Poor Performance Or Not?

[GaryM]

Hi there I have a 1.9TDI (115bhp) that has done 71K. I purchased it a month ago and as it is my first oil burner I was not sure what to expect. Having got used to it now I'm begining to wonder if it is not performing as well as it should...

• 35Mpg, I regualy see posts quoting 45. But it could well be my driving.
  
• Accellerates well in low gears but performance drops off in higher gears and power seems limited to low end revs
  
• Can be sluggish on hills but fine on the flat
  
• When up to speed engine can seem to surge power when accelerating and hit several flat spots.
  
• When accellerating get an odd effect when the power kicks in, immeadiatley drops off (as though I lift my foot) and then goes again.
  

Recently changed the air filter and things feel a lot better but all the above issues are still there. The old filter did not seem that bad but it was dirty. Records show the car has been serviced regularly but I'm missing the log book and the reciept for the 60K service, which is a biggy I think, and the garage cannot find a invoice for it either.

 

I have read many posts and things seem to point to the MAF or EGR.

• Disconnecting the MAF seems to limit the speed to about 40Mph. Plugging it back puts the life back in. So I assume the MAF is fine. It is a Bosch unit and seems clean and tidy inside.
  
• Just a casual look but the vaccum pipes seem fine.
  
• Disconnecting the vaccum pipe to the EGR makes no difference.
  

Do I have a healthy motor that I,m expecting to much of or could there be a problem? If so any pointers or tests that I should try?

 

Cheers

[Ivor_E_Tower]

If you're driving it in town alot 35mpg is fine. You will need a fair percentage of open-road driving to crack 45mpg! All the start-stop effort takes its toll on the fuel consumption. From what you describe, it is not running perfectly. When you say sluggish on hills, if you're staying in 6th gear it will be. It should be able to maintain the same speed on slight hills with no bother and lose a little speed on more severe inclines if you stay in 6th. Changing down to 5th should bring a noticeable improvement. Should not be any flat spots.

[GaryM]

Thanks.... 35mpg has been on long runs sitting at about 80Mph so that could be right.

 

When it comes to hills I'm dropping out of 6 to 5 or 4 and to be honest there is very little extra get up and go just more noise (revs).

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Check under bonnet first for holes/perished rubber hoses. Something is definitely not right. Should be loads of power to accelerate in 4th on dual carriageways, motorways etc.

[GaryM]

Had quick look last night but found nothing obvious, did end up having tying pipes back etc where they fell out of the clamps etc and a couple showed signs of wear but none seemed holed.