed the turbo not quite making actual boost in-line with the specified boost, just at some upper Limits, this showed as pressure at the charge air inlet or more to the point, a lack of it. It wasn’t out by a huge amount but enough to throw a fault.

He asked Me If the van had Been remapped. I didn’t know as the van is new to me, previous owner didn’t mention it. But he said it had plenty of poke.
It’s likely the map is Looking for a higher
Amount of Boost and the worn turbo can’t quite make it.
He also said it woukd Prob be ok in a standard map.

Anyway, the turbo came off and
Went to midland turbo. They called
Today and said thrust bearing was knackered.

There are two causes for this, oil starvation, or an over zealous aggressive map.

I had checked the turbos oil lines on removal, both seemed to blow through clear. With no issue of Blockage.
It did get me thinking about how I mentioned above that the oil change I did , did seem to reduce the frequency of the po299 unferboost fault…. So maybe there was somthing in it after all…. Maybe wrong oil, maybe dirty oil, maybe fuel In oil……..?
Maybe….. I’m suspicious of the fuel
In oil theory as I have an oil leak from crankshaft oil seal (which I’ll address when po299 issue is resolved), the oil seems to leak and spread quickly around the oil seal and
Sump , as if its viscosity has been thinned a bit but diesel…. Maybe this is the issue?

Anyhoo, I’ve still
Got to remove two broken exhaust manifold studs before the turbo comes back, and investigate the situation with oil before i refit the overhauled turbo.

I’ve got a 2018 crafter 177bhp with what sounds like an identical issue. It’s been to several VW specialist and the furthest they got was to replace the n75 solenoid with no avail. Our van also has a stage 1 remap. The fault has been so intermittent that the mechanics have struggled to pinpoint the moment it throws a fault, it’s been on the rolling road and everything. Do you think getting the turbo off and sending it to midland turbo should be my next step? I really appreciate the level of detail you guys have gone into here it is honestly incredible to see this complex issue problem solved on a forum of all places.

 

[MB999]

Hi jb33.

I can confirm, the new turbo has cured it.

The turbo seemed to have no real notable play but On removal it deffo had play side to side , the thrust bearing was badly worn .

Midland turbo were absolutley great. They didn’t have one in stock but I removed mine and sent it to them.
Price was £230 if a service /strip /vane clean was possible , or £405 if a full rebuild was required.

Of course mine needed a full rebuild as you might expect , £405 but that included courrier collection,strip and inspection to diagnose issue and cause, the work, and finally the return courrier. All done in just a few days.
They were great and called
Me with diagnosis and suggestion of likely cause and to request permission to continue.

What I will say is, if you are gonna to do the job yourself, be VERY VERY careful removing it.
In fact, give the job to someone who does this all day everyday.
The reason I say this is because the jobs an absolute arse.
It’s not complicated in anyway but steel exhaust studs, in an aluminium head, with copper nuts, was just a recipe for disaster.
I had an incline the exhaust manifold studs would be a pig and so I sprayed the nuts for a week solid everyday, used a whole can of penetrant oil. I gave them a good whack first, I applied heat…. And of the 8 studs, 4 snapped. That’s with me be totally gentle and feeling for issue as I went. But typical, they just snapped like twigs without much force being exhirted.
I got two of the snapped studs out with a teng sockets style stud extractor but two had snapped about 1/8” below the surface.
It went from bad to very bad real quick and I’m not an idiot when It comes to spannering, I’ve built engines and gear boxes before and I come from an old school Aircooled Vw back ground where rust and snapped stuff is very common. But this job was just horrible. Like the material was made of crap. It really shouldn’t have folded the way it did, I was being very careful too.

I managed to sort it out in the end but not in a way I’m totally happy with. The two that were seized where seized solid and drilling out , backwards , with a mirror, is just asking for trouble. A snapped stud extractor and a world of pain later I just managed to save it from a need to remove the head to sort it….
Honestly, give the job to an expert and save yourself the heart ache.

Looking back at the turbo issue…. I think either the mapping has over spooled the turbo and wiped out the thrust bearing.

Either that; or the previous owner has left the leaking crank shaft oil seal leaking
Too Long and the oil had ran low meaning the turbo ran hot/dry and unlubed.

If you DO decide to do the job yourself….
It’s not hard, other than the possibility of the above mentioned disaster…..
What I would advise is…. Midland turbo sent the turbo back with a new gasket and a couple
Of bits,this wasn’t a fully kit though…. but as I was unaware midland would Send Anything at allI had already ordered a new gasket/stud/nut/seal pack which I got on eBay from a seller called atom turbos. The pack had almost everything needed , including studs, copper barrel
Nuts, gasket, o oil return line gasket, new banjo bolt coooer washers etc , new nuts n bolts for charge air turbo pipe, new o ring…..a new v band clamp. Everything ….
In addition I ordered from Vw a new oil return line and hose clamp. I made sure the feed line and banjo bolts were all clear prior to refitting. I also ordered a few new nuts and bolts for various bits of heat shealding and the exhaust to egr pipe bolts….they were all knackered on removal…


But finally, the po299 is gone

 

[MB999]

Managed to get the turbo to cat v band clamp on properly this weekend, you can tell right away that’s it’s on right….

So, final post for this thread to close it out…

The po299 fault is now gone.
The cause was the worn turbo shaft thrust bearing.
Likely hood this is because of mapping and over spoiling, but that said the van has 130k on the clock so it could just be general wear…

The fault itself Was hard to pin point as the turbo was 98% working, it just wasn’t certainty enough boost to meet the higher demand
If the map at certain rpm/load, typically cruising at around 50-65mph.

Hopefully that’s the end of it !
Hope this thread helps someone else in the same shoes.

 

[PhillH]

Well done on complete this and not giving up.

Does the conversation start now?

 

[MB999]

Yes it does mate ! The windows arrive today !

 

[PhillH]

Yes it does mate ! The windows arrive today !

Keep us posted, look forward to seeing the progress