Forum Replies Created
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Open the hood.
Have a helper watch from a safe distance, this can be dangerous.
Apply the parking brake and press hard on the service brakes.
Watch the engine in the compartment.
Put the car in drive first. Foot on the brake….increase the engine RPM and watch the engine.
Repeat test using reverse.
If it rocks excessively—you have a bad motor mount or transmission mount.
Just use extreme caution. I did this test once on an Olds RWD. The engine rose out of the compartment by about 4 inches.
That’s a quick and dirty test for motor mounts.
S-
(Did I mention to use extreme caution while doing this?)
Given some shops charge anywhere from $80 to $90 per hour average in my area? The job isn’t bad or hard, but it does take a bit of time. Maybe 45minutes to an hour. (more if things are rusted, harder to reach, etc…) So in the grand scheme of things 90 bucks isn’t that bad. Just ask for the old parts back, as I’m fairly sure the booster probably has a core charge attached to it. (If not? Then you gots a free doorstop!)
Best of luck with it!
S-
Given some shops charge anywhere from $80 to $90 per hour average in my area? The job isn’t bad or hard, but it does take a bit of time. Maybe 45minutes to an hour. (more if things are rusted, harder to reach, etc…) So in the grand scheme of things 90 bucks isn’t that bad. Just ask for the old parts back, as I’m fairly sure the booster probably has a core charge attached to it. (If not? Then you gots a free doorstop!)
Best of luck with it!
S-
The o2 sensor was just an example. (might be related in some odd fashion) Over on a VW forum I work with they had a beetle that had a lot of electrical gremlins. The owner finally tracked it down to part of the insulation rubbed off and grounding out at intermittent periods. With my own truck, the O2 sensor wiring hit the manifold, and the resulting melted wires shorted out 1/2 of the harness in the engine.
ScannerDanner (friend of Erics, does a lot of electronics work and posts videos on youtube) also does a lot of ‘case studies’, one of which was just one wire shorting to ground–and it took out a whole circuits 5volt reference voltage. It was rubbing against a ground, going around a corner.
Just saying, before spending a lot of $ on a new computer for it (if in fact the computer blew out) Something is causing it to fail. It’s going to be either something simple—or a pain in the rear end.
You’ll get it. Just need to be persistent
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The o2 sensor was just an example. (might be related in some odd fashion) Over on a VW forum I work with they had a beetle that had a lot of electrical gremlins. The owner finally tracked it down to part of the insulation rubbed off and grounding out at intermittent periods. With my own truck, the O2 sensor wiring hit the manifold, and the resulting melted wires shorted out 1/2 of the harness in the engine.
ScannerDanner (friend of Erics, does a lot of electronics work and posts videos on youtube) also does a lot of ‘case studies’, one of which was just one wire shorting to ground–and it took out a whole circuits 5volt reference voltage. It was rubbing against a ground, going around a corner.
Just saying, before spending a lot of $ on a new computer for it (if in fact the computer blew out) Something is causing it to fail. It’s going to be either something simple—or a pain in the rear end.
You’ll get it. Just need to be persistent
S-
All of the above. If it’s a large “Can” filter that you can get to easy? Following exact directions and all safety protocol (This is fuel after all) Neat way of seeing if it’s really good or bad is to remove it and flip it upside/down. If you see a bunch of black gunk come out? It’s time to change it.
Then again? heck, every 30,000 miles is good. (there is no such thing as a “Lifetime” anything with a car/truck……And yes I’ve seen manuals that state some filters are “LifeTime”???)
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All of the above. If it’s a large “Can” filter that you can get to easy? Following exact directions and all safety protocol (This is fuel after all) Neat way of seeing if it’s really good or bad is to remove it and flip it upside/down. If you see a bunch of black gunk come out? It’s time to change it.
Then again? heck, every 30,000 miles is good. (there is no such thing as a “Lifetime” anything with a car/truck……And yes I’ve seen manuals that state some filters are “LifeTime”???)
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It’s not usually a question of checking the ENTIRE harness.
Most of the time harness issues happen where wires enter/exit the fire wall, go around tight corners, rub against things. They can be easy to find—or a complete nightmare. (my full time job is a tech/manager for a video arcade. wiring issues are always a challenge)
That being said. Any chance of pulling any codes from the system? Perhaps something might have triggered a CEL that could point to a problem area? (example: O2 sensor is heated. Shorted/Open heater wire would trigger a CEL. If the wire dead shorted that heats the O2 sensor? It could be tanking down some parts of the computer’s input/output system…Just as an example only)
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It’s not usually a question of checking the ENTIRE harness.
Most of the time harness issues happen where wires enter/exit the fire wall, go around tight corners, rub against things. They can be easy to find—or a complete nightmare. (my full time job is a tech/manager for a video arcade. wiring issues are always a challenge)
That being said. Any chance of pulling any codes from the system? Perhaps something might have triggered a CEL that could point to a problem area? (example: O2 sensor is heated. Shorted/Open heater wire would trigger a CEL. If the wire dead shorted that heats the O2 sensor? It could be tanking down some parts of the computer’s input/output system…Just as an example only)
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Well..
