The Red Peril has displayed a reluctancy to start from cold this past couple of days. My code-reader is incommunicado at the moment, so haven`t been able to plug it in for a check. Basically what`s been happening; On the first start of the day (stone-cold. Doesn`t do it on subsequent starts throughout the day.), it cranks fine, but really struggles to fire. Sometimes it will cough, and fire on a couple cylinders, then with a bit of throttle the other cylinders wake up. Today though, it coughed and just died. It only fired on the third try with a big bootful of throttle, but even then took a couple of minutes to settle to a smooth idle (`smooth` being purely subjective... ). On all occasions the exhaust plumes white-ish/blue smoke (unburnt diesel) until it settles down. Just spent a few quid on bits I know it`d fail it`s (imminent) MOT on, so really could do with it not being in it`s death throes! Any ideas?
TDIs usually fire up even without the glow plugs, being direct injection. Air leak in fuel lines as Aidan suggested might be the cause. The stupid plastic clip on the fuel filter for the return pipes can give bother.
poor starting, depending on the version could also be down to the adjustment on the pump, also a clogged fuel filter will cause silmar start up issues Sorted mates BMW TD, huge amounts of start up smoke mostly in white!
AHU is electronically controlled pump isn`t? Can`t go `out of adjustment` I`d have thought? It`s probably on it`s original fuel filter TBH, so that`ll be first port-of-call. Pretty obvious thinking about it now...
it can, the electronics can only adjust a bit, the pump must be calibrated so that the electronics can do its thing. this can be checked with vag-com (every tdi owner shoud have one) I would also clean/reinforce the ground connections, car manufacturers skimp on copper golf mk3 has a really bad connection behind the expansion tank (exactly in only place on the bay where its supposed water to run... ) bad connections are bad on a gas engine, on a diesel they are amplified due to the higher currents needed, your tdi could be cranking.. at 190RPM, and it needs a minimum of 200 also check the glowplugs, TDIs can run without them, but its not ideal
Typically, it now appears to have `cured` itself. Starts on the button every time. Up and running after about two revs... I guess that rules out plugs and earths. Clear fuel line has no bubbles, and everything looks secure on/around the filter. Today, I treated it to an EGR blank off and cleaned out the inlet manifold. Also cobbled together a new exhaust. EGR blanking, and manifold clean has freed up some ponies/torks when low-down and off-boost/boost building. Much more urgent and smooth in all gears but especially in first and second. Someone had clearly been there before since the EGR valve looked fairly new, and the manifold wasn`t as clogged as I thought, but now it`s sparkly clean inside, it`s obviously flowing much better. Well pleased since it`s a free mod. EGR valves can FRO... Also finally cobbled together a new exhaust. It broke just behind the cat. about nine months ago. Uber-loud but I became addicted to the turbo-whistle. The Ebay sourced one is slightly different. It came from an estate, but I think it also came on later Golfs than mine. Still `fits` (no provision on mine for the hangers.) I previously welded a piece of bar across the back of the subframe to prevent the cat. scraping on the ground, so I`ve welded the new one to this bar to stop it banging. Job`s a good `un so far. I noticed for the first time today that the over-axle piece had rusted right through, so this necessited the removal of the resonator, and back-box altogether. Duly chopped out. Cut off the resonator just behind the hangers, so now it`s just a straight, open pipe from the cat. ending just by the axle. I`ll be fashioning a fruity side-exit, but in the meantime the MOT man will have a job getting his sniffer up it. Sound is much reduced, but it actually sounds OK now, rather than the tank-like roar it used to have, that could be heard streets away... What this reduction in noise has revealed however is, an extremely noisy cambelt tensioner...bugger... I`ll have to do a belt-change after it`s MOT, so may as well do a major service too. (God knows when it last had one). Might source some bigger nozzles and make a proper job of it!
You might find having an exhaust that ends under the car and forward of the rear doors causes mot issues? I was looking at side exit before, but that would have caused problems on my standard ride height model which still had some ground clearance!
It currently ends right by the rear-beam, so still beyond the rear doors. The side exit will have to wait until I swap the knackered (year old...) Jamex coilies for some Bilsteins a mate has (later this week) , because it would be impossible right now given the ride height. In any case, I would bring it out just ahead of the rear wheel at the end of the sill, so would still be rear of the doors.
You should have just cut the cat out completely. It does nothing for the emissions test really. Exhaust stopping under the car may lead to fumes managing to find their way into the car with all the aero forces. If you is a smoker this may be acceptable.
That may well be a job for when I fashion the side-exit. I need to get some pipe for that, so can de-cat at the same time. I is a smoker, but the exhaust for last nine months, has terminated just below the gear shifter, and I`ve had no fumes inside... Bloody thing had another dicky-fit this afternoon, and this time there are indeed bubbles in the clear fuel line. Everything looks well in and around the filter (which will get changed anyway), but where is the most likely place for air to enter the system (ie; common places where the lines split/crack).
The hard plastic lines from the fuel filter to the engine can rub away on the timing belt cover and airbox due to engine vibration. I would expect the car to be leaking fuel or not running correctly if they were damaged. As mentioned previously, the stupid plastic clip carrying the return lines on the fuel filter can be problematic.
Yeah, no signs of leaking. That`s what`s had me stumped. I take it you mean this `clip` - No.2 (Vagcat has it as a `valve`?) Dealers want 11...
No 2 by name, no 2 by nature. You will also need o ring no 3. Probably 20 from dealers. I did notice the plastic fitting on the bay recently, while surfing for uber 8v stuff.
The clip is 4. Funnily enough I changed the filter the other month (1Z) and it's weeping where that plastic insert sits in the filter. It's not the clip itself, more like the seal?
It is no 2 that gives the problem, me referring to it as the clip may be misleading. McStu understood though. Must just be you master eyre.
That seal costs nearly 1.50! F*ck that!... I`m sure you`ll have access to one of those o-ring kits with pretty much every available (standard) size in them. The VAG one is of course non-standard (15.4mm (diameter) x 1.78mm (thickness)) so 15.5x2.0 from a kit should suffice.
