2002 jetta TDI

[Dudenhymer]

Hello,

Bought a 2002 Jetta TDI from a co-worker back in January for $2K. Car had 158K on it when I bought it now has about 168K. Timing belt was replaced at about 150K. They car ran like crap when I acquired it but still got about 45 mpg. I found the intake and EGR clogged down to about a quarter inch. Got all the soot from the EGR and most out of the intake with a power washer (could still feel some buildup near the head) Now i'm able to achieve 53+ MPG but the car still seems like it's not running 100%. When driving hard it pulls hardest around 3500-4000 RPM which I don't think is normal for this motor, feel like i'm missing some low-mid range power. Power doesn't come on as smooth as I would like between gears either. I shift somewhere in the 3500-4K range and it takes a second or 2 to start pulling "hard" again in the next gear. Shifting at a lower RPM just makes things worse. I feel like I'm driving my old 93 civic dx again having to revv the piss out of it to get it to go anywhere

So... I'm going to start by checking out the VNT system. I bought a VAG-COM cable so i'm all ready to dig in. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to spend during the week so it will be a slow process.

[chittychittybangbang]

Check out the low power FAQ article for a full checklist.very suspect : MAF sensor.

[Dudenhymer]

One of the first things I did to the car was replace the MAF. Before I bought VAG-COM or even took the time to learn much I was reading the low power FAQ and jumped on the first and easiest solution. Needless to say the new MAF didn't help the low power issue. I tested the old MAF with VAG-COM and it was fine, still running the new MAF. Maybe the new one is bad, i'll swap them out when I get home in the morning (buddy of mine is borrowing the VAG). Thx.