For starters, I have a 2001.5 1.8T Quattro, Tiptronic, AWM (late VIN)
Timing (+ related front-end parts) done a few months ago.
CPS replaced about 1.5 months ago.

Sorry for the novel haha.

So on my way home from work yesterday, my car started misfiring. Figured it was time to do the valve cover gasket, good weather & I've had the gasket, new plugs (NGKBKRE) and coil packs (all from ECS) for about a month now so..

I used the DIY from audidiy.com, which I believe linked to one on this site, and everything went well without a hitch. There was quite a bit of oil on the plugs when I removed them, got as much out of there that I could. Also I cleaned the cover and as much as I was comfortable with on the head before re-assembling. I used some RTV sealant on the corners and the front/back as described in the write-up, so after I assembled everything, I let it sit for a few hours to cure.

When I finally did start it up, it was misfiring like a ****. After about 2 minutes, I shut it off and went to get my laptop. Hooked up VCDS, cleared the codes, and started it again. It was misfiring again, but not nearly as bad. As it warmed up, the misfires eventually went away, so I shut it off and went to bed.

This morning, same thing. Idled REAL rough until the revs dropped, then pretty much evened out. I was running late for work, so I plugged my laptop and ran vcds. Came up with p1128 (hit clear by mistake instead of copy so I dont have the rest of the code). On the ride in, I watched blocks 14,15, & 16. I probably had about 30 misfires, but it didn't run too bad. But the misfires were on random cylinders, pretty sure all had at least 5. Seemed to run much better warm, BUT I was in LIMP mode the whole ride.

At lunchtime, I went to run to the store, but it was misfiring crazy again.

Any ideas before I start my journey back home? From what I've read, maybe the MAF? I had issues with it before, but just cleaning did the trick so I haven't replaced it yet.

Side note: I also received a postcard from AoA yesterday saying I was eligble for a coilpack recall. Perfect timing.

 

gap the spark plugs

check for vac leaks

if the MAF was bad, it should throw a code (sometimes not). If things were fine before you did the VCG, check those other two things first. my money is on one or the other

good luck