98 passat 2.8 gurgling noise
 

Hey guys. Recently ive been noticing a distinct gurgling noise coming from the front end at around the 1500-3000rpm mark in 2nd and third gear. When experiencing this gurgle i notice a slight loss in power, as if the car is changing gears within gears. Excuse me bad explanation sorry.

Any help with this would be great

Thank you

You are going to have to explain it better. I've never heard a gurgling from a car, especially from the trans. Sorry, get back to me.

Hi, Mitchell again

Sorry for my shooty explanation. it would be the sound of a fridge turning off, or a slight tractor kind of noise. It's a bit of an echo. Again it only happens at the low rpm ranged when i give it the beans, at which point i notice a slow down in the power surge, then after that it gets up and goes.

Thanks

Well.... Unfortunately there are quite a few different things it could be. I would first start with the cheapest option, a good old tune up, spark plugs and wires, change the fuel filter and put in a bottle of some kind of fuel system cleaner ( I prefer zMax or Seafoam if they have that where you are) and then the air filter. Of course if you have replaced any of those things recently then don't worry about it. I am betting on the fuel filter. Feel free to write back for questions or let me know that you fixed it. Good luck!

hey racerx200, thanks very much for your help.

I would agree with you on the fuel filter, i have noticed the rpm sometimes "bounces" and i notice very small power lags.

Is it easy to refit a fuel filter. If you know how that would be much appreciated.

As for spart plugs, do i need special VW plugs, or can i just go and install top of the range plugs from the local auto1/super cheap auto etc shop?

Thanks again

I'm not totally certain on your model year but, there will either be quick disconnect fittings on the filter or just clamps. It should be located under the car near one of the wheels. I'm pretty sure it is on the passenger side. One thing you definitely want to do is release the pressure from the fuel system by removing the fuse for the fuel pump and start it and let it die. I don't know which fuse that is on your car but, you could get a repair manual or go to http://www.alldatadiy.com and they have an online factory manual, both are about $20. And you can go with any plugs you want, so long as they fit your car of course. I prefer Bosch. They have a lot of types to choose from. The factory plugs are NGK.