Several months ago (like 6-8) i replaced my timing belt water pump tensoiner etc... including the crank gear. because of chipped teeth. runs horrible reads misfires according to auto zone reader. so I ordered new coil packs, and new plugs gapped correctly found several bad vacuum hoses and replaced all still runs bad idles bad. wont go above 5 psi boost. I swear i have checked the timing belt for correct alignment. but please go over it again. what the hell can be going on. I have found a new need to get this car going, but if I cant figure anything out I'm going to have to sell. & go to another car. help

 

well i just pulled the new plugs , they have maybe 2 blocks of drive time on them any they are mega white, meaning lean. does this help. i also noticed on the crank pulley there are 2 holes for alignment. is there a way these go on both ways and then my lower timing mark would be off? but i wouldn't get compression right ,,, i ran a compression test when i was having the original problems 180-182 all across the board. hope this helps narrow it down

 

hmmm, maybe your problem is that there IS NO alignment marks on the crank pulley?

Crank should be set with an alignment mark on the flywheel, and companion mark on the housing.

Sort of a PITA since you're doing all your work on one side of the engine, and this alignment mark is on the opposite side. May take a second person to check it. One to turn the crank, one to watch for the mark.

 

This guy had a crap load of problems also, maybe he can help you out on what his issue was http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4114112