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In my experience a sticking or binding waste gate / recirc valve causes a steady loss of boost / power when you get into higher boost. IE the boost would rise then as the valve cant hold it back it starts to loose it also.
Anytime I’ve been in a car that was bucking, or felt like someone had thrown an anchor and chain out the back door its been the ignition, and in particular the coil. In these cases though it also had an erratic idle cold or hot from a weak spark, the timing was retarding itself, and when hooked up to an emissions sniffer you could see it running way rich. Eventually the coil called it a day, or I tested its resistance and it was way off.
MSD works a bit different though. You can still get one too hot for its own good and It will start to do funky things. Like mentioned above I would also be looking at the grounds for the MSD controller as well as the ground on the block. If you’re delivering more spark power you may want to also upgrade the size of the grounding wire.
Also I like what Eric said about having the fuel map changed. 2 part management systems are old school. Cars that came with them needed special care so the timing was set up BANG ON, and the fueling BANG ON so that as each device altered its mapping it would co operate with the other. Your MSD controller might not be playing nice with the ECU that’s still taking care of the fuel and sensors. Being older you cant really do much to change the stock ECU without upgrading both systems to work with one unit. Witch may be you’re only change.
In my experience a sticking or binding waste gate / recirc valve causes a steady loss of boost / power when you get into higher boost. IE the boost would rise then as the valve cant hold it back it starts to loose it also.
Anytime I’ve been in a car that was bucking, or felt like someone had thrown an anchor and chain out the back door its been the ignition, and in particular the coil. In these cases though it also had an erratic idle cold or hot from a weak spark, the timing was retarding itself, and when hooked up to an emissions sniffer you could see it running way rich. Eventually the coil called it a day, or I tested its resistance and it was way off.
MSD works a bit different though. You can still get one too hot for its own good and It will start to do funky things. Like mentioned above I would also be looking at the grounds for the MSD controller as well as the ground on the block. If you’re delivering more spark power you may want to also upgrade the size of the grounding wire.
Also I like what Eric said about having the fuel map changed. 2 part management systems are old school. Cars that came with them needed special care so the timing was set up BANG ON, and the fueling BANG ON so that as each device altered its mapping it would co operate with the other. Your MSD controller might not be playing nice with the ECU that’s still taking care of the fuel and sensors. Being older you cant really do much to change the stock ECU without upgrading both systems to work with one unit. Witch may be you’re only change.
Sounds like either old gas smell, or something craweled up and made a home.
Sort the tire issue out go fill it up with 94octane, a bottle of cleaner and then drive it high in the revs for an hour or so. Get lots of fuel spray. She’ll feel brand new after.
Several years a go I left my VW parked for a long wait while I was off traveling. In previous times I had arranged for a roommate to drive it one day a week jut to keep her happy. This time I had no option. When I got home it ran like such a bag of nails. Ended up draining the tank out, flushing the fuel line, new fuel filter. The condensation that had collected in the crank case was disturbing when I drained that out too. The only thing that managed to work out was that I left it on jack stands with a cover so it wasn’t too dank inside and the tires were round still. Put a charge on the battery for a day Gave it a good oil change even though it ran like ass, made sure the brakes and clutch worked, half filled the tank with 91oct and 2 bottles of cleaner and then drove it at 4000rpm in 4th gear for an hour one way, then the other. All problems solved.
Sounds like either old gas smell, or something craweled up and made a home.
Sort the tire issue out go fill it up with 94octane, a bottle of cleaner and then drive it high in the revs for an hour or so. Get lots of fuel spray. She’ll feel brand new after.
Several years a go I left my VW parked for a long wait while I was off traveling. In previous times I had arranged for a roommate to drive it one day a week jut to keep her happy. This time I had no option. When I got home it ran like such a bag of nails. Ended up draining the tank out, flushing the fuel line, new fuel filter. The condensation that had collected in the crank case was disturbing when I drained that out too. The only thing that managed to work out was that I left it on jack stands with a cover so it wasn’t too dank inside and the tires were round still. Put a charge on the battery for a day Gave it a good oil change even though it ran like ass, made sure the brakes and clutch worked, half filled the tank with 91oct and 2 bottles of cleaner and then drove it at 4000rpm in 4th gear for an hour one way, then the other. All problems solved.
2 things I would check after reading what you’ve done.
1- purge all of the old gas in the car. Get some new stuff with some cleaner in it too. VR6 engines aren’t picky but its not your old Ford pick up engine either. If you haven’t already you may want to remove the fuel rail for one bank of cylinders and see if its actually delivering fuel. If either pressure regulator is varnished up no fuel will flow and that wont set off a code.
2- Make sure that battery is in good health. Bosch systems need at least 12v minimum for the ECU to even turn on. With just the ignition on it may have enough juice to power up the coil and the VagComm but while cranking it may drop. A weak spark with all new stuff to me also sounds like you could have a bad ground also. Grab a jumper cable and add a ground to the block somewear and the battery neg.
2 things I would check after reading what you’ve done.
1- purge all of the old gas in the car. Get some new stuff with some cleaner in it too. VR6 engines aren’t picky but its not your old Ford pick up engine either. If you haven’t already you may want to remove the fuel rail for one bank of cylinders and see if its actually delivering fuel. If either pressure regulator is varnished up no fuel will flow and that wont set off a code.
2- Make sure that battery is in good health. Bosch systems need at least 12v minimum for the ECU to even turn on. With just the ignition on it may have enough juice to power up the coil and the VagComm but while cranking it may drop. A weak spark with all new stuff to me also sounds like you could have a bad ground also. Grab a jumper cable and add a ground to the block somewear and the battery neg.
