1997 Jetta died, won't start

I have looked around the forum and many internet searches, still no luck to get this TDI running. A few postings on tdi's not starting, but they seem simple as fuse and return banjo bolt being the wrong one. I am at a loss what to check next.

History first, little complicated, but I will keep it as short and to the point.
This is a ALU TDI with a mechanical pump from HANS of NC. The car is running mechanical and has run rather well for the past year. The last few months I have made several trips from Southern CA to Northern CA with no troubles. This last time driving home on the 5, after about 275 miles and stopped for a snack, never turned off the car, got back on the freeway and took it right up to 80mph. Immediately it just stopped, died no power. I did hear some noise under the hood, like a when you give a dieing car gas and the throttle opening up but not running gasping for air, but this is a diesel, so must have been something else.

I pulled over, it wouldn't start. With a couple tools, I pulled off the timing belt cover and noticed there were no broken teeth on the timing belt, everything tight. Ran 12v to the fuel stop solenoid, still didn't start. Pulled the stop solenoid off and found the little stopper just falls off, so no more problem with fuel and the stop solenoid. The little stopper fell in the engine compartment, not on the ground and no where to be found. I cracked the fuel line to the injectors and no fuel. Turned over the engine, checked timing belt again, checked fuel stop solenoid again, cracked fuel line to injectors still nothing. Cracked return line to tank and there was fuel there, also fuel in the tubes leading up to the pump, no bubbles. I checked all fuses, wiggled all relays, checked all connections behind the fuse block as mine is a little loose anyway. It would not fire for nothing. I figured it was something within the mechanical pump and called the tow truck as it was now 10:30pm at night.
Eventually got the car home, again, nothing I could do to get the fuel squirting to the loosened lines to the injectors. At this time I wasn't sure how to continue to troubleshoot as this was a mechanical pump on an OBD2 car, so checked everything I could find.

Crankshaft position sensor - my tack moves when turning over the motor, unplug it and it stops, so seems to be working, still not sure if I need it?

Relay 109, it is the grey one and my glow plug light is on when I turn the key on, so I have to take it, it is working, again if it matters?

Called Hans in NC and they said if it was mechanical so it only needed it's power to the stop solenoid. I told him the stopper fell out, so that was only going to be a problem to stop the motor. He recommended the pump was under two year warranty and to send it back for them to have a look. I took off the pump and it does seem to be easy to turn, easier than the electronic pump I had as the original and was rebuilt. So figured it was bad and still had a month warranty so sent it back to NC today.

Since I don't know how long the turn around time will be on the pump, I figured I would put on the original pump and see if I could get it running.
I avoided this before because of the other parts that will need to work in order for this pump to run.

Same as above, the tac moved when turning over the motor, so Crankshaft position sensor good?
relay 109 is grey, so it has been replaced and the pigtail light is on the dash.

Hooked up the old wires to the original pump, made sure power was to the stop solenoid and can crack the injector tubes and get fuel spraying out everywhere, fuel in the clear line to the pump.

Pulled out injector and see fuel spray out the injectors.

I have two sets of injectors, so tried both number three's to make sure that wasn't a problem.

Checked all fuses,

Checked timing marks, the crank was one tooth off, but I adjusted it and now it is right on. Still nothing, not even a pop, nothing.

Now that I have the stock IP on there, I only have three engine codes now.

P1160,
P1256,
P0380, Glow plug issues,

One seems to be MAF problems and the other is a temperature reading issue. When searching for the codes they don't seem to stop the car from running, so I wasn't worried about them.
The 380, is glow plugs and they have never worked. But because of the code I checked for the heck of it. The last gp gets 13volts, so has power, but three of them have no resistance, one does, so suspect I have bad glow plugs. Again shouldn't be a show stopper as I am in Souther CA and have never needed them, always started right up.

I had figured the other mechanical pump was bad, but now not sure if it could be something else? as this pump is not firing the cylinders either.

If my mechanical pump is bad, then this pump should work. At this point I don't know what to do till I find out if the pump was really bad or if it is something else.

What else could it be?

Anti-shutter valve, had to figure it out the hard way mind doesn't have one.
Could the turbo have broke and causing it not to run?
I heard about stopped up intakes, no air no fire.
Maybe if I knew how to test the two plugs that plug from wire harness to the pump? But doesn't seem to have any codes relating to the pump?

