2000 Beetle 1.9 TDI - Low power?

[mid3vil]

So I just purchased a 2000 Beetle TDI. I love the car and is fun to drive. It seems to have almost no power but I purchased it for the gas mileage.
After doing a little reading I am realizing something may be wrong, I can hit 75mph on the highway with a little coaxing going down hill and slow to 70 or less going up a hill. Is this normal for these cars?

I have a low temp sensor light on, although previous owner said they replaced the sensor to no avail.

Tips for what to look for? Replace thermostat? Or could it be something else.

[CoriBug]

No power on a TDI? No, that is not normal at all. Check out Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community for the closest competent TDI mechanic to you. Good luck!

[mid3vil]

Originally Posted by CoriBug

No power on a TDI? No, that is not normal at all. Check out Fred's TDI Page. TDIClub.com. VW TDI Enthusiast Community for the closest competent TDI mechanic to you. Good luck!

Thanks a mil, I was starting to suspect a problem.. its a bit intimidating pulling out in traffic

[Blugg]

Check all pipes, especially the Boost pipe for cracks or splits first.

Easy to replace.

Check the link between the boost pipe and the turbo. Have you checked the turbo

[mid3vil]

Haven't checked yet.. was just contemplating that this morning..,need to do a search on where to look and what to check for.. I'm a complete newb and looks like I'm going to need to take on the dreaded learning curve. Just purchased car last week.. had to have ac compressor replaced so havent driven her much

[Kuplamies]

My Bug had similar problems. MAF sensor was faulty then.

It is quite easy to clean; dirty sensor won´t work properly.
But be careful, the sensor is very fragile and you must use proper aerosol to clean it.

I bought new sensor right away back then, but next time I will try to clean it first...

[mid3vil]

Originally Posted by Kuplamies

My Bug had similar problems. MAF sensor was faulty then.

It is quite easy to clean; dirty sensor won´t work properly.
But be careful, the sensor is very fragile and you must use proper aerosol to clean it.

I bought new sensor right away back then, but next time I will try to clean it first...

Unplugged MAF, wow this is a different car. Tried cleaning but lost power again. Have one on order for $125. Much better resolution than replacing the Turbo. Now the question is, will i see an increase in fuel mileage, or will a heavy foot be my downfall?

[janitz]

With the air coming in properly, you should see much better fuel economy.

But keep in mind that how you drive can really impact the performance. Heavy acceleration, high speeds, they are the bane of economy driving.

Also, I would suggest since this is a used vehicle to check the Snow Box filter for how clean it might or might not be.

On my car I just replaced the MAF and it was much better once done, however it wasn't quite what I remember. So I checked my snowbox and found it was completely, and I mean COMPLETELY full of debris.

I drive on a gravel road about 1 miles every day going to and from my house through a wooded area, so quite a bit of small debris to suck up.

You mentioned the temp light was on quite a bit, I noticed once I replaced my MAF that my light would go off much sooner. Last winter I drove it would not go off for about 10 miles of driving, now it is going off after about 4.

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by janitz

With the air coming in properly, you should see much better fuel economy.

But keep in mind that how you drive can really impact the performance. Heavy acceleration, high speeds, they are the bane of economy driving.

Also, I would suggest since this is a used vehicle to check the Snow Box filter for how clean it might or might not be.

On my car I just replaced the MAF and it was much better once done, however it wasn't quite what I remember. So I checked my snowbox and found it was completely, and I mean COMPLETELY full of debris.

I drive on a gravel road about 1 miles every day going to and from my house through a wooded area, so quite a bit of small debris to suck up.

You mentioned the temp light was on quite a bit, I noticed once I replaced my MAF that my light would go off much sooner. Last winter I drove it would not go off for about 10 miles of driving, now it is going off after about 4.

Where is the SnowBox ? I live on a dirt track Could do with having a gander inside it

[janitz]

Originally Posted by Blugg

Where is the SnowBox ? I live on a dirt track Could do with having a gander inside it

I'm not 100% certain if it would be the same place on a right hand drive, but on the left hand drive the air filter is on the driver side of the engine, and the snow box is hidden within the driver side bumper.

