Losing power when in boost

I first noticed something wasn't right when I was on the highway going up hill 5th gear at 80. I gave it some gas and at about 3rd throttle down the rpms Rev and my car acts like it's in neutral. The MFI screen doesn't show the gear number either (manual btw) I was a while out from my town so I decided to cruise all the way back home barley giving any throttle. Nothing else seemed wrong with the car, no noises no check engine light no bucking. Just lost of power /acts like its in neutral at high rpms. I come back home and park the car and pop the hood and there's smoke coming from the turbo / back engine area. CRAP! While I'm looking for the suspect of the smoke I notice oil coming from underneath the car. I checked the oil and it was low but I didn't put any oil in seeming how I won't be driving it until monday to the shop (being Saturday into Sunday my usual shop isn't open) I had a couple people survey the car as well and took it around the block to see the symptoms. It only really seems to be losing power when boost hits or when it's supposed to hit. And at this point I'm on back roads to i can roll the windows down and the turbo sounds a little more noisy than usual. I only have a CAI and charge pipes as far as I can tell. Previous owner put that on not sure if there's anything else but I don't think so.

I moved the car back a little bit to see if it was still leaking oil and doesn't really seem to be anymore. People have told me it could be turbo seals, diverter valve, oil feed lines, vacuum lines. And from my own research it could be as bad as rear main seal. Decided to post this up to see more opinions. Like I said I'm bringing it to my shop on monday. If I wasn't clear on anything or didn't make any sense please don't hesitate to point it out.

Its your clutch slipping.

sterkrazzy said:

Its your clutch slipping.

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What about all the oil tho?

demon342 said:

What about all the oil tho?

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Dunno, might be unrelated and that oil has been building up for a while. The gear indicator disappearing on the MFI when it's happening is exactly what would happen if your clutch was slipping.

Slipping clutch for sure! Probably caused by oil getting on it from a leaking rear main, if the oil is evident at the area where the transmission and engine meet then this is defiantly the issue, the oil will also get on to the dog bone mount due to having been driven at speed, this may have also got onto the exhaust causing the smoke, the rear main will have failed due to a faulty PCV so that will need changing too! There is a relatively new revision rear main seal that is a new more durable design but I don’t have the part number at hand at the moment.


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i agree on the unseen diagnosis of a slipping clutch. i'd say the oil could be unrelated, directly, anyhow. you say you have only an intake and charge pipes... which CAI are you running? If its a Stage 2 or one that attaches directly to the turbo, check the fitting of the rebreather hose. Also I'd check the connections on the charge pipes, as oily discharge could be from a bad fit-up.

Carlosfandango said:

Slipping clutch for sure! Probably caused by oil getting on it from a leaking rear main, if the oil is evident at the area where the transmission and engine meet then this is defiantly the issue, the oil will also get on to the dog bone mount due to having been driven at speed, this may have also got onto the exhaust causing the smoke, the rear main will have failed due to a faulty PCV so that will need changing too! There is a relatively new revision rear main seal that is a new more durable design but I don’t have the part number at hand at the moment.


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Doing my own research I completely agree with this, Thanks!

The most recent revision for the GTI appears to be P/N 06K-103-171-G for about $35 from RealVW Parts.

Does anyone have a DIY on doing the RMS on these, and how bad is it for a shadetree kind of person?

thzpcs said:

The most recent revision for the GTI appears to be P/N 06K-103-171-G for about $35 from RealVW Parts.

Does anyone have a DIY on doing the RMS on these, and how bad is it for a shadetree kind of person?

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DIY = it sucks

thzpcs said:

The most recent revision for the GTI appears to be P/N 06K-103-171-G for about $35 from RealVW Parts.

Does anyone have a DIY on doing the RMS on these, and how bad is it for a shadetree kind of person?

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Check my build thread, specifically post #68, for a write-up I did on clutch replacement including a billet RMS upgrade. Essentially you drop the transmission, remove the clutch, and replace the RMS. Actually replacing the RMS is cake, the difficulty is getting to it. Anyways, check that post because it has a lot of detailed information, pictures, part numbers, workshop manual, lessons learned, tools needed, etc. Good luck.

I took mine to my mechanic as it would have been difficult and time consuming without a lift! The billet aluminium RMS looks like a good product but I have no experience of it, I used the latest revision genuine part which is a much better design and actually seals harder if the crankcase is under pressure unlike the old revision that would instantly leak! As you have said this is the latest part number 06K103171G, search these forums as I’ve recently posted the workshop manual pages covering RMS replacement, you will need the VW special tool which is a sleeve to go over the crank which allows the seal to be mounted without inverting the seal lip, if you don’t do this bit right it will leak AS SOON AS YOU START IT UP!




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Carlosfandango said:

I took mine to my mechanic as it would have been difficult and time consuming without a lift! The billet aluminium RMS looks like a good product but I have no experience of it, I used the latest revision genuine part which is a much better design and actually seals harder if the crankcase is under pressure unlike the old revision that would instantly leak! As you have said this is the latest part number 06K103171G, search these forums as I’ve recently posted the workshop manual pages covering RMS replacement, you will need the VW special tool which is a sleeve to go over the crank which allows the seal to be mounted without inverting the seal lip, if you don’t do this bit right it will leak AS SOON AS YOU START IT UP!




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Any idea what year they started using the new revision? Or dfid it come out post 2014? I have a 2013 so I was just curious

GroceryGTIer said:

Any idea what year they started using the new revision? Or dfid it come out post 2014? I have a 2013 so I was just curious

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As I understand it it was not fitted on any mk6, it’s a pretty recent revision, I think (but I’m not 100% sure) it’s fitted to the mk7 and to the later vehicles with the same engine.


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