99.5 Jetta TDI Troubles

Has any TDI owners had a problem like this one? Any advice or inputs would be most appreciated. Is an injection pump replacement a common occurence? The car has 125,000 miles and I changed the fuel filter about 10,000 miles ago. If I have no other option but to replace the injection pump, is there a good place to get a used pump? Where would be the best place to buy a new pump?

The Story:

I recently took my 99.5 Jetta TDI on a road trip. Two days driving down to FL and two days back to OH.

The trip down was uneventful but the trip back was another story!

The trip back day 1: On the way back, after I crossed the GA border (cheaper fuel prices) I topped off the tank with diesel. The engine light came on almost immediatly after starting the engine and the glo-plug light also started blinking. The car was running fine until I stopped for lunch in SC. Upon starting the car and leaving the parking lot, it started bucking and running like crap. At highway speeds it seemed to do ok but I could still feel it "missing" and when I got off the interstate, in NC it seemed to run rougher at lower speeds. Finally reached my overnight destination.

Day 2: I drove to a VW dealer where my brother-in-law works as a mechanic. On the way there, the car continued to buck and carry on while at the same time sending out a James Bond smoke screen from the tail pipe. He hooked up the computer and it had a code for the quantity adjuster. The code could not be erased either. He seemed to think it was the injection pump going bad. He also said it should make it back to OH. To make a long story not as long, the car finally gave out 3 hours from home. Just before it died, the idle was very erratic and it didn't like the slower stop and go traffic in the small town I was passing through. Once it finally decided that it could no longer maintain the engine rpm enough to continue, it quit. I couldn't get it to start after that. Had a friend pick me up from my home town and finally got back. What a long day.

Day 3: Let it sit on the side of the road all day in disgust.

Day 4: Loaded it on a flat bed trailer. The car actually started and ran just enough to get halfway up the ramps onto the trailer and it looked like a smoke grenade went off around us. Towed it home and put it in the garage where it sits, unable to start.

Reply to
Dave
Loading thread data ...

How often did you change the fuel filter (routine maintenance)?

Reply to
Erik Dillenkofer

It's made an article or two in the Toronto Star's (Toronto's major newspaper) Wheels (saturday automotive section) section a couple of times - our diesel in Canada has to go through our winter too (water separator drainings, fuel gelling)... And it's as bad as diesel in the USA for lack of lubricity and high sulphur content.... You should have been using diesel fuel conditioner (availible at truck stops).

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Jim B.

Reply to
jimbehning

Thanks for everyone's input. I changed the fuel filter about 10000 miles ago. I'm not quite convinced that it's the injection pump. At least I wan't to check out all options before I sink money into a new pump. Dave

Reply to
Dave

Was that the first filter change (at 115,000 miles)? Or did you change the filter every 20,000 miles like you're supposed to? If you didn't change the filter every 20,000 ... then it's very likely your pump is shot. The pump will run you between $2,000 and $3,000 to replace (and that buys a lot of $50 filters).

Also, did the mechanic check the bolts that hold the pump? If one loosened and the pump moved (even a very small amount) the injection timing will be off and you'll have clouds of white smoke.

Reply to
Erik Dillenkofer

It's been five days since this post and I am wondering if this dude ever decided to fix it. What's a good price for the car? If he is interested and I'll pick it up with my Jeep and a dolly...

My Jeep almost has 200K miles on it. You just can't kill that straight

6 engine...

:)

Reply to
Peter Parker
200K miles on an inline 6... yah i'd hope so - inherent balance, strong engine design.
Reply to
Rob Guenther

It could be something as simple as an intake hose blown off, the vacuum line for the N75 valve pulled off, or the intake manifold is clogged to the point that the engine can't breathe. I've been waiting for an answer to how often the filter was changed to help determine if it's possible the pump is actually shot ... but I guess he's in no hurry to fix it.

costs of a new pump and labour at the dealer (then put

half the money in labour to do it :-) ).

Reply to
Erik Dillenkofer

wow!

.. that is a lot of money to fix a new jetta diesel..

I htink i'll keep my old faithful 1984 jetta a few more years before buying one of those pretty new things!

