I did a little googling on the issues I've been having on my passat, and found something that seemed odd but matched what I was experiencing...
When I had it in for it's 120,000 tune up, they said the valve cover gasket was leaking. After googling the hard start, what I came up with was that the leaking gasket leaked oil onto the spark plugs and coil packs (they go right down the middle of the valve cover/head) and then they cause a mis-fire code when they short out because of the oil. The symptoms are rough idle, hard/no start when warm, etc... Exactly what was happening to me.
I had the gasket replaced yesterday at the local non-import shop (tons cheaper than the VW dealership) and so far, it seems to be the best it's run in a month. I did a ton of short trips shut off/start up type of driving today, and it never missed a beat. I can't say with 100% certainty yet, but I think I found the problem and I think I like my car again...
Now I gotta figure out why our 425 Deere is starting hard. It's better with new plugs, but still starting harder than it should. I think it's a fuel selenoid in the carb.
Donovan from Wisconsin
When I had it in for it's 120,000 tune up, they said the valve cover gasket was leaking. After googling the hard start, what I came up with was that the leaking gasket leaked oil onto the spark plugs and coil packs (they go right down the middle of the valve cover/head) and then they cause a mis-fire code when they short out because of the oil. The symptoms are rough idle, hard/no start when warm, etc... Exactly what was happening to me.
I had the gasket replaced yesterday at the local non-import shop (tons cheaper than the VW dealership) and so far, it seems to be the best it's run in a month. I did a ton of short trips shut off/start up type of driving today, and it never missed a beat. I can't say with 100% certainty yet, but I think I found the problem and I think I like my car again...
Now I gotta figure out why our 425 Deere is starting hard. It's better with new plugs, but still starting harder than it should. I think it's a fuel selenoid in the carb.
Donovan from Wisconsin
