Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

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Mon 28 May 2012 16:24

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - Kam62

Hi guys,
I have a 1998 VW Golf Mark 4 and sometimes when the car is stationary it seems to vibrate/ shake. This doesn't matter if I'm in neutral or I have my clutch pedal pressed down and in gear. When I take off in 1st gear it judders like when you don't do clutch control properly. I am not sure if all this is called Rough Idling? This problem arose 2/3 weeks ago but is becoming more regular now. It won't happen on short journeys if I'm only driving once a day. It seems to happen after 25/30 minutes. If I'm in stop start traffic it's really annoying and it seems like it could cause further damage to the car. A local garage tried running a electronic diagnostics tool but said he couldn't find the variant of my car on the tool. It didn't help that at the time the car was running properly so he said he wasn't sure what's wrong. Could it be the fuel injectors being faulty? I always get fuel from Shell and thought they had good diesel. Please can someone give me some advice?

Thank you.

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Mon 28 May 2012 18:58

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - injection doc

Check for worn out camshaft, often over looked, the lobes wear of and makes them idle rough. Normally caused by incorrect spec oils used on servicing.

I not sure if dual mass flywheel fitted, as that can also cause rough idle and clucth issues.

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Mon 28 May 2012 19:13

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - Kam62

Check for worn out camshaft, often over looked, the lobes wear of and makes them idle rough. Normally caused by incorrect spec oils used on servicing.

I not sure if dual mass flywheel fitted, as that can also cause rough idle and clucth issues.

I've had the cambelt and water pump replaced 5 months ago. Could this still have been overlooked? Also, I've been using Platinum Oil from VW dealers. I'm pretty sure this model/ my car has a single mass flywheel

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Tue 29 May 2012 00:24

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - Big John

Check the engine mounts

The engne (circa 1998) pre-dates the later electronically controlled PD engines

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Fri 1 Jun 2012 01:33

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - Kam62

Thanks for your replies guys.

I was driving back from London to Halifax this week and I heard a noise a couple of miles before I was to exit the motorway. I then felt that I couldn't accellerate properly. I thought it was the Air Flow Meter so when I got off at the next junction I switched the engine off and restarted it. When I took off on the green light the car juddered a lot. I parked at a nearby layby and popped the bonnet. Oil had splattered in quite a few places. I called the AA, the turbo pipe on the left of the engine was really loose. He connected it back and put a jubilee clip on it. I was glad it was a small thing but I restarted the car and couldn't put it in gear. The AA engineer checked it and said the clutch has gone! I was gutted because I later found it also had a Dual Mass Flywheel. This was perhaps causing the original juddering problem I raised on the first post. I had it recovered to a garage local to me and got a Sachs Dual Mass Flywheel and Clutch fitted (bought from VW dealers). This got fitted today, I've drove the car for 40 odd mins to test it. The clutch is dead light compared to before but when I try to select a gear sometimes it won't slot into gear at the first attempt. The other issue is that sometimes I put it in first gear and it seems like there is no biting point and it stalls. Do you think the DMF and Clutch have not been fitted properly or it's a new issue?

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Fri 1 Jun 2012 18:27

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - injection doc

most likley gear alignment on a golf

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Fri 1 Jun 2012 18:35

Volkswagen Golf GT TDi IV Mk 4 - Rough Idle? - Kam62

most likley gear alignment on a golf

I took it back to the garage. He adjusted the gear linkage and the gears are slotting into place fine now BUT I feel that the car doesn't accelerate as it did before the clutch and dmf was changed. What can it be now?

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