Hello, I have a 1992 Golf MK2 (.

ANONYMOUS

MEMBER
1992 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
259,000 MILES

Hello,

I have a 1992 Golf MK2 (gas and manual transmission), and it's been having problems going uphill. The car feels as if it's losing power, it starts puttering and jerking as it tries to keep going. This causes the car to slow down gradually and eventually I have to pull over to the side of the road to let people behind me pass. Usually restarting the engine helps, but no matter how hard I push on the gas pedal the car still will not accelerate. Sometimes the power catches and it drives more properly, but now it usually just loses the power again. If I stay in 3rd gear revving around 3,000 is the best possible way to avoid it, but lately this hasn't made a difference. It's more likely to lose its power like this when in 4th gear trying to chug up the hill. It definitely seems like it's getting worse with time.

My landlord, who helps me with my car stuff so I don't have to see a mechanic and I can save money, had a thought of using Sea Foam on my engine to help, but I have no idea where/how to use it. My boyfriend thinks the problem might be my fuel filter but he's not sure. I'd really like to know what is wrong with my car before it breaks down for good.

Thanks,
Michelle

2 Replies

EXOVCDS

MECHANIC
1,883 POSTS

Your car has 2 fuel pumps, one under the car and the other inside the gas tank. If the one in the gas
tank stops working, then the main pump struggles to get fuel which leads to power problems, stalling
or hard starting.

Usually when the in-tank pump goes bad, the main pump gets noisy (buzzing sound from right rear
of vehicle ahead of the right rear tire).

Checking fuel pressure at the Injector rail alone, will not tell you if the pumps are bad, they need to
be tested individually for flow & current draw (current ramping waveform).

You could also have an O2 sensor problem or a fuel pressure regulator problem

Things like this are best left to someone familiar with these engines (VW Specialty Shop).

Thomas