Hard Starting 2002 Jetta

I went to look at a 2002 Auto trans TDI Jetta at a car lot. It looked like it had been sitting a while (they had to move a few cars to dig down to it). It took about 5 tries of 20 seconds of cranking before it fired. 80°F and sunny outside, cranking speed seemed okay but slightly slow. Once it fired it ran rough for a few seconds then ran fine, and restarted immediately. Car seemed to have slightly less power than others I have test driven, but nothing drastic. Any ideas what could cause this?

Car has 111000 miles, just had timing belt and new head installed, they thought they had the receipt but could not find it (but the head was obviously new).

Thanks,
Michael Pliska

I had the same problem, (I have a 1999b Jetta)

Replaced the starter and got a new battery and the problem went away.. I wouldnt believe they were the problem. The guy at the battery warehouse said the battery was fine. Mechanic told m(e starter was fine. I was pissed and frustrated for 3 months FINALLY I swapped them up not it runs like a charm hot or cold weather.

Could be a couple things. If it sat without starting for a while, and seemed to crank a tad slow for you, it's likely the battery was a bit flat. Might not need a battery, just drained by clock etc could do that. These engines MUST be cranked fast in order to start properly.

If the head was new there pretty well had to be a new timing belt. My guess is that the previous owner was an idiot about it, put off doing the belt, had it break, and horrified at the cost of the damage, dumped the car. It may or may not have been well and properly repaired. I'd absolutely require a chat with the mechanic who did the work to find out if the mech knows what he was doing and if he had any gripes about being ordered to take shortcuts. If the repair was done right, should be good to go. If the repair was done with shortcuts, I think I'd let somebody else have the car.

It should be noted that a 2002 would have had either an 80,000 or 100,000 mile belt, with 80,000 having been most likely. Either way, at 110,000, it is just right for the belt to break on a careless owner.

The low power might be a weak MAF, but it might also be a clogging intake manifold. You should also inspect the rodent-screen in the wheel-well/air intake duct. Search here for "snow screen" for more than you ever wanted to know about it. I believe the 2002 still had one.

Thanks for the info. It's unlikely I will be able to speak to the mechanic, it was in another state. The car is at a used car lot, and the salesman said he found the receipt for the work in the glovebox, but can't find it now (he's supposed to look again today and call me).

On edit: The intercooler screen looked clean, I hadn't read the posts to learn where to find the snow screen.

I suspect it was the slow cranking. I know Ford Powerstroke diesels will do the same thing, and it was definitely cranking slower than the other cars I have test driven.

Now I am kinda torn as to which one to make an offer on. One is a 2000 which was in moderate condition, just had the TB and water pump replaced by a local mechanic (and I will plan to talk to him to see how much he knows about TDIs). It definitely had more power than the 2002, but I liked the white exterior of the 2002.

Thanks,
Michael

Not that I really think you're having the issue I did, but just so you are aware... http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=214995

The first warning flag went up at "Auto trans", the second flag went up at "new head and TB" and the third and final flag was "can't find the reciept". Like naturist said, you really need to talk to that mechanic to find out what he did, did he only replace the valves that "looked" like they hit the pistons or did he replace all of them, did he do a cylinder pressure check to confirm he was getting a good seal on all the valves......
I think I would run, not walk, away from this one. Do you really need an Auto Tranny that will likely fail in another 50K miles?

I should have mentioned - I have a preference for an auto trans since I plan to bracket race this car in diesel-only drag races. I am looking for consistency, not speed. I've got a friend (JettaGirl) who manages to be consistent with her 5 speed, but I want the advantage of an auto. The other issue is that I have only seen one 5-speed up for sale around here lately (still considering it, but it is a 2000 with 132k miles).

The 2002 car definitely had the entire head replaced, but who knows if they installed things correctly. Looking at my photo of the TB tensioner, it looks like they ran it tighter (farther clockwise) than the point of lining up the notch and the tooth.

Thanks,
Michael

Well, the 01M is consistent. They consistently break.

Seriously, though, not sure if the auto trans TDI is the best for drag racing. Maybe with LOTS of mods, I dunno...but it sounds like that is not the car anyways at it may have had a bunch of questionable things done (or NOT done) in its past.

I have almost talked myself into the lone 5-speed car for sale around here. It is higher mileage, but has been much better cared for (original owner who just sold it to his boss, who changed his mind about the car). The guy had all maintenance done at the dealer he bought the car at (including oil changes at $80 each!). It felt a little weaker than the strongest of the other cars I drove, but better than the 2002 I mentioned above. Not sure when it had its last TB done, as the dealer purges older records and it was not showing. I noticed that the guy was willing to pay $1000 for a replacement oil pan to fix a slow leak, and he was a member of this board apparently, as the only bumpersticker on it is a tdiclub.com sticker. Hopefully that translates into spending the money for proper TB replacements. The belt itself looked good, FWIW.

Thanks,
Michael Pliska

Hey MichaelP! Good to see you here!

Get the car, you know you want it... Better than the fuel mileage, how rewarding would it be for you to kick my a$$ at the races in a stick shift? It's easy to win when you have your automatic, but lets see what you can do with a stick. Pansies race automatics.

Bring it. Sucka.



*side note: MichaelP and I are very competitive with each other on the track and he is hands down the best racer I compete with. I'm just having fun with him...

Uh oh, the gauntlet has been thrown! If the seller will take a check (and hold the title until it clears) then hopefully I'll pick it up tonight. We'll see how good of a racer I really am! I was able to win rounds with the U-Haul at Indy, but it was an auto trans! Heck, with the mileage this thing will get, I could have driven it to Indy!

If I manage to win with this thing, you should have to present the trophy to me wearing an ISSPRO hat and a Powerstroke T-Shirt!

Thanks,
Michael

MichaelP said:

Uh oh, the gauntlet has been thrown! If the seller will take a check (and hold the title until it clears) then hopefully I'll pick it up tonight. We'll see how good of a racer I really am! I was able to win rounds with the U-Haul at Indy, but it was an auto trans! Heck, with the mileage this thing will get, I could have driven it to Indy!

If I manage to win with this thing, you should have to present the trophy to me wearing an ISSPRO hat and a Powerstroke T-Shirt!

Thanks,
Michael

Click to expand...

We'll have a deal if you agree to have a "Jetta Girl" sticker on your car in view for your second place pic if I win. Or, if you totally bite it and don't place, you can present the trophy to me wearing a Jetta Girl T-shirt.

Deal?

Its on now!!

~Sarah

Side-bets agreed upon! One of us better win! I don't have a Powerstroke T-shirt, but I'll bring a Sharpie

I pick up the 5-speed car a little later today. Hopefully we can get a few passes in Friday night so I can re-acquaint myself with racing a stick car. I started racing with a 4 speed many years ago, but it was a vertical gate shifter (so I could just bang the gears forward and backward without worrying about sideways movement).

I'll be calling KermaTDI when they open, to see if I can get a downloader and Vag-com overnighted to me.

See ya in Alberta!
Michael Pliska