HELP!! Vr6 not behaving!

[79golfgld]

hey guys,
my vr6 is having trouble starting, it has heaps of power to turn the engine but just wont fire up 1st,2nd or 3rd time. so now i have to put my foot hard to the floor to get it started once its running its fine except for the tensioner bearing which needs to be replaced. im going to change the fuel filter to see if that helps but cant find it!!

any help would be much appreciated
sam

[Mrk_Mickey]

If it sounds like the electricals and the starter motor are all working well, then it seems that it would be lack of fuel...that's my understanding anyways. Replacing the fuel filter is a good step; when was it replaced previously?

[glidn]

well this could be a scary answer i'm afraid.

Does this only happen when the car engine is stone cold?

If so, it more than likely the headgasket, the vr6 has a specific issue, that if it's could and you turn it over it does not have sufficient compression, so the engine knows about it and simply will not fire to save it from damaging itself.

I had a friend 2 week ago with the same problem and same symptoms.
Ended up having to replace the engine.
Bugger sorry to be bearer of bad news.

[79golfgld]

hey glidn,
ive only got the car a few weeks ago, so i dont know when the filters were changed lasts ive booked it in to get a service next week. im pretty sure its not the head gasket like mrk_mickey suggested because im not losing any coolant and no oil in water or other signs, i spoke to the mechanic and he seems to think it might be the crank position sensor?
cheers

[79golfgld]

its harder to start when stone cold but once its warm it still hesitates a bit and the rev dip but the picks and all is normal

[Mrk_Mickey]

Well my guess is fuel or sensor because you make it sound like the electrics are fine lol.

[Shteifen]

pretty sure fuel filter is near RH rear wheel. just at the back of the seat. have to get at it from underneath though. im pretty sure its there though i might be confusing it with a newer car.

-steve

[Tim]

pretty sure fuel filter is near RH rear wheel. just at the back of the seat. have to get at it from underneath though. im pretty sure its there though i might be confusing it with a newer car.

-steve

That sounds about right to me. Its near the fuel tank
million and one reasons why it could be doing the above problem. I dont think it will be a filter though

[peedman]

If it is indeed the crank sensor then u will get no fuel and no spark. Pull out a plug and see if it sparks at all, if yes then its something else. I would clean the isv and throttle out and see if it helps with the hesitation. Btw is ur battery ok? Its not losing charge overnight?

[Shteifen]

use the basic rule of thumb.
you need three things for combustion.
Fuel, Spark, Air.
eliminate each as the problem till you get one left.

for air, i'd recommend making sure the intake pipe is completely attached to throttle body. mine fell off on my 2.0l and because of that the air mass metre wasnt getting a reading so wouldnt start, could be the same.

Spark, like peedman said, take a spark plug out and see if its even firing. maybe check your coil pack isnt busted, someone help me out here but might that cause these symptoms?

and fuel, try having the fuel line disconnected and cranking (make sure spark plug is back in properly at this point or BOOM!) and see if your actually getting any fuel out of that line ( just be careful there are no sources of ignition around though like dont be smoking when your doing this yeah?)

umm...yeah see if that helps. there are other checks you can do to make sure your getting the right amount of fuel and spark etc but i cant think of them. ha!
-steve

-steve

[79golfgld]

If it is indeed the crank sensor then u will get no fuel and no spark. Pull out a plug and see if it sparks at all, if yes then its something else. I would clean the isv and throttle out and see if it helps with the hesitation. Btw is ur battery ok? Its not losing charge overnight?

nah its not the battery or alternator its turn over strong but just doesnt catch will try cleaning though!
thanks

[79golfgld]

pretty sure fuel filter is near RH rear wheel. just at the back of the seat. have to get at it from underneath though. im pretty sure its there though i might be confusing it with a newer car.

-steve

hey steve,
when changing the fuel filter do i have to depressurize it or something if so wats the best way??

[Shteifen]

nah just go ahead and take the lines off, but WEAR SAFETY GLASSES.
fuel will spray everywhere for a second but itll go away dont worry
if you leave the ignition alone for a little while the pressure should bleed off slowly anyway. and by a little while i mean like....5 or 10 minutes and it should be mostly gone, or atleast significantly reduced. but i wouldnt wait, just wear those safety goggles and go for it, thats all ive ever done

-steve

[Golf Houso]

hey steve,
when changing the fuel filter do i have to depressurize it or something if so wats the best way??

pull out the fuel pump fuse, then run the car until it splutters and stops.

Easy

[Shteifen]

right, you could do that!

its past my bed time

-steve