poorly mk 3

[lozzie]

hi,ive got a mk 3 2.0 8 vlv gti,and been having few probs with it. it suddenly broke down,the things i noticed just before it broke down was loss of poewr on the accelerator,and smoke coming from the exhaust.had an auto elec out,and he diagonosed the lamda sensor.replaced this and all was ok for a week!!!now bk to square one,but someone said to replace the water temp switch/sensor.im a female so wary of getting ripped off!any ideas.thanks

[rubjonny]

Defo get the water temp sensor replaced, its the 4 pin one in the plastic  flange on the front of the block, will cost about £30 from VW.  Dead easy to swap, but only do it when the engine is stone cold, or coolant will spray everywhere!

Also, do you know what make of lambda was fitted? I got a cheapo one off ebay and it only lasted a month, replaced it with a bosch universal one and its been fine ever since.

Its possible the coolant sensor is making the engine run too rich, and is killing your lambda!