Mk4 Golf 1.8T lerching?
Discussion
Hi there,
not sure if this is related to my previous topic (the engine management light & loss of power) but when I start my car on a morning, the revs are all over the place when idling. Then when I pull out of my drive the car is very jerky.
This morning, I was waiting for a gap in the traffic to pull out of my street onto the main road (turning right) saw a gap and went for it. The car just didn't want to go, and the car I pulled out in front of (with plenty of room normally) was getting closer, so I tried to put my foot down and the car physically lerched. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like the car was stalling but whilst moving along. Really jerked. It was quite a scary experience actually.
I took the rest of the drive really steady (16 miles to work). The car just doesn't feel like it used to. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Gemma.
not sure if this is related to my previous topic (the engine management light & loss of power) but when I start my car on a morning, the revs are all over the place when idling. Then when I pull out of my drive the car is very jerky.
This morning, I was waiting for a gap in the traffic to pull out of my street onto the main road (turning right) saw a gap and went for it. The car just didn't want to go, and the car I pulled out in front of (with plenty of room normally) was getting closer, so I tried to put my foot down and the car physically lerched. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like the car was stalling but whilst moving along. Really jerked. It was quite a scary experience actually.
I took the rest of the drive really steady (16 miles to work). The car just doesn't feel like it used to. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Gemma.
I think its probably all the same thing. The revs all over the place is what we call hunting, its why we usually do throttle bodys.
That sort of dieing or almost stalling on pull away, can be caused by an air leak (same as vacuum leak, incase I've called it that before) but you would normally hear a hissing sound from the engine if you had that, so the fact that you havnt complained about that makes me think its all down the origional problem.
Sorry I never got round to geting a price, I asked parts how much is a 1.8T throttle body, they said there is a load of different variants, we picked 1 at random from a TT, was £350ish, But Golf one might well be cheaper, and having it cleaned might be enough to fix it without replacement, even if it only turns out to be a temp fix.
That sort of dieing or almost stalling on pull away, can be caused by an air leak (same as vacuum leak, incase I've called it that before) but you would normally hear a hissing sound from the engine if you had that, so the fact that you havnt complained about that makes me think its all down the origional problem.
Sorry I never got round to geting a price, I asked parts how much is a 1.8T throttle body, they said there is a load of different variants, we picked 1 at random from a TT, was £350ish, But Golf one might well be cheaper, and having it cleaned might be enough to fix it without replacement, even if it only turns out to be a temp fix.
Was the MAF a genuine Bosch one?
I ask as the cheap ones are notoriously bad.
A quick check would be to disconnect the plug on the MAF when the car is idling, if it improves then it could be the MAF at fault.
You could try cleaning the throttle body yourself, you only have to disconnect the one hose that goes onto it and get some carb / throttle body cleaner. Clean around the butterfly and the little air sensor.
Have all the coilpacks been checked?
Easy way to check is to pull them out and check they are firing one by one whilst the car is idling. They give out a loud clicking noise when they work, be careful though as they do produce a spark.
I ask as the cheap ones are notoriously bad.
A quick check would be to disconnect the plug on the MAF when the car is idling, if it improves then it could be the MAF at fault.
You could try cleaning the throttle body yourself, you only have to disconnect the one hose that goes onto it and get some carb / throttle body cleaner. Clean around the butterfly and the little air sensor.
Have all the coilpacks been checked?
Easy way to check is to pull them out and check they are firing one by one whilst the car is idling. They give out a loud clicking noise when they work, be careful though as they do produce a spark.
Hi mate
As mentioned in the post above, I recommend cleaning your throttle body first.
I had the same problem as you. It was virtually impossible to pull away in my car from cold without it feeling like it was going stall, it was only until the car had gone through its initial 2 min warm up that I could pull away. Also, when accelerating hard, the turbo seemed to fade out after about 5,500 revs... as if the car was being strangled! I took it to VW main dealer for diagnosis. They diagnosed that the problem was caused by worn fuel injectors, faulty MAF and leaking rocker cover gasket... a total repair bill of around £340!! Needless to say, I walked away.
After recommendation I decided to try cleaning the throttle body first, which only cost me £5 for a tin of carb cleaner and around 10 mins of my time. After doing this all the problems disappeared and I was also left with a better throttle response too.
You can find the cleaning guide that I followed here:
http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/p/127279/857711.aspx#85...
Good luck!
As mentioned in the post above, I recommend cleaning your throttle body first.
I had the same problem as you. It was virtually impossible to pull away in my car from cold without it feeling like it was going stall, it was only until the car had gone through its initial 2 min warm up that I could pull away. Also, when accelerating hard, the turbo seemed to fade out after about 5,500 revs... as if the car was being strangled! I took it to VW main dealer for diagnosis. They diagnosed that the problem was caused by worn fuel injectors, faulty MAF and leaking rocker cover gasket... a total repair bill of around £340!! Needless to say, I walked away.
After recommendation I decided to try cleaning the throttle body first, which only cost me £5 for a tin of carb cleaner and around 10 mins of my time. After doing this all the problems disappeared and I was also left with a better throttle response too.
You can find the cleaning guide that I followed here:
http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/p/127279/857711.aspx#85...
Good luck!
Edited by normalpaul on Saturday 27th March 01:26
Thanks for all the reply's. They are all very helpful. Thanks for looking into prices for me tame technician.
I don't think I'll be cleaning the throttle body myself. (even though that how to is very good and does make it look easy!) I would probaby do something wrong and cause more damage in the process knowing me!
