Quick question for northpole

[Matt275]

Hi northpole, I can't seem to PM so just a really quick question...

Are you the same northpole on UKMKIVs.net?
I haven't joined the forum for my Golf Mk4 yet but would I find good advice on there for my 1.9 TDi 115 AJM limp mode?

I see the username northpole on some threads and wondered if it's you?

 

[Rob Avant]

I use UKMKIVs a bit to get information on my old mk4 Golf, although not a member. Seems to be quite quiet on there these days. I’m pretty sure it’s the same northpole though.

 

[northpole]

Yes it is... I'm on a few other forums too same name.. the give away? I always use 3 periods when writing... it's me taking a breathe while I translate to English as I'm not English, Dutch by nationality but am from Suriname and speak and write 7 languages... I don't dream or think in English either... I just translate while writing.

It's quite a mess up in my head lol
yeah you'll find more than enough topics on limpmode... but I suggest you check if it's under or over boosting.. under boost is usually a leak in either the vacuum lines or the boostpipes, overboosting is almost always the VNT mechanism with a few actuators now also starting to act up.

Ps I'm on a ton of threads there, including adding information in the how2's etc... but hang out there long enough and you are bound to run into those.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I struggle with just one , English…,,lol
Always very envious of those that have your multilingual abilities.

 

[northpole]

I struggle with just one , English…,,lol
Always very envious of those that have your multilingual abilities.

Lol I struggled but with me having lifed and worked in 3 continents in 8 different countries (working in IT)it was just one of those things you do... to blend in more and make people at easy, as it inturn made my job easier.

It's also one of the reasons why I go back to edit my answers all the time as writing while translating sometimes I am to direct and it can come over as me being downright savage, or speaking down to people.

Yet if they only knew what happens while I answer questions lol... when I say it's a mess take note lol

 

[Matt275]

Yes it is... I'm on a few other forums too same name.. the give away? I always use 3 periods when writing... it's me taking a breathe while I translate to English as I'm not English, Dutch by nationality but am from Suriname and speak and write 7 languages... I don't dream or think in English either... I just translate while writing.

It's quite a mess up in my head lol
yeah you'll find more than enough topics on limpmode... but I suggest you check if it's under or over boosting.. under boost is usually a leak in either the vacuum lines or the boostpipes, overboosting is almost always the VNT mechanism with a few actuators now also starting to act up.

Ps I'm on a ton of threads there, including adding information in the how2's etc... but hang out there long enough and you are bound to run into those.

Ahaha I thought it probably was you! Your English is brilliant, and certainly better than my Dutch lol

I'll plug it in and see what the code is. I did the Mr Muscle trick today. I did that last year.....but this time when moving the actuator by hand it was initially very stiff....it eased up a little bit, but what I didn't hear this time was the distinct sound of the diaphragm moving...I heard it clear as day last year.

I'll get a vacuum tester on it too to see if it holds any vacuum and gives the rod full movement.

It's an old X reg car, was my mums from new but she can't drive a manual any more, only done 52k miles.
We imported it new from Grimm VW in Hamburg back in 2000 in the days where buying a new UK car from Europe was a huge saving.
We did the same the year before for my dads B5 Passat from Sittard in Holland.

Darkside sell actuators for about £40 for the Garrett GT1749V but I'll diagnose it all first.
Worst case a brand new Garrett turbo from Darkside is just over £600 which I don't think is too bad really.

Garrett GT1749V Turbocharger for 1.9 TDi VW Golf Mk4 90 / 100 / 110 /115

Darkside Developments is a UK based diesel tuning company, specialising in VAG (VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda), BMW, MINI & Porsche Diesel Vehicles

www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk

 

[northpole]

Well you should know how i think about the lower powered mk4's... if the turbo goes on the TDI's and it's not a pd130/pd150... either swap the engine out for a pd150 and fix whatever is wrong with it (note: find a full engine swap aka gearbox engine and all aux parts including the ecu and intercooler) or just sell it off as a project car (with MOT of course) and get something that is in the same tax bracket with more power. because you can pickup a younger car with less miles and less problems (let alone finding parts easier) for less money than you are willing to spend on just a single turbo, and that is without the time you are going to spend to put it on the car. Just think about it, add at least 2 hours from a garage and the extra cost for the consumables and you are looking at another 400 pound. that is 1000 pounds already just to keep it going and it's not even the quickest engine. So if you need to replace the turbo keep the cost as low as possible or just replace the complete car with something with more go and tuneability from the start.

The mk5 golf is better in everyway than the mk4 golf anyway and they are getting cheaper and cheaper.

Don't get me wrong i still love the golfs (every single model of them works for me) but i'll never own a mk1, mk2, mk3 or a mk4 golf ever again... the newer models are just so much better than the older ones, and if don't want a mk5 golf the polo GTI (model 6r) basically is the same size as the mk4 golf but in a lower tax bracket and has a 1.8 tfsi engine... so as tuneable as a mk4 gti, yet it has better handling and looks out of the box. it alo weights less than a mk4 golf (and that is with it having full options) so all in all it's a often overlooked car by VW golf lovers until they get to drive one. problem is the polo GTI isn't cheap period.

