PO301 misfire after engine swap

philipvitale

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Location
Portage MI
TDI
03 Golf
Hey Guys,

I have a 03 Golf 5 speed with 250K. I got my hands on a used motor that I swapped out of my original motor.

When I fired it up it was a little shaky and blowing white smoke, so I put vag com on it and I got PO 301-35-10 misfire detected -intermittent.

Then I cracked the injectors and noticed that 1,2,and 3 all bogged down when I loosened them, but 4 did nothing at all no matter how loose and showered I was with diesel.

Then I swapped injectors 2 and 4 and that made no difference.

Then I pull the valve cover and everything looked good.

So the question is:

Do you think the problem is just maybe a weak IP, because I have a spare one of those that I know is good and that would a very easy thing to do?

or

Do have to pull the head and inspect which is more time consuming and expensive?
 

Meister Kraft

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Location
Bellevue, WA
TDI
2001 Jetta
Have a compression check done as long as you are sure the injection system is bleed. When I did my injectors I let the vehicle idle for almost 5 min before injector 4 was bleed. All the air in the system has to pass through #4 before reaching the pump.
 

philipvitale

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Location
Portage MI
TDI
03 Golf
yeah, i had it idle until it reached normal operating temp which was a good 30 minutes. I guess I am off to HF to get a compression tester, I just hate taking off those glow plugs.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Spray PB Blaster on the glow plugs base twice a day for a a couple days.
I did it for 3 days.
Cold in the morning and hot when I got home.
They came out easy.

There's a torque speck not to exceed when taking them out.
Part from a post here:
Torque specifications (Ft-lbs)
-Glow Plugs (10mm) 11
 

philipvitale

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Location
Portage MI
TDI
03 Golf
Well, my suspicion was right. I have a dead cylinder. Now the question is: Do I replace the whole engine or just the head. I guess I will have to see what is looks like after I take the head off. I came across an automatic engine with the 11 mm pump and the bigger nozzles. Anyone know what will happen if I put that engine in my manual?
 

flee

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Location
Chatsworth, CA
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS wagon
The block and head are interchangeable. The auto's IP will give you a minor power bump.
 
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