The rattle in mine at startup is getting bad (louder) and it does it after sitting a few hours now in The Florida heat. If I hold down gas and let it crank for a few seconds then let up it doesn't do it. Deff oil related. I'm really debating on getting a non ecoboost vehicle. To many horror stories about engines, ptu's. I have this weird oil smell all the time (even with just the key on). My trans has slipped into neutral after a slow turn 4 times in 3 wks. I have to get new pcv lines and turbo intake tube now because they were cut installing a catch can that still has not caught a damn thing, (he went over it again, I,m beginning to think that somehow nothing got put in it before it was welded together) so I can take it to dealer. Probably get hosed cause I change my own oil.

Not to freak you out, but I had a grease leak that ended up being the PTU.  Had basically a brand new PTU put in a couple months ago.  I had a smell of oil which lead to my cracked piston.  Excess pressure was pushing excess amounts of oil through the PCV system and it was running down the valve covers onto the manifolds...

Lovely. My smell started when I changed plugs and washed engine bay. Figured it was nasty water somewhere

Quote from: painterpatt on July 24, 2014, 01:21:58 PM
Lovely. My smell started when I changed plugs and washed engine bay. Figured it was nasty water somewhere

Is it consuming a lot if oil? Have you checked the oil level at intervals?


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I really hope this works for you, but with a aftermarket tune that is embedded in the car's computers there may be some bumps in the road.

Nope. No oil consumption. Even the catch can is dry lol

Well,  we are on week #4 of waiting for an engine of some kind.   Stopped by to grab something out of the car.   The piston actually ended up cracking on the ring land and pinched the rings in a compressed state which led to the low compression.   Cylinder wall looked brand new.   No scoring of any kind which the tech (and I)  was blown away by.   

Very odd the way it broke.   I'll try to get some pictures of the piston next week.  I've done engine swaps before,  but this does not look fun!

Kinda makes you long for the simpler carbureted era, doesn't it?  Well, maybe not quite

Figure I might as well update this....

After 9 weeks without the car, they finally got the shortblock in and the car put back together.  I was getting pissed about the time it was taking to get the car back, but when all was said and done, I got the car, it sure feels stronger, and the ticking noise at startup that I have been complaining about for 2 years is gone.  And all of that made it under warranty by the hair on my chin.  Car had 74,647 miles and the warranty was gone at 75k. 

Glad everything worked out. Thx for the update.

What an ordeal!  Great to hear they did right by ya.  Looking forward to some strong runs at the track

Mine too has the infamous knock/peck at startup. It has done this for 4 years now.
So if I read this right, the clue was leaking oil? Mine doesn't leak oil nor does the levels change between changes. Thanks for the story. BTW, have a pic of that cracked piston?

I first took it in for a misfire code and PCV system code.   The excess oil was because of the blowby from the cracked piston because it cracked on the skirt.   A 1/2" piece of the skirt broke off and wedged the piston ring in a compressed state allowing for blowby.   

I really can't believe that I lived with a cracked piston since the ticking noise started.   There is another thread with a similar issue that they found something loose in the timing chain.   Obviously with a complete teardown and rebuild,  they very well could have fixed mine the same way without realizing it.   

Either way,  car is running good, so I'm happy.

If I ever see a misfire and PCV code It's going to be a very sad day.

Quote from: FaSSt9602 on October 03, 2014, 01:57:26 PM
Figure I might as well update this....

After 9 weeks without the car, they finally got the shortblock in and the car put back together.  I was getting pissed about the time it was taking to get the car back, but when all was said and done, I got the car, it sure feels stronger, and the ticking noise at startup that I have been complaining about for 2 years is gone.  And all of that made it under warranty by the hair on my chin.  Car had 74,647 miles and the warranty was gone at 75k.

If it makes ya feel any better, Volkswagon has had my V10 TDI Touareg for over 9 months to fix 'a few' things. Intially that's why I went out and bought my Ex Sport, needed a new DD.