Fuel starvation??

[Mattudor]

Hi

 For about 3 months now (times have been hard and the end of this month is the 1st time i'll have cash since before xmas) my mk2 has been having occasional stuttering fits. It seems to happen more and more often and when it does happen it seems to creep down the rev range til its almost impossible to drive.
 What happens is when I accelerate it gets past about 2500 - 3000rpm then suddenly jerks violently over and over again like its being starved of fuel. Today it got so bad it just cut out and refused to restart.
 I spoke to some guys at the local VW garage and they suggested it might be a fuel pump problem, which ties in with the starvation symptoms, however the guy I bought it off provided me with reciepts from a reputable garage and one of these is for fitment of a new fuel pump about 6 months ago.
 The exhaust is broken at the moment as well (big hole in the center pipe which makes it sound awful) which I'm planning on replacing this month, would this be likely to have anything to do with it?

[Conker]

8v or 16v?


I would check engine timing first.

[Diamond Hell]

1. Get the exhaust fixed - that's going to cause all sorts of running problems.  Without getting that fixed you're clutching at straws for a diagnosis.
2. What engine is it?  If it's not a GTI and is a carb model then it sounds like it's carburetion problems.

[/straw clutching mode]

[Diluxe]

take the dizzy off, spray wd40 around the hall sender area, to wash the oil that maybe leaking into it from the camshaft & see how that goes for ya.

[Mattudor]

Thanks for the replies, its a GTI 8v.
Gotta go get it towed home tonight so hopefully its still there, I'll have a pop at Diluxe's suggestion tonight but unfortunately I can't get the exhaust sorted until the end of the month 
I didn't realise the exhaust would cause major problems, I'm not massively technical so you'll have to forgive me, I thought it would only be a drop in backpressure (not sure how much of an affect this has but I got told its not major, just a loss in performance) but then the guy probably knows less than I do to be honest.

[rubjonny]

i wonder if the lift pump has packed in, which lead to the death of the previous main pump and now causing the early demise of the new one

unplug the electrical connector to the main under car pump, turn the key 1 click.  if you dont hear the lift pump prime, replace it!

[Simeon]

I had exactly what you have described happen to my mk2 16v - it was a fueling problem which was solved by replacing fuel filter which had gotten clogged up as the previous owner decided I didn't even deserve enough fuel in the car to get it to the nearest petrol station after he had dropped it off .... Grrr.

[TRANTER]

whats the best way to check this - as i cracked of the banjo bolts to the metering head and there was pressure from fuel but on the top where the four come out the was nothing even when trying to turn over the car what could this be the same thing

[Conker]

whats the best way to check this - as i cracked of the banjo bolts to the metering head and there was pressure from fuel but on the top where the four come out the was nothing even when trying to turn over the car what could this be the same thing

You can't make fuel squirt out the injector pipes very easily (despite there being pressure in the main line). I think its something to do with the fuel relay only coming on properly once the car starts - I had to bridge the fuel relay to check the metering head in my 16v e.g. when testing injectors etc.