Golf TDi - suddenly gone a bit gutless??

[audicab26]

Hi,

I have a 1997 Golf TDi (90PS) GL estate which until today went very well!!

If I accelerate fairly hard (up a hill for instance) it seems to 'hold back' and lose power. If I switch off the engine and start again it seems to rev freely again for a while before the problem re-occurs?

Any thoughts??

Many thanks

Derek

[scullydog]

hi mate,i would start with the fuel filter to see if it is partly blocked of if the housing has got water inside,i have had the problem with diesel engines in the past before will start and run fine then no power leave it for a few minutes then of she goes again until the engine runs out of fuel because it cant get fuel though the blocked filter

[audicab26]

Hi Mate, Sorry for slow response. Thanks for the tip. In the end I left it with my local VAG specialist whilst I went off on my hols.

He plugged it in to his diagnostic machine and found that a 'valve' on the turbo needed replacing - he also advised replacing a pipe to the intercooler which was badly cracked.

Performance (such as it is with 90bhp) has been restored now I 'm pleased to say.

Many thanks

Derek

[jet]

Hi derek,
I have the same problem with my car, I tend to 'reboot' it several times on every journey to restore power. I'd be grateful if you could give me more details about the 'valve' that was replaced on the turbo. I intend to examine the intercooler pipes at some point when I get the time, so if there is something else I could check at the same time it'd be useful to know where to look.

many thanks

james.

[audicab26]

Hi James,

Not sure about the valve - as it just says 'Valve' on the invoice, it was about £40.00.

The problem, I'm told, can be a number of things. The VAG specialist in Dover that I use, hooked it up to a diagnostic machine to establish the cause. I think he said the fault was traced to something on the manifold? I am not a mechanic - and was bought up on Mk2 Escorts (fix with a big hammer) - so a lot of what I was advised went straight over my head.

The Specialist (John at C&F Motors 01304 207743) did tell me that more often than not, the problem that causes these symptoms is a faulty Air Mass Meter, though not in my case.

Best to get the car into a VAG Centre or Specialist and have them run a test on it - otherwise you can end up changing components which are still ok!

[jet]

ok mate, thanks for the info
As the car is worth about a pound, I'm trying to stick to selotape and glue solutions at the moment (which is going reasonably well!)
If I don't have any joy checking the intercooler pipes, I'll consider spending some cash on a specialist. May try unplugging the MAF in the meantime see what happens.

cheers

james