Prob with my '96 VR6 - please help!

[gman]

Gday all

Just got the VR6 back from Wolfsburg Motors - good guys!

The problem was with the Throttle and not mechanical - phew..

Loving the car now.

Gman

[wakdog]

hey do you reckon i could get some more info on exactly what was wrong with it??? Mine has had the same problem and i have replaced all the engine mounts with VF Engineering mounts and it still does it, so i think i may have the same problem as you had

[DubSteve]

Awesome good to see that they do a good job. Hows the cars responce now? Heaps better?

[gman]

mmn steve the car's response is similar to how it performed before, just without the crazy jerkiness between coasting and onto the power.

there is still a rattle from the engine mounts though.

wakdog - what is the deal with those engine mounts you describe? are they better than the original ones (which by all accounts seem to be way too soft)? are they expensive?

to go into more detail about the problem, as wolfsburg guys described it, there was a carbon build up in the throttle body. though the units are meant to be sealed, they managed to disassemble it and clean it, which fixed the problem!

and its a biatch of a problem if that's what is happening to your car wakdog , i too had had an engine mount replaced in order to try to fix this problem to no success.. maybe you could have your car's throttle inspected?

apparently the injectors in my car need a proper service to improve performance.. anyone know how much such an operation costs or if there is some cheap alternative? can this be done by an enthusiastic amateur? anyone know how to do this?

cheers all!
gman

[wakdog]

VF Engineering engine mounts are available from ECStuning.com for $410USD for all three (front, rear and transmission mounts) but i would recommend only getting the front mount for $159USD as if you get all three you will get alot of vibration from the engine.

I am looking at getting my injectors cleaned at the moment too and i have been quoted $140 for mine to be done, but this is at trade price.

[Draco]

gman It's great to hear that you got your problem fixed.. Mine has the same problem only intermittently and only on accelerating from coasting (Or changing gears). I'll have to look into this as well.. I too had the mounts, drivetrain, etc cgecked... How much did the repair set you back?

I always thought that it was a sensor or something as one day it's purrfect and the next, it's like I've just started to drive manual.. It's embarasing at times when i have a passenger... And of course the scanner tool didn't show anything up

As for cleaning the injectors, you could always try a bottle of Nulon Total Fuel System Cleaner (TFSC)..

[gman]

gday draco and everyone else,

just got back from the snowy mountains - driving the vr6 through the mt kosciuszko national park's quiet, banked, winding roads was just brilliant - gave me a chance to enjoy the car far more than the usual city traffic grind allows. the little car has such great grip and power!

i think the bill for the throttle cleaning came to $160, i thought this was quite reasonably priced, given that they had to spend time to troubleshoot the problem to determine what it was..

its amazing - no one was able to diagnose the problem - i thought i was up for thousands of dollars of gearbox or drivetrain repairs..

it made a big, big improvement to the driving experience in the car so was well worth the effort.

the guys at wolfsburg told me that the throttle body is actually not meant to be opened and cleaned - they said it is meant to be a 'sealed system', but they managed to open it and clean it anyway..

since having the problem fixed i bought a throttle body from golf loon (just in case the problem re-appears). having received the throttle body i don't really understand how it is a 'sealed system' as the wolfsburg guys said..

hang on i'll attach a pic of the throttle body i bought from golf loon - anyone know why i was told its a sealed system?

gman.

[deemoE36]

i had similar problem, happened when engine is down low in rpm and i try to accelerate
checked spark plugs and they were in there since the car was built, bought new ones and that was the end of that...i would recommend checking them before taking it to the mechanic, cus they can take ur money while only replacing the plugs and telling you that it was something huge

[gman]

hey deemo that's good advice, thanks for that. i am fairly confident that these guys are genuine though, the car has had a good service history with the plugs replaced just a year ago.

any ideas about the throttle body being sealed though??

[Draco]

Great to hear that you had a great time with your VR6, I'm still amazed at the torque this puts out and I've had it for 3.5 years now..

The only think I can see that could be sealed is the Throttlebody Position Sensor.

Thanks for the pix...