Deisel . Engine code bxe potential problem.

twnewcastle

Active Member
Jan 18, 2009
30
0
Does anyone know of a potentialy fatal problem just beginning to show on the 1.9 deisel engine,with engine Code prefix bxe
Seemingly these were the last 1.9 engines made,used right across the vag group,and people are now reporting problem where a con rod bursts thro the block ,completely destroying the engine, most seem to be on 07 - 09 cars with a 105 pd engine.
Any info ...thanks
 

techie1

Guest
I have just experienced this less than 4 years old bxe full seat service history - golf ball sized hole in front of engine and it happened at 1500 rpm with no throttle. I am a mechanic and unless I had seen it myself I would have accused the driver of over revving the engine to cause a Conrod to break and punch a hole in the block. Unbelievable! I have not turned the engine over since switching itoff quick so there should not be excessive damage inside. when I strip it down I will post with pictures 'MY' conclusion to the cause of the issue.
 

twnewcastle

Active Member
Jan 18, 2009
30
0
Thanks for tHe reply.afraid I'm not technically minded regarding cars,but I am concerned about this issue.this is now the fourth or fifth time I've heard of this happening.i have an altea 08 with this engine with a bxe engine code ,and I'm seriously considering getting rid.
The fact that you are a mechanic means that your car will have been well looked after, I'm thinking this is a serious problem right across the vag group .
 

techie1

Guest
Quick update - waited till after the new year and got the car back home. Took the engine out today and had a quick peek through the hole in the block. The conrod has failed near the crank. I could just about poke my finger in and the piston still moves in the bore and the conrod is still attached to the piston. It looked as though the crank had survived as well until I spun it all the way round and there is a small dint on the otherwise shiney surface as its hit the broken conrod on the way back up - shame. Even though it was free running at 1500rpm when it failed and I was pretty damn quick switching the engine off I was very surprised at how well the internals have been preserved and I am looking forward to stripping it down tomorrow. Just wondering if the block off the older 1.9 130bhp engines will fit the BXE? It looks the same..... Might be a cheaper alternative.
 

techie1

Guest
Stripped the engine today , IN MY OPINION there is no doubt as to the sequence of events that caused this failure. The coating on the upper big end bearing shell started to peel away (cause of which is a topic of debate) until a biggish bit came off and got caught up in the oil feed vein. As the crank continued to rotate the piece of coating got squashed and wedged between the shell and crank surface. This then removed the conrod's ability rotate on the crank and the leverage caused one of the Conrod bolts to fail followed by the snapping of the Conrod opposite side. I was a bit curious as to why the coating had failed so I removed no 1 piston and Conrod for inspection. There were small signs of wear on the shells but no cracks or scoring. I was amazed what I saw when I removed no's 3 and 4 though. The coating had started to fail right in the centre at the point when the piston has just passed Tdc (when downward pressure first applied by combustion process) but nowhere else. There is about a 6-7mm squared area affected, pictures to follow. If I did not know the history of the car I would have said that the engine had been run with lack of oil but it has had all seat dealer servicing and has not been run low on oil since I have owned the car (about 15000 miles ago) and was serviced 3 months ago using proper oil and level checked regular and was still in limits after failure. Has vag group sourced cheaper shells made of chocolate or is the timing of th e bxe in question?
 
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techie1

Guest
pictures

use the link below to access photobucket to see the photos of the damaged shells
s1341.beta.photobucket.com/user/bxefailure/media/828495f6720d26f5a8caad15515966b8.jpg.html
 
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techie1

Guest
Just been doing some research and the block seems the same as the other PD engines but it seems as though VAG have used a different Crankshaft in the BXE which only has 4 counterweights. Strange it is only this engine which has these issues. Can anyone suggest a good reason why the change of crank for this particular head? ? If not I think I may attempt to convert my bottom end to acomdate the older setup with the BXE head which is not damaged thank goodness.
 

techie1

Guest
the BXE Has a different crankshaft to the BLS for definite, as for the other 3 codes BDJ BST BDK they look like the VW caddy PD SDI engine numbers which were running on 50kW ish. They are using a 8 counterweight crankshaft. BXE has a 4 counterweight crankshaft and is shaped like a W .
 

Viking

Insurance co's are crap.
May 19, 2007
2,317
4
Near Richmond, North Yorks
BLS.gif


Etka mate.
 

MJ

Public transport abuser
Apr 22, 2008
5,508
13
Manchester
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funnily enough we were having this discussion today at work and between myself and my work mates we have only ever seen BXE engines "throw a leg out of bed". Normall cyl 2 big end bolts appear to have come loose, the rod swings free and the force smashes the soft piston and weak cylinder wall the bits.

The cranks on the BXE and BLS are the same (same part number) but the blocks are different. I had a running fault with a rebuilt BLS lump and i used ETKA to compare all the parts as they had used a BXE engine to repair the problem (oil starvation killed the shells and scored the crank) then rebuilt using the BXE crank with the BLS block.
 

techie1

Guest
Thank you both for your input - much appreciated. I stand corrected regarding the bls and bxe crank. I have been sat on the fence for quite a while deciding what to do if I wish to avoid the same situation again and I have decided to take a bit of a gamble. I have sourced an older bkc engine block complete with head which by what i read is quite reliable. it does also have the crank i was after with the 8 counterweights and am in the process of checking it out to see if it could be a success and the only difference I can see from looking at the specs is the compression ratio is slightly higher. If anyone has tried this before or wish to point out an obvious reason why I cannot use please let me know before I invest too many hours. Many thanks.
 

techie1

Guest
Yes I tend to agree - it is a fine balance between cutting costs and compromising reliability, I think they might have gone too far on the bxe. Do you have to change the ecu mapping at all when changing from bxe to bkc do you know?
 

cassf1

Guest
Hi all

I have had this issue with my Audi 2 weeks ago number 3 or 4 conrod decided it no long wanted to live in the engine and tried to escape through the oil filter housing.

I work for a large company that builds diesel engines so I have pretty good knowledge what to look for when I get around to tearing the engine down. I will also be taking the pieces to work for examination by the tech specialists and engineers.

I was also looking an alternate replacement and the BKC is what sprung to mind, so this thread is exactly what I was looking for.

Techie1, Have you had any luck with your transplant? You are the only one I have found who has actually made this happen, I very interested in what you have done and would like to know if you have finished or run into any other problems.
 

cassf1

Guest
Thanks MJ could you please give me some examples of the minor differences

As Techie1 states the CR are 18.5:1 and 19.0:1 what does this affect fuel economy?

Also wondering about the ECM mapping