Please let me know if anyone has any ideas for next checks?
Thanks,

Eric

Mostly I am amazed that you got a running Inj Pump from Prothe/Hans.
To get almost 2 years of good service from it is Over The Top !
Maybe he has made some proper changes to his Inj Pump program.
That is inspirational.

esimkins said:

Checked timing marks, the crank was one tooth off, but I adjusted it and now it is right on. Still nothing, not even a pop, nothing.

Click to expand...

It is a semi-common issue on these 1Z/AHU engines.

The ALU code you typed must mean AHU ... not ALH .... and not a cross hybrid of AHU and ALH components .... I am speculating.
Does the water pump run off the timing belt - or a V Belt ?

It has likely/probably already slipped again.
Get the crank back at Spot-On TDC and re-check all other parameters.
If that is the issue - post up about it in the Mk3 A3/B4 section of this forum.

And / Or do a search on "crank sprocket" in that section.
Usually at least 1 of them a month.
Sometimes 3 or 4 , at this stage of their age.

Baron,
Thanks for the reply and I did see it the first couple hours you posted, thanks.

Yes, I didn't think much of Hans, but the more I deal with them the better I like them. I was able to get the mechanical pump covered under warranty even though I wasn't the original owner.
They carry the third injector banjo bolt that I didn't know was so easy to break. Three for 5 bucks. The local VW shop and dealership here in Sothern CA don't carry them. Dealership has to order them. So I am sorta stuck with short cranks as the fuel is pouring out of the third injector every time I try to start it now. Hans answers all questions I had on the mechanical pump after 1:30 when the techs are available to answer the phones. And they carry a compression tester for $18.00 with the glow plug adapter, that's cheap.

Baron, you are correct on the AHU motor, I wasn't trying to create my own name for a hybrid conversion of the pump, thanks for catching that.

Water pump runs off of the v-belt, standard as I know.

I checked the timing again, it is good. My questions on this... is there only one timing mark on the flywheel? could I be putting it on the wrong mark? But it was the same as the previous timing from other pump.

I don't know what else to check, I am down to checking compression, but then that would mean my mechanical pump was good, yet it wasn't pumping fuel and is why I shipped it in for service. So it shouldn't be compression. Timing is very simple, no immobilizer on 97 jetta, no shutter valve, power to computer, CPS is moving the tach, fuel to the cylinders, lots of it.
The 1997 has a valve of some sort down on the turbo unit, is that my waste valve? could that be stuck, anything in the intake causing it to get no air?

Thanks again for the input. Still broken down,

Eric

Might have misunderstood what you were saying about how it got 1 tooth off on the crank sprocket.

A stock flywheel will only have 1 mark - and that can be TDC for #1 or #4.
The cam slot and inj pump hole would only line up with #1 though.
There is possibility that whoever did the mods on the car (M-TDI) could have used a larger gasser flywheel.
They have a mark for TDC -and i believe- 8*BTDC

From what you described about it dying with M-TDI Pump , sounds like one of following -

Crank Sprocket Slipping

Air Box Intake Snout blocked by debris (plastic grocery bag etc...)
Maybe something even sucked up inside of it.

Inj Pump went to Inj Pump Heaven/Hell.

With your E-TDI Pump now in place, double check the timing parameters at TDC with Locks - and rotate ONLY by the crank bolt or flywheel - and ONLY clockwise.

After that, try another 109 relay.
Mk3 gasser can supply one , if not a new one.

Might not hurt to remove boost charge tube and have a look inside the driver side of the intake manifold.

Have to say it is Very Very Odd that someone converted the car to M-TDI .
Not too sure how much i would expect from it back on electronics.

Pete / Hans is a very smart man on these cars and a big enthusiast of them. I think it has mostly been his former hired help that have crippled his Inj Pump program in the past. He knows the cars and the pumps himself very well.

Thanks again for the help.
I was excited to give the flywheel a check if it was at 180 degrees, but then thought that wasn't really possible? That is to have two timing marks 180 off from each other and for it to spun that many without losing any teeth on the belt. But will be happy to set it all up and see that the piston is at top, who knows it isn't running now, so why not.

Airbox, will give it a try, should just be pulling it off the inside of the air filter. But again would expect it to pop or something?

Injection pump, I will give Hans a call on Monday/Tuesday and see if it was defective or if they got to it yet.

