Help needed for GTI 8v

[just-me]

Hi,

I need some help here guys. My GTI 8v is lacking power and seems to hesitate when i accelerate. im thinking it could be the oil breather pipes or the throttle body needing cleaning which im going to do tonight. Does anyone have a pic of the engine they can use to point out the breather pipe locations as i know nothing about engines so trying to describe where they are would be difficult!

My engine is also extremely dirty, looks like its never been cleaned and quite oily which leads me to think i might have a burst pipe somewhere. Any tips on how to clean this up a bit. Degreaser and a toothebrush? will take forever but ive got time! what degreaser should i use as i dont want to do any lasting damage on pipes, leads etc but its totally manky!  could i just use regular oven type cleaner as this is a degreaser and wont be too harsh?

Thanks in advance for any help, appreciated.

Mark

[Christo77]

Hi there..
Start by doing some searches on here, there's heaps of stuff on all the common running problems.
Probably the first port of call on yours though is clean out the throttle body internal, again, search 'throttle body' or something similar.. will be loads of info.

Oven cleaner.. Nope, just get a decent degreaser, Gunk, Jizer..there's plenty out there..maybe even a steam clean with care.


Christo

[capri_rob]

Hesitation could be down to the MAF sensor on the top of the airbox.

This can be removed and cleaned but you need to be very careful, and only use electrical contact cleaner to do it - carb cleaner is too harsh and other cleaners may leave a residue.

First job should be to clean out the throttle body and breather pipes.

A good car valeter should be able to steam and degrease an engine bay for about £10.

[just-me]

Thanks guys,

Ill have a look tonight when i finish work. I noticed that a lot of the crud seems to be around the dip stick so i think it may be leaking a bit. also a lot from the big pipe just above it to the left slightly, not sure what it is but there seems to be a layer of oil on it. ill clean it up, check the sensors and if all that fails ill just buy a new engine!!! I might even try drop a 16v in just for that extra push!

[Khare]

To see if it's the MAF unplug it and drive the car. If it runs any better then you know it's the MAF. Throttle body clean, check all vacuum pipes, oil breather pipes are the first steps too.

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=101400.0

Have a rear there, it might help. The MAF is the Air mass meter on the picture, and the oil breather pipe is the black plastic pipes that run from the black box on top of the engine (slightly to the left), one of the pipes has a blue zip tie, where air mass meter box is. That pipe is very known for breaking and leaking, causing problems like you describe. I think VW still sell them but they charge an arm and a leg as far as I know, so your best bet is to buy one either from ebay or the forum. Shouldn't cost too much used, but make sure it's not broken or split either, and be very careful when fitting it (it's not hard, but with age they go brittle and break easily).