Gargling noise in cabin

[Matt_GTD99]

So, that’s exactly why it’s gone up - because the EGR has been by-passed, the car’s emissions will be higher than they’re supposed to be. It’s there to reduce them, from what I understand it does it at the expense of some performance and a slight reduction in fuel economy.

Which is a really shit solution to the problem.. Not that I can speak since I’m not a car engineer and don’t have to overcome these challenges - but it’s really frustrating that the emissions on the Mark 7 were so low when you consider the Mark 8’s being what they are. It’s 133g/Km vs 109 and I can only put it down to the DSG gearbox it comes with as I remember adding it to mine when I ordered it was going to put the tax up a bad also.

Half the fun of owning a Mark 7 is the fun you get from flooring it vs what it doesn’t cost you in road tax.

This is the diagram for the coolant system:

View attachment 215214

You’re looking for L - but I’m not sure where it is, I’ll check mine and show you what it looks like so you have something to compare it to.

View attachment 215215

I had a look under the lid for mine - I think this is what you’re looking for but I’m not 100% sure. It should be on the back because it has to be close to the turbo and the exhaust, and that’s where they are.

View attachment 215219

I could be 100% wrong about this - as I say, I’m just picking all this up myself!

Wow thanks for the info!! The pics and diagrams are awesome mate!! I also checked online and it says tax for the dsg is £130 vs £25 for manuals so that may be why I think.

 

[Lth0ms0n]

Wow thanks for the info!! The pics and diagrams are awesome mate!! I also checked online and it says tax for the dsg is £130 vs £25 for manuals so that may be why I think.

Ok, yeah, I had assumed yours was a manual (like mine) but if it’s an auto, you’re right - the tax for that is higher.

Definitely worth having it checked out by someone in the know though, I wasn’t aware that blanking the EGR meant you could by-pass the coolant also. I don’t know if our GTDs are the same but certainly, from what I’ve seen online, the it’s the oil cooler that it runs through and you don’t want that being skipped out!

Although you’d know if it had been…

 

[2018gti]

I think you should check over the work done for the EGR delete, but in my opinion the previous owner did you a favor by deleting it lol. I wouldn’t put it back on unless you want to have your intake clogged up with soot over time. I don’t have experience with the GTD but on other diesels e.g. BMW 320d, that’s what happens eventually due to the EGR.

 

[Lth0ms0n]

I think you should check over the work done for the EGR delete, but in my opinion the previous owner did you a favor by deleting it lol. I wouldn’t put it back on unless you want to have your intake clogged up with soot over time. I don’t have experience with the GTD but on other diesels e.g. BMW 320d, that’s what happens eventually due to the EGR.

What are the ramifications of this though?

In the UK, we have to submit our cars for annual road-worthiness testing and as part of that, diesel cars are emissions tested. If it fails, I'm not sure if the car is forced off the road by the government until it's resolved or if the driver of the car faces a higher annual vehicle tax bill for the use of it. (The emissions at 2,500 rpm are documented on the vehicle's registration certificate and the results of the tests are submitted to a central database every year so this information can be recorded and compared).

I don't know if we'd face fines for doing this (since it's there for a reason) or a higher rate of tax... To give you an idea, the Mark 7 Golf GTD with 6-speed manual is £25 p/year as it's only 109 g/Km at 2,500RPM whereas the DSG model is £130 as it's somewhere between 121 and 130g/Km.

I know that it makes the engine perform better and returns better fuel economy but is that worth it if you're running the risk of being fined £2,000 by a traffic cop (as they'll find you if you remove the DPF) for getting caught?

 

[2018gti]

Yup seems like it’s a completely different situation over there haha. In my state in the US as long as they OBD scan the car and there are no codes, you are all set. Pretty lax compared to the UK. Maybe it’s not worth it if there’s a high chance you’ll get caught.

I’ll be honest if I lived over there and had a diesel, I’d get a EGR delete tune and just flash back and forth to pass the emissions. No visible modification, just a software change.

 

[IWMTom]

What are the ramifications of this though?