109 relay, I only know there was a gray one in there and a black one in the box of parts I received with the car. Also that the glow plug light comes on when I turn the key on. Just threw the black 109 relay away, but have a 98 golf 2.0 in the garage to try it's 109 relay from since it is there.

boost charge tube? I removed the tube from the EGR valve and it seemed clean enough. also no vacuum tube on the EGR, never has been, is this important if I have the e-tdi pump on there now?

The guy I purchased the car from was having trouble with the car and all the time he was putting into it and as a last resort tried the m-pump to eliminate some of the headache to his troubleshooting. He was also filtering WVO himself and running it on it. I decided before going back to WVO, it had to run correct first and went full diesel and still on diesel a year later, still working out the bugs.
His main problem was the tdi-pump banjo bolt was the same on the return as it was on the input. Some one else in this forum helped me out with that one. It took me up to Northern CA a couple of times before I figured out it was not right. I have seen another post the car didn't run with the wrong return banjo bolt being on, mine had no power, but did run OK.

This is also why I was avoiding converting it back, as I didn't know what to expect, but did expect to do it when the car was running.... oh well.

Thanks again for the input, I will let you know what I find out in the next couple days.

Eric

Baron VonZeppelin said:

Pete / Hans is a very smart man on these cars and a big enthusiast of them. I think it has mostly been his former hired help that have crippled his Inj Pump program in the past. He knows the cars and the pumps himself very well.

Click to expand...

Peter Rothenbacher is probably responsible for causing more damage to TDI's than any individual alive. He knows very well how to scam people and as proof I offer a search on this site, you will have some reading to do. He is an enthusiast in that the more CRAP he can sell people and cause damage, the more CRAP he can sell to fix the problems his CRAP caused.

These TDI's are quite simple in that they run on very few parameters: compression, timing, and fuel. Starting with the basics is the first place to start and based on your description I'm betting on the timing.

Abacus said:

Peter Rothenbacher is probably responsible for causing more damage to TDI's than any individual alive. .

Click to expand...

I know all about Pete's reputation on every VW Diesel Forum across the internet. And i know his parts.
He has about 5 or 6 items i use sometimes.
Gearshift knob, locking fuel cap, Mk2 Shifter Relay Shaft, ....

Idiots who select to buy crucial items because its the cheapest part they can possibly find, are getting exactly what they asked for. TROUBLE

His pumps have caused more "won't start" threads than anything else i can think of off hand.
Already very familiar.

If he took the time to do each pump himself, it would be a different ballgame. And likely a different price structure.
Instead - it is - what it is. Roll of the dice.

I was pointing out his personal side , the business end is already very well known to most all.

esimkins said:

That is to have two timing marks 180 off from each other and for it to spun that many without losing any teeth on the belt.

Click to expand...

I hope I didn't confuse you on this.
Also doubt anything went that far out of bounds.
It takes 2 crankshaft rotations to equal 1 cam or inj pump rotation.
On the next pass around with flywheel TDC indicator - that is #4 TDC (approx).

Would be looking more to see if there are 2 marks within 1 inch or so of each other (10-20mm larger gas flywheel upgrade).

boost charge tube? I removed the tube from the EGR valve and it seemed clean enough. also no vacuum tube on the EGR, never has been, is this important if I have the e-tdi pump on there now?

Click to expand...

The aluminum piece that the EGR sits on top of - is the intake manifold.
It sounds like you looked inside there.

No vacuum hooked to EGR isn't a non-run issue.
But make sure the hose that would supply it is capped off correctly.

If you could do a condensed similar thread in the Mk3/A3/B4 section here - there might be someone local to you who could come and help with some hands-on.

I fail to see how anyone with a conscious can have a different personal and business side. If he were such a big enthusiast of TDI's, then I don't see how he sleeps at night selling critical parts he knows are substandard and have a large failure rate. That people buy them based on price is not the issue, him selling them is. After all, he 'backs them with a 100% guarantee'.

His business practices are all I need to know about him, and he alone earned his horrible reputation.

Thank you both for the input. I have other places I take caution on what I buy and if it is critical tool or not. My example would have to be Harbor freight, some non critical parts are ok to get from there, other more critical parts I get with a better brand. I will have to take your word and be cautious on what I purchase from him, but pump I know is critical, but was under warranty from previous owner.

