84 ITB Scirocco Power Problem

[Campbell]

I had my 84 ITB Scirocco at the track today to sort out coil overs/ride height and started having "power" problems.. after a few laps I started losing rpm's, first in 4th it fell from 6200 to 5700 to 5000 rpms tops, then it started doing it in 3rd as well. I checked the distributor and the advance seemed to work correctly. It just seemed to lose power, no miss or anything unusual - it just wouldn't pull any farther. Has anyone had this happen to them? thanks

[Ryan Williams]

If you have an EGT gauge, what did it show? Is this the first outing? Check system pressure...maybe a slightly clogged fuel filter. What were the oil and water temps?

Drop in RPMS can be due to extreme friction (ie bearings, etc). Any other indications to help us to understand the problem? Regards, Ryan.

[Dick G]

I had that happen to my 84 also. Was at Gingerman and the rpm started dropping, turned out to be a cooked coil wire.
[email protected]

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Dick Gagliardi
ITB Scirocco
Loop RACING

[Bill Miller]

I chased this exact problem w/ my '84 GTI most of last season (seems it started right after I put a new VDO tach in! :angry: ). Turned out it was a bad computer. I went through putting in a new Bosch dist. and coil and taking out the tach and putting in new wires (including coil) before I changed the computer. After I put a different black box in, it was fine.

The problem was exactly as you described. After a couple of laps and the car getting up to temp. it would start to only pull to a certain rpm. The more the laps went on, the lower that rpm limit got.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI

[Campbell]

Ryan,

This was the first outing this year. I had the head rebuilt and put new rings in 2 years ago. I had started to notice a slight, maybe 100 to 200 rpm, deterioration in 4th gear rpms last year but it didn't seem like a serious issue. The temp was normal and I had good oil pressure (don't have an oil temp gauge - I should add one). I also watched the fuel mixture indicator and it showed the system working properly. Sorry I don't know what an EGT gauge is so I must not have one. I am going to change the plugs, oil and fuel filter and inspect them closely. I will also check all my wires and do a compression check. I wonder if it is the fuel pump.. if bearings were cooking would it knock or make noise? thanks for your help, this has me stumped and I am bummed that the next outing will be a race weekend, it is such a drag to chase things during qualifying and the race sessions.

[This message has been edited by Campbell (edited April 20, 2002).]

[Dave Zaslow]

If this is a JH engine car you should also suspect the hall sensor in the distributor. This sounds like a classic case.

[Rick]

May want to check your valve springs. As they get tired you'll lose power and RPM but may not notice an actual miss. Rick

[Campbell]

Well, I never made it to the track this weekend! Friday afternoon I was getting the car ready to go when I noticed smoke out the exhaust. A distinct Blue/White smoke cloud would blow out whenever I gunned it and let off and gun it again however when I held it steady at 4,000 or 5,000 rpms it didn't appear to smoke at all. It then began a light blue/white smoking at idle.

I guess it wasn't the fuel pump as I hoped that dropped the rpm's at the track (did a cold engine compression check: 170, 165, 165, 170 so I thought compression was okay). I had noticed a drop in the radiator fluid level that baffled me when I was testing the new fuel pump..

I tore the engine done and popped the head - I couldn't see anything apparent!! crap I wanted a smoking gun. I do think the head gasket had leaked/blown somewhere but it just wasn't obvious. I am running the head over to the shop as long as I have it off and am going to get it checked and freshend before reinstalling (2 race seasons on it and the piston rings). I hope the new head gasket fixes it, everything else looks pretty good - any suggestions on anything else I should do before re-assembley? thanks

[racer-025]

Myself not being a VW guy, but I would throw in a set of rings while the head was off. Its all too easy to drop the pan and pull the pistons. And check the rod bearings while they are out. Did all the pistons look consistant? How about the plugs?