are 1.8T's JUNK????

[Ti Kan]

JordanVw at aol.com writes:
> ive heard nothing but bad things about the 1.8T..   oil sludgeing..broken 
> timing belts and bent valves..bad turbo lag...

The 1.8T has been used on A LOT of cars and of course you're going
to hear about some problems.  The reality is that these engines
are very good.  For every complain you hear about there are probably
hundreds, if not thousands of others that are providing trouble-free
service.  Like most things mechanical, they are not perfect and have a
few Archilles heel spots that needs tending to, and the later model years
are generally improved over the earlier ones.

Oil sludging is due to too-long change intervals and use of improper oil.
Broken timing belt is mostly likely caused by the belt tensioner seizing
on the early cars (since corrected by a redesign), or water pump problems.
Of course when the timing belt breaks you're gonna get bent valves.
Turbo lag?  Nah. It's one of the least laggy turbo engines around.
Boost builds instantly and there is a ruler flat torque curve from
around 1750 rpm and up to over 5000 rpm...

> and then to find out that VW  has completely dropped the 1.8T engine from 
> their lineup for the '06 models..  must be a reason.. 

Yes, it's because the new 2.0T with FSI is going to replace the 1.8T.
The 2.0T will have a significant gain in hp and torque over the 1.8T
while maintaining good fuel economy and lowered emissions.

-Ti
-- 
Ti Kan
http://www.amb.org/ti
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