In the UK, we have to submit our cars for annual road-worthiness testing and as part of that, diesel cars are emissions tested. If it fails, I'm not sure if the car is forced off the road by the government until it's resolved or if the driver of the car faces a higher annual vehicle tax bill for the use of it. (The emissions at 2,500 rpm are documented on the vehicle's registration certificate and the results of the tests are submitted to a central database every year so this information can be recorded and compared).

I don't know if we'd face fines for doing this (since it's there for a reason) or a higher rate of tax... To give you an idea, the Mark 7 Golf GTD with 6-speed manual is £25 p/year as it's only 109 g/Km at 2,500RPM whereas the DSG model is £130 as it's somewhere between 121 and 130g/Km.

I know that it makes the engine perform better and returns better fuel economy but is that worth it if you're running the risk of being fined £2,000 by a traffic cop (as they'll find you if you remove the DPF) for getting caught?

MOT fail if tampered with, plus insurance policy is null and void.

 

[Lth0ms0n]

@2018gti welcome to the UK, where we don't shut the borders to prevent a killer virus being let in but we'll ass f*ck you for tampering with your EGR

 

[Matt_GTD99]

Hi sorry for the late reply / post
I was getting a bit worried and such an bout the car,
I’ve spoken to the guy I bought it from and he’s going to have his mechanic look at it.
I’ve just been searching and the 4 ports my car cooling has been disconnected from are not easy to find photos or layout diagrams online. I think we are in agreement 2 of them are the EGR but you say the second second of ports are the oil cooler is that right?
I can’t find anything to show exactly what they are.

 

[Lth0ms0n]

Hi sorry for the late reply / post
I was getting a bit worried and such an bout the car,
I’ve spoken to the guy I bought it from and he’s going to have his mechanic look at it.
I’ve just been searching and the 4 ports my car cooling has been disconnected from are not easy to find photos or layout diagrams online. I think we are in agreement 2 of them are the EGR but you say the second second of ports are the oil cooler is that right?
I can’t find anything to show exactly what they are.

I think there is a good chance of that, for sure. The oil cooler is down near the bottom of the engine I believe but honestly, I could be making that up - I've never seen it myself to be able to comment fully.

After having mine out, flushing it and re-filling the coolant system (temporarily, I still need to have mine re-charged correctly) my car has begun making gurgling noises. I'm not talking gurgling though - on Monday evening, I heard a noise coming from under my dashboard that was akin to being inside the car while someone sprayed water at it.

It was loud AF.

It's since done it another twice, both times with the heating set to HI on both zones.

Despite not finding it clogged when I took it out, I've decided to cut my losses and replace the core.. My honest feeling is that the initial problem came from my mechanic not following the workshop manual correctly and vacuum pumping the air out of the system, prior to re-charging it when my timing belt was done 2 years ago. We found no evidence of it being clogged when it got pulled out 6 weeks ago and have been able to get heat from it on the driver's side, but as my ability to strip it out will diminish in a couple of months, it's probably best I make the most of what I have available to me now and do it here, rather than paying thousands for someone to do it down the road...

I thought I saw someone, somewhere on here, saying it was better to replace it with a Nissan one, rather than another VW one the same. I have the Denso heater box in my car, does anyone happen to know the part number for the Nissan equivalent?

 

[Lth0ms0n]

Have you gotten anywhere with the gurgling?

After doing some work to my heater core, it now makes noises… Heat temporarily restored but now I’m lucky if I get any beyond the far-left vent on the passenger side.

Heard it making what I can only describe as a “ripping” noise, last Monday evening, while I drove at 70Mph on a dual-carriageway. No leaking anywhere (it’s done that another couple of times since) so it wasn’t coolant spewing out of the matrix or under the bonnet but the noise definitely came from inside the cabin/dashboard.

I understand this is probably an air lock in the core, rather than it being blocked… I have noticed it occasionally cooling down when the engine is idling and the heat is set to HI (both sides) - could I have a faulty/dodgy thermostat or do I just need to spring for a new matrix and get someone to vacuum and re-charge the system to clear the air lock when the coolant goes back in again?