tim-spam

The clutch is slipping. Until you can get the clutch replaced, try to use very light pressure on the accelerator pedal, and leave the car in a low enough gear so that the revs match the road speed. So long as the clutch is slipping, it will be generating a considerable amount of heat - if this continues for too long, you could end up having to replace a distorted flywheel as well as the clutch. You could also burn the clutch out and lose drive altogether.

50,000 mile service is lubrication only, so shouldn't be too expensive - unless, of course, it's very late for its 40,000 mile service........

You can see it with the air cleaner in place, but to reach it, you will probably need to take the top engine cover off - it's just below the large hose leading from the air cleaner. With the air cleaner off, it is dead easy to reach. It isn't an electrical device - it simply filters the air supply to the boost control solenoid valve, and if it gets blocked / restricted (or the hose from it gets blocked / restricted), the turbo vanes are slow to move back to maintain boost pressure, and the boost pressure overshoots, leading to the switch into limp mode and the positive deviation fault code in VAGCOM. In normal operation, vacuum is applied to the turbo control diaphragm via the boost control solenoid valve, to increase boost pressure. When the engine speed reaches around 2000 rpm, the vacuum applied by the boost control solenoid valve to the turbo contol diaphragm is reduced, such that the turbo vanes move back to maintain the boost pressure at the correct level. The vanes move back by virtue of a return spring, and in order to allow for this, the diaphagm needs to draw air in - this air comes in via the small filter, a length of rubber hose, the boost control solenoid valve, followed by another length of hose to the diaphragm.

I would agree. Unless you have a general lack of power when the engine is operating normally when warm, I wouldn't bother changing the MAF - MAF faults generally affect performance all the time (and are often worse in the warm weather), and are not resettable by keying off and on again. From the VAGCOM diagnosis, there is a boost control problem, and the causes are usually (in ascending order of cost): 1) Dirty boost control solenoid filter (looks a bit like a small in-line fuel filter and is located below the air cleaner). Try disconnecting it - if the problem goes away, fit a new one. 2) Leaks / blockages in one or more vacuum hoses - if in doubt, change the lot. 3) Boost control solenoid. 4) T-MAP sensor. 5) Turbo vanes sticking - normally requires a new / recon. turbo to fix permanently. Hope this helps.

Any update on your problem?

What I was saying was that a diesel engine will continue to produce more power with increasing fuel up to a point at which it would produce a considerable amount of black smoke. I did not say that this could actually happen on an emission controlled engine. However, I believe that these 'cheap' black boxes fool the engine ECU into providing increased fuelling, which would obviously override the emissions controls to some extent, although if the level of smoke was increased too much, the car may fail an MOT.

It's quite simple - if you stuff more fuel into a diesel engine, it will produce more power, up to the point at which it emits clouds of black smoke. So, assuming these boxes fool the ECU into fuelling the engine beyond the level required to meet emissions standards, they will work. However, when taking advantage of this extra power, more fuel will be consumed, and when cruising, the fuel consumption will be unchanged. So, I do not see how these boxes will improve fuel consumption, but if the extra power is only used from time to time, fuel consumption will probably remain much the same.

Was the O/S engine mounting bracketry correctly replaced? This is removed when changing the cambelt, and if the bolts came out and allowed the engine to move around and drop, the damage could be quite severe - could conceivably damage the driveshafts as well.

Mine cost just under

Yes it will. As regards the noise being speed dependent, this points to either the differential or the gearbox output shaft - either way, a recon. gearbox will fix it.

I've run a new fused wire directly from the battery via a dual relay to the 12S socket, as this is the safest way of ensuring that the caravan fridge and battery get an adequate electrical supply. Hope this helps.

I've just noticed that the Halfords 5W40 fully synthetic diesel oil is now approved to VW 505.01, and is around

No problem with the design - it was probably incorrectly re-fitted by your dealer after removal for, for example, a cambelt change. The hose may now be damaged, so replacement is probably the best course of action. The spanner monkeys responsible should foot the bill though.

