picked up a mk4 tdi

[mr.woods]

Picked up a jetta mk4 tdi today. 5 speed, black on black, 132,000 miles, ALH.

The only problem is it can be hard starting at times, any ideas?

Any simple things to do to get a little more out of it? I'm not going to chip it or etc for some time since it's only my run around car at this time.

[sawedoffgolf]

Hey, congrats on the purchase, we got our first mk4 tdi a few months ago and loving it, also black on black. obviously the best bang for buck would chip/nozzles. Our tdi is lightly modded at the moment (muffler removed, egr delete, CAI with home made headshield, evry mod, etc...) after doing those it felt a bit preppier.

as for your hard start it could be a couple things, how are your glowplugs? i would start there.

[mr.woods]

I dumped some amsoil diesel additive in it, seems to start better. I'm going to check how many amps the glow plugs are pullin in the next day or two. But I think the battery is a bit small (cca).

I want to do the egr delete, the rest of your mods I'm going to have to search on. I'm a noob to the VW diesels yet.

[the caveman]

Check the glowplugs, but while it's still warm out, it's probably not your problem[TDI's barely need glowplugs to start]. They do need the battery and starter to be in good shape , the ECU needs to see at least 300-500 rpms to light up

[sawedoffgolf]

I dumped some amsoil diesel additive in it, seems to start better. I'm going to check how many amps the glow plugs are pullin in the next day or two. But I think the battery is a bit small (cca).

I want to do the egr delete, the rest of your mods I'm going to have to search on. I'm a noob to the VW diesels yet.

ive noticed my IDI TD rabbit started better in the winter with lower CCA rating but a higher amp/hour rating. As for the mods, I encourage EVERY tdi driver to do the egr delete, not just for the minor performance increase, but for the reliability and never have to worry about the intake clogging up again, as for the exhaust the less back pressure on the exhaust is better, the diesel will breathe better and it helps lower EGT's sure it only cost me $25 for some pipe that i welded in place of the muffler but it is good bang for buck IMO. The evry mod is the cheap man's way to up the boost(will be removing once we get chipped), And some say that the factory intake/box is more than sufficiant and has better "cool air induction" but i checked my intake temps and they didnt even change with the cone filter even after hard pulls they were the same before i put the cone on.

If your not to keen on getting a chip i would suggest a plug in tuning box, there is one that seems to be fairly new, the campbell box, it has a controller for Boost and Fuel unlike some i have seen where it is just one or the other
http://www.campbellperformance.com/

[mr.woods]

Cool thanks for all the replies!  I will chip it etc. in the future, but for now I just want to drive it. I got it to keep the miles off my new duramax. And believe me, I don't mind driving it.

[shegel]

I have exactly the same car as you except i have 138,000. from what i've read the 99.5 cars tend to start a little harder than the 00-03 cars. i would imagine adding a small low pressure pump would help but cant verify this. also as it is a 99.5 you cant "chip it" without sending the computer to the company. (i think it needs to be socketed) i've removed the mufler on my car and installed an amsoil ea drycharge filter and it seems to be more responsive than anything else. i havent removed the egr or cat for fear of failing emissions. I built an evry mod box but havent installed it yet (thinking about using a switch at the bottom of the throttle peddle so it will only activate when im mashing on it. but yeah i have a black / black 99.5 aswell

[oldskool rich]

glow plugs not so important unless it cold where you are but its worth a check, as long as its cranking over fast enough, id check for air leak around the pump, get sum see through hose and put it on ur return, watch it wen you start up if you see bubbles then uve got air, did the previous owner run cooking oil? maybe injectors are clogged, im just brain storming

i refuse to believe that half a % of these cars dont start up for no reason

[mr.woods]

Update on this if anyone wants it.  I installed a new battery and it helped alot. The old one was stock. Found that since it has been colder out it starts easier. The longer the glow plugs stay on the faster it starts. I will be doing the EGR delete, clean the intake, and remove the cat. this spring. Other then that I'm not going to do alot. I have 137,561 miles on it now. Just love the car. Thanks for all the info!