[misfiring]

hi sorry to hear about the vr not growling !dodge

did you time the cams when you put the engine back together

or was it complete when you installed it?

the reason i ask is because if the cylinderhead was replace you would have to time the cams and people know that it can be tricky and cause missfires if not done correctly

what rpm does the car miss fire

if the engine was running before you replaced it then i would look at

1 plugs and gaps

2 leads ( check in the dark and look for and lsten for the spark jumping to the cylinderhead (it has happened to me due to bad leads)

3 correct grounding of ignition system and coil pack

4 coil pack hard

5 fuel pump or regulator

6 tank breather pipe blocked listen for vacuum when taking the filler cap off (it happened to me)

7 vacuum leak in intake piping

8 idle stabilisation valve (if the engine missfires at idle) idle

9 MAF mass airflow sensor

best to have someone connect the vag com up and see if it throws any fault codes

i would be willing to help free of charge (OK A PINT)if you are near scarborough

i have a lap top the vag com program

obd1 and 2 systems

at least you wont have to pay the stealership 50 to 80 quid

hope this helps

[engine smoke and bad idle]

i would do a compression test to see if the head gasket is ok

the garage can test the water for hydrocarbon contamination then if those checked out

do a full vag com check of all the sensors

if you would be willing to travel to or near scarborough

i could plug in my laptop and check for fault codes

also check all your hoses irratic idle is normaly a sign of a leaking vac hose or bad sensor

then plugs check to see if they are oily

change the oil for some vw syntha silver or gold

make sure the oil level is correct and the dipstick tube is properly pushed into the block

otherwise you get a false reading on the dipstick