passat pwoer prob when cold ...not air mass?

[andycapandy]

Hi,
having read other topics i can't find someone with the same problem so decided i would post my own so hope you can help.
i have a 2001 passat tdi 130 pd sport with 163k. full history.
the car has had the problem since my ownership 6 months ago. i have check for faults with vag com which i own and there are no fault codes on the car.
the problem is low down power. in the morning the car is a pig and is very hard to set of on a hill (going up hill) when you do set of and put your foot down there is nothing and when it finalyy get to about 2000rpm goes like a rocket and wheelspins like mad. the car is very hard to control as you need the full throttle just to get going.
the car starts and drives spot on. a friend of mine has the 130bhp golf which is totally different to drive. smoth power delivery all the way.
i find thwn the car is wam is is a bit better and more livable but still not like my friends golf.
when i have drove the 2 cars i find the power after 2000rpm to be the same and both redline quite easy.
i have read lots about mafs but a fauly maf from what i have read seems to change the power different than what i experance in my car.
i have also drove the car with the maf unplugged and found my car was faster with the maf plugged in. (this was the only fault code i have ever found on my car with vagcom and it was one i caused!)
i hope i have not gone on to much but wanted to give you the most info i can.
i would just love to get in right as it spoils the cars drivabilty.
thanks in advance for your help, cheers Andy

[Col]

The things I'd check which won't necessarily throw up a fault code are;

Coolant temp sender (very common problem)

or

Boost sensor (or thrust sensor).

or

EGR valve is malfuntioning (pull the vac line off it and plug the hose to confirm)..... also these get really badly gunked up, do a search on here for egr cleaning.


Another thing could be that the turbo is a bit sticky. Funnily enough I had the exact same symtoms when I first got my Passat (PD130 AWX engine) it would hesitate really badly when cold as you have described. No faults showing up. I'd had the car about a week and it went away and has not returned since. I put it down to thrashing the car to within an inch of its life everywhere and hence excercising the vnt mechanism on the turbo. I never did find out what was wrong but the thrashing(s) seemed to have worked!

These days I always make sure the car gets a good thrash at least once a week.

I hope yours is as easily sorted.

Also, a note to anyone else, excercise your turbos by giving the car a good thrash now and then if you want to avoid limp mode (do a search on here) and possibly a new turbo. The savings of 50+mpg are great but are soon wiped out if you are faced with a £600+ bill for a new turbo.

[andycapandy]

Cheers bigcol for the info.
My dad calls me lead foot so no probs with the vnt sticking....
Will have a look at the other items mentioned and report back.
Cheers for the advice.
Andy

[STEWY L]

it is just possible that some previous owner has decided to fit a bigger turbo, either because of failure of original and bought used unit,or searching for more power,and looking in the wrong places.
a bigger turbo would need more exhaust to"come on line"and so would come to life much later.
just a thought,
stewy.