> You must be the fourth or fifth poster that's had the same problem. I had
> exactly the same issue with my 1995 Jetta GLS. It started with the engine
> light going on then off, accompanied by stuttering and **** poor
> performance. As soon as the light went off, performance returned. I tried
> changing the distributor cap and rotor, cleaning the throttle plate,
> replacing the plug wires, and overal there was 0% improvement. If fact, it
> got worse to the point where the check engine light was on 100% of the time.
>
> The engine kept running crappily, but then I started hearing a rattling
> sound coming from the exhaust system, after driving it for 16 months or so
> with the above stated poor performance. It turned out that one or more of
> the screens in the catalytic converter had broken off and was essentially
> blocking exhaust flow. This may have been caused by the distributor which
> it turns out was the cause of the check engine light coming on, then off,
> then permanently on.

Incredible -- you've just perfectly described what's been going on with
my Jetta. Engine light on and off (for about a year), then full on (for
about three or four months), followed by rattling from the exhaust
system (began about a week ago), now the engine stumbles from idle
(first noticed it yesterday). I was figuring a loose heat shield on the
catcon, but your description is eerily accurate.

The engine code reader had said "high voltage reading from the coolant
temp sensor," and since it wasn't overheating, I let it go. I suppose
I'll pay the high price now for ignoring the warning.