A question for the technical folks:

Christmas day, I was in need of fuel and (horror of horrors) the only
station open was an ARCO. So I filled the tank with ARCO premium and
drove 30 miles or so without any issues. The next day, after about 25
miles of freeway driving, I noticed a ticking sound from the engine
compartment at idle. Slightly pushing the gas stopped the noise. The
car seems to run fine, but with noticably less power than usual. I'm
guessing the ticking sound is knocking, but it doesn't sound like the
knocking I'm familiar with on older carburator engines - that's more of
a rattle or clank - this is a ticking that seems correlated with engine
speed.

I plan to put "real" gas in the car when I run it down to 1/4 or so. I
expect it will correct this issue or it will be in to the dealer. I
have 13000 miles on it so far without any issues at all, so it's a
pretty distinct correlation between putting ARCO in it and getting a
peculiar engine sound.

Anybody have any comments? Presumably the engine has knock sensors
that retard the timing appropriately, but would I hear this sound even
if they are working properly? Perhaps they've retarded the timing as
far as they can, but the engine still knocks.

Yes, I know.... Don't use ARCO!

Thanks,

Torky

Hi,

I have a 2000 Golf that has sustained some front end damage.....am
looking for the following parts:

o Left Front Fender
o Front bumper cover
o Hood
o The part that goes across the front that the headlights and the hood
latch bolt into.
o Perhaps another misc. part or 2.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

Torky wrote:

Could be a number of things, of which knocking is one. But before going
any further a few questions:

a) What kind (and weight) of oil is in the car, and when was it last
changed?
b) Are you experiencing any sort of overheating? I assume that the car
has a gauge, is it reading any *differently* than normal?
c) Please define "lack of power". The follow-up question to this is
when is the last time your fuel filter was changed? Sometimes a load of
bad gas (or running the tank down to near-empty) can put a marginal
filter over the line.

Let us know for further suggestions. But if you have hydraulic valve
lifters with "winter-weight" 0W30 weight oil, they will tick some when
the engine gets hot sometimes.

If your fuel filter is plogged, you will run lean, which contributes to
knocking, overheating and lack of power. Computers are very good, and
can do the improbable... but not the impossible.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

Does your owners manual specify what octane rating should be used? If it
says 91 or higher, and you used 87, then probably the noise is due to engine
knocking and will go away when you fuel up with the correct rating.

As for ARCO gas stations, there are none in this area that I know of
(central Ohio), but gasoline brands have never been a concern. I have found
them all to be about the same quality, so I buy according to the lowest
price. Fortunately for me my cars (a 95 Buick Roadmaster and an 88 VW
Cabbie) perform with no problems using 87 octane.

You should really create your own thread rather than insert your post into
the middle of a thread that has nothing to do with your situation.

Thanks folks, I appreciate the help. To address your questions.

The oil was last changed in October 2006 at 10,000 miles - about 3500
miles ago. It was filled with ZVW 352 540 S, 5W-40 synthetic at the
dealershop.

Engine temperature has been right on 190degF and hasn't differed since
I bought the car last May.

Lack of power? Not really noticable with ordinary driving, but with
foot-to-the-floor and higher revs, the car seems sluggish compared to
what it was before this "fuel event."

The owners manual says to use premium (91 octane, 95 RON minimum) but
that regular is acceptable. It also says that anything less than 87
The fuel filter has never been changed, but at around 13,000 miles I
wouldn't have expected it to be necessary. However, I am one of those
guys that fills up when the light goes on. Perhaps I should change my
ways....

Torky wrote:

This is OK every so often, but not as a habit and not if you purchase
at low-volume stations.

Worst times to purchase gasoline:

a) Just before a delivery. You are sucking dregs.
b) During a delivery. The dregs are being stirred about.

Fuel filters *should* last 30,000 miles, all things being equal.
However, all things are seldom equal. We maintain four vehicles at this
moment and we have a spare fuel filter on the shelf for each one for
that reason alone. Depending on your peculiar (in the sense of
specific) circumstances 13,000 miles may be a stretch. But if you are
not having problems under normal conditions, run a can of Techron
through at the next fill-up and see what gives. If the condition
remains, change the filter.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

I thought some of you might want to hear about the resolution of the
Ticking Sound. When the tank got down to about 1/4 I filled up with
Shell premium. The ticking sound didn't quit immediately as I had
expected it would. So I called the dealer service department. They
thought it was probably the "evac valve" whatever that is. I had some
trouble understanding through his accent, but I think that was what he
said. Nothing to worry about, he said, a slight ticking is normal.
However, he couldn't say why the car hadn't ticked this loudly prior to
using ARCO gas. They were willing to take a look at the car if I
wanted. I drove it about 100 miles and the ticking continued. Then
checking the oil, I noticed the level was about only 1/3 of the way up
from the "fill" mark. So I topped it off. In about a day, the ticking
quieted and then stopped. Not a definite cause and effect. My thought
is that the car isn't >that< sensitive to oil level - as long as it's
above the fill mark, but I'd rather be close to the "full" mark. I
don't think oil level was the problem. I did notice that performance
and mileage (based on the display) improved gradually after filling
with Shell gas. And the ticking gradually stopped. So I think the
gasohol from ARCO was the problem and that the computer takes a while
to re-adjust itself.

Torky

I have the same exact issue.
I have already brought my 2006 GTI back to the dealer and they tested
it, without finding anything.

I did find this TSB
(http://www.alldata.com/tsb/Volkswage...00000_2006-04/)
online and thought I discovered the issue.
I called the dealer, with the TSB info, and they said it doesnt apply.

I hope the noise just goes away when I fill it up again.

"Torky" wrote:
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