To get at the snowbox on my bug I did the following, I thought about taking pictures on this, but it was only just over freezing and threatening snow when I did it outside so I just wanted it done (no garage, snowed 10cm the next day):

1. Jack up the driver side, remove the front driver side wheel.
2. With a torx screwdriver, remove the many screws holding the black plastic wheel well in place. The tricky one is the one hidden up near the coil. Should be about 14 or more.
3. Once the screws are removed, carefully pull out the wheel well skirt. Tricky part was pulling it down from around the coil.
4. With the skirt removed, look up into the open cavity, you will see a black plastic snorkel. There is a rubber hose with two clamps at the end, and connected with this you will see a black plastic "box." That is the snow box. I believe it was a combination of screws and nuts holding the snow box and snorkel in place. Release those and the snow box and snorkel will be lose but not able to be pulled out just yet.

5 (a). If the clamps holding the snowbox to the snorkel are facing you, then you can get a pair of pliers and pull the snorkel off the box. From the factory they point the other way, VW seems to think you'd pull the entire bumper off for this job.
5 (b) If the clamps are facing away like mine were, then you will need to also remove the brace between the body interior and exterior that is in the way of the snorkel from dropping out while still attached to the snow box.

6. Remove the driver side turn signal light. Pop the little plastic tab covering the screw, release the screw and the light will pop out. the electrical connector was impossible to pull on my car, so I just turned the bulb and popped it out of the plastic housing. I tucked the bulb and wire away inside the bumper.

Right now it should be possible with some pushing, grunting, pulling to get the snow box out. However it is difficult, and then when you try to put it back in, won't go. You can benefit from 30 minutes of my time figuring out what to do.

6. The snow box can be made very easy to remove by trimming the interior edge of the opening in the bumper for the driver side signal. If you look at it, it juts into the cavity quite a bit, if the corner top edge were just 1 or 2 cm shorter (1/2 an inch) the snow box would come out easy. I took a Dremel rotary tool with a plastic cutting wheel-blade and carefully zipped off the edge, it's thick plastic so go easy or the tool will bind. With that edge off I was able to insert and remove the snow box easily.

7. Pull the snowbox down to get it off the bolt, and then push it forward to get it off the plastic hose coming from the air filter box. It doesn't screw on, just fits loosely over the hose. Once past those impediments the snowbox with snorkel attached should come out.

8. Disconnect the snorkel from the snow box by taking pliers to the clamp.

9. Now that you have the snow box in hand, DO NOT LIFT UP TO LOOK INSIDE, there is no prize, just stuff to fall in your face.

Go find a comfortable place to sit down with the snowbox and a flathead screwdriver.

10. Carefully pry the snowbox top from the bottom. It has plastic tabs all around it, pry them loose from the bottom not the top.

11 (a). Once the top is off, you'll see the screen filter, it's just plastic mesh. My entire top area was full, seeds, dead bugs, leaves and other crap. Clean it off.

11 (b). You could also leave the screen out. However, with the screen out should that box get filled with debris then your engine wouldn't get air. On the bottom of the snow box is a flappy opening to allow air to bypass if the screen gets clogged.

As a comparison, my Kia Spectra 5 doesn't have a snow box, and last time I changed my air filter I had to go get the vacuum and remove what looked like a bag of bird seed from the bottom of the air box. I guess if you remove the screen it's easier to get the crap in the box that doesn't require lifting the car up just opening the hood.

12. Throw everything back together, when putting the clamps on the snorkel, arrange them to point so that you can disconnect easier next time and avoid removing the brace.

I found some pictures!

Marvin's Dad took a few in this thread, this is with the bumper off.

Anyone has pictures of what the snowbox is?

There's also a how to in technical with pictures, but based on my experience, it's not quite there for details.
How-To - Snowbox Removal

[kcfoxie]

Glad you got that sorted out