Golf 4 AJM low on power

Golf2000

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Location
Netherlands
TDI
Golf 4 PD AJM
Hello all.

Our Golf 4 is low on power. Drove it 200km and heard noises under acceleration. Like a supercharger but without whine, more rattling-ish. When I got in the car again to go home it would barely accelerate. I've replaced the headgasket before and missed a vacuum line which disabled the turbo and it's very similar except this time all the hoses seem fine.

Anyone has a clue what the problem could be? Advice greatly appreciated!
 

steve6

Veteran Member
Joined
May 25, 2010
Location
Beaverton, ON
TDI
2003 jetta tdi
Check Codes (is there any?),
Check to see if turbo is working at all using a scanner,
The AJM appears to be a PD motor, it may be worth checking cam, or if these motors are also prone to cam wear...
 

k_pt

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Location
pt
TDI
VW MKIV TDI
Check the boost hoses and vacum lines.

Check for oil on the intake.

Turbo could be dead.
 

Golf2000

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Location
Netherlands
TDI
Golf 4 PD AJM
Went to check the hoses and the manifold is loose. Lost a few bolts but happy it's nothing serious.

Thanks for the replies!
 

Golf2000

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Location
Netherlands
TDI
Golf 4 PD AJM
Well, this hasn't fixed my problem. Went to have the codes read but none came back after deletion so I was adviced to change the air flow meter. These are hard to come by, could I use one from a AGR TDI if the connector fits?
 

2000alhVW

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Location
Silver Spring, MD
TDI
2000 Golf
Well, this hasn't fixed my problem. Went to have the codes read but none came back after deletion so I was adviced to change the air flow meter. These are hard to come by, could I use one from a AGR TDI if the connector fits?
You need to do some diagnosis by looking up "low power" threads here
 

Seatman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 23, 2010
Location
Scotland
TDI
2014 Skoda rapid elegance 1.6 cr tdi
Well, this hasn't fixed my problem. Went to have the codes read but none came back after deletion so I was adviced to change the air flow meter. These are hard to come by, could I use one from a AGR TDI if the connector fits?

Unplug the maf and see if there's any difference, it should be better or worse.

If you have an agr one lying about I'd try it, same diameter pipe work, same age etc so is most likely the same.

I wouldn't throw money at it though without finding something worth throwing money at
 

Golf2000

Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Location
Netherlands
TDI
Golf 4 PD AJM
Both AFMs were bad, from the spare car and original. I ordered a new one and disconnected the battery for a bit and turbo is working again. Still don't understand how the manifold coming loose and the AFM breaking happened at the same time though.
 
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