Big Sky Euro

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, but have lived in Billings for 4 years. I have a 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, and am having problems with loss of power. I've been all over the VW forums and have tried everything I can do short of a new EGR valve. I'm a physician assistant student living on student loans and supporting a family of 4, so even though I badly want to get my car fixed, I am very hesitant to take it to a mechanic and get a huge repair bill. I was hoping before it comes to that I might meet someone locally who has a VAG-COM who would be so generous as to help me out, maybe help me see if this is something I can fix on my own.

Thanks!
Rob
roblininger@gmail.com

MikeWire is your man!

Hey Rob - I can scan your car and tell you how to fix it. Just PM me or reply to the thread and maybe we can meet up sometime next week.

Yup. I gots one too. If you do need a hand fixin' something, holla.

Thanks guys,

I'd be grateful to either one of you. I'm on break this week from school, but can otherwise do it after 5 PM most nights and all day on weekends.

My number is 672-4241...if either of you have free time, let me know when and we'll get together.

Rob

From some of the topics I've read one of the biggest causes of power loss is the Mass Airflow Sensor (MAF). A lot of dealerships misdiagnose these problems as a bad turbo and then charge you $2,000 to "fix" your car.

There is a popular mod that people do called the "Cage Mod" (named after the guy who started it). This basically consists of cleaning the contacts on your MAF and then filling it with dielectric grease. You can find threads on this on the TDICLUB forum. Everyone who's done it swears up and down that it makes a big difference (even on cars that aren't experiencing major power losses). I've yet to get the time to try it myself.

Keep us updated on what you find out!

roblin wrote:Thanks guys,

I'd be grateful to either one of you. I'm on break this week from school, but can otherwise do it after 5 PM most nights and all day on weekends.

My number is 672-4241...if either of you have free time, let me know when and we'll get together.

Rob

Any way you can meet up with us maybe this Saturday night? We try to meet around 9-9:30pm. I also have a family of 4 so I know how busy things are, and that seems to work with most of us. If you can't then maybe we can meet up at lunch one day during the week, that is, if you get lunch!

MikeWire wrote:

roblin wrote:Thanks guys,

I'd be grateful to either one of you. I'm on break this week from school, but can otherwise do it after 5 PM most nights and all day on weekends.

My number is 672-4241...if either of you have free time, let me know when and we'll get together.

Rob

Any way you can meet up with us maybe this Saturday night? We try to meet around 9-9:30pm. I also have a family of 4 so I know how busy things are, and that seems to work with most of us. If you can't then maybe we can meet up at lunch one day during the week, that is, if you get lunch!

Hmm...wanna try and meet up this week?

Hey guys, thanks for your replies. I actually tried the Cage mod(?) a few weeks ago. It actually did work very well, although my wife drove the car since then to Bozeman and could only do 50 mph up the passes, the same passes I used to do 80 no problem. It seems like there is a lot of smoke coming out the tailpipe too. The next thing I was thinking was the EGR valve...I looked at it and it had only a little carbon buildup, not like the heavy buildup I have read about on forums.

As for Saturday night, my wife is in Cancun on a trip she won through her job, so I am confined to the house once I put the kids to bed. We can just keep in touch and find a time that works.

Thanks again for your ideas!!

Rob

working at a dub dealer, we see esp in the early 2000's diesels, the intake is PACKED full of carbon and has a breathing passage about the size of a pencil shaft. see a couple a week.... have you checked the intake? the EGR cooler is also notorious for packin full of soot and shit makes a nasty concocktion