Was told i needed a new injector for £850, now there telling me im possibility looking at £8000 to fix

[king1986]

Hi everyone! So I have a 2017 T6 full service history and 60,000 on the clock and I noticed a faint ticking noise a while back but didnt think much to it. I recently took it to a garage and they said from there diagnostics I need one new injector. I said OK let me know when it's done. After not hearing from them in a week I rang them to ask how was it going? They said after replacing the new injector it wouldn't start and now I need 4 new injectors aswel as a full fuel system change as I apparently have a Diesel bug. Yet I've driven long distances and had no problem with the van what so ever! Drove perfectly and started first time with no signs of anything majorly wrong? They first quoted me £850, now they are telling me I'm looking at between £7,000 to £8,000!!!. Ŵhen I dropped the van off it started and drove fine! Has anyone else had anything like this? I've spoken to a couple of mechanics and a VW Specialist and they all have said it doesn't sound right.. thanks everyone

 

[Dellmassive]

eeeerr. . .

this isnt sounding good.


if the HPFP and injectors fail, you will have a non runner. - that may need a new HPFP + recon injectors + full drain & flush etc. = big £££

+++


but if it drove into the garage . . . and now its a non runner. something must have happened.


fwiw - never heard the term - Diesel bug?

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Diesel bug is well known in boats, it is caused by bugs growing in the fuel tank when there is water present. It will not suddenly develop as the garage are implying though.
Tends to develop when the air is very moist as it is over water this is drawn into the fuel tank as it empties and condenses on the inside of the tank.

 

[oldiebut goodie]

Diesel Bug 101 - What Is It? How To Avoid It

I would ask to see the test results that say that is diesel bug.

 

[Lubrown]

Diesel bug is well known in boats, it is caused by bugs growing in the fuel tank when there is water present. It will not suddenly develop as the garage are implying though.

It can happen in campers that sit for periods without moving, especially if left with low amounts of fuel in the tank.
However a full service history (so presumably annual at least) would find signs in the diesel filter.
And you would have noticed issues such as more smoke, difficulty starting, loss of power.
I’d make a surprise visit to the garage just to see what state the van is in. Ask to see the diesel filter and see if there is any scum on it.
Sounds dodgy to me.

 

[RobertO2023]

It shouldn’t be a massive cost to rectify. Drain all fuel, change fuel filter, remove and test injectors, use Deisel bug additive to flush fuel lines , maybe remove and check fuel pump and add new fuel, run diagnostic checks, 9 times out of 10 this will resolve fuel contamination issues. Can’t see where the big cost they are quoting Good luck

 

[oldiebut goodie]

I think that they are just clutching at straws there. I am sure that there have been several posts on here about non-starting after injector changes.
I personally would get another opinion from a trusted garage - ask on here for recommendations for one in your area.

 

[DaveD]

fwiw - never heard the term - Diesel bug?

It's a fairly common problem on farms where diesel is often stored in large steel tanks for months, made much worse since diesel now contains 7% bio diesel, which is hygroscopic. Bacteria and fungus grow in the fuel, causing sludge which can block filters and cause problems with modern, sensitive engines.
I certainly wouldn't expect to see it being a problem if diesel is sourced from fuel stations, they sell it quickly and test for it and have preventative measures in place.

 

[catfood12]

Hi everyone! So I have a 2017 T6 full service history and 60,000 on the clock and I noticed a faint ticking noise a while back but didnt think much to it. I recently took it to a garage and they said from there diagnostics I need one new injector. I said OK let me know when it's done. After not hearing from them in a week I rang them to ask how was it going? They said after replacing the new injector it wouldn't start and now I need 4 new injectors aswel as a full fuel system change as I apparently have a Diesel bug. Yet I've driven long distances and had no problem with the van what so ever! Drove perfectly and started first time with no signs of anything majorly wrong? They first quoted me £850, now they are telling me I'm looking at between £7,000 to £8,000!!!. Ŵhen I dropped the van off it started and drove fine! Has anyone else had anything like this? I've spoken to a couple of mechanics and a VW Specialist and they all have said it doesn't sound right.. thanks everyone

You're being fed a line from the garage. That's definitely not right.

This is most likely air on the HP side. I took my HP rail off for other maintenance, and spent ages getting the thing running again. There's plenty of tales on here of people with the same experience where it would only run on one, then two, then three and finally four cylinders.

There's no other explanation after simply changing an injector unless they snapped it off and caused some catastrophic mechanical damage, but that doesn't sound like what's being described. Get it running on a can of easy start and then the air can be bled at each injector union.

As the others have said, get a fuel sample and test it to be sure and disprove their diagnosis. I have a few large generators, sometimes left outside for months and test for diesel bug using this DIY kit from Force4;

Marine 16 Diesel Bug Test Kit | Force 4 Chandlery

Marine 16 Diesel Bug Test Kit. Available to order now with Worldwide delivery. Marine 16 Diesel Bug Test KitShown top right in imageA DIY Test Kit with full, easy to follow instructions, which can be used to check for microbial contamination of diesel fue

www.force4.co.uk

 

[catfood12]

Diesel bug is well known in boats, it is caused by bugs growing in the fuel tank when there is water present. It will not suddenly develop as the garage are implying though.
Tends to develop when the air is very moist as it is over water this is drawn into the fuel tank as it empties and condenses on the inside of the tank.

Furthermore boats and large gennys have big tanks, hundreds of litres, large surface area on top of the diesel exposed to the moist air and condensation. Our vans have 70 litre tanks and if you're going through a tank full every couple of weeks, it wouldn't have any time to establish. You'd know long before hand as it would be running rough and likely difficult to start.

 

[TJH1985]

I had diesel bug in my old Defender, if you pull the fuel filter it’s very obvious and the effects are gradual mainly due to the filter becoming clogged.

In my case i drained the fuel, flushed the line to the fuel filter added a strong dose of treatment, a new filter and went on a long drive then changed the filter a few more times with another treatment and never had a issue again.