Author Topic: No smoke, no power (Read 6048 times)

bvolks73 · « **on:** January 06, 2007, 09:23:28 pm »

I've noticed for the past month or so that my 85 Jetta Coupe (84 Rabbit motor, with 250,000 kms or so since rebuild) has become extremely gutless. About the same time I noticed that it isn't smoking at all like it used to, leading me to believe it might be a lack of fuel problem. I got my brother to follow me tonight and he said very little smoke was coming out of it and I was really coming onto it. It smoked so bad before that I'd almost lose sight of the car behind me when I came onto it. The wife even noted that other cars seem to be following closer than they used to. Lol. Any ideas? It has a new air filter and the fuel filter is about a year old. I don't think the IP has ever been touched.

flash319 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 06, 2007, 09:48:50 pm »

Is it Turbo? If so maybe your pressure line to the LDA has a leak or came off.

bvolks73 · « **Reply #2 on:** January 07, 2007, 12:02:47 am »

No, it's not turbo.

jtanguay · « **Reply #3 on:** January 07, 2007, 07:53:31 am »

if the ip has never been touched, then maybe its the new low sulphur diesel... you'll need to rebuild your pump soon or it will be leaking all over like mine did. not cool... although my pump had exactly the same power as before it leaked... really weird!

you could try messing with the max fuel screw and see what that does... but it does mess up the idle a bit

if it was smoking like crazy before and not now thats really weird... wonder what could have changed??? unless pump is on its last legs...

Doug · « **Reply #4 on:** January 07, 2007, 03:11:40 pm »

Fuel starvation will make it run gutless. If your fuel filter is a year old then it could be saturated with water which will impede the fuel flow. The key here is you say that it is not smoking at all or as much as before when it seemed to running okay. I just went through this scenario with my diesel landcruiser which will see a noticeable drop in performace as the filter becomes saturated with water. You are lucky that the outside temperatures are not -20C as then there will be no fuel fow!

jtanguay · « **Reply #5 on:** January 07, 2007, 06:25:43 pm »

my fuel filter is older than a year (about 3-4 years) and i dont have the symptoms as described. must be some really bad diesel! try emptying the water separator first... or even try using a good diesel fuel conditioner like power service.... maybe thats why i havent had too much trouble with mine :wink: plus the cetane boost gives a wee bit more power as well

check at the fuel station to see if they are selling the ultra low sulphur diesel. if they are, then your pump is probably leaking on the inside, and it won't be long until it starts leaking out of the head like mine. if your pump has been rebuilt around 2000 or so it should be fine. do you know how many miles the injection pump has??? if it has 400'000km it may be on its way out depending on how it was driven... (fuel additives help immensely)

Doug · « **Reply #6 on:** January 07, 2007, 09:45:08 pm »

I'd be replacing that filter JT. It is an annual maintenance item and cheap insurance against a system freeze up or IP failure. Always go to the filter first before assuming the worst with pump failure or other ideas. There are lots of disreputable fuel sellers out there who do not check for the presence of water in their fuels and some who dispose of other chemicals in fuel retailing facilities. This has been a scam that has eluded the MOE for a long time. I have had several suspect fuel puchases that have left me sputtering with a clogged filter and pouring the Kleenflo to the system to get it to pass the filter. It has left me with such skepticism that now I carry a spare filter or in the case of my LC a couple of filters just in case. It is a lot cheaper than a tow!

bvolks73 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 07, 2007, 10:29:01 pm »

I'll check the filter for water in the morning. I actually had it freeze solid on me a few years ago and it's no fun. Happened on a real cold night and the clear hose from it shattered when I moved it. That's the only time the old car has left me stranded in the 10 years I've owned it. The water separator has never been drained since I bought it because the cover was broke off and the hole was filled with gas tank repair goop. I've had a spare here in the basement for the last 6 or 7 years. Maybe it's time to put it on. By the way, I'm estimating the IP has around 400,000 kms or so on it. I should probably think about getting a spare one built for it.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #8 on:** January 07, 2007, 10:50:45 pm »

In the winter running your car with anything less then a full tank of fuel will increase the condensation in your tank which will lead to water in your diesel.

jtanguay · « **Reply #9 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:56:55 am »

one reason i'm so lucky is probably due to the fact that i never touch the remaining 7-10 or so litres of diesel in the tank, and always use power service additive. its really really good stuff. you can actually feel a power increase. honestly!

women are the worst for running the gas tank on near empty... and they wonder why their fuel pump dies??? :roll:

burn_your_money · « **Reply #10 on:** January 08, 2007, 11:25:50 am »

I always try and fill up once I hit the 1/4 tank mark.
I also notice a huge power gain when I use an additive, whether it is simply ATF or the C-tire 3 in 1 stuff. I have power service but I'm not a fan of it. I mixed it way, way to strong once and cooked my injectors so I don't use it anymore. I know it's a lame reason not to use it

Jetta Fan · « **Reply #11 on:** January 08, 2007, 11:41:06 am »

I didn't think you could mix most of those additives too strong? :?

jtanguay · « **Reply #12 on:** January 08, 2007, 07:38:30 pm »

Quote from: burn_your_money

I always try and fill up once I hit the 1/4 tank mark.
I also notice a huge power gain when I use an additive, whether it is simply ATF or the C-tire 3 in 1 stuff. I have power service but I'm not a fan of it. I mixed it way, way to strong once and cooked my injectors so I don't use it anymore. I know it's a lame reason not to use it

ugh... you cooked your injectors on power service??? :shock: :?

i always squirt just a bit in right before i fill my tank... how much of the additive did you put in???

bvolks73 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 09, 2007, 11:34:53 pm »

There was hardly any water in the filter so that doesn't seem to be the problem. Luckily my mother's neighbour is a diesel mechanic and I know he did a great job rebuilding the pump on my uncle's Chevy truck so I might get him to do mine. I have been running diesel conditioner through it quite often since the low sulphur diesel came out. I'm going to try to tough it out for another week or so until I get the GLI on the road and then I'll start doing some major troubleshooting.

burn_your_money · « **Reply #14 on:** January 10, 2007, 04:19:05 am »

Quote from: "jtanguay"

ugh... you cooked your injectors on power service??? :shock: :?

i always squirt just a bit in right before i fill my tank... how much of the additive did you put in???

About 1/4 of a bottle :oops:

I was having a rough day and couldn't figure out how to do the conversion based on their recommendations for dosage so I just guessed.
I'm sure it's an excellent product

Author Topic: No smoke, no power (Read 6048 times)

Doug

Doug