I can't find the EGR tube that should connect to the EGR, Haven't found an exact diagram for the engine in the car of the vacuume tubes. Sounds stupid be the plastic with the diagram that comes with the car that sits on top of the radiator doesn't even match it? But there are a few tube here and there that aren't all where I might expect them to be, but it was all running.

What I found today:
I checked again on my timing as recommended to do again, all looks good. To the notch I can see on the flywheel anyhow.

What I did find was by putting some diesel in a cylinder it fired.

This was the first time it fired since I brought it home. So narrowed it down to not being air, but must be fuel. I played around with it some more and pulled some injectors and checked for fuel being spraying out, they seem to be spraying diesel.

Anyway, tried other cylinders and found some of the same. So starving for fuel, but fuel is spraying from the injectors with very nice fine mist, as if they are spraying like they should.

Sooooooo, do you think it is compression? As I put more diesel in a cylinder, it seals the cylinder and gives it better compression then fires? Chugs a few times as only one cylinder with the fuel in fired then dies as if it ran out of gas.

At this time I also don't have the throttle hooked up as it was converted to a throttle cable and the electronic sending unit is hanging above the pedal assembly. Another question, a diesel doesn't give more fuel when stepping on the throttle petal when trying to start does it?

Figured if I could get it running, i would then investigate the pedal assembly later. So it is all connected to the wire harness, but not able to advance it as the pedal isn't connected to it.

I will order a compression tester Monday. Again trying to figure this out before the m-pump comes back and I put it back on as I would rather have this one working. I also think there is a chance this pump was rebuilt from the same place, but can't confirm.

Thanks again,

Eric

Yes, he actually has a collection of VW Diesels.

Whether or not all his parts go on his cars - lol - idunno and can't say either way. Not many will go on any of mine and I own 6 VW Diesels, plus reside within his home state.

Not defending Pete's parts or practices in any form or manner.

Also will NOT defend the fools/idiots who buy the parts.
Most would buy the stuff without any guarantee.
Don't kid yourself.

They buy the stuff after hours and hours scouring the internet for the cheapest possible source.
Then want to cry somewhere ?
pfft

That is weak

esimkins said:

T... but was under warranty from previous owner.

Click to expand...

No harm in that at all.
Maybe what you get back will run again.

the plastic with the diagram that comes with the car that sits on top of the radiator doesn't even match it?

Click to expand...

Does it say UNLEADED FUEL ONLY on speedometer or in the dash cluster ?
Have you ran the VIN to see if it was an original Diesel Car ?
It might be a converted gasoline car.
just a thought- not exactly critical

Another question, a diesel doesn't give more fuel when stepping on the throttle petal when trying to start does it?

Click to expand...

No, idle is governed until after it cranks and runs.
Whether manual or electric.

The other points you just described sounds more and more like a timing issue. Whether it might be a small error slipping past you in the parameters - or actual Injection timing.

Would really need to be there to help much more.

Somewhere on here is a very good tutorial for doing a timing belt and setting the parameters on an AHU. With lots of pictures.
If you could run through that.

Then get a helper and slowly move the injection pump / injection timing back and forth through the range of adjustment. Start in the middle and go towards the engine.

A search in the Mk3 section on here for "vacuum diagram" will probably get results of one.

No way to know for sure now - what caused the initial problem with the M-TDI pump.
Most of the time - its not the injection pump - but its history is a factor that can't be ignored.

http://www.tdiclub.com/articles/A3-TimingBelt/

That is the link to the Timing Belt / Parameter walk through.
It has to be Very Precise .

Thanks again to both of you as you both suggested to check and recheck my timing.
I couldn't understand if all lined up why that cold have anything to do with it? When I took off the M-TDI pump it was rolled all the way forward. So when I put on the E-TDI I pulled it all the way forward before I tightened it down. So when you last mentioned starting half way back and continue to roll it back it made me think I might need to adjust this pump position itself.

Anyway I rolled it all the way back towards the engine and it started. Not pretty, but it started and idled. I tried to move the throttle pedal, but only increased the rev very little, so I then tried to move the fuel pump back further and it revved a very little more. But it continued to idle and smoke a lot.

