Hey guys,

I have a 96 Golf gti 2.0l. Its got about 250 k Im having some serious compression issues with the car. The car has been in an out of the shop for the last couple months constantly springing new issues so the computers read, most which clear and don't appear again. In the last couple months I have had an

Oil change\ filter
Tune up
Distributer cam changed twice( got a cam censor reading. one refurbished one new, neither solved the issue)
Timing adjusted

After this I got 2 other opinions. One mechanic said it could a wiring harness issue and another mechanic said it could be ignition timing. Neither of which I'm familiar with or want to spend money on to delve into especially if its not even the issue.

Brought it back to the original shop again and was then told the firing order was all wrong??? That got adjusted for free as well. It has made a slight difference but im still having issues with the compression after the car heats up. The ***** just arent there. I know its a 2.0 but it should push alot more than it is.

Ive tried driving the car almost immediately after a cold start on a colder day, all of the compression is there. The thing hauls *** like a vr6 but as soon as it heats up I lose about 25-40 percent compression. CEL is almost always on. Sometimes while im driving ill see the CEL switch off and my car will get an immediate boost(almost like a turbo lol) but shortly after the CEL always comes back on and I start putting along. Overtaking is almost impossible.

Anyone have any ideas on what this issue might be? I love this car but its becoming a nightmare. Im starting to think a low mileage swap would be more cost efficient than all these repairs.

Any help is appreciated

 

Welcome to the forum.

What compression pressures are you getting of each cylinder without knowing the exact engine code they should be 10-13 bar.

Squirt a few drops on engine oil down the spark plug holes and check the compressions again if they increase then you have bore wear on those cylinders.

If the CEL light comes on then you need it scanning to find what error codes come back.

https://volkswagenforum.com/forum/ne...gnature-34185/

 

Hey Keith,

thanks for the warm welcome and your advice. I got fed up yesterday and brought it to my mechanic that specializes in WV.

I got the codes scanned and cleared and scanned once again. We got 3 codes. Cam position censor, mass airflow and a distributor fault code. It turns out when the butchers at the last shop it was in installed it they did it incorrectly. The distributor was not set in place properly and it wasnt tightened down. He made all the proper adjustments with the timing and the car now runs mint. No compression loss whatsoever it runs like when I first got it!

Thanks again.

 

It would be handy if you could post the error codes?

https://volkswagenforum.com/forum/ne...gnature-34185/