veedubjay 2 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Hello allGot a slight issue in that more often than not, when i go to start the mk3, the engine turns over for about 10 seconds and then stutters into life...it then idles fine and revs fine but its very hesitant on initial start up (hot or cold start).Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites
jamesw6810 80 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 lazy starter motor? battery dying? Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Battery is solid...it cranks over fine but its taking longer than it should. Will start by getting new plugs (service) and replace starter motor. Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites
jamesw6810 80 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Normally the starter would whine over a few times before cranking and more often than not sound like its carried on a few revolutions before firing, possible the ht leads are dusted up or as you say struggling to fire a spark. Check your coilpack also for any cracks in the casing...... Link to post Share on other sites
Ickyketseddie 89 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 I had a similar thing on my old mk2 VR. Int he end it'd start fine in the morning then when I left work would take a minute of cranking to start. Turned out to be blue temp sender. HTHSent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Sounds like crank sensor to me Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Also been told it could be a faulty ignition switch...is this likely? I'll check over the above mentioned possibilities at least. Link to post Share on other sites
Lukey. 381 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Just another thing you could possibly look at, I had an issue where the car would crank over for a long time when it had stood for a decent period of time, if you left the car for 5 mins and then back in the car it would start straight away.It was the non return valve in the fuel pump leaking back into the fuel tank so the residual pressure in the lines was nothing and it had to pump the fuel all the way back up through the lines and filter. New one way valve fixed it. Jakeyb 1 Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Cheers Lukey...didnt even know that part exsisted so i'll have that checked out. Link to post Share on other sites
Lukey. 381 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 It does but they are a quite old part now, it was an official recall for some early VR6s to have this part retro fitted which just consists of a bit of hose with a new valve on it. I got my local VW to order it and they had to check all the way back to Germany an it took about a month for it to appear. Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 So there i am driving along minding my own business when out of the blue the fans kick in and go into over-drive, turning at a very high speed. Got home and had a look under the bonnet and noticed the coolant bottle it leaking very slightly. Simple fix of new coolant bottle or is there something a bit more serious judging by how the fans went into over-drive?Any help/advice would be grately appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites
MK4motionVR6 41 Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Sounds like you have issues in the cooling system.. The lazy starting is probably due to the coolant sensor.. This will affect cold starts.. Where is your expansion bottle leaking? You probably need to change the cap as they are calibrated to a certain psi & eventually fail, It keeps the system pressurised correctly. I'd also look at checking the thermostat.. As this will affect the circulation of coolant within the system causing it to overheat. Mk4motionVR6 Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 The issue is a lot worse than a dodgy starter or blown out crank sensor...just had the car checked over and it turns out the head gasket has gone anyway! Link to post Share on other sites
MK4motionVR6 41 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 That would explain the leaking expansion bottle.. The system is pressurising & leaking through the cap!! Mk4motionVR6 Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Yup. Fans kick straight into over drive, pressure builds up and pours through the overflow on expansion bottle...showed no signs of this when i drove it daily (albeit for a week) and then BANG this happens. Is there reason to believe the seller would have known about this? Link to post Share on other sites
isobarboy 25 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Every reason to believe they would. If they are anything like you me or anyone here they'd at least just "know" something not right. Though if sold as seen. There is literally no hope in getting money back or refund, unless you paid by credit card or PayPal. Then you can. Contact your card issuer about it and they can intervine Link to post Share on other sites
isobarboy 25 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Out of interest on here how much is an a erase head gasket change on here? As in if it went thus needing the full works? Link to post Share on other sites
MK4motionVR6 41 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Not necessarily mate.. A head gasket can go at anytime, sometimes it's very obvious & at other times not so... Well I hope you manage to get it sorted mate. Mk4motionVR6 Link to post Share on other sites
Ickyketseddie 89 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 I had my old mk2 VR done years ago at the lion garage northampton, it needed the head alloy welding too because it was so far gone and it was around £600 if that helps give you a guide.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Its a tough one - im in no position to accuse the seller but its still a horrendous coincidence the head gasket fails as soon as i take ownership. I actually swapped my e30 tourer with cash the other way as the vr was so 'clean' compared to most ive seen out there. But the morel of this story i guess is never judge a book (or car) but its cover (or metal). Tony off of here will be carrying out the work to get the old girl back on the road and the cost is not far off what ickyketseddie had been charged. Is there anything i can do while head is off? Link to post Share on other sites
jamesw6810 80 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Grab some bar work to pay for it? Or sell yourself....... sorry mate, sounds a crapper!! veedubjay 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Lukey. 381 Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Mine was rock solid for like 2 years of my ownership then in the space of a month or 2 developed what started as a barely noticable dip in the level to weeping down the side of the block and emptying the bottle in a couple of days. My brother had a similar situation with his. So they could have, but to be fair, they could have been honest and nothing was wrong at the time. veedubjay 1 Link to post Share on other sites
MK4motionVR6 41 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Its a tough one - im in no position to accuse the seller but its still a horrendous coincidence the head gasket fails as soon as i take ownership. I actually swapped my e30 tourer with cash the other way as the vr was so 'clean' compared to most ive seen out there. But the morel of this story i guess is never judge a book (or car) but its cover (or metal). Tony off of here will be carrying out the work to get the old girl back on the road and the cost is not far off what ickyketseddie had been charged. Is there anything i can do while head is off?While the head is off, I'd check the condition of the timing chains, tensioners & guides, although you'll only be able to check the upper chain section..If you do decide to change out chains etc, that'll be a box off job.. MJ Vr6 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Daverse 175 Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 obviously check the block face e.t.c, could be worth changing the VSO's e.t.c while your taking the head off. Tony will be able to point out any bits too you that need addressing Link to post Share on other sites
veedubjay 2 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) Hoping theres very little to do but i guess you never know what else could be unearthed.Thanks for the info though...at least i know what to ask Tony. Will the front end need to come off...i.e. Headlights, grill and bumper? Edited March 15, 2014 by veedubjay Link to post Share on other sites
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