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Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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indiceptor
Novice
May 6, 2013, 8:31 AM
Post #1 of 17
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Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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The car is a Golf ´97 1.4 manual, driven 220.000km (136.702miles)
I sensed a little loss of power yesterday when driving but thought nothing of it, then on my way home from work today it suffered a massive loss of power and felt a vibration from the engine on low to medium rpm and it sounded strange, maybe like it was not fireing on all cylinders.
There is no check engine light.
In neutral the engine does not sound so strange and there is no vibration
Any thoughts?
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MarineGrunt
Enthusiast
May 6, 2013, 9:03 AM
Post #2 of 17
(1769 views)
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Is the check engine light on?
When's the last time it has had a tune up?
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indiceptor
Novice
May 6, 2013, 9:17 AM
Post #3 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Thanks for the quick response.
As i said in the post there is no check engine light, i bought the car last summer and it has not had a tune up since then but i havehad the oil changed regularly
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MarineGrunt
Enthusiast
May 6, 2013, 2:13 PM
Post #4 of 17
(1729 views)
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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I wonder when or if it has ever had a tune up. You could pull the plugs and see what they look like. That might give you an idea of how old they are. If the plugs look old I'd go ahead and replace them and the wires and go from there.
Whenever I buy a new (used) vehicle I go through everything and give it a tune up. I flush and replace all fluids. This gives me a starting point for future maintenance.
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
May 6, 2013, 2:23 PM
Post #5 of 17
(1728 views)
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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What is your fuel pressure when this is happening? Definitely check the state of the ignition parts as MG said. Does this start up right away and idle normally?
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indiceptor
Novice
May 8, 2013, 11:18 AM
Post #6 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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I went ahead and changed the sparkplugs and wires, Three of the plugs were in ok order, just old and dirty, but one of them was much more worn out and had a hard black coating around it, i am guessing oil.
i hoped that changeing these parts would bring the beast back to life, but to my disapointment the problem persists, although i now am certain that the problem is in the cylinder that had the bad plug.
Also after i tested driving it after the repairs it smelled of oil.
could it be leaking oil into the cylinder?
or is it maybe full of filth in that particular cylinder, in that case can it be cleaned without major dissassembly?
There was a question about fuel pressure, i dont know how to measure it, but it is feeding the other three cylinder enough to make it go.
(This post was edited by indiceptor on May 8, 2013, 11:25 AM)
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 8, 2013, 11:56 AM
Post #7 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Hmmm? When one cylinder is all different than the others that's the one you pay attention to. Hard + black coating does suggest oil. Pull that again and take a look and or swap it with another.
Oil could get in thru head gasket or valve guide(s) and seals or a problem with the lower end on that cylinder. Test away for compression, fuel pressure might come into play still not known and injector pulse to that cylinder not known.
The smell could have been that it worked or works a little burning off some of that junk on plug is elsewhere inside too.
Get help if you don't have the stuff to diagnose this out. Running poorly as said like just 3 of 4 cylinder will kill the cat converter if not harmed or killed now,
T
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HT
User
May 8, 2013, 12:33 PM
Post #8 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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The oil is on the outside of the plug and that would be due to a leaking valve cover gasket. Pretty common. That will also deteriorate the plug wire.
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indiceptor
Novice
May 8, 2013, 1:36 PM
Post #9 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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the oil is on the inside, where the spark thingy does its work
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HT
User
May 8, 2013, 1:45 PM
Post #10 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Are you sure about that? Any oil in that area should have been burned off. You will never see liquid oil there.
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indiceptor
Novice
May 8, 2013, 3:12 PM
Post #11 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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i meant that the black buildup is on the inside, so therefore i think the oil is getting in there.
The spark plug was a litle wet when i took it out, but that could of course be oil leaking down it when it was removed
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HT
User
May 8, 2013, 3:26 PM
Post #12 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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I think you're still getting confused here. The oil was on the porcelain part, above and around the metal. Any oil on the electrode would have dripped onto it as the plug was removed and pulled through the puddled oil. Anything in the combustion chamber would be burnt.
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indiceptor
Novice
May 10, 2013, 10:07 AM
Post #13 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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But the problem persists, one of the cylinders is not operating.
What can possibly be the cause of that taking into consideration that i have changed spark plugs and cables, and one of the old spark plugs had alot of oil burned on its sparking end.
Should i start tearing the engine apart to get to the combustion chamber and see how it looks?
Would it help any if i take the spark plug out and spray the chamber with brake cleaner?
Any and all suggestions to the problem or a solution will be very appreciated.
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indiceptor
Novice
May 10, 2013, 1:44 PM
Post #15 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Yeah i tend to be too curious at times :P
I was mainly wondering if there could be some debris that was causing the misfire?
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HT
User
May 10, 2013, 2:01 PM
Post #16 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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Not unless it's caught right in the spark plug electrode.
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
May 10, 2013, 2:16 PM
Post #17 of 17
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Re: Golf ´97 is acting like it´s gonna die!
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As HT said it could be many things to cause a misfire. If you must you can use a scope and look in thru spark plug hole and expect to see that cyl. dirty from misfiring.
Compression testing can show if it's piston/ring issues or valve issues. It's too early to tear into this not knowing more. If need be get it diagnosed and decide if you want to take it on or not,
T
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