car with issues

[zeek1403]

I have a 1996 VW Jetta Trek. The dumb thing has been acting up for a while. I will explain all problems here. First the car ran rough and would stall after spitting and sputtering. This has happened for the last 600 or so miles. It would always start right back up. But last week it stalled and wouldn't start for a few minutes and I kept having to try it over and over again. I also noticed some hesitation with the gas pedal because it would stick around 2000RPMs. It is now doing the same things but it won't start without help of gas pedal sometimes. It also doesn't idle correctly when started cold. It will run about 1000RPMs and then after I use it for a minute and stop, it will be running at 2000RPMs. It's also using more antifreeze than normal and there isn't any in the oil. This sounds like EGR valve trouble to me but I want to know what others think. Thank you in advance.

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by zeek1403

I have a 1996 VW Jetta Trek. The dumb thing has been acting up for a while. I will explain all problems here. First the car ran rough and would stall after spitting and sputtering. This has happened for the last 600 or so miles. It would always start right back up. But last week it stalled and wouldn't start for a few minutes and I kept having to try it over and over again. I also noticed some hesitation with the gas pedal because it would stick around 2000RPMs. It is now doing the same things but it won't start without help of gas pedal sometimes. It also doesn't idle correctly when started cold. It will run about 1000RPMs and then after I use it for a minute and stop, it will be running at 2000RPMs. It's also using more antifreeze than normal and there isn't any in the oil. This sounds like EGR valve trouble to me but I want to know what others think. Thank you in advance.

I would suspect more of the MAF sensor is getting a little dirty. If you have an engine scanner, monitor the MAF, IAT and ECT with a cold engine with the ignition switch turned to ON. A few weeks ago, I had a high idle speed. I was looking at the MAF sensor with my scanner in the above scenario, and it was telling me the sensor was measuring 3.58lbs/sec of air going into the engine. I knew the sensor was the problem because the engine was not running. Anyway, a good cleaning took care of the problem. Of course, you could monitor the EGR system to get an idea of what's happening with the valve.

[zeek1403]

I'll do that. Would this cause the temp guage to read a little high? It reads in between the helf mark and the next mark up past 210. Or is that the thermostat? It also seems to be "using" antifreeze and no, none of it is in the motor oil. I think the engine is just running a little warm for some reason.

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by zeek1403

I'll do that. Would this cause the temp guage to read a little high? It reads in between the helf mark and the next mark up past 210. Or is that the thermostat? It also seems to be "using" antifreeze and no, none of it is in the motor oil. I think the engine is just running a little warm for some reason.

No, the temp gauge sounds like a separate issue. Again, you could monitor the engine temperature with a scanner and see if it compares with the gauge. Check to ensure that your cooling fans are coming on correctly. As far as your antifreeze loss, have your cooling system pressure checked. It's possible that you have an internal leak going into the engine if you can't find an external leak. Since you don't have any evidence of oil contamination, the leak would be very small, yet the combustion temperatures would vaporize a small amount leaving no evidence. A pressure check of your system would still show this problem with a small leak.

After a little more thought...you may want to investigate that "coolant leak" first which could very well cause your other symptons. Keep us posted on your results!