You will like this, to get a little more ventilation in the garage I cracked the garage door to be open about a foot and half. Smoke everywhere, but it would only idle. gave it a rest and went in the back yard to mow the lawn. Little later two fire trucks an ambulance and a sheriffs truck. One of the firemen came to my fence and I shut off the mower and asked what was needed, he said they got a call for someone trying to commit suicide in my garage. I ran around and opened up the garage, let them know it was a diesel and that I had just got it running. I started it up to show them it was smoking when running and all was fine, few more questions and they were happy it was not anyone trying to commit suicide and left.

So because it won't rev up, only idle and not much more and pump is as far towards the engine as possible, do I need to adjust the belt one way or the other.

Taking all suggestions.

thanks,

eric

hahahahaahaaa

That was WILD !

You won't like hearing this, but now you need to check the static timing/crank-cam-injection pump parameters AGAIN.

Why ?
If it is a slipping crank sprocket - it will show up now after running like that. The locks won't slip right in at exactly TDC.
And can't stress enough how this needs to be checked precisely.

Theses are Non-Clearance engines with 19.5:1 compression ratio.
There is not much wiggle room before things start crashing and going really really bad.

IF all the locks check out at TDC and you feel comfortable to proceed further - advance the Injection Pump 1 more tooth ClockWise.
Then center the Injection Pump in its adjustment slot.
And re-test , adjust injection timing as necessary.

You can leave the 2 nuts that have to be accessed through the inj pump sprocket "semi-snug" . And just loosen / tighten the 2 on the front/back of inj pump to keep it secure.
This way you can loosen/tighten them to adjust the injection timing with the engine running.

Forgot to say
if you are lucky
when you recheck the crank-cam-inj pump parameters

Hopefully the crank and cam are still synchronized
And the InjPump is off by 1 tooth .

That would actually be a good sign right now.

Yes, was exciting for the rest of the neighborhood, I think it was the new neighbors across the street that called it in. We haven't met them yet, they have a few BMW's.

If all timing is locked down, and your suggesting to move the tooth, clockwise which is the crank clockwise and all else stays locked down. Then I would have to say that is where it had stared with the last pump and where this pump was before I put it on mark. Thought I was doing good to line it up. Now I have to move it back to where it was.

Just saw your last post just now, so if the pump is one tooth off, then I just need to match it up.

Or move the crank one notch clockwise and leave the other two parts in sync

Eric

Just checked the timing marks, all look good, but I can lock down the cam and pump and move the flywheel a little north and a little south of the dead on mark. So seems sorta hard to figure exactly where it is? It is about same slack both ways, so maybe OK? So guess I'll give it a try one notch clockwise.
Thanks again.

Might be moving too fast here.

Lets just back up to the point of -
Rechecking the crank-cam-injection pump parameters .
And see where you stand.


The crank/flywheel at TDC - always has to go in hand with the cam bar lock fitting exactly flush in the slot - at all times.
No give or take on those two.

Otherwise pistons and valves will start colliding real soon.

I was typing while you made your last post.

You should start over with the re-check.

Put a marker (tape-paint-something) on the serpentine belt crank pulley.
So you can gauge when TDC is coming up real easy.

Turn only the crank bolt - and only clock wise -
When it starts getting close - do the last bit using a big screw driver or pry bar on the flywheel teeth to turn flywheel exactly to TDC - do not go past TDC.

Use the screwdriver/prybar as a wedge to keep flywheel from moving.

Then the cam lock bar needs to slide right in - no wiggles or jiggles.

And maybe the injection pump will slide in too.

This is precision, not maybes or close.
Just trying to help you avoid mistakes.

The crank / flywheel at TDC is The Boss
The bread and butter
It comes first - then you check the cam from that.
- then the injection pump.

Understand the cranks the boss, but the way I understand if all is lined up and the crank falls in line then one notch either way would put it out of line, but will take another look at it.

How about it now being an engine code thing? I have the three codes P0380, P1256 and P1256. second two being MAF and temp sensor.

Could these be causing this to be putting my car in limp mode? As I never had to worry about this before?

as mentioned, the car sorta idles smoking but idles and when I turn the throttle pedal it revs very little but not much, limp mode?

thanks,
Eric

Baron, I have to thank you again. I advanced the pump by one tooth, left the crank and cam alone. Now it starts up and idles like a dream at 900 rpms and no more smoke. But, when I give it full gas the way I have to with pliers and rag against the gas pedal sending unit, it only goes up to 1800 rpms and that is full throttle.

