[rmchambers]

Dirty Intakes.

A quick way to check would be to remove the clip holding the curved flexible hose coming up from the intercooler that goes into the EGR valve (located directly behind the oil fill cap).

If you take the two clips off that fat radiator looking hose and remove it you can shine a flashlight into the EGR valve and see if you have a buildup of soot/oil in there.

If you see things that look like mine

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=828724&l=94511f808a&id=1600745298

then it needs a cleaning.

This is a view from the intake manifold side of the EGR valve, you will be looking through a smaller round opening that the hose came off but you should be able to see if there's junk in there. The anti-shudder valve may be closed and you can move the lever by hand to open that for a better view.

Good luck.

Read the how-to's on manifold cleanings, I bought my TDI last month and with a bit of study have a pristine manifold and a pretty peppy car now.

Robert

 

[rmchambers]

How it runs.

That's a good way to tell IF you know how it ran with a clean intake to start with. When I test drove my "new" Jetta it ran pretty well, got up to 80 no problem, pulled well, lots of torque if I lugged it to see how it did down low.

That being said when I got it home and started pulling parts off it my EGR and intake looked like the pictures above (the one on my posting not quite as bad as the two below). I took off the manifold and cleaned it with a vengeance and it's very clean and even sanded/polished where I could get at it.

Once I put it back on and got it all back together (and fixed the booboo with a vacuum hose) it ran VERY strongly, now when the turbo kicks in you notice it quite spectacularly. So it went from being peppy to being downright impressive for a 1.9 liter engine.

I've disabled my EGR and CCV venting into the intake until I can get a VCDS EGR turn down, then I will re-enable the EGR system but still not vent back into the intake.

The intake cleaning procedure isn't terribly awful but you do need to take your time and do it right. The idea about going to a junk yard ahead of time and locating another intake that you can clean and prepare ahead of time would make the intake cleaning swap an hour or two's worth of work, then you can soak and clean the dirty intake at your leisure and have it ready if the new one cakes up again.

These are fantastic little engines, mine impresses me every time I work on it or step on the throttle

 

[rmchambers]

EGR

Couple of ways. The best way is to keep the EGR and use VCDS (which I haven't purchased yet) to set the EGR controls to next to nothing. That will stop the Check engine lights.

Immediate shut off for the EGR is to remove the vacuum hose from the EGR and plug it. You will get a P0401 code when you do this but it won't initiate limp mode or anything.

Another good way to limit the build up is to address the other half of the issue, that is the oil/vapor mist going into the intake from the CCV. If you search this forum you will see many good and interesting ways people have filtered and stopped the oil mist from getting back into the intake plenum which combines with the soot and forms the goo that blocks the intake.

Robert

 

[rmchambers]

And now you have it cleaned and breathing well again, did you notice a difference when you stepped on the throttle and got to around 2500-3000 rpm? that's when I knew that my TDI needed it! It's a lot better running now.