Bora limp mode plus peaky power delivery??

[tom46]

Hi all..I have recently bought a tdi 150 bora. The car has a starnge fault as it acts like a vtec. The car pull okish from 2k when the turbo kicks in but doesnt feel like a 150, then all of a sudden at cica 3100rpm the car really goes!!! Also the car has gone into limp mode on the motorway a few times once above 80ish..i have replaced the airlow meter which seems to have improved it slightly..Has anybody any ideas whats causing it or is this just the nature of these engines? Havnt got around to getting a scan yet.. Also im Irish but based in essex atm does anybody know of a good indepentent around the Wickford Basildon area?
Cheers Tom

[Doctle Odd]

I think the turbo is a bit late kicking in at 2k did you scan it with VCDS? My son has a bora sport it pulls like a madman from just over 1k

[tom46]

I think the turbo is a bit late kicking in at 2k did you scan it with VCDS? My son has a bora sport it pulls like a madman from just over 1k

Yeah i was afraid it could be the turbo vains...Its gone into a garage for a scan tomorrow and a check over..the mechanic said if it was the vains that they offer a full engine clean using chemicals in the fuel and inlet system!! he said this would clean out all the engine and turbo and should in theory unstick the vains? anybody heard of this?

[Doctle Odd]

The only way to clean the vanes is take the end off the turbo and clean them. you can use brake cleaner, carburettor cleaner etc. You can get chemicals to clean the injectors but a pint of petrol a month in a half a tank will do the same job. Don't add anything to the engine oil

[ck999]

Petrol? Is that wise? Just that i stupidly once put 3/4 tank of petrol into my almost empty Bora Tdi 130 after a night shift. Got Fuel Dr to come out to drain and flush the tank out at the garage. the garage attendant said if it has been £5 worth of petrol it would have been fine. The Fuel Dr bloke said this was rubbish and to never mix fuels but then it is his job to clean out fuel tanks that have had the wrong fuel put in them.
I've had the intermittant limp mode problem for over a year now and sometimes it's more frequent than others but i have been just living with it. A couple of garages have had a few looks (one an electrical specialist) and neither can determine what is the cause. It logs a different fault code each time it goes into limp mode! The first garage thought it was a fault with the engine wiring lo? and admitted that coudnt fine the fault. The electrical specialist were recommended by the previous garage as they have engine schematics but all they did was tell me it had registered different fault codes and to bring it straight back the next time it went into limp mode which is what the previous garage told me to do, but at least the previous garage admitted they were unable to fine the cause. After Christmas its getting booked in again.

[Doctle Odd]

1 pint of petrol will help clean the engine injectors etc and do no harm. What are the garages scanning with? A scan with VCDS is needed. When the car was scanned did the garages that scanned it do anything except clear the codes. Clearing codes and not repairing the fault is pointless and anyway there could be old codes.
So Scan with VCDS
Make a note of the codes and post them on here, Ask someone like Crasher, Zollaf or Brycie what they mean I'm currently on the beer, alcohol for the unstable so not sure when I'll be on. Check all the vacuum lines change the air and fuel filter yourself if you can. These are good old cars