Again is this limp mode? I thought limp mode was 1200 rpms? And again disregard the glow plug P0380 code I still have the p1256 and P1160, so could this still be limp mode?

So I am also assuming that when I time it now, I can't use the pump alignment tool? So I can't time my pump anymore by the pulley peg anymore. I will just have to make a mark? or remember it is always one tooth off? Why is it like this and not work normal like everyone els's.

I will see if I can get a MAF and figure out what temp sending unit is giving me trouble and replace then finally get my electric throttle sending unit connected back up. That will be my next question, as I don't believe the mounting part is in the pedal assembly anymore? You have an 98, do you have any information on how the pedal assembly should work?

Thanks again for your time,

Eric

You have gone probably as far as you should try to go with it.
Great that you know it will still run.

The amount of time and typing it will take someone to walk through everything to get your E set-up back in operation and de-bugged will be enormous.
And you will incur some expenses along the way.
MAF is 150-250 depending on brand and supplier, alone.
N75 Valve , VagCom , etc ... ... ...
The fact it was converted to M-TDI cannot be taken lightly either.
People don't just do that without $trong rea$on$ .

The Inj Pump is probably imbalanced on the IQ and I'm not remotely convinced that you are doing the timing parameters with any level of precision either. Those are just the minimal factors that might be involved.

It seems much worse than limp mode would be. fwiw

You might could try starting a new thread in the Mk3/A3/B4 section and maybe more guys will pick up different parts of the job along the way if you really want to commit to getting back Full-E .

Keep a close watch on the crank sprocket for slippage as you go along with this thing whatever you do.

See whats up with M-TDI pump from Hans and Gretel .

I also advise you to replace the crank sprocket. It's held in place primarily by the stretch bolt through its center. If that gets loose and and slips, there is another thing that keeps it roughly in place: the crankshaft has a flat on one side, and the back of the sprocket had a "D" shaped indentation into with the crank fits. But when this is what keeps the crank from spinning, the back of the sprocket and the crank both tend to get chewed up. Like this. See at the right side of the flat where it's starting to get deformed?



This can explain your entire scenario.

Shoebear,
Thanks for the suggestion. Right now I am trying to decide if the MAF is bad?
I can unplug the wire and nothing changes. I have used the torque app, but not sure how good it is? For the MAF it is registering at 11, goes up to 20 when I rev the engine the whole 2000 rpm's it can.

Something else to ask you. Looking at my vacuum tubing... trying to get the N75 and the other on the air intake side of the engine. My diagram said I should have one with three tubes on both sides. The one on the firewall going to the turbo only has two tubes, I show it should have three. The other one by the air cleaner does have three and I did find there they plugged in.
Can you confirm on yours, mine being AHU engine I should have both being three or one three tubes and one two tubes? The one with two on the firewall drivers side should have two tubes to turbo and one to intake, so my intake right now is plugged up.
I understand with the e-TDI pump all tubes have to be there.

What do you think on my torque android app and how accurate it is? Bad MAF? I am reading they never go bad on MK3.

Any thoughts?
Thanks
eric

Baron VonZeppelin,
Another question for you. a few posts back I had barely got the car to start because I rolled the pump back towards the head. You then recommended to advance the pump pulley clockwise one tooth. I did and it idled like a dream, but only reved to 1800rpms.
Since then I have tried to clean the MAF with the correct cleaner, hook up some more hoses.

But I also found by pushing the pump back towards the engine again i could rev up to 3500 rpm's. So thought if one tooth made it good, then another tooth on the pump pulley could make it even better.
I advanced the pulley clockwise again and now the engine is very loud. Also seems to be a sound coming from the pump? or at least it sounds like it. It still revs up to 3500 rpm's, but best I can do is to move the pump again towards the head and the sound inside the pump? almost goes away. But engine is very loud, like a Dodge truck diesel?

So why lined up with pump plug barely runs with pump pushed all the way to the head. One pump tooth clockwise and runs pretty good, but still needs pump pushed towards the head, another tooth and still needs it pushed to the head?

let me know if you have any ideas.
I have also tried to contact a VAG-Com person on the list. Seems to be two of them here in Temecula.

