new jetta- help tune up and hop up

ss44camaro

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2008
Location
amarillo, tx
TDI
2003 jetta gls
i just bought a 2003 jetta gls tdi. its got 187,000 miles on it but the owner took good care of it. its had the timing belt done twice, new transmision, the owner traveled alot for his job so the oil was changed twice a month regardless of the miles. He had reciepts for the big things but didnt know what small things the dealership had done, like fuel filter, or egr, or whatever. he said he asumed they did but he didnt know he just took it in and told them to do what needed to be done. the guy obviously had money. I'm just wondering what all i should do to make sure its in the best possible shape. I'm pretty mechanically inclined i work on my camaro all the time doing everything to it. but this will be my first diesel and turbo car i've worked on. What do you reccomend
 

dok

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2006
Location
Los Angeles
TDI
'96 B4V
Welcome to the club. You'll find all the info at the tip of your fingers. TDI's are in a class of their own. Please take the time to read all the 'Newbie' questions and answers in the 101 section. Then, find a GTG in your area, have a few members and a TDI Guru(if possible) give some advice. You'll find alot of helpful people 'round here.
 

ss44camaro

Well-known member
Joined
May 30, 2008
Location
amarillo, tx
TDI
2003 jetta gls
i've done alot of reading. my car has 188 thousand miles on it and i think it should have a little more power than it does, but i could be wrong since ive never driven a car like this. I was reading about guys intakes being so clogged up at just 75 thousand miles. is this something that happens to all our cars with that milege? if so im guessing i for sure need to clean it out. when i cleaned the k&n filter that came with it it was the dirtiest filter ive ever seen. oil and dirt was caked on it but it was not coming through the otherside. i have no problems with the rpms reving. is there something i can look for with the way it runs that would point to a clogged intake?
 

MojaveGolf

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2007
Location
Red Deer, Alberta
TDI
02 Golf TDI (Stock)
remove the intake hose that goes into the EGR valve and shine a falshlight in there, you'll be able to tell pretty quick if it's clogged. Better yet, undo the EGR valve from the intake and separate them an inch or so, then you'll definatly know.
 

Farfromovin

Torque Addict
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Location
Ventura, CA
TDI
03 Golf 2dr- PD150 6m
These cars are both blessed and cursed. Let me quickly explain:
They are blessed because they are very efficient, easy to drive cars but the bad part about it is they can get clogged. First off, if someone drives them like a grandma for thousands of miles on end the vanes in the turbo can get stuck. This will lead to crappy driveability. One easy fix for this is to either drive it like you stole it or simply give it an "italian style tuneup" every once in a while. Just run it through the gears and get that turbo working, it likes it! Another issue is the EGR system combined with the CCV and the small amount of oil that gets through the turbo seals by design. I won't tell you to delete the EGR but you can definately "re calibrate" it by changing the software a little bit with Vag-Com available at www.ross-tech.com/ . There are also several CCV mods you could do to alter the amount of oil you have going back into your intake. IMHO, the best way to avoid clogging is to completely disable the EGR. This keeps the unburnt carbon from the exhaust from mixing with the oil from the turbo and CCV.
Hence, the mixed blessings with these cars.
 
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