[Vwdiesel] First over the road with TD Caddy...musings and observations

[Hayden Chasteen]

Well I finally managed to take the truck out on the road Saturday and 
again today.  Total mileage was about 150 miles.  Just some thoughts on 
the experience:

1) TD engine sure makes the little truck move.  I can't imagine what a 
1.9TD would do.
2) It doesn't take much to heat the cabin of a caddy.  Man on full 
blast you could probably cook meat!
3)  ALWAYS, ALWAYS replace all of the radiator and heater hoses even if 
some look ok.  The one that you decided not to buy will burst at the 
most inopportune moment.  You don't even have to ask me how I know.
4) Make sure when buying an oil temperature gauge and sender that they 
sell you the correct sender (boy seeing oil temps that high will scare 
you like the dickens!!)
5) Alignments CAN make all the difference in the world, not just to 
handling but to how hard your engine has to work.
6) The Autotech EGT gauge reacts MUCH faster than my VDO gauge (can you 
say 1000 degrees F!)

Well that is enough musings now some problems.  I had the feeling (from 
the sound of the engine) that my speedometer was not registering as 
fast as I was actually driving.  Tonight I had the wife follow me in 
the 2002 which has recently been radar clocked (not by a cop but by one 
of those "slow down your speed is" radar devices and found to be 
accurate.  Anyway the truck speedo is 5-7 mph slow!!!!!!  I have an FF 
tranny with stock size tires and wheels, a new speedo cable and a 
rebuilt speedo head from a rabbit (actually I just fixed the broken 
odometer gear) with code 1575.  The gear on the end of the cable is 
white.  I know that it should not have the red one right?  What about 
that green one people were taking about?  Help would be nice.  Car 
smokes way to much on start up and it is virtually all unburned diesel. 
  I believe I have at least 2 bad injectors that are leaking down after 
shut down.  I have new nozzles on the way and will rebuild them and 
then have them reset to the proper injection pressure.  Only other 
thing that I am a bit concerned about is the water temp gauge.  Temp 
registers at about 1 click above middle after a good romp down the high 
way.  Radiator is new, thermostat is new (tested to correct temp and 
drilled with two bypass holes for safety.  Fan is 2 speed and it comes 
on just like it is supposed to on low speed when temperature reaches 85 
degrees C.  I have a VDO water temp gauge, I am tempted to connect it 
and see what it reads.  Will the sender used for the idiot gauge work 
for the VDO gauge?  Last but not least, I have installed a EGT gauge 
and when crusing at the corrected mph of 65 it reads between 600 and 
700 degrees F.  Anyone else have an EGT on there TD to let me know what 
a "normal" range is.  This is a bit higher than I see in normal 
cruising on my 98 TDI so I am a bit concerned.  Of course it is 
intercooled.   Looking forward to hearing comments and suggestions.  If 
it stops raining tomorrow, I will take some pics and put them on my 
website.  TIA Hayden

Visit my website at  www.home.earthlink.net/~dieseltdi
Proud owner of:
2002 Jetta Wagon GLS TDI (Will soon be up for sale!)
1998 Jetta TDI (Wetterauer Chipset, 2 1/2" exhaust, K&N Filter, propane 
dual fuel system, 109K+ miles, and running biodiesel)
1981 Rabbit Pickup ( with a freshly rebuilt turbo engine), Will burn 
biodiesel and WVO with a propane injection system.
One, yet to be finished, Caddy trailer (the back end of the truck that 
gave its life to my just completed Rabbit Pickup).
And many, many, many VWs; from a 1946 Beetle (11 Beetles total), to 
Vans (5), Rabbits (3), Karmen Ghia (1), Jettas (5), Passat (1), Dasher 
(1), New Beetle (1), and Rabbit Pickups (3) most now gone but not 
forgotten.