Engine Problem

So I just changed my fuel filter on my 1997 Jetta turbo diesel (followed the haynes manual) and started it up then there was a hissing noise coming from the engine somewhere...not totally sure where unfortunatly. The manual said to check the fuel lines for air bubbles so i was looking at those then the engine sputtered alittle bit and shut itself off. It is cold here and the car was out over night but it started up fine outside for me to move it into the garage. (by cold i mean around 0 deg celcius) Then i checked the oil level and it said it was empty...except there was oil on the stick higher up. so there was a tiny bit at the bottom, then alot more oil on the side of the stick higher up.. Nothing leaked out as far as i can see from where i normally park and where i am parked in the garage when it stopped working. Oil change was done recently and was topped right off. I havent tried to start it again because im afraid it might blow up, and i cant afford to fix this. Please help guys.

I have not looked at the Haynes manual. So, I don't know if it states to get the air out of the filter. If you use a vacuum pump on the feul filter connection where the hose goes to the injection pump, you should be able to get most of the air out. Then you need to put the feul line back on the filter fairly quickly.
Next, check the oil again (on level ground). If it is low, and it has not been a long time since your oil change. You need to find where the oil is going/leaking. Top it off if necessary.
The hissing noise could be the air charge pipe that goes past the feul filter. One of the fittings may be loose.
Post back here with results.
Hope this helps....

Well my fuel line just had lots of air in it i guess, because after a few tries it fired up and ran, just had to clear the line. As for the oil it was low forsure, topped that all up, never seen an oil spot under my car though so im not sure where it might be leaking, Too much getting into turbo possibly? someone had told me my car is black smoking a little more than a normal diesel so is there a way to check this. Where is the air charge pipe, it sounds to me like its coming out somewhere around where you put oil into the engine. possibly right at the turbo?

Re-check your oil level. If it is still down, fill to the bottom of the hash marks. The marks higher on the stick were just from oil draining back down to the pan.

After you are sure the oil is at an acceptable level, re-start and search for the source of the noise.

Also, if you have a belly pan on, oil leaks can be harder to diagnose as the pan catches most drips and won't let it fall directly under the source.

I just had my timing belt, serpentine belt, glow plugs etc. at 85K on my 2003 Golf TDI (Upsoluted 2 yrs ago). The work was done at SRS. Now there is a loud hissing noise at about 2,500-3,500 when I give it fuel, some lag and it seems slower. I am taking it back to Walpole on Wed. but I thought maybe someone out there had similar issues.