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My wifes 16V has developed a problem and I wonder if anyone can help or shed some light.
When driving along the power suddenly seems to die, if you floor it the power suddenly jumps back in but can sometimes be very jerky (like a learner kangarooing a car!). It does this very regularly!
I experimented last night and kept my foot at the point of the accelrator when it ahppened and dipped the clutch. the revs just bounced between 2-4k rpm. then when I floored it the engine picked up again. Anyone got any ideas or anything I can check?

First thing is has the car been regularly serviced? If not get it done as it could be any number of things such as a dirty fuel filter/air filter, knackered plugs, leads etc. If it has been regularly serviced my next areas to check would be fuel pump (weak feed could cause this), clean the throttle body, check all pipes are connected under the bonnet and finally could be a distributor problem. Do the easy things first such as checking filters, plugs and cleaning the throttle body, then move on to the more expensive to replace stuff should it not be cured

this happened to my girlfriends one, i changed th pluggs loads of times, couldn't find the problem. even called out the aa and rac whenit eventually refused to start they thougt it was the fuel pump, but the plugs were getting wet with fuel so it weren't. had to take it to vw it turned out to be a blocked cat and a very exspensive one at that!!!!

so check that if you can

Ive got a similar problem, aswell as lack of power and cutting out.
Ive been told its a common problem on the 16v, you need to have a good service, change the cambelt if you havent already.

The throttle body may need cleaning out or it could be the temp sender.

Easy things to do yourself are clean the throttle body out with plenty of carb cleaner and some lint-free cloth, and change the leads.

Other than that, it can start getting expensive trying to eliminate potential problems... so I would recommend doing the above then giving it a damn good thrashing and seeing if thats any better

I hope its not the cat doh!! Havent had a chance to look at it properly but going to book it in for a full service make sure they change the plugs etc does feel like something is blocked now you mention it but when I dip the clutch and when its doing it and keep the accelerator depressed half way the revs rise and fall which is a bit strange!

a blocked cat normally means that the engine wont freely rev to its highest point or even stall and fumes build up, if its just hesitating you might get off lucky

i was going to say a blocked cat myself, or a damaged cat. I work at a vw specialist and we had a similar problem on a diesel. jack the car up and hit the cat with your hand. if it is knakkered then there will be a noticeable rattle.

16v

Well i took the airbox off, and my friend sprayed loads of carb cleaner down the throttle body whilst i reved....problem solved.