Thanks again,
Gemma
I don't think I'll be cleaning the throttle body myself. (even though that how to is very good and does make it look easy!) I would probaby do something wrong and cause more damage in the process knowing me!
Thanks again,
Gemma
It really is easy to do.
Pop the big hose off by undoing the jubilee clip, put something on the throttle pedal to open the butterfly and get cleaning with a cotton bud and some carb cleaner.
Also, there is a little sensor on the intake manifold side of the throttle body, it is held in by one 5mm allen bolt, remove the bolt and gently tease the sensor out, give it a quick clean with a carb cleaner drenched cotton bud, then re-fit.
Pop the big hose off by undoing the jubilee clip, put something on the throttle pedal to open the butterfly and get cleaning with a cotton bud and some carb cleaner.
Also, there is a little sensor on the intake manifold side of the throttle body, it is held in by one 5mm allen bolt, remove the bolt and gently tease the sensor out, give it a quick clean with a carb cleaner drenched cotton bud, then re-fit.
Right then. I have roped in my poor friend to help me do this as I haven't a clue and he has cleaned the throttle body on his MK3 Golf before. Is the layout generally the same as a MK3 does anyone know? Also is carb cleaner the best thing to use? Anything else I should know or be aware of?
Thanks for all your help,
Gemma.
Thanks for all your help,
Gemma.
If you follow that guide from the MK4 forum cant really go wrong. Carb cleaner is somtimes labled as intake cleaner these day (we havnt had carbs for some time).
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Dont panic if its a bit slow to start or smokes abit when you first run it after the clean out. Any carb cleaner that makes it into the engine will make it run funny and smoke, but wont damage the engine at all so not need to panic.
Also the hunting might not go away imediatly, the car will have to relean its adaptions, if you had a VAGCOM you could do the basic setting and it would be fine right away, but waiting for it to lean its self is absolutely fine.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...
Dont panic if its a bit slow to start or smokes abit when you first run it after the clean out. Any carb cleaner that makes it into the engine will make it run funny and smoke, but wont damage the engine at all so not need to panic.
Also the hunting might not go away imediatly, the car will have to relean its adaptions, if you had a VAGCOM you could do the basic setting and it would be fine right away, but waiting for it to lean its self is absolutely fine.
Right, I think I might have found the problem!?
Took it to a friend of a friend who is a mechanic (of sorts). There WAS a hissing sound coming from the engine! He plugged it into his computer and it came up with 'air leak'. Low and behold, after some searching, he finds this split pipe! Anyone know which pipe it is? Its in quite an awkward place!
Thanks,
Gem.
Looks like I might not have to clean the throttle body after all!
Took it to a friend of a friend who is a mechanic (of sorts). There WAS a hissing sound coming from the engine! He plugged it into his computer and it came up with 'air leak'. Low and behold, after some searching, he finds this split pipe! Anyone know which pipe it is? Its in quite an awkward place!
Thanks,
Gem.
Looks like I might not have to clean the throttle body after all!
There's quite a few pipes under there that form the PCV and vacuum system, I cant really tell which one it is.
This diagram should help though:
The s shaped purple hose goes up into the underside of the inlet manifold, so it could be that one, I dont know the part number though.
However, if you take this pic into a VW dealer they should be able to find the pars for you, I've done it before for the wiggly hose and the big L shaped one.
Also worth checking all the other hoses for splits, especially the top purple one, it splits between the two outlets.
This diagram should help though:
The s shaped purple hose goes up into the underside of the inlet manifold, so it could be that one, I dont know the part number though.
However, if you take this pic into a VW dealer they should be able to find the pars for you, I've done it before for the wiggly hose and the big L shaped one.
Also worth checking all the other hoses for splits, especially the top purple one, it splits between the two outlets.
Looks to small to be those breather pipes to me Matt.
Looks that that thin braided fabric vacuum pipe VAG use. You can buy it cheaply by the legth and cut to size. Not sure if ETKA/ELSA show thw layout of al of that.
Gemma whast you really need to do is get access to it and trace where each end goes. That black metal braket in the picture comes off, a few 6mm allen bolts, and then you can get a mirror and a tourch in there and see weather it goes, I recon one end will go to the throttle body and the other towards the dump valve, but you will have to check because there are a lot of vacuum hoses like that on that car.
Looks that that thin braided fabric vacuum pipe VAG use. You can buy it cheaply by the legth and cut to size. Not sure if ETKA/ELSA show thw layout of al of that.
Gemma whast you really need to do is get access to it and trace where each end goes. That black metal braket in the picture comes off, a few 6mm allen bolts, and then you can get a mirror and a tourch in there and see weather it goes, I recon one end will go to the throttle body and the other towards the dump valve, but you will have to check because there are a lot of vacuum hoses like that on that car.
Just to give you an update,
I called my garage and explained about the pipe I had found.
To cut a long story short, they agreed to get the part (which was VW only) and fit it for me free of charge. Which I had done on saturday, and the car seems to be running fine now (touch wood).
Thanks again for all your help everyone,
Gemma.
p.s it was a breather pipe
I called my garage and explained about the pipe I had found.
To cut a long story short, they agreed to get the part (which was VW only) and fit it for me free of charge. Which I had done on saturday, and the car seems to be running fine now (touch wood).
Thanks again for all your help everyone,
Gemma.
p.s it was a breather pipe
Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff