message to matt....it was the 'ribbed' belt that was changed,gonna get new plugs,the NGK ones,and red ht leads from VW....see if that makes any difference. sorry but i'm a bit clueless when it comes to engine maintanence. i;m gonna try get VAG-COM in the near future see if that will tell me anything,but i suppose you gotta know what your looking for!? thanks for the advice