Eric

Sorry if I wasn't clear in my earlier post, I was falling asleep while typing.

esimkins said:

Right now I am trying to decide if the MAF is bad?
I can unplug the wire and nothing changes. I have used the torque app, but not sure how good it is? For the MAF it is registering at 11, goes up to 20 when I rev the engine the whole 2000 rpm's it can.

Click to expand...

My AHU is inoperable right now, so I can't corroborate your readings. However, if you unplug the MAF without change, I would guess your MAF isn't an issue, or at least not your main issue.

Something else to ask you. Looking at my vacuum tubing... trying to get the N75 and the other on the air intake side of the engine. My diagram said I should have one with three tubes on both sides. The one on the firewall going to the turbo only has two tubes, I show it should have three. The other one by the air cleaner does have three and I did find there they plugged in.
Can you confirm on yours, mine being AHU engine I should have both being three or one three tubes and one two tubes? The one with two on the firewall drivers side should have two tubes to turbo and one to intake, so my intake right now is plugged up.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you are looking at an ALH N75 and diagram. The AHU N75 has three connections. Take a look HERE for the correct diagram.

What do you think on my torque android app and how accurate it is? Bad MAF? I am reading they never go bad on MK3.

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I have a ScanGauge and VCDS, and I have never tried the Torque app. However, an OBDII reader does not speak the ECU's native language and will only give you limited info. A VAG reader like VCDS (VAG-COM) will give you much more. You cannot time the engine correctly without a VCDS.

It is rare for an AHU MAF to go bad, but not unheard of.

I still think you were driving down the road, and the crank pulley slipped. The only thing that kept the valves safe (barely) was the "D" shaped hollow on the back of the pulley; but your timing went wrong instantly and caused the engine to stop. All your efforts to start the engine were for naught until you fixed the timing. Now the timing is screwy because the crank pulley has shifted. Your 1800 RPM limit might be caused by the crank pulley moving around and changing timing as you increase engine speed. A loose crank pulley can cause all manner of strange and intermittent symptoms, to the point of appearing possessed.

My advice: Replace your crank pulley; make sure you use a new stretch bolt and that you tighten per specs. You will need a strong counterhold tool for this and probably a helper. VW makes a counterhold tool, or get one from metalnerd, or some people have made their own. While you're down there, you might consider a new harmonic balancer if your car chirps/squeaks a lot when starting it up on cool mornings. Then set your mechanical timing -- you should not need to slip a tooth on your pump. Then set injection timing with the VCDS.

If you do this, please post a photo of the back of your crank pulley like the one I posted. I wanna see.

Take a look at this thread: Why is my mechanical timing off?

I advanced the pulley clockwise again and now the engine is very loud. Also seems to be a sound coming from the pump? or at least it sounds like it. It still revs up to 3500 rpm's, but best I can do is to move the pump again towards the head and the sound inside the pump? almost goes away. But engine is very loud, like a Dodge truck diesel?

So why lined up with pump plug barely runs with pump pushed all the way to the head. One pump tooth clockwise and runs pretty good, but still needs pump pushed towards the head, another tooth and still needs it pushed to the head?

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You can rev the engine because you have fixed your injection timing, but it sounds like a Cummins because your mechanical (valve) timing is way off. See comment above about loose crank pulley.

I'm along the same lines as Shoe .
Don't think you are paying enough attention to the crank sprocket.

Or at minimum, it doesn't sound like you are exerting much effort into checking the parameters with any precision or discipline.
But its the internet, and its hard to tell everything by what folks are describing or not describing.

Should check the flywheel/crank TDC - to Cam alignment - again real soon.

Then if you haven't already - back up the Inj Pump to where it was doing 3500 - but not sounding like a big truck. You can drive it fine in all conditions under 3500 until doomsday.

If you're crank sprocket isn't moving, then your inj pump is heavily compromised. Could be any of 20 things or combinations.
You mentioned they ran it on grease too, before switching to M-TDI.

The MAF's can go bad on AHU.
The last one i worked on had a funky MAF condition - they can do a lot of different symptoms/conditions. And you have 1 or 2 MAF fault codes.
Not conclusive, but you need to drive it to determine the plugged-unplugged differences. Or VagCom. Or swap a known good one.

There aren't very many vacuum and boost hoses to run.
They all need to be in good condition and connected right.
I think you already said you replaced the hose inside the ECU.

And then get the accelerator set up where you can drive it.
Then can do more thorough testing with VagCom.