power loss at high speed

[ranger4657]

hey all,

have a 2000 bug, 2.0l .

had the car for about 40k miles now , just starting in on some maintenance.

well on to the problem :


driving at high speed (~65mph) with the engine under load, usually on a hill, the motor will loose power for about 3-4 seconds (RPMS still register, all electrical power is still on) . pump the accelerator pedal a time or two and itll start accelerating again (not sure if it does anything, just acting on impulse to being on the highway and slowing down 10-20 mph) haha.

i took a look at the spark plugs and they were way old and over gapped ( probably never replaced) changed them out and went from happening once a trip, to once every few days.
also timing belt looks good, no chipped teeth or cracks or anything .


ran a code check on the car and passed everything with no codes registered. which leads me to think its an intermittent connection some where.

before i go and hunt this down.

has anyone had a similar problem before?
any advice?


thanks allot!

Joe N.

[Blugg]

Have you checked the pipes for cracks or signs of wear, including the joins



When was it last serviced

[ranger4657]

pipes exhaust pipes? fuel lines? lol

no idea when it was last serviced by vw tech. it sat for over 8 months with a bad trans .

on monday i replaced bad motor mounts, bad drive axles, transmission , spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter, lower front ball joints.

however the problem existed well before the trans went out.

( i try to stay away from costly mechanic labor ) haha

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by ranger4657

pipes exhaust pipes? fuel lines? lol

no idea when it was last serviced by vw tech. it sat for over 8 months with a bad trans .

on monday i replaced bad motor mounts, bad drive axles, transmission , spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter, lower front ball joints.

however the problem existed well before the trans went out.

( i try to stay away from costly mechanic labor ) haha

Air pipes, the rubber/mesh things around in the engine. If it's been sat for a while then the pipes will no doubt have worn. I drive mine everyday and the turbo pipe has got a split from god knows where. $110 for that little jubbly lol

[ranger4657]

ah vacuum lines and such. yeah they are all fine. found a few split and broken lines on monday and fixed them, also inspected the air box, and air inlet tube, all is well in that area.