[Vwdiesel] idle switch, diesel leak, oily engine block

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

  A common leak place IS the o-rings around the cold start advance.  Parking 
it in the advance position isn't your cause of leak, so don't kick yourself.  
:)  
You can get a gasket kit from a Bosch rebuilder.  You'll have to pull the 
pump to get at it and change those o-rings though.  :(  Make sure it's not 
an injector or return line or such first.  Usually a little carb cleaner or 
whatnot, to rinse things off then look for the diesel after running it a bit. 
 
You might be able to look for a clean streak as is.  
  Head gaskets have an oval o-ring or multi ridged ring around the one 
high pressure oil passage.  This often breaks loose and comes out 
kidney shaped, when you pull the gasket.  Breaking loose lets the 
head gasket be the oil seal instead of the "rubber" seal.  This lets oil 
leak out.  If you can tolerate a little weeping leave it.  If it bugs you 
then 
you're going to be doing a head gasket.  It's really only necessary to 
fix it, if it becomes a leaker instead of a weeper.  (Don't fear the weeper?) 
 ;-D
  Throttle switches.  Clean 'em out with contact cleaner or whatever and 
put it in whichever way works best.  Put a DMM or VOM to the contacts 
and work it by hand.  Mine were all gummed up and cleaning did the 
trick.  Only lasted about a year though and I haven't bothered to clean them 
up again.  Kinda cool to have the upshift light working but I really didn't 
pay it much attention, just admired the yellow/orange glow.  :)
 Your starting sounds about normal but a bit toward the hard starting end 
of normal.  The white smoke during cranking might indicate a bad glow 
plug, injectors that are marginal or lowish compression.  It seems like 
it should start a little easier than that at 25F, but if it doesn't seem like 

it's fighting to start or to idle smooth at the start, then it's probably 
just 
fine.  :)
  Be sure to find out the battle plan for the headliner before you let an 
upholstry shop have at it.  A guy did one for my sister and charged 
almost double of what most people on the net were paying plus he 
used some visible fasteners to hold the old cardboard up.  You'll 
either have to pull the cardboard and reshape it or toss it and fill 
the roof with foam, such as carpet pad, and smooth over the braces, 
then glue the material to all that.  The other option is to visit a yard 
on a hot summer day and pull the liner out of a pre 81 Rabbit and 
put it in there.  :)  I suppose there are other fixes but those are the 
ones I know of.
  As for braking and engine compression.  You do get some compression 
braking but not like a gas engine. Sure there's a lot more compression 
but there's no air throttle.  THAT'S what makes the major brakign effort 
on a gas engine.  Get in an old Mercedes and get lurchy with the pedal.  
It'll bounce you back and forth in your seat!   They put an air throttle on 
those and they do hold back much more.  Really noticeable at slower 
speeds.  Using the engine for holding back doesn't wear on the synchros 
at all.  That is if you simply let off the throttle.  Otherwise it's not 
going 
to do any more than if you downshift as if going UP the very same hill.  
I wouldn't recommend doing it excessively but then I don't think I've ever 
heard of a Rabbit tranny that needed a 4th or even a 3rd gear synchro.  
Thrashed ones likey are an exception.  Second gear is the one that 
usually goes and oddly it's a different material usually, which seems 
to slip more from the start!
     Loren