95 Jetta, few problems i need help with

[PJ1]

Hey all, ive got a few problems with my jetta and i was hoping someone might be able to give me a few helpful answers.

i recently decided to keep my jetta, i was going to sell it, but it seems no one wants to pay the 3000 i want for it, so i guess im going to have to fix it up nice. ive got a few problems, here they are.

issue 1
the most important one is my speedometer. The speedometer usually works when i start my car in the morning and head to work. the only thing is it will drop and not work as soon as i hit a decent bump in the road, which is a huge issue for me as i live about 1mile from a set of train tracks. Ive checked the plug behind the speedometer, it seems to be on tight and fine. I figured ide check the end, the part that connect to the car inside the engine, so i looked it up in my chiltons book, and it doesnt say where it is. so i cant find it.
(not sure if this has any bearing but my radio is also been shutting off by itself alot lately, if i hit the right side of the dash the radio comes back on usually, and speedometer will also move, but it wont work.)

issue 2
my passenger side strut (not sure if there shocks or struts) anyway, there seems to be a spring loose on the main spring. its like a 1/4 spring, and all it does is bounce around and make alot of noise, i was wondering if its ok to remove this spring.

issue 3
im no mechanic, but with a little guidance i can do my own work. the jetta squeals everytime i turn the wheel, i want to change the belt but im haveing alot of issues at how to get at it, its pretty much impossible to get at from the top side. (again, those great people at chiltons didnt feel like writing in the book how to do some things)

issue 4 (yes the last one, i know i ramble)
there is a plug on my airfilter, when i plug it in and start my car, my car will run at idle, but as soon as i tough the gas peddle it dies. If i unplug the plug, i can start the car, but it wont sit at idle, it will stall out, so i have to keep my foot on the gas to keep the rpms up. this only happens when the cars engine is cold. after running for a while it will idle itself. any idea's?

Thanks in advance, hopefully someone out there can help me out..
Also just an added thanks to Boschmann, for helping me out with my last problem..

Thanks PJ1

[dramey_2004]

alright first off the strut, you have to have a spring compressor to change the strut or the spring so you can pull it out and bring it somewhere to get it changed. second your p.s. pump belt jack the passenger side up and lossen the 3 main bolts of the power steering pump and it will move up then with alittle force then change the belt and tighten back up to have like 3/8" of movment in the belt, then the idleing problem first off go to a junk yard and get a mass air flow meter and replace it do not clean it or anything just put it in and plug it in. then go to behind the alternator and there is a metal peice on the engine block with 2 wires coming off of it this is your ground for the ecu take it off and wire brush it and clean it really good. message me back if you have any questions p.s. a new mass air flow is alsmost 400 dollars so go to junk yard.

[Doug Tatham]

The above is good advise. One addition: Check the power steering fluid before you replace the belt.
Also, make sure that the air filter is in good shape, not damp, and installed correctly.
Finally, when your car is cold. Start the engine and place a cool metal object or mirror in front of the exhaust and watch for condensation. Sometimes when a head is leaking or a gasket is in bad shape, you will have a poor idle until it's blown out all of the water.

It never hurts to check the simple things first.

[dramey_2004]

good advice but the thing with the mirror will not work beacause when you start a car up and it blows out water that is a good thing that says that the catylitic convertor is working and that is condensation out of the cat. so this is normal so the best bet if you even need to check the head gasket is a pressure tester.

[PJ1]

thanks for the advice everyone. I did replace the steering belt, the steering is fine now.
My main problem is still my speedometer, im convinced that its a loose wire in the dash somewhere, after it stops working if i hit the top of the dash board it will bounce up, sometimes it will work for a second or two, sometimes the pin will just bounce up a bit then settle back down at zero. Im not capable of tearing my dashboard apart to locate the problem, im not even sure what ide be looking for. Anyone know how difficult it is to just rewire the speedometer, and maybe an estimated cost on the process?

Also the other thing i forgot to mention in the original post, sometimes when downshifting, my rpms will drop very low, and every now and then, the car will stall out, i usually just start it back up and go, but if anyones got any idea on that it would help, the battery is less than a year old, and i put a refurbed alternator in it about 3 or 4 months ago so those things should be fine.

thanks again for all the help.
PJ1

[dramey_2004]

for the stalling out do what i told you to do with the electric connector behind the alternator. it is a common problem with these cars

[greeffs]

I think we have the same car, all the problems you have discused have or are occuring but thanks to the advise I have follwed the steps and am also down to the last two (this week)
1. Speed needle and rev counter do not work constantly , they just lie there and quiver.
2.the SRS airbag light to the left of the steering wheel comes on intermitently.??

[fiskee]

I have a '96 Jetta GL, and it seems that I have the same problems as you.

1) Speedometer works intermitently. When you bang the dash, sometimes it pops back up to the correct speed, sometimes it pops up for a second and goes back to zero, and sometimes it stays at zero. The Bently book shows the single 3-wire speed sensor (for manual transmissions) comming off the top of the transmission. I did some quick testing, but can't find anything wrong with it. And it wouldn't make much sense that the sensor is the problem since banging the dash sometimes fixes it (but i'm not ruling out the sensor - but its $65). I took apart the dash and disconnected the instrument cluster, but didn't find any loose connections there. I had my check engine light diagnosed, and they said it was a problem with the speedometer system. Would a malfunctioning instrument cluster cause the check engine light to come on? I'm out of ideas...

2) Airbag light is on. I recently replaced the ignition switch, which requires taking out the driver's airbag. After everything was back together, the car was working fine without the airbag light on. The only problem was the steering wheel was misaligned by a couple degrees. After a while it got to me, so I disconnected the battery, took out the airbag, corrected the steering wheel, replaced the airbag, and reconnected the battery. Ever since then, the airbag light has been on. I have rechecked the connection multiple times, but everything looks ok. The Bently book said its possible to damage the airbag control module if your key isn't in the ignition when you reconnect the battery. I'm not sure how much truth there is to this, or the probability of it occuring. I hear that there are some electronic tools to reset the airbags if you've been in a collision. I think this is the next thing i'm going to try.