thoughts on purchasing a TDI?

Thu Jun 15 11:59:06 EDT 2006

had a 1998 passat 1.9 110bhp tdi, but have already
warbled on about that 
more than enough in previous posts.
loved it, but did have some issues.
most are well documented for the passat, and very few
were engine issues.

I agree with robert.
The MAF? I guess he means Mass Air Flow sensor. this
is hot film and 
gets contaminated giving the ecu incorrect readings.
the only cure is replacement, although a bit of a wash
in ethanol can 
get you out of an hole.
if the car is faster with the air flow sensor
disconnected (therefore 
ecu in limp home mode), then you know that it's
rooted.
they fail often enough in europe that they are
filtering onto the 
aftermarket.

the other engine issue would be with respect to the
unitary injector 
engines (TDI PD - pumpe deusse(!!!?!))
apparently they are VERY sensitive to oil quality.
they need a higher 
spec than VW 505, can't remember what it is though.
the consequence of using the wrong oil can be little
end failure.
which is not good.
i don't know it the PD engines are over here or not

the other thing is that the TDI has 2 cam belt
tensioners.
one is the self adjusting affair that controls the
tension and is 1/2 
way up the block on the exhaust side and there is
another roller at the 
top of the cam belt between the cam and injector pump
pulleys. these are 
self lubed ball bearing affairs, and are sometimes
neglected at cam belt 
change time (especially the top one).
either can seize (if too old) and kill the belt which
might take the 
engine with it. the diesel is not 'cam safe' if the
belt pops.

I never had any issues with carbon build up. I took
the sump off ant 
250k kms and there was a bit of sludge, but no real
build up of anything 
nasty.
i guess that this could be due to diesel quality in N
america, which is 
supposedly changing........................

as for the rest, well it's a golf and will suffer from
the all of the 
golffy problems that you will find in the press
if you have a 200 20v then i imagine that there will
be nothing too 
frightening that can go wrong
you obviously already know about rattly tappets etc

geraint

Robert M wrote:
> This matches my experience, except I wouldn't 'rock
one in a heartbeat'.  
> They suffer from the same maladies as current Audi's
IMO; cheap ancillary 
> parts.
>
>   An ex of mine has one, a 99.5, bought used at
37.5k mi in '01.
>
> ~40k- AC compressor failure.
> ~50k- remove intake assy for decarbonizing.  *very*
nasty, ~35% reduction in 
> cross sectional area
> ~65k- MAF failure (and VW was asking $400 for the
part, yowch!)
> ~80k- replace battery
> ~95k- replace alternator (typical dealership quote
was $400-$600)
>
>    The glovebox hinge broke and the door flopped. 
The change tray cover 
> broke.  The window regulators would bind and
spontaneously reverse.  It 
> stank something fierce.  The bellypan disintegrated.
 When you came to a 
> stop with the sunroof open the cabin would flood
with toxic fumes.
>
>   To be fair, it was fun to drive and solid on the
highway.  We drove from 
> Detroit to Salt Lake City and stopped for gas twice
as I recall- she 
> consistently got ~47 mpg.  Be a good powertrain for
a sand rail ;)
>
>   
>> From: tmb <the_questionist at yahoo.com>
>> To: CL Wong <montesawong at yahoo.com>, AudiFans
<quattro at audifans.com>
>> Subject: Re: thoughts on purchasing a TDI?
>> Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 07:12:14 -0700 (PDT)
>>
>>     
>>> I'm not exactly sure why but I've been toying
>>> with the idea of buying a used TDI (Jetta or
>>> Golf) recently, but I know I need to do some
>>> research.  I know there are a few TDI owners
>>> here so hopefully I can get some leads for more
>>>       
>>> reading material.
>>>       
>> i'm not currently a TDI owner, but i would like
>> to be at some point.
>>
>>     
>>> My questions are:
>>> any particularly good buying guides online?
>>>       
>> i dunno.
>>
>>     
>>> Any reliability issues that would surprise a
>>> 20020v owner?
>>>       
>> for the most part, the cars are very reliable.
>> they're not as durable as the old skool turbo
>> diesels from back in the 80s and early- to
>> mid-90s, but the trade off is easier to use
>> vehicles, with more power, performance, and
>> refinement.
>>
>> some things off the top of my head that are issue
>> areas with mk4:
>>
>> -front door window regulators
>> -O2 sensors
>> -coolant temp sensors
>> -MAF sensors
>> -front armrest handles
>> -headlight bulbs
>> -taillight bulbs
>> -side marker bulbs
>> -power mirror switches
>> -catalytic convertors (can be troublesome)
>> -radios
>> -seat heaters
>> -seat heater switches
>> -lower engine covers
>>
>> one thing to be aware of with the TDIs is the
>> crazy carbon build up that occurs in the intake
>> system.  i've seen a lot of TDI vehicles with
>> blown motors that have died as a result of a hunk
>> of carbon falling into the cylinders.  that is an
>> expensive repair, there's no two ways about it.
>>
>> i'm not trying to deter you from the purchase,
>> just trying to shed some light.  i know that the
>> cars can be a PITA, but i'd still rock one in a
>> heartbeat.
>>
>> HTH!
>>
>> jason
>> tmb
>>
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>
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