Left the old girl sit for several days. Decided before tomorrow I would pull the plugs and once again spin the engine over and see if any coolant was present in the cylinders.
All plugs totally bone dry.
Peeked at the engine fan so I could rotate it in the right direction. (Yeah I know…I should know this LOL. But it was a long day at work) So I grab a belt and start a tuggin’ Pretty easy with the spark plugs all removed.
I get about 3 pulls on it…and the cylinder I thought was suspect? Totally GUSHED out about 2 cups of coolant. Soooooo I found exactly where the problem is. (edit. It’s the front cylinder on the drivers side)
I continued to spin it around a bit more and it’s the only one that is internally steam cleaning my exhaust system.
Next plan of attack would be for me to drive it over to the garage I work out of. (Yeah, I can still drive it. Oddly enough once the cylinder was blown out dry? Ran pretty good LOL)
I’ll pull the intake manifold and inspect the gasket and manifold. From what I’ve gathered, the coolant passage is less then 1/4 of an inch (maybe more like 1/8th of an inch looking at the photos) away from the intake runner. Looks like this finally surfaced.
Thanks all!
S-
Well..
Left the old girl sit for several days. Decided before tomorrow I would pull the plugs and once again spin the engine over and see if any coolant was present in the cylinders.
All plugs totally bone dry.
Peeked at the engine fan so I could rotate it in the right direction. (Yeah I know…I should know this LOL. But it was a long day at work) So I grab a belt and start a tuggin’ Pretty easy with the spark plugs all removed.
I get about 3 pulls on it…and the cylinder I thought was suspect? Totally GUSHED out about 2 cups of coolant. Soooooo I found exactly where the problem is. (edit. It’s the front cylinder on the drivers side)
I continued to spin it around a bit more and it’s the only one that is internally steam cleaning my exhaust system.
Next plan of attack would be for me to drive it over to the garage I work out of. (Yeah, I can still drive it. Oddly enough once the cylinder was blown out dry? Ran pretty good LOL)
I’ll pull the intake manifold and inspect the gasket and manifold. From what I’ve gathered, the coolant passage is less then 1/4 of an inch (maybe more like 1/8th of an inch looking at the photos) away from the intake runner. Looks like this finally surfaced.
Thanks all!
S-
Naaa, most likely it’s a division of the IRS and their mystery of the vanishing emails….
In all honestly this information the dealership should be able to provide at no cost or charge.
As Eric knows from my other posts, I do work on other groups and can normally find some of these little gems of information. (and pass it along at no charge LOL)
VW’s are very unique cars, and many techs/mechanics run away out of fear. They are actually not to hard to work on. The onboard computer systems seem ‘overdone’ but are, with the correct scan tools (VCDS and VCDS-Lite) one can pretty much figure things out pretty quick.
HOWEVER–they also can be overly complex when it comes to electrical gremlins. That’s where taking your time and using a lot of common sense helps. The amount of different engine styles, even for the 2.0L4? Several different types used–all with the same traits—and others that are maddening. Design defects with the coil packs, both in the 1.8Lturbo and the 2.0 are well documented. (ours had the faulty coil pack. It blew small pin holes out of the towers the wires attach to. Get one damp day? Nothing but P0300 codes all day longgggggggggg.)
So to the OP? Please let us know the details, and we’ll use our combined talents and resources to help.
S-
Naaa, most likely it’s a division of the IRS and their mystery of the vanishing emails….
In all honestly this information the dealership should be able to provide at no cost or charge.
As Eric knows from my other posts, I do work on other groups and can normally find some of these little gems of information. (and pass it along at no charge LOL)
VW’s are very unique cars, and many techs/mechanics run away out of fear. They are actually not to hard to work on. The onboard computer systems seem ‘overdone’ but are, with the correct scan tools (VCDS and VCDS-Lite) one can pretty much figure things out pretty quick.
HOWEVER–they also can be overly complex when it comes to electrical gremlins. That’s where taking your time and using a lot of common sense helps. The amount of different engine styles, even for the 2.0L4? Several different types used–all with the same traits—and others that are maddening. Design defects with the coil packs, both in the 1.8Lturbo and the 2.0 are well documented. (ours had the faulty coil pack. It blew small pin holes out of the towers the wires attach to. Get one damp day? Nothing but P0300 codes all day longgggggggggg.)
So to the OP? Please let us know the details, and we’ll use our combined talents and resources to help.
S-
Spongy pedal is usual air left in the system at some point. (I’ve known cars/trucks that take A LOT of bleeding to get all the air out.)
Given the fact the Master Cylinder is highly suspect?
I would replace that and rebleed the entire system. If the internal seals in that master cylinder are shot, sooner or later you’ll be in for a very nasty shock.
S-
Spongy pedal is usual air left in the system at some point. (I’ve known cars/trucks that take A LOT of bleeding to get all the air out.)
Given the fact the Master Cylinder is highly suspect?
I would replace that and rebleed the entire system. If the internal seals in that master cylinder are shot, sooner or later you’ll be in for a very nasty shock.
S-