87 gti running issues

Ok so I recently got my mk1 on the road , started using it recently daily ,previous owner laid it up for 6 years, straight away I could feel power loss through the gears and almost and even stalling when stopping to a hault , and then it started to idle a bit.lumpy while Sat in traffic you could hear it most , then it got worse, couldn't blip the throttle what so ever had to keep revs between 2k and 3.5k while driving it home through the gears if I was to go below 2000rpm it would die, and over 4000rpm it would jump really badly , sometimes clear but most of the time it would.just die, I then noticed it to be a real to start after all this , took it out today and its got even wose just about got it home and now it won't start , any help will be much appreciated

Did you check inside the fuel tank for rust and dirt before putting it on the road? What's the fuel filler neck like, any holes in it?
Have you changed the fuel filter?
How old are the HT leads, sparks plugs, dissy cap and rotor arm?
It sound like its some sort of blockage in the fuel system or perhaps ignition side of things.

Hi and thanks for reply , I checked my fuel filter today next to metering head and it was clean fuel coming up to it but the 17mm side was all black fuel , so I checked the lift pump and there was lots of crud in the filter of the pump ,am I right in saying I have had a blockage in my fuel filter due to sucking crud through my fueling system, ? If so what's the best method of cleaning it through , cheers
 

The fuel filter (near the battery and meter head) should be changed every 20,000 miles so I would stick a new one on if you have not changed it.
There is 2 types out there, a big one and a smaller one so make sure you get the right type.

You need to have a good look at your fuel filler neck for any holes, shine a torch down it from the petrol cap end, jack the car up and have a good feel around under the rear wheel arch and clean out the dirt which sits on top of it. You need to make sure it's OK as you need to stop the dirt etc getting into the tank.

To clean out the tank is not easy, you can either remove it but you will need to remove the rear beam/suspension to get it out then you can clean it on a bench.

You could also try getting a magnet on a bit of wire and go fishing in the tank via the lift pump/fuel sender hole on top of the tank to remove the bits of rust and keep cleaning the magnet then leave the magnet in the tank to collect the other bit's while driving.

You could make some sort of pump to hoover out the tank, I think there is a thread on this site out doing this?

A new fuel tank is the other option, they are out there for £110, if you have a space saver spare wheel you need the bigger tank like this.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK2-SCIROCCO-Fuel-Tank-MK1-Golf-Cabrio-Scirocco-1984-55-Litre-/390853830884?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5b00b428e4

Picture of bigger fuel filter, Mann part number WK834/1



 

Hi thanks for your advice and reply again, I'm going to get a new fuel filter for it on the weekend so hopefully this will help, for the tank issue with the dirt it's pretty bad but I'm going to try and have a fish in there as you've said with a magnet , see what comes up out of there , I removed my lift pump today as well and inspected it and this was full of crud too so I'm thinking of replacing that too after the clean , also is there anywhere else I should be checking for blockages etc I'm concerned for my metering head , as that's the end I had a load of black fuel out off that end of the filter ,is there anyway of cleaning this ?  Also what about fuel lines etc any pointers will be hugely appricated , 

I've not had problems with mine so not really had to do a full clean only a bits of fishing in the fuel tank and left a magnet in there, there should be a filter on the bottom of the lift pump in the tank and I think there is a little filter in the fuel line which attaches to the main fuel pump under the car but I'm not 100% sure on that?
Also not sure how you can blow back down the fuel lines as there is a accumulator, a swirl pot and a couple of fuel pumps in the way before you get to the tank from the engine, I guess undo the connection at each end?

I would try fishing about in the tank, clean the filter on the lift pump and replace the fuel filter run it for a month then fit another new fuel filter then in another month check what the fuel is like coming out of the filter, the only problem is it may just be sending more dirt through your injection system and wreck your meter head, fuel pump and injectors so it's up to you what you wish to do? The only way to be 100% sure the system is clean is remove the tank and undo all the fuel lines and blow through them and clean out both of the fuel pumps etc…
 

I've decided to drop everything down off the car and clean it all piece by piece , will make a weekend of it can't wait to drive it again fingers crossed , what can I use to clean tank? Pressure washer via lift pump hole ? Also metering head any way of cleaning this? 

All done cleaned , New filter and lift pump , she's running again at least, my problems are still there tho a lot of backfiring through the airbox ? And still struggles to rev when driving ? I'm going to buy new ht leads , any pointers guys
 

Have you checked the timing?

Thats next dude , just checked rotor arm , why is it black in the centre ? I cleaned it up with sandpaper run it for 3 mins lumpy mind then checked it and it was starting to go black again anyone come across this before surely this ain't right , 

Also guys am I right in saying that because my lift pump had died it's worked the main pump underneath the car too hard , I noticed when I had it on the road driving with window down you could really hear it working , now since fitting new lift pump you can just about hear it, ?

Yeah normal for the rotor arm to get black on the top as there's a carbon pin in the dissy cap on a spring which touches the top of the rotor arm so the spark will travel from the rotor arm to the 4 contacts in the dissy cap to fire the spark plug, check the carbon pin will spring in and out but don't spring it to much or it will fly out.

If the dissy cap and rotor arm are more than a couple of years old it may be worth fitting new ones, just keep you old ones in the boot as spares.

Normal for the main fuel pump to get noiser when the lift pump stops working as you say it's working harder to get the petrol.

get the lifter sorted asap, the main pump will eventually die without it if it hasnt already

Thanks for the advice guys, I have just replaced the lift pump and I still have the same problem I drove it for about say 10hrs driving with the lift pump dead so all the strain was on the main pump underneath the car is it possible that I've damaged it due to the time driven without lift pump operating along side it? 

But then I looked at the ht leads they look like cheap ones , the coil looks about 15 years old so not the best , iv changed the spark plugs , also had a look inside my dizzy cap and there's a big gash taken out of it as if something had been slowly wearing it away , my 1st thought was rotor arm touching but it doesn't , prob not the problem but surely the coil and leads , dizzy are worth replacing as that's what it seems like a ht leaad gone or fuel starvation,

also has  anyone got a ht lead diagram from dizzy to plugs ( firing order )  I'm sure it's 1342 just want to make sure , it's a dx engine 1987 cabby 

yeah if your ignition system looks ropey then bin it all and replace. what it coudl be is a mix n match of components as they changed over the years. The 87 cabby will have switched to mk2 golf kjet 8v parts but if mk1 bits have been mixed in this isnt ideal:
http://www.vwspares.co.uk/golf1.php

firing order is 1342 clockwise, if you got this wrong it wouldnt run well enough to drive, if at all!

the coil if genuine bosch should be ok, but make sure its the right one! you should have a mk2 gofl coil on there which has a pin inside the plug lead hole, on the right here: