VW 1.8 wonder

[mr.mindless]

Troubles on this thing never seem to cease so time to throw it to its own thread instead of daily.

Was hoping to get it over for a sticker today. Damn catalyst has failed the last 3 or maybe 4 times I’ve tried to set readiness. Every single time since I replaced the downpipe over the last 2-3 weeks.

Secondary air injection has been the troublesome monitor since I got this car. I don’t know why since the fan runs and it’s output is connected. Must be a bum solenoid or something.

Now I’m stuck with
P0420 catalyst bank 1 efficiency below threshold

Grr

[TrailTamer]

Check for exhaust leak.

[mr.mindless]

Doesn’t sound like it.

Wish the ground was drier to get under the car. I don’t remember if I managed to break that sensor loose when i was doing exhaust, I’m afraid i didn’t. That makes throwing an anti fouler or two on that o2 much tougher.

I looked through the easy stuff for SAI (secondary air injection) and it seems good at a glance. Next steps on trying to make that work would be to test the solenoid that lets air into the head in the exhaust chambers, and test the vacuum bits that drive it. They all click or run as applicable but vacuum could be missing there or the solenoid could be bad.

I don’t have a mighty vac to actuate the solenoid.

Wish I remembered where my service manual CD was, so I could dig out a CD drive and check full vac diagrams and diag procedures.

Lot of effort for a stupid sticker. Wasted 2-3 hours trying to get the cat monitor to set and it won’t. 100% fail rate. Even at cruise with way higher cat temps. min tempt to test is 440 C and that’s where it is in a lot test cycle. on the highway at 53mph is 600 +/-20. Driving that slow is annoying but max rpm to test is 2200.

[mr.mindless]

Valve locked up solid. Not a shared part with the 2.0 parts car. Boo

Small price for another year if sticker I guess

[mr.mindless]

No wonder people do deletes.

[TrailTamer]

“VW” and “cheap” don’t mix well lol

[mr.mindless]

For me they have been highly reasonable, historically.

Bad stretch here with a starter and a fuel pump and the catalytic code that makes me care about that valve.

[M4wdFab]

ill never.  ever.  buy another VW. 

[Harrison]

Secondary air injection? Like into the exhaust for emissions?

Buddy at my last job is huge into VWs and always tells me to NEVER buy one haha

[mr.mindless]

Yes, same end result as a belt driven smog pump on a sbc. Just 8x more complex.

Electric blower runs on demand, blows into a passage in the head via a vacuum actuated solenoid that must open to allow air through. Vacuum controlled via computer controlled electronic solenoid.

I’ll be happy once it has a sticker and I can consider next steps on sending or driving.

[TrailTamer]

Get some Dorman spark plug anti foul and be done

[mr.mindless]

Plan to do that as well. Shit access without a lift and I'm certain I didn't break that downstream O2 free when I had the exhaust out, so I need good access.

[mr.mindless]

Part in. Will install Friday when it’s a lil warmer

Exhaust hit a speed bump today. I apparently fucked something up. Perhaps that’s cause if cat fail code even though I don’t sea a bad leak.


I think the buggy may have to spend a minute outside to get me outta the weather with the dumb cars.

[mr.mindless]

Didn’t pull codes but the CEL is back on. I hope it’s cat and all else is set and i can drop for a sticker.

Twice stopped and once sobriety checked for expired sticker tonight. No tickets. Blew .046 second time. Didn’t get out first time. That was a relief of magnitudes.

Somehow less stressful than any stops with the truck & trailer.

[dubt]

You handled the stops great.