Engine Stutter - Golf GTI Mk3

[quyeno]

hi guys,

i'm would really appreciate any help on this problem, its really for a friend who doesn't want to be ripped off. The problem is that the engine stutters alot, even at rest idling. The car would jolt forward quite dramatically as well when it stutters. This stuttering and jolting also happens when she is driving the car, especially when driven from cold, although once driven for a while and the engine has heated up, the stuttering stops or reduces considerably. When driving from cold start, she has to use very high revs to prevent it from stuttering and jolting. but when she comes to a stop, she has to apply some rev to prevent the car from stuttering. We suspect it may be down to faulty or block injectors, but are unsure. Does anyone know what maybe the cause of this?

thanks
quyeno

[Jem1974]

Originally Posted by quyeno

hi guys,

i'm would really appreciate any help on this problem, its really for a friend who doesn't want to be ripped off. The problem is that the engine stutters alot, even at rest idling. The car would jolt forward quite dramatically as well when it stutters. This stuttering and jolting also happens when she is driving the car, especially when driven from cold, although once driven for a while and the engine has heated up, the stuttering stops or reduces considerably. When driving from cold start, she has to use very high revs to prevent it from stuttering and jolting. but when she comes to a stop, she has to apply some rev to prevent the car from stuttering. We suspect it may be down to faulty or block injectors, but are unsure. Does anyone know what maybe the cause of this?

thanks
quyeno

Hi,
I think I may be able to shed a bit of light on this for you, as I suffered this very frustrating problem and replaced relays and almost had to fork out for a very expensive throttle plate.
The answer to my problem was very simple and very cheap.
It'll take you about 10 mins to do and it'll help if you've got a friend to help you. Oh, and a clean rag and some methylated spirits.
The problem on my 1996 mark 3 8v GTI was that it was stuttering and cutting out at low revs.
The cause of this problem stumped our local VW dealer and specialist, but not my good old dad!
He disconnected the tube between the air cleaner box and the air intake manifold. The cause of the problem was years of burned petrol fumes etc had turned into a sticky black tar and was blocking the butterfly valve inside the throttle body. The best way to correct this is get a friend to sit in the car with their foot on the accelorator (Make sure the engine is NOT on!), this will open the butterfly valve fully. Using some meths on a clean rag, wipe the chamber and both faces of the butterfly valve. This will allow it to open and close fully. Replace the connecting tube to the airbox and all should be smooth sailing. It's also worth either cleaning or replacing both engine breather tubes. We did this and my car has never had so much power. I hope this works. All the best! Jem.