 

[Rob Avant]

I love my old MK4, it part of the family now. Daily driver that ferry’s the kids around and I don’t care how messy it gets. Also, it cost me almost nothing to buy and run it. I don’t like that the tax is twice what the insurance is though! Wouldn’t mind changing over to a MK5 Edition 30 maybe but they are still fetching strong money.

 

[northpole]

Edition 30 = overrated just get a MK5 GTI if taken care of properly it'll hold a certain value and will go up slightly in the years to come.

 

[Matt275]

I love my old MK4, it part of the family now. Daily driver that ferry’s the kids around and I don’t care how messy it gets. Also, it cost me almost nothing to buy and run it. I don’t like that the tax is twice what the insurance is though! Wouldn’t mind changing over to a MK5 Edition 30 maybe but they are still fetching strong money.

Same with me really, as it was my mums from new I've kind of got it stuck up my **** lol. She'd be beyond horrified if I got rid, but then I wouldn't want to part with it anyway, so I'm kind of obliged to keep it - sentimental value almost. I always said to her I'd buy it, so I did.

Happy just to look after it and keep it standard. Plenty of life left in the old girl yet, when it boosts of course! The 115 AJM isn't the quickest but pulls nicely coupled with the 6 speed manual. If I want to go fast I have my 07 Scoob STi for that.

Late last year it had all brand new VW lower arms, all the bushes and track rod ends and all bolts etc. Got the bits in from work.

I've seen 62 MPG last year...before the turbo or actuator issues I now have.

Used bits can be scored cheap as chips from ebay etc. Had to do the driver seat belt a few months ago. Got one for about £20 delivered, and seemingly in perfect condition and fitted it myself in less than half an hour.
Something went wrong with the reel on my old one and the belt wouldn't retract.

 

[northpole]

lol if you pulled it all the way out and lubed the mechanism and washed the fabric it would work again I've done this to many cars and all of them it worked... way cheaper than replacing...
don't get me wrong if the bodywork on mine was good it'd still have it... but I think moving away from the mk4 golf was the right thing for me at the time. I still miss it but if i was to go for a golf again it would be a MK5 GTI because it is the better car out of the box compared to the mk4, mk6 and mk8... the only golf that beats it as a package is the mk7 gti... the r-models are even better but a small mention here the mk5 R32 is the last that came with the v6 out of the factory... the mk6/mk7 golf r are just 4 bangers and not worth my admiration... whatever they can do, the normal gti can be tuned to do too (one of the reasons i say the edition models are overrated, just get a bodykit and done)

 

[northpole]

that all said I shouldn't be knocking the mk4 golf period but i wouldn't be able to own one without spending most of the savings of owning one on tuning... the same goes for any golf, out of the box they are just to standard and need some work to standout from the croud while blending in with the rest of the mondain cars on the road. It's the German way of modding I just can't get enough off, it's just so subtle... i did the same already to my daily avant although I'm calling it done looks wise already, maybe the 19 inch oem S5 wheels but that will be it and a slight bit of lowering, maybe do the rs4 look grill (homemade since mine is a s-line) and a full leather recaro interior but that is it. At the moment i'm just fixing the last bits that annoy me. It's a nice daily cruiser as is and that is why i bought it. No need to go overboard like i would do to a golf ( regardless of the model to be honest)

 

[Rob Avant]

Edition 30 = overrated just get a MK5 GTI if taken care of properly it'll hold a certain value and will go up slightly in the years to come.

Edition 30 has some uprated internals, K04 turbo, plus the kit and wheels. I wouldn’t want to buy a bigger turbo if I decide to start tuning it, which I undoubtedly would. Anyway, I’m keeping the MK4 for the next few years as I love it too much, it’s also as quicker than a stock Mk5, just with worse handling!

 

[northpole]

I know but as I said it in essence it is the same engine just factory tuned... the bodykit can be bought cheap enough... bit the wheels are expensive...

To me the premium for an original edition golf doesn't warranty it at all. A standars mk5 gti can be made with more power and the same looks for less than an edition model. That is what I'm on about.

 

[Matt275]

Hi northpole....quick question (again!)

I plugged a snap-on scanner into the Golf a few days ago, came up with :

"17965 Charge pressure control Positive Deviation P1557 - Intermittent"

To me this looks like an overboost code as it says Positive.

I'm trying a 3rd round of Mr Muscle and it is freeing up the vanes somewhat.

My question is, if I start the Golf for a few seconds and switch off, I hear a hissing from the brake servo booster - Is this normal? Is it just bleeding off excess pressure / vacuum from the servo itself? I spray soapy water at the elbow / rubber grommet that comes out of the servo to the hard vacuum line that leads to the tandem pump, but I don't see any bubbles at the elbow / join.

The hissing last about 10 seconds and slowly fades away to nothing.
I ask as I don't hear this hissing on my B5.5 130 AWX.

If my issue is a vacuum leak from the master brake servo, perhaps I don't have enough vacuum in the system to fully drive the actuator...hence the overboost code....just a thought....

