Hey, I was driving my diesel, manual trans, 2000 VW Golf today, passed a truck, then the engine just died and won’t start again. Battery is fine and the engine will “almost” turn over, but not quite. Timing belt? Fuel pump? Any ideas? It has 175k miles and the timing belt was replaced by the dealer at 140k miles. (Had it towed and it’s just sitting in the driveway.)
Why did you have it towed to your driveway, rather than to a mechanic? Are you planning to fix it yourself? Good luck with that.
Timing belt? Unlikely, but you could remove to cover and look. Have you done that?
Fuel pump? Well, yeah, sure, it might be the fuel pump, but, again, why not test it and see?
There are hundreds of possible reason why your Golf quit running. You, or someone, will have to go through a long list of diagnostic procedures to determine what’s wrong.
Have you checked the fuses?
Check the 109 Relay and the anti-shutter valve. It that suggestion just leaves you scratching your head, then I suggest stopping by: tdiclub.com. If no one here can get you aimed correctly the tdiclub people will likely help you out.
Thanks for the suggestions. Had it towed to the house because the nearest dealer is 30 miles away and also because my next door neighbor is a mechanic…though just learned he’s out of town for a week or so. Thanks for the input. Matt
The timing belt on our Golf would break once a year like clockwork.
This should not normally happen. Someone is not installing it correctly or else there is an uncorrected problem such as misalignment.
Diesel or gas version? If diesel that would be might expensive as it would mean a seriously damaged engine. It might even have the same effect in the gasoline version, but I am not sure if it is an interference engine or not.
In either case I would suggest someone did not replace or check the tensioner and or water pump etc. They may have been the problem with the first broken belt. Often they are just replaced to be safe. I recommend replacing them even if they look OK.