Problem with 2002 Bora 2 Litre

[TaRkY]

Hi.
I'm new here and hoping someone can help me out with a major problem I am having with my Bora.
Over the last few months it has given us few subtle problems.
It began with struggling to start up every now and again. I put it down to battery but had it checked and was assured the battery was ok.

this struggle to start up has escalated to severe acceleration problems. I noticed that my take offs (which used to be fantastic!) started to lack luster. I had the services etc done in due course. It only has about 70,000 ks on it. So it's a well looked after family car, which was always very reliable and a pleasure to drive.
Over the last month it has been struggling to go. It feels like there is no fuel going through and it wants to stall.
We have had the fuel system flushed and serviced- no change.
We then had the mobile mechanics come out (due to the VW "service" centre sounding like they were ready to rob me blind to even diagnose it).
The mechanic who came out did the diagnostic on it and it brought up 2 errors. 1- the ECTS (engine coolant temperature sensor) and 2- Cylinder 2 misfire. The guy assured us that changing one may delete both errors. He recommended changing the ECTS, which we did that day (he told us it was easy to do and my father who is an old mechanic did it with no problems).
We changed all the spark plugs the same day also. He assured us that we wouldn't see a change in the car immediately.. so we have been patiently driving it about but it's getting worse.
We had it connected to that diagnostic machine again today and it is now bringing up NO errors.
No take offs, particular jerking and struggling to move (even if you're flooring the accelerator) between 55-100kms.
It has become extremely unreliable and we are at a loss as to where to go next and what to do.

We are in Melbourne, so if anyone can suggest our next step we would really appreciate it as we are at a loss and we don't want to get rid of the car. It was always such a great drive.

Thanks in advance!

[FknDubbin]

Where abouts in Melbourne are you? Its hard to diagnose a problem over the internet. I have the VAG-COM cable coming this week and can check a few things for you. Im a mechanic too.

[TaRkY]

Where abouts in Melbourne are you? Its hard to diagnose a problem over the internet. I have the VAG-COM cable coming this week and can check a few things for you. Im a mechanic too.

We're in the Taylors Lakes area. Do you have any ideas what it might be?

[FknDubbin]

Holy crap. I live in Camberwell. Fair drive. Will you be going to Day Of the Volkswagen on Sunday? If so, i can have a squiz at it there.

[Jmac]

Mate here is my feed back disconnect your airflow meter and try driving it with it disconnected, disconnected by means of pulling the plug off only. You will store a fault by doing this but if it runs better then just erase it after you fit the new part. Did the guy checking with VAG COm watch the (faulty coolant sensor) with the live data stream? Not all faults that show up mean that its that particular sensor, sometimes its actually doing its job properly and is just having to operate past its parameters.
C how you go
Cheers

[FknDubbin]

Mate here is my feed back disconnect your airflow meter and try driving it with it disconnected, disconnected by means of pulling the plug off only. You will store a fault by doing this but if it runs better then just erase it after you fit the new part. Did the guy checking with VAG COm watch the (faulty coolant sensor) with the live data stream? Not all faults that show up mean that its that particular sensor, sometimes its actually doing its job properly and is just having to operate past its parameters.
C how you go
Cheers

Yeah i forgot about a dead MAF. We were replacing them heaps at VW.

[NGOLF.U]

my old 2.0L golf had the same problem,

we fixed it by replacing the MAF sensor and o2 sensors.

[99gti]

It could also be a vacum leak on your intake somewhere and the air is not going past the MAF causing the motor to go into limp mode. Check all of your clamps and look for any holes.

Disconecting the MAF will also prove if this could be a potential problem. The car will still run ok without the MAF. This is just a cheaper sugestion to try first before repacing.

[TaRkY]

Thanks for the responses.
Just to clarify (please excuse my ignorance) but if I disconnect the MAF and drive it, can it potentially create more damage elsewhere?
I guess what I'm asking is, how long should I be driving with the MAF disconnected before becoming concerned about further damage?
The problem is intimitant and we can't seem to reproduce it on demand, so we may need to drive around for a while to be sure.

Did the guy checking with VAG COm watch the (faulty coolant sensor) with the live data stream?

no he didn't. He was only watching for the reappearance of the error codes.

[h100vw]

You can drive for ages with the MAF disconnected if you need too. It won't run perfectly but it'll prove it's good or bad. You can see the live data for it in measuring blocks with VAG-COM.

The ECU is programmed to ignore a bad output from the MAF in the event of it failing or being disconnected.

MAFs very rarely throw a code you just end up seeing symptoms of them not working correctly.

Gavin

[Jmac]

If they do throw codes they generally are lambda related and that prompts the inexperienced to fit a Probe. Yeah these do go but you must read what it is doing. Funny but nowadays if the computer throws no codes then no problem???????? There still IS a problem and the basics get missed like the humble spark plug( im sure most of you would agree ) scanner can trap you if you dont look outside the square. Im talking from experience LOL!! To answer you MAF Q? H100W is 100% right the ecu defaults but its only a default map and wont run at optimum. There is a spot in VAG COm where you can read the intake % and match it to a KW output and that also gives you an idea that you have a MAF Fault. Another notorious sensor on these is the Brake pedal switch. When pressed it switches the fuel off. When faulty also does the same , And sometimes doesnt throw a code, but again you can do a function test on this item with VAGCOM
Good luck!

[TaRkY]

Well, this is the story so far..

Disconnected the MAF. Drove around locally for 5K to try and reproduce the problem. When slowing down to take the first left hand turn the car stalled. Re-started it, and returned back home. Again when slowing down to a stop, car stalled. Didn't experience any of the "engine-shuddering" of my initial post (but again remember that the problem appears intermittently).

Re-connected MAF. Following the same route as above. Within minutes re-produced the "engine-shuddering" problem driving casually at 70K. Had to let go of the accelerator for a second and push down again to get it to accelerate.. However, when coming to the left hand turn again, car didnt stall and idling was smooth. Returned back home.

Disconnected MAF again. Again had trouble re-producing the "engine shuddering". Car didn't stall this time when taking first left hand turn but did when returning back to home.

For now, I'll continue to drive it with the MAF connected. Can't afford the car to stall - especially since I noticed that it affects the power steering severely.

My next step is as follows. After reading numerous threads online, I'm going to try and clean the MAF (very carefully). I assume SuperCheap Auto will have an Airflow cleaner? Or alternatively I can use Carburettor cleaner?

I'll probably continue to test the car in local surroundings without the MAF connected to make sure the "engine-shuddering" does not occur.

Thanks for all your help again. I'll keep you informed.

[Jmac]

My opinion is not to clean it but thats me mate. I never interfere with it from passed experience. As i mentioned it might still be operating above its parameters just enough not to bring a light on. Your man with Vag Com should read what the MAF is doing when you drive. Have him in the Pass seat while you drive. You Fully Accelerate in 2nd and read. I recently had an Audi that would shudder with the old MAF and cut out when disconnected. I went on holiday to the UK and brought 1 back with me and stuck it in for the guy and its been great since. My next suggestion would be to ask a good friend to borrow theirs for a quick roadtest and that would then rul it out as cleaning it out might not help. Ive had some drama with these i can tell you, and dont fall into the trap of buying the cheap crap on ebay. My Audi fella did just that and he ended up binning it!
Good luck mate.

[gpk_gti]

sounds like your maf mate,try to swap it with a car that is the same as yours,thats what I did the second time around and thats how I deducted that the new maf was also stuffed.