How to tell when you need new nozzles?

Ferbie

Active member
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Location
Alliston, ON, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Hi guys,

Quick question for everybody. I have had my 2003 TDI since about 2009, love it, just starting to get into modding it for some extra fun!

I'm more in the camp of "upgrade things when they need fixing" instead of spending the money just because, so I am upgrading mildly and slowly. It is currently stock, and I am getting a Malone Stage 1 tune done. I was toying with the Stage 1.5 (the most I can get without doing clutch, but my clutch is still shifting like butter) but would need nozzles for that.

The nozzles and install (not confident in my own abilities) would cost about $400, which is more than I would like to spend for a 12hp gain (from the Malone site) if I don't need to right now. Which leads to my question:

How could I tell if the nozzles are actually getting close to needing replacement anyways? Are there signs to look for, etc? The car is just shy of 350,000kms right now.

Thanks for your input!


P.S. If the clutch was needing replacing, this wouldn't be a question. I would do the nozzles at that point for sure because I could then jump up to the Stage 3, which is well worth it to me. The 1.5 just doesn't feel like enough value if the stock nozzles are still fine.
 
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mrrhtuner

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
Location
London Ont Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2015 Passat TDI, 2015 Touareg TDI
Run your nozzles through a can or two of diesel purge to help them clean up. From what I recall reading, nozzles that show sign of age/wear tend to cause the engine to run a bit rough as buildup on the injector nozzle can disrupt the spray pattern, or they may leak fuel.

I'm sure somebody else will chime in with more info.

A good local shop for diesel injection related work is Giles @ www.performancediesel.ca/performance.htm fyi
 

craig01b

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 17, 2004
Location
Guelph, Ontario.
TDI
None
with the alh, its always been my recommendation to do nozzles first....then a boost gage before you install a tune, which modifies the boost.......A clutch will follow very shortly those two mods.
 

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
Out of curiosity, how much credence do any of you give to some claims that the ALH nozzles are only good for 100,000 miles, or some other figure?

Since most of our ALH cars are getting up there, and are often at some multiple of 100k by now, I was somewhat curious on that.
 

TDI smile

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Location
Edmonton, Alberta (b4 BC - LOWER MAINLAND = Chilli
TDI
2002 TDI (ALH) with 513,000 km. First Owner and very happy... No Problems, never left us stranded on the Highway. Average useage is about between under 4 ltr. and 5 ltr. Normal longdistance travel: 4.1/100
Out of curiosity, how much credence do any of you give to some claims that the ALH nozzles are only good for 100,000 miles, or some other figure?

Since most of our ALH cars are getting up there, and are often at some multiple of 100k by now, I was somewhat curious on that.
I'm up at 391,000 km = 241,000 miles..... or so
 

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
I was figuring that number was someone talking nonsense, but I had to wonder.

My ALH is at 268k and still gets 43 MPG mixed city/highway doing 70 miles a day. I've seen as high as 52 MPG in dedicated highway driving, but commuting in the Seattle area makes using the cruise control nearly impossible.
As far as I can tell my car's injectors are OE. That said, the engine does smoke a bit when I really lay into it at times, typically if pulling away from a stop and I get up over 3500-4000 rpm.
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
I was figuring that number was someone talking nonsense, but I had to wonder.
Or someone making money...

Are they running at optimum? Probably not and new nozzles would likely help a bit, but at the price of them, do you get your money back with a small gain? Only you can answer that, but be careful looking at pictures of the horror of someone displaying injectors that are disassembled since you don't really know what the history on those specific injectors is or how it was running. Maybe the internals look like crap with lots of wear and cavitation and varnish in there, but if they were running great, none of that matters.
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Two of my TDIs have original nozzles, one with 280K, one with 302. My son's (the 302) shows evidence of under fueling, despite "un-hammering" the pump and lowering the IQ. The Passat doesn't show any evidence of nozzle wear, either in performance or economy.

My guru says that as nozzles wear they can tend to atomize fuel more, providing a finer spray that doesn't create as hot a burn on detonation. This can reduce power. We will probably put new nozzles in my son's car at some point, but with 302K on the original flywheel and clutch we're not looking for more power.
 

hskrdu

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Location
Maryland and New England
TDI
2003 Golf GLS 4D 5M, 2015 GSW SE 6M
with the alh, its always been my recommendation to do nozzles first....then a boost gage before you install a tune, which modifies the boost.......A clutch will follow very shortly those two mods.
If the OP just replaces nozzles on the ALH, is any adjustment to IQ, or other adjustment needed?
 
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