[Sparksburrow]

2004 vw conv, 1.8l turbo, 170xxx miles.

Needing help because I am running out of ideas. Currently the codes I have are p0016, p0300, p0301, and p0302.
Originally had 2 misfire codes and the crankshaft position sensor code, which went away after replacing.

Things I have replaced: oil pump, crankshaft sensor, camshaft sensor, crankshaft breather, cleaned maf sensor, 409 relay replaced

After doing all of that nothing has changed.

Issues: originally would crank but not start, now it starts but has a slightly rough idle. Sluggish acceleration when in idle. Rpm only goes up maybe 200 rpm with the pedal to the floor in gear. When in park if I gradually push accelerater then the rpms will increase and smooth out around 2000 rpms.

Also the brakes have been trash for the last few months, started with not wanting to stop in reverse but now they at times will barely stop the car.

A few months ago the oil light kept coming on and it finally made car stall and die. Found out the oil pick up was full of sludge, replaced and fixed issue. I have had to replace the crankshaft breather under intake twice due to it melting, which did leave small pieces of debris in the oil.

Any ideas?

 

[CabrioBro85]

Have you done the valve cover gasket and coils? If you had sludge, there’s a fair chance your coils could be fouled

 

[Sparksburrow]

Have you done the valve cover gasket and coils? If you had sludge, there’s a fair chance your coils could be fouled

Yes I checked and replaced valve cover gasket a few months ago when I had the initial oil issue bc during that event I thought it was timing tensioner making all the noise before finding out the oil pick up was sludged up. Also at that time I checked each plug and connectors for issues.
Lean away from that as an issue mainly bc it has no power and almost no throttle response in gear but has throttle response in park.

 

[VW Beetle]

You have code P0016. The engine performs poorly under load. To me a timing issue is likely. Maybe the timing belt has never been changed with 170,000 miles. My advice is to inspect the timing belt and if you know how to do the timing, install a new timing belt and make sure the timing is correct.

For the misfire codes I would replace the coilpack, the wires and the spark plugs. I had misfire codes on by Beetle and they all went away after that. I would go for a more expensive OEM coil, don't get the 50 $ one from Amazon. The OEM one is worth its price.

For the brakes: inspect rotors and pads. Replace if needed and check if brakes work better.

 

[Sparksburrow]

You have code P0016. The engine performs poorly under load. To me a timing issue is likely. Maybe the timing belt has never been changed with 170,000 miles. My advice is to inspect the timing belt and if you know how to do the timing, install a new timing belt and make sure the timing is correct.

For the misfire codes I would replace the coilpack, the wires and the spark plugs. I had misfire codes on by Beetle and they all went away after that. I would go for a more expensive OEM coil, don't get the 50 $ one from Amazon. The OEM one is worth its price.

For the brakes: inspect rotors and pads. Replace if needed and check if brakes work better.

Going to be checking the timing in a couple of hours.

The brakes have good amount of pad left on them and have pressure while in park but in gear they tend to lose their ability to stop the car. There are times the pedal is stiff but will not stop the car and times the pedal goes most of the way down and still makes it hard to stop.

Do you think I had 3 out of 4 coil packs go bad all at the same time? I do think I had 1 mis firing before it started having all of these issues.

 

[VW Beetle]

Oh, right, the 1.8 has a coil for each cylinder and not a coil pack for all of them like my Beetle.

If you are on a tight budget, you can try moving the coils around and see if the misfire codes change to different cyclinders. If you want to have a peace of mind that the coils and the spark plugs don't cause any issues, replace them. You could also wait with that for after doing the timing. Bad timing can ause misifire codes.

You can also disconnect the wires to the coils one by one. If you disconnect a wire and the engine sound and behavior doesn't change, this cylinder doesn't fire and probably either this coil or spark plug is bad.
If you disconnect a wire and the engine sound and behavior does change, this cyclinder fires and probably coil and spar plug are somewhat okay. This cyclinder could still throw a misifre code though as it could not fire perfectly.

to the brakes:
When a car is sitting for a long time, the rotors can rust and have poor brake performance. Do the rotors look okay?

 

[Sparksburrow]

I did verify that it slipped a couple of teeth. Installed the new belt after testing the timing. Fixed the no power situation and also the p0016 code. Also it fixed the pressure on the brakes, they are working as they should.
Car idles pretty well, believe I still have 1 coil that is misfiring. But I have a weird chirping type noise when driving it. Do not hear it while in park or just revving up the car, only when in drive and driving down the road.
Could the noise be coming from the turbo? No codes are being thrown.

 

[VW Beetle]

Hey I am glad the new timing belt made the car run better.

You could try lifting the front wheels up and putting the car into drive. If a friend in the car gives it some gas, maybe you will be able to hear where the noise is coming from. Maybe freely spinning wheels will not create enough load for the noise to develop though.

 

[Sparksburrow]

Ok I'm at a total loss still. Had the car running for about a week and now it runs like crap again. Codes read all cylinders misfiring and vacuum leak.
New symptoms horrible acceleration, all cylinders misfiring, has a hard time shifting(like it's not pressurized). Does not like going over 40(takes a few blocks to get to 40).
I checked fuel pressure read 38 to 40 and holds.
Did a booster leak test and could not find any leaks.
I did find what looks to be oil leaking from the tube going into the turbo itself.
Tried posting a video but says the file is too large.

 

[Sparksburrow]

Also checked the diverter valve to verify it was working correctly.
Do not have any oil in the 2in line going into the throttle body.
But if I clamp the small hose on the top of the dv it does not seem to change anything, actually I could not hear or notice any difference in the way the motor ran clamping any of the hoses that sit on top of the valve cover.

 

[VW Beetle]

How did that change happen? gradually or suddenly?

Did it maybe start raining?

How did you do the leak test? with a smoke machine?

 

[Sparksburrow]

Changes kept happening as I fixed other issues. I finally narrowed it down to 2 bad ignition coils. Car is idling great now. Took it for a drive and runs smooth.
I did the test by plugging off areas and pressurized the system to croft no leaks.
The only problem I have now is my oil gauge does no oil in idle once warmed up. When cold it starts and holds 35lbs.
Warmed up oil pressure:
Idle=0
Acceleration=increases up to 40lb depending on throttle and will hold while driving.
The oil light does come on and blink off and on.
Has new oil pump.
The problem is it is my daughters car, so I do not always know when issues started or in what order.

 

[VW Beetle]

Maybe the oil pressure is good and the sensor is faulty. You could replace the sensor and check if it's still the same.

Did you check the oil level? Maybe it is losing oil.

 

[Sparksburrow]

Replaced the sensor a couple weeks ago. Oil is at proper level. Never had an issue with the oil or oil light until the old oil pick up got sludge up and killed the car a few months ago. Since then I have replaced the pick up, oil pump, and sensor.
I can not remember the oil I put in the car but it was one recommended on another forum. Could the issue be wrong oil?

 

[VW Beetle]

Nah, as long as you didn't put water in but engine oil of some sort that should build up enough pressure.

Dropping the oil pan and making sure the pick up is not blocked again is an option.

 

[Rockerchick]

I would maybe consider a compression test on this engine. Sounds like its had a rough go - dying from a clogged oil pickup tube and slipped teeth on the timing belt. Could be something deeper going on in the engine. Definitely would consider dropping the pan again and checking for blockages. You don't want to have the engine quit again from a clogged tube.

 

[igofasts4]

Possibly a set of valves kissed the pistons.. do a compression test on the bad cylinder you can also do a leak down test as well.. it will help to see if that hole is good or bad.