Hi, I own 1997 VW Jetta GLS , manual transmission with 137,000 miles on it in Michigan. I am pretty much a novice at car maintenance.
Off late I have noticed 2 problems: any help is appreciated.
1) Whenever I accelerate my car from rest, I hear a big growl/rattle coming from the rear of my car. Also, I feel as if something is moving, the kind of feeling you get when a small bag moves about in your trunk when u accelerate. I looked under the car and nothing seems to be jutting out or no pipes hanging loose. The problem seems to be further highlighted when the road is sloping upwards.2) Its been quite cold and rainy off late and my car is parked outside. So thats bad news right there! This morning I noticed my car puffing away thick cloud of white smoke (my muffler and exhaust pipes were replaced 2 months back). Also I noticed that my car engine isn't sufficiently heated so I waited, but nothing changed. What makes it worse is that when I shift from 1st to 2nd, the car jerks/hiccups and it seems that its going to stall and stop. Infact it did so on an up-ramp of my office parking lot. Its an uneasy feel behind the wheel because the car seems to panting.
please help, dg.