A few issues with my 96 Passat TDI

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camelspit
Glow Plug
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:11 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

A few issues with my 96 Passat TDI

Post by camelspit »

Back story: So I recently purchased a 96 Passat TDI and at first there were only minor things that really made no impact on my driving. Then I noticed some things started to change. Mainly my power seemed to be diminishing. I am fairly familiar with regular(?) gasoline engines but I am lost when it comes to diesels. All I know is that they're high compression and don't use spark plugs...whoopdy do. Anyway problems are as follows. In order of what I feel is most important. Oh, it's also a 5 speed manual.

1) Performance has started to decrease, as in the turbo doesn't kick in as hard anymore, and I thought at first it might be a gas issue. One mechanic I took it to said the intake manifold had a ton of build up that was clogging the air going into the turbo and I had to get the entire intake manifold taken off and cleaned out due to the EGR(?) valve on American models tend to just muck things up in general and it would be 4 hours worth of labor to clean it.. Another said he'd have to charge me $100+ to check to see if that was true. Neither of them were specialists, just running diagnostic specials. Possibly related, when in gear at WOT I get black smoke coming out the exhaust. I googled it and I read that was mostly because I had gas>air and that's just how it ends up burning, looking for confirmation.

2) Sometimes when I'm turning, mid turn the power steering will go out for a few seconds until I straighten out. Got a diagnostic test today and they said they couldn't find anything. This happens in a variety of situations at low speed, in gear or in neutral doesn't seem to matter.

3) Front right turning signal doesn't work though the back one does.

4) Sunroof doesn't work, I get a kind of...plastic gears grinding against each other sound when I try to open/close it. It moves very slightly when I do but no more than maybe a centimeter. It's currently open in the venting position (rear edge just tilted up)

5) The doors don't work from the outside, but I have heard this is a very common issue and that I can pretty much just buy replacement handles and do it at home. A friend of mine who loves VWs said there might be a kit that bypasses the need for having that small plastic pin that tends to break but he couldn't find it on the internet.

The last 3 bits don't really bother me that much, I feel as long as the person behind me can tell I'm using my signal I'm happy, I can open my doors by rolling the windows down from the outside, and I live in Seattle so...sunroof is a moot point anyway. Any advice or preliminary guesses as to what's going on with the bigger issues would be great so I don't walk into a shop completely lost and having to take their word at face value. Also my first time owning a european car. I love driving this car, even with the power losses it's so torquey city driving is a breeze, I would love to keep this car going for as long as possible since I have a baby on the way, solid transportation is definitely a big issue for me. Thanks in advance everyone!
coke

Re: A few issues with my 96 Passat TDI

Post by coke »

The intakes due clog on these, and that is a likely accurate assessment. Power steering, check for leaks, check fluid level, and check belt tension.

It would probably be cheaper to buy a clean intake manifold and replace it. Then ,take it to someone with Vagcom and disable the EGR. This will cause problems with emmission inspections if your state requires them. Luckily, Maine does not and my fathers has been running with a disabled EGR for 7 years with no intake clogging problems.
camelspit
Glow Plug
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:11 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: A few issues with my 96 Passat TDI

Post by camelspit »

coke wrote:The intakes due clog on these, and that is a likely accurate assessment. Power steering, check for leaks, check fluid level, and check belt tension.

It would probably be cheaper to buy a clean intake manifold and replace it. Then ,take it to someone with Vagcom and disable the EGR. This will cause problems with emmission inspections if your state requires them. Luckily, Maine does not and my fathers has been running with a disabled EGR for 7 years with no intake clogging problems.
I had the power steering inspected they said they saw no leaks, nothing wrong with rack and pinion or anything else that could be a problem. What would the manifold run me? The shop gave me a $300 estimate to clean it out. I've heard that the canadian EGR valves will not cause this problem either, though I don't know if that statement holds any water. I live in Washington so I do need to get emissions tested and tabs are about to expire.
joat
Turbo Charger
Posts: 215
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:28 pm
Location: Ottawa , Canada

Re: A few issues with my 96 Passat TDI

Post by joat »

canadian intakes / egr's have the same isues ....

a VAGCOM can reset the computer to barely open the EGR and get rid of the problem.... if you just block off the EGR, you will get a CEL / code
1992 Jetta (gasser to TD 1.6)
2000 TDI Jetta
1990 Jetta (Gasser RIP @ 875,000Km)
1976 Rabbit (RIP)
1972 Superbeetle (RIP)
1971 Fastback (type 3 RIP)

A pessimist is a well informed optimist
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