 

[northpole]

You have a leak in the brake servo vacuum system it should be silent, find the leak and fix it... auto doc is one of the last.places thaf sell the brakeservo vacuumlines new.

And if you haven't done it yet replace all the vacuum hoses for silicone versions you'll need internal diameter 3mm.

 

[Matt275]

You have a leak in the brake servo vacuum system it should be silent, find the leak and fix it... auto doc is one of the last.places thaf sell the brakeservo vacuumlines new.

Ah ok, so that could explain my overboost code?

 

[northpole]

PS overboost means nothing.more than the turbo spinning at more boost than requested.. a boost leak would give you underboost..

That all said underboost= leak in vacuum system or boost pipes.
Overboost= vnt mechanism or turbo seals...

Also if doing mr muscle to free the lever don't forget the long motorway run in 3rd gear max...trying to hit 70mph for as long as possible. This makes the turbo heat up that much it will burn off the product... in my experience an 80 mile round-trip motorway run is just about enough to do this anything under and it won't get to burn it off. And once the ovencleaner dries it will be back to limpmode.

People tend to not go for the long drive in 3rd gear and than wonder why limpmode comes back that quick.

But do the run (only after the lever is smooth and really easy to move) stick to the 3rd gear for at least 60 miles and than during driving all of a sudden you'll see that black smoke dump out of the exhaust, and boom the car will all of a sudden be more responsive than ever before (it'll feel nimble almost like a turbocharged petrol car)

 

[Matt275]

Servo hard line vacuum hose sorted. I remember a guy at work showing me where it was split where it joins the elbow, so we taped it up and cable tied it onto the elbow.

Today I put an inch or so of rubber hose over the split area, cable tied and silicone at each end....no more hissing when I switch off Thank you very much for the heads up that the hissing was not right.
Brakes now feel much better, so that's that little job ticked off for now, bit of a bodge but it's 24 years old after all. It should hold fine.

I gave it a hella lotta beans in 3rd....which in 6 speed means about 4k rpm at 70

Went into limp mode in 4th, but did seem harder to get it into limp mode....Hopefully I'm getting there with freeing up the vanes. Mr muscle is easy to do, I'm trained at it now lol
I wonder if you can actually do Mr muscle too much? Like some may make it into the turbo oil drain and into the sump?

 

[northpole]

Nope it won't go passed the oil seals unless they are damaged pretty bad. And in that case you already have oil seaping passed and you'll find oil on the rear specifically exhaust, rear bumper, rear hatch and the hatch window. You'll also notice your oil level go down really quick.

Also how many miles motorway did you do? It's a simple check to see if the turbo is hot enough... the thing glows red hot. So you can stop in between to have a check under the bonnet. If the turbo isn't glowing red, it hasn't burned the product off so you can still get limp mode again... so I would keep at it until it is gone.

 

[Matt275]

Nope it won't go passed the oil seals unless they are damaged pretty bad. And in that case you already have oil seaping passed and you'll find oil on the rear specifically exhaust, rear bumper, rear hatch and the hatch window. You'll also notice your oil level go down really quick.

Also how many miles motorway did you do? It's a simple check to see if the turbo is hot enough... the thing glows red hot. So you can stop in between to have a check under the bonnet. If the turbo isn't glowing red, it hasn't burned the product off so you can still get limp mode again... so I would keep at it until it is gone.

Doesn't burn oil so that's cool.
I did 70+ miles a lot of which were 4k rpm 70mph in 3rd gear (6speed manual). Goes into limp on a long uphill 80mph pull in 4th gear.

I'm trying my best with it, it does seem smoother and more responsive so fingers crossed it belches soot soon. I can go to the rev limiter in 1st and 2nd and it doesn't go limp mode.

 

[northpole]

Ps did you pull the map sensor and cleaned it? It's the one on the intercooler.. they are normally covered in oil due to the pcv valve returning oilmist back into the intake. Give it a wash with warm soapy water if you don't have an electrical cleaner at hand... DON'T use brake cleaner unless you want to buy a new one.

 

[Matt275]

Ps did you pull the map sensor and cleaned it? It's the one on the intercooler.. they are normally covered in oil due to the pcv valve returning oilmist back into the intake. Give it a wash with warm soapy water if you don't have an electrical cleaner at hand... DON'T use brake cleaner unless you want to buy a new one.

Good idea, I have found the sensor, but it's virtually tucked under the screenwash bottle, Is it washer bottle out, or bumper / drivers side headlight to get to the sensor?
Maybe in through wheel arch if I remove the liner?

 

[northpole]

Good idea, I have found the sensor, but it's virtually tucked under the screenwash bottle, Is it washer bottle out, or bumper / drivers side headlight to get to the sensor?
Maybe in through wheel arch if I remove the liner?

Removal of the splash cover should be enough, if that doesn't work for you than pull the bumper off that way you'll have full access

 

[Sandra]

Hi northpole, I can't seem to PM so just a really quick question...

Are you the same northpole on UKMKIVs.net?
I haven't joined the forum for my Golf Mk4 yet but would I find good advice on there for my 1.9 TDi 115 AJM limp mode?

I see the username northpole on some threads and wondered if it's you?

Matt your pm issue is sorted for you.