You can stop the crank turning by selecting a gear (I selected 4th gear) - there is then absolutely no problem tightening the crank bolts to 10Nm + 90 degrees. As regards the tensioner, I had no problems with it. After turning the tensioner cam anti-clockwise to remove the locking tool, I just turned it clockwise until I could insert the 4mm bar (supplied as part of the Sealey engine locking kit), and no further. Thank you for your comments though - I wondered what would happen if the tensioner was released, and now I know! I managed to remove the engine mounting bracket without removing the lower charge air pipe, although getting it out from above was pretty tight - next time, I may remove the charge air pipe to make access better. The really good thing about the way the cam belt installation is designed is how easy it is to actually put the belt on without it having to be maneouvred around any obstructions, and the best thing of all is that I now know that the job has been done absolutely correctly, and that the basic engine timing is now spot on - I've also saved not far short of

The Hengst Pollen filter is an activated charcoal filter just like the genuine VW one (hence the price being similar) and claims to be to the original equipment specification - it's just much easier to fit. However, should I ever buy the genuine VW one again, I will try what you suggest. By the way, my local Seat dealer says that they unbolt the wiper assembly as it makes the filter easier to fit, which is probably true - when I bought my car from them, the plastic windscreen trims were loose and some of the clips were broken.

Mt wife's got an old diesel Merc.................

Having just completed a cambelt change on my 2002 Alhambra TDI, I found the job to be pretty straightforward, although there were a few fiddly bits: - The access between the engine mounting bracket and the car body is tight, and the M10 bolts are 16mm across flats instead of the usual 17mm, so a good 16mm ring spanner or a shortened 16mm 3/8" drive socket make removing this much easier. - The instructions in Elsawin for slackening the cambelt are wrong - follow the TIS instead. - When setting the cambelt tensioner gap with a 4mm drill bit, try 3.5mm and 4.5mm drill bits as well - the 4mm drill bit should slide through, the 3.5mm drill bit should rattle a bit, and the 4.5mm drill bit should not pass through. In this way, you can be absolutely certain that the gap is spot on. - Also, when tightening the tensioner nut, the gap tends to reduce, so it takes a few attempts at setting the gap too large so that it is correct when the nut is fully tightened - once you have got the 'feel' for this, it's not too difficult. - The main problem I encountered was that the M8 allen screws holding the crank pulley had been rounded off slightly during the last cambelt change (spanner monkeys again!), and I had to drill 3 of them out - my local VW agent actually hold these in stock, so perhaps this is not such a rare occurence. - When locking the crank and cam into their correct positions, I found that the cam timing was a little way out - now that I have completed the job, the slight hesitation around 2000rpm has completely disappeared, and the performance seems generally better. For anyone else considering doing this job, make sure you have the correct engine locking tools and a good general tool kit, including a trolley jack to support the engine. I hope the above comments help.

Having just completed a major service on my 2002 Alhambra TDI, including a Pollen filter change, this was the first time I had found the pollen filter anything more than a 5 minute job. Previously, I have always used the Hengst pollen filter as supplied by Eurocarparts, but as it is around the same price as the genuine VW part, I bought one from my local VW agent this time. When I came to fit it, I found that it was around 3mm thicker than the Hengst one, and therefore too thick to pass easily behind the wiper assembly. It did eventually go, but only after gently squeezing the leading edge so that it would pass over the pollen filter housing without jamming. So, it'll be Hengst pollen filters in the future. I hope this helps anyone who is struggling with this.

Shhhhhh.......you may get told off........ Seriously though, very good info - thanks. I've already got the Thule roof bars and agree with everything you said. But I may need a roofbox at some stage, so your info will be very handy.

As regards the brake pipes, first thing to do is to check whether any corrosion is actually there (it may just be a little oxidised zinc, which is absolutely nothing to worry about). If it is, and it's only just starting, brush lightly and spray some Waxoyl on, and then check every year - should last for years.

Ah, but the only sure way to make sure we never see you in front of us is to take up enough road to keep you behind.

That'll probably be OK - if mine ever fails, I may be tempted to do something similar. BUT, what endurance testing have you done to ensure that it will not fail and let the spare wheel drop off? The one supplied with the car will have been properly tested to ensure that it is safe (I know there are some on here who have experienced problems, but has anyone actually had one fall off? I don't think so). If ever the worst comes to the worst, would your insurance policy cover you? I think we know the answer to that. So, good(ish) idea, but it may cause problems in the future.

.......and only tighten it just enough to secure the wheel - there is a maximum torque specified on a decal near the nut. Overtightening is one of the most common causes of failure - mine has never been abused, and works perfectly. The new Galaxy does not, and will not, have any problems with the spare wheel securing mechanism......guaranteed.

If your alternator was failing, the battery would go flat, which would rule this out - but check the voltage anyway just to be sure. This really does sound like a poor connection / earth somewhere, involving the starter or battery connections.

Most likely cause is a split servo hose - at higher engine speeds, the vacuum pump can shift enough air to sustain a reasonable vacuum in the system, but if the split gets worse, you may find stopping a little tricky. Is the engine also a little rough when you switch it off?