Check the timing, sounds like you may have a few valves tapping. It may also be a good idea to take off the valve cover and see whats going on, look for unusual wear to the cams, check the torque specs on all the bolts, and ensure you tighten them in the correct order.

You could also have a ripped spark plug boot, and that would cause it to arc off the well. Is it only at idle or is it not noticable when you drive?

the noise is only at idling. It idles very rough and feels like it wants to shut off, I have to give it gas. When its in motion it runs just fine. Also in the mornings it dosen't ilde high at all it starts real low and then goes right back to idleling bad.

Could you be hearing a hissing noise? Rough idle and hissing could be vacuum leak. Get some carb spray with long nozzle and with the engine idling, spray around the intake area and see if the engine smooths out. When it does, look at the area very closely.

Good Luck

^^^ That would be my first guess, as well.

Boost leak test time! Where is Oldman when you need him, .....

Boost Leak Test

ddavisaf said:

Boost Leak Test

Click to expand...

. I actually did a boost leak test on my car earlier tonight....I thought of Bruce the whole time......

femmeDSM said:

. I actually did a boost leak test on my car earlier tonight....I thought of Bruce the whole time......

Click to expand...

Hey, no reverse leg humping....well at least not behind my back.

thanks alot guys I will try it as soon as possible. Ill keep you guys posted.

90Tsi AWD said:

I have another problem now. When I start my car it has a very rough idle that stays around 650-800 rpms. After popping my hood to make sure my BSS screw was still there I heard this really loud, and weird noise coming from the injector area. Its like an electric noise not a ticking noise, almost like you can hear electricity pass through something. Its very loud and noticible. anybody got any ideas?

Click to expand...

i have this exact same problem on my 90 Tsi. very bad idle and a sound that resembles electricity or even a small rodent in the engine bay. sounds like its coming from intake manifold area but not 100% sure.

Here is a video of my car. You can hear the noise while im standing over the engine bay..

http://www.project1g.com/videos/MOV01485.MPG

1G regarding high mileage tend to have coil issues- check your coil maybe something is lossely connected- i have also had this problem on my 95' TSI, i just replaced my wires with some magnecores and it went right away- i did not pay attention to the old wires, so they may have had a ripped boot- try it with some cheap NGK wires from autozone and see if the problem persists- if it does ( new aftermarket wire time! )- if not- then you may have a further problem- coild, timing, valves, maybe even a retainer or such obscure issue!

exiletalon said:

try it with some cheap NGK wires from autozone

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You have "cheap" NGK wires at Autozone?

I guess they are inexpensive when compared to brands like Magnecore or MSD...But I would hardly call NGKs "cheap"......


Oh, but I agree, definitely check the plug wires and coil. And, er......check for rodents, too....There might actually *be* one in there.
(haha, just kidding....I hope )

femmeDSM said:

You have "cheap" NGK wires at Autozone?

I guess they are inexpensive when compared to brands like Magnecore or MSD...But I would hardly call NGKs "cheap"......

Click to expand...

this is very true- but i was regarding them in comparison to magnecore/ nology- some "back up wires"- as i say, always have a spare handy

exiletalon said:

this is very true- but i was regarding them in comparison to magnecore/ nology- some "back up wires"- as i say, always have a spare handy

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Good times.
I'm an MSD fan, myself, so I know what you mean. I haven't had much luck with Magnecores, unfortunately
I've got my "backup" NGK wires on my car right now, actually. .

I just wanted to clarify, in case someone read your post and thought you were saying "cheap" as in "crappy" rather than "cheap" as in "inexpensive". Glad we've got that cleared up, .

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.......

femmeDSM said:

Good times.
I'm an MSD fan, myself, so I know what you mean. I haven't had much luck with Magnecores, unfortunately
I've got my "backup" NGK wires on my car right now, actually. .

I just wanted to clarify, in case someone read your post and thought you were saying "cheap" as in "crappy" rather than "cheap" as in "inexpensive". Glad we've got that cleared up, .

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.......

Click to expand...

thanks for backing me up there femmedsm- i have never tried MSD- ill look into that

exiletalon said:

thanks for backing me up there femmedsm- i have never tried MSD- ill look into that

Click to expand...

Here you go: http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147476&highlight=msd+wires

Any luck yet fixing this problem? It sounds EXACTLY like what I'm dealing with now on my 2g, the sound you described is how I would have put it. My guess was wires/coil too(just put in brand new plugs). I kinda have the feeling I have a bunk coilpack.

No luck so far. This is what I have done so far in my quest to end this problem: New coil pack, new power transistor, new NGKs, new wires, boost leak did reveal a leak but that still isnt it. Ive noticed though that its not just at idle like I thought. If I hold the throttle at like say 2k rpms, you can still hear it. It sounds like electrical current is passing through somewhere near the TB, fuel rail area. I knw my timing is off because the car still misfires at any rpm.Any ideas?

If you know your timing is off, you need to fix that. That could cause what you're describing. The "electrical current" noise you're hearing might be at the CAS. Usually when the CAS goes bad, though, the car won't start. But still worth a shot.

Refer to This Post for info on testing a 90 CAS and let us know.

CAS? sorry what is that?

90Tsi AWD said:

CAS? sorry what is that?

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Yikes. Haha.

Basically, the CAS (Crankshaft Angle Sensor, or Crank Angle Sensor) is what talks to the ECU and tells it when to fire the injectors (i.e. control ignition timing) If your ignition timing is out of adjustment, the CAS is what you turn to get it adjusted properly.

http://members.shaw.ca/dsm.1000q/Engineprimer/1G/cas.htm

Refer to the link I posted in my last post for instructions on how to test the unit.

ooowwww yeah get that checked out. CAS is a problem i had to deal with and its really not that fun.