94 passat vr6 idling issues

I have recently aquired a 1994 passat glx with the vr6 engine. Its a 5 speed. Its a nice car except for a few little things that need fixed. The only thing that has me baffled is the idle. When I first start the car when its cold it wants to shut off right away. After it warms up it runs descent. So I changed the plugs, cleaned the throttle body, cleaned the air intake sensor, swapped the filter for a new one. Still doing the same thing. I talked to a friend of mine who says that its problably the idle control valve. But I never really trust what he says from bad instances in the past as far as his diagnosing skill. Another thing I have noticed is there is some type of engine coolant leak somewhere but I'll be damned if I can find it. I dont notice anything coming out of the tail pipe. There were a few parts lying on the floor in the backseat when I got it that the previous owner said were "extra" parts. I tracked some down to be little interior pieces except this little pump looking thing that after a little bit of research appears to be the auxilary water pump. That and the copper piece of pipe clamped in the water lines under the hood screams not factory. Im not really familiar with how these cars are engineered. I typically putter around in my 92 jeep cherokee on and off the road. But I got a good deal on this car and aside from the idle problem, it should be lots of fun. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Eric

I am not familiar with the VR6, so perhaps it is dumb to speak, but with the four cyl. engines there is a 5th injector for cold starting. There should be something similar here.

I was going to say your leak could be the water pump, as they will leak while running, dirpping the collant on the road where you don't get a chance to notice it. On some engines it is common to change the timing belt with the water pump and vice-versa, so that would be a good question to ask a knoowledgeable serve person.

Good luck

Denny G

You cleaned the mass air flow sensor? How? The most common water leak on the VR6 is the plastic thermostat flange at the back of the cylinder head, just above the transmission. The little pump is for circulating water after shutdown, it goes on the back of the head just rearward of the thermostat flanges.

Thanks for the replies, I cleaned the mass air sensor by pulling it out of the intake without unplugging it. With the car off I sprayed it sparingly with a lil bit of electrical contact cleaner. Its makes the yick go away and doesn't leave any residue. Careful where you over spray though. Someone else had mentioned that extra injector thing to me, thats worth looking into. Thanks for the bit about what the auxilary water pump does. Ill be looking into that plastic flange tomorrow. As well as taking a look around where the water pump is.

Thanks a bunch,

Eric

I worry about the MAF. It is fine to unplug it to clean. The only safe method is to remove it from the housing (if you don't have a safety torx driver you can grab the screw's head with a vise-grip) & submerge the unit in alcohol for about five minutes. Don't use cheap rubbing alcohol, go to a drug store & get the stuff that is a tleast 90%.

Hey Eric,

I had the same problem during the winter, the car starts does not come up to a cold start idle so it shuts off, well sad to say but your buddy that you dont want to trust to much is actually most likely correct, my throtal control valve was bad, I fortunetly had another due to me having a 93 and 94, so try calling a junk yard, or find a used one and switch them out! and while your at it look at these two places for your anti freeze leak, the two hoses on your throtal body, they may leak at higher R's, and under your coil, where i thinik three hoses come into a plastic case, leaks happen there very often.

-Jeff