Erik Dillenkofer wrote: The pump will run you between $2,000 and $3,000

Reply to
hyubso

That's nothing to do with the age of the car. I had a 1984 Jetta TD, and I remember being at the dealership when somebody was told the injection pump on their TD was toast. It was outrageously expensive in those days too.

The bottom line is that with a diesel it's worth the cost to replace the fuel filter according to the maintenance schedule, and to drain the water separator with every oil change.

Reply to
Al Rudderham

Thanks again for all the replies. Eric, an answer to your question, I bought the car with 99k miles on it. I changed the timing belt at 100k since I wasn't sure of the vehicle maintenance history. I also drained the filter/water separator and which there wasn't any water in it. Then about 15k miles later I changed the fuel and air filters. We didn't check for loose bolts on the pump but I will look at that this weekend.

As for Peter Parker's response, I sold my 88 Cherokee with 220k miles on it and bought this Jetta. I like the way the Jetta drives and the fuel economy but as you said, that inline 6 in the Jeeps can't be beat. I never had to sink any money into my Jeep except for brakes, tires and routing maintenance items. When I sold it, the dude that bought it was going to use it as a snowplow. Sounded good to me. Believe me, I've been contemplating fixing and selling the Jetta to make some room in my driveway for a Wrangler. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have kept on driving the jeep.

Back to the Jetta, I am going to try to rule out any other possibilities before I sink the money into a fuel injector pump. I've been postponing the repair job temporarily since the weather has been cold and my garage has been a deep freeze. Now that it's starting to warm up, it's time to go to work.

I would have replied sooner but I have had so much stuff going on that I didn't have time to check the newsgroup. I drove the car these past couple of days and it seemed to drive fine unless I shut it off and drove somewhere else a few minutes later. Then it would start to run rough and smoke again. The engine light and glow plug light continue to come on after about 10 seconds of run time. I did discover my EGR control was sticking so I freed it up and cleaned out some of the gunk inside. It would idle after that but still has issues.

Thanks again for everyones input.

Dave

filter every 20,000 miles like you're supposed to? If you

shot. The pump will run you between $2,000 and $3,000

the pump moved (even a very small amount) the

Reply to
Dave

Ok, then we don't know the maintenance history so we can't rule out a bad pump, but here's some other things to look for:

1) Check all the intake hoses starting at the turbo, down to the intercooler, and up to the manifold to make sure none of the connections have come apart. 2) Remove the intake hoses from the intercooler, remove it from the vehicle. Make sure it hasn't filled with oil and gotten so clogged that it's not passing air. Drain it, clean it, reinstall it. 3) Check the snow screen in the intake snorkle (located between the battery and the sidewall of the engine compartment) to make sure it's not blocked with debris. 4) Remove the EGR valve and check the intake manifold for blockage (the oil vapor from the CCV and the soot from the EGR combine to clog the intake manifold)

I wouldn't bother checking the pump bolts, because if they are loose and the pump moved you'll need to find someone with a VagCom in order to reset the timing anyway. Go here

formatting link
and ask if there's anyone that lives near you that can help you troubleshoot. Others on the site that had this problem had one of the causes above ... or bad injectors ... or a bad pump.

filter every 20,000 miles like you're supposed to? If

shot. The pump will run you between $2,000 and $3,000

the pump moved (even a very small amount) the

Reply to
Erik Dillenkofer

Oh ... and a warning ... if the intake manifold IS blocked ... DO NOT attempt to clean it with it installed on the engine. If you do you will dislodge carbon which will get into the cylinders and since carbon is not compressible ... it will lock up your engine, requiring major disassembly of the top end of the engine. The manifold MUST be removed if it needs to be cleaned out.

pump, but here's some other things to look for:

and up to the manifold to make sure none of the

Make sure it hasn't filled with oil and gotten so

and the sidewall of the engine compartment) to make

vapor from the CCV and the soot from the EGR combine

pump moved you'll need to find someone with a VagCom

there's anyone that lives near you that can help you

above ... or bad injectors ... or a bad pump.

filter every 20,000 miles like you're supposed to? If

shot. The pump will run you between $2,000 and

and the pump moved (even a very small amount) the

Reply to
Erik Dillenkofer

Reply to
Dave

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.