I purchesed a used vw beetle auto trans after warm up the engine seems to fall flat while going up hill or going too deep in the throttle. I will straighten out after toping the hill or if backing out of the throttle. No visible smoke. I am looking for possible problems. Engine runs smooth all other times.
Thanks

 

You are in the wrong damn end of the internet over yonder. Go to tdiclub.com they will set you straight.

 

Don't be so intolerant of those "alternate diesel lifestylers" - at least they are driving diesels! Even if it is a VW...

In order, things to check:

Hook it up to a scanner and check for codes. That might be enough to find the problem.

Problems with those include the EGR puking soot into the intake, clogging it up and restricting the breathing. You may want to pull the intake manifold and clean it up. Other possibilities include a non-working turbo, a seriously fouled air cleaner or some other restriction in the intake.

If the rpm's aren't going wild to indicate a tranny problem (the auto transmissions on VWs are disposable) and the air intake isn't the problem - you may not be getting enough fuel into the engine. This could be from fuel starvation (the IP on that year sucks fuel, there is no external fuel pump) or possibly a bad IP. I wouldn't expect all of your fuel injectors to be plugged at the same time - but I suppose that could happen.

 

I drive one of those Diesel VW's! I was just saying the folks on tdi club would be able to help out much better than the majority of folks over here.