So, as promised - an update.
Throughout 2011 the car got plenty of abuse - throwing in the big sacks of garden rubbish (5 at a time) and shifting them down to the Gewerbe. All well and good - at least it didn't get to overheat. But things weren't right.
When I bought the car the revs would dip alarmingly has you pulled up at the lights and dipped the clutch - a little blip of the throttle would sort it out. Over time I realised that the car wouldn't rev about 5000rpm - which if I was was being mechanically sympathetic wouldn't be an issue. However the 2.2 litre engine is the non-blown version of the engine that appeared in th legendary Audi Quattro - and should be happy to rev round to the redline at 6700rpm.
Last May I'd even spoke to a guy in the UK who recommended that the car simply had the wrong rotor-arm - I should replace it with the correct one and everything would be OK. I ordered the part - but never got round to replacing it.
Anyway, back to the taking the garden fefuge to the Gewerbe. Throughout the year the car was becoming less reliable when cold - it would always start - but then would struggle to re-start when cold. Add to that a mis-fire under 2000rpm when cold - and the revs dying completely when cold once the clutch was dipped - and the car was becoming a liability. I was close to trying to sell it on EF
It got so bad that I lined up a Merc estate as a replacement.
Then, about 6 weeks ago I thought I'd just get on and fit the new rotor arm. It would sort out the rev limit problem - and as the rotor arm is part of the ignition circuit it might help with the misfire.
It didn't take long to fix - once I'd got the headtorch on - and figured out the technique for opening the distributor. The good news was the new rotor arm was different to the old one.
However the car was a little slow to start - but once it did it settled into a smooth idle. All good so far. So I closed the bonnet, slipped the car into first and headed out for a test drive. As I pulled up to the end of the road the revs didn't die. Next junction the same.
Hmmm - so I pulled over - 400m from home - close enough to walk back if needed. I turned the engine off. And turned it back on again - and it fired into life without hesitation.
I was feeling quite happy as I continued on the test drive. Each junction I was waiting for the revs to drop - and need a blip of throttle to sort it out. But nothing.
And then I noticed the third problem had gone - there was no misfire under 2000rpm. The engine was cold - it should be misfiring - hesitating - generally being a pain in the arse. But it wasn't. It was pulling cleanly throughout.
Once I checked the tyre pressures - and the car restarted without a hitch I went searching for a decent test road - and once I found it - I knocked the car down into second, braced myself and buried the throttle. The revs rising, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500 - bloody hell - this thing can shift. The engine was always meant to be quick through the last 2000rpm - and boy does it fly. 1140kg isn't a lot to shift - and with the engine now pulling perfectly it really does make good progress.
I hooned about for 15mins giving the car a lot of stick - pushing it - and you know what - the temperature hardly moved.
1 fix (which was 4chf and 7chf postage - which, in case you're wondering, is cheaper than the 11EUR I found elsewhere) sorted out 6 problems (Overheating, misfire, low peak revs, cold misfire, rev-dipping, cold restarting).
The only problem remaining is that the stereo has stopped working - and I'm not quite sure whether it lies in the car or the head unit itself. I changed the fuse in the car and stereo last night - but still not working.
It now looks like the Passat will tackle another of year of work - and cover another 3000km in 12 months!!
, and the prices on autoscout24 aren't all that good. I'm looking for something like a golf mk2 or mk3 from the 90s 
Linear Mode
