[Vwdiesel] Starting a cccccold Rabbit ---( Mike Smith Bondo

[Val Christian]

James,

With all due respect, I'm going to disagree with you just a little (grin).
When it's -40F, a hairdryer is useless.  Too much volume of air, and too
little delta T.  Take the air filter off, and use a propane torch.  Get 
the piezo spark ignition type, it's more flexible in this kind of situation.
Really, the hairdryer is relatively useless at -40F and