My life was getting boring and I got me a money pit... Not really
I got this TDI for a song (2003 Jetta wagon) it needed some work but it was an easy fix for me (not so easy if you paying someone) and it fits my needs because it's a wagon, added bonus it's a 5 speed and my other cars are automatics.
I swear it's just a beater, need something for work that has more room than my C30 and can keep it dry unlike the truck, also MPG's!
Now that it's roadworthy I realized that it's very very slow, so slow that I googled it, only 90 hp? I expected at least 125, oh well...
So, I'm looking for some cheap and easy ways to uncork the power, not expecting it to be as fast as C30, also don't want to go down a slippery slope I went with it, where I started with air filter and ended up replacing entire intake and exhaust system.
My lesson was that some power is easy to find, some has trade offs, some mods are cheap if you can DIY, some are waste of time and take away power, I managed to avoid those by listening to smart people.
It's a 2003 ALH with 5 speed, first thing I hear "automatic pump is an upgrade, 11mm, high pressure" but this is where I want to get some clarity:
Assume it needs new injectors and tune to work properly? Or will new pump just plug n play with instant power gain? What are the gains ?
Tunes, what are the options? can a simple generic tune be used as I do minor upgrades or does it need to be redone every step of the way?
I have scooped mountains of carbon from intake, but it needs to come out, it looks bad, 190,000 miles. "intake kit" from id only includes intake gasket, but someone told me exhaust needs to come off, any insight on that? How big of a job is it to remove intake?
Any other easy upgrades? Intercooler? Pipes?
My experience with turbo tuning is limited and all with gas powered cars, diesel seems to be quite a bit different...