The only time Ive had coolant go into the oil system was taking a head off. Its un avoidable. I’ve also had to fix a friends car where they accidentally poured AF into the oil cap. Sounds dumb but it happens often. They key to remember is that water is heavier than oil. It will very quickly settle to the bottom of the oil pan. If the drain bolt is on the bottom drain it out until its just oil, if its on the back of the pan like a lot of FWD cars lift the front of the car slightly and do the same. This will get rid of the majority of the water that got in there. Think in the case of a head gasket job your draining the oil afterwards for the same reason. Its going to get coolant in it no matter what.
After that top off the oil start it and let it get hot, pour in a bottle of oil system cleaner and let it idle for 10-12min. Drain it and put fresh oil and filter in it. The heat will boil off any of the little water that stayed in the system pretty quick. Before going back out on the road remove the PCV and flush any slime out of it.
The last part of the fix is the easy one. Go for a nice long cruise on the hwy. 1.5-2hours. Let it stay nice and hot for a while. This will burn off all the water vapour and help prevent it from cooling in the PCV system turning it into slime. You don’t have to drive the snot out of it, just let it be at a nice operating temp for a while.
The only time Ive had coolant go into the oil system was taking a head off. Its un avoidable. I’ve also had to fix a friends car where they accidentally poured AF into the oil cap. Sounds dumb but it happens often. They key to remember is that water is heavier than oil. It will very quickly settle to the bottom of the oil pan. If the drain bolt is on the bottom drain it out until its just oil, if its on the back of the pan like a lot of FWD cars lift the front of the car slightly and do the same. This will get rid of the majority of the water that got in there. Think in the case of a head gasket job your draining the oil afterwards for the same reason. Its going to get coolant in it no matter what.
After that top off the oil start it and let it get hot, pour in a bottle of oil system cleaner and let it idle for 10-12min. Drain it and put fresh oil and filter in it. The heat will boil off any of the little water that stayed in the system pretty quick. Before going back out on the road remove the PCV and flush any slime out of it.
The last part of the fix is the easy one. Go for a nice long cruise on the hwy. 1.5-2hours. Let it stay nice and hot for a while. This will burn off all the water vapour and help prevent it from cooling in the PCV system turning it into slime. You don’t have to drive the snot out of it, just let it be at a nice operating temp for a while.
I love them old 1.6 diesels. So easy, and bombproof. Plus you can tune em to roll a lot of coal when you step on it!
As for the timing tools you can fudge it. I used to use a bit of flat stock steel to lock the cam and a drill bit for the pump. The only part you cant make due with is a good dial guage and the adaptor for the back of the pump.
I love them old 1.6 diesels. So easy, and bombproof. Plus you can tune em to roll a lot of coal when you step on it!
As for the timing tools you can fudge it. I used to use a bit of flat stock steel to lock the cam and a drill bit for the pump. The only part you cant make due with is a good dial guage and the adaptor for the back of the pump.
If non of the usual suspects for a no start check out go after the anti Theft. First I would check the ignition switch. Remove the clam shells around the steering Colom, pop the connector off the ignition switch and then use a bit of wire to bridge the power to the car, and then trigger the start. If it fires up it was the switch.
If you still have nothing key the car on and then use a screw driver to bridge the main power on starter to the solenoid. If that starts it Id be looking at a relay or the Anti Theft.
The above right is correct about that generation of car. They weren’t the most methodically thought out electrical system in the body. Super simple but had issues due to placement of connections and corrosion. Check for clean grounding or any broken wires.
In Mk3 cars, particularly ones produced in Mexico they were known for a bad window seal that allowed water to leak down onto the fuse block area…..Handy.
If non of the usual suspects for a no start check out go after the anti Theft. First I would check the ignition switch. Remove the clam shells around the steering Colom, pop the connector off the ignition switch and then use a bit of wire to bridge the power to the car, and then trigger the start. If it fires up it was the switch.
If you still have nothing key the car on and then use a screw driver to bridge the main power on starter to the solenoid. If that starts it Id be looking at a relay or the Anti Theft.
The above right is correct about that generation of car. They weren’t the most methodically thought out electrical system in the body. Super simple but had issues due to placement of connections and corrosion. Check for clean grounding or any broken wires.
In Mk3 cars, particularly ones produced in Mexico they were known for a bad window seal that allowed water to leak down onto the fuse block area…..Handy.
VW has no more electrical gremlins than any other car of similar age. Most mechanics argue VW does things differently but really they all work the same way. Granted Ive worked on mainly VW cars but there isn’t any difference in how they fundimentally work.
In your case I would check two things first. 1 with a multi meter check the two outside wires on the hall effect/speed sensor wires for voltage. Needs to be close to 12v. If you have no voltage you need to check that the Ignition control module is functioning. You said you have a new engine speed sensor so I wouldn’t bother checking it for function. I would check the ICM instead. Its usually bolted on top of the ECU. Pull the harness off of it and check that its getting voltage via the pwr and grd. Grd is always brown in a VW. Pwr will be red or red with black stripe. If you have power there check for continuity between the module end of the harness and the center wire of the engine speed sensor. It will be the same color. Also check for continuity between the ICM ground on the harness to the battery negative. I like to check resistance on grounds like that. Too high it wont work.
If you have good power and wireing to and from the ICM go to a wreckers and find a used one to try. They’re cheap as nails. If that doesn’t fix it I would try the coil again. In VW espessialy they are notorious for lasting forever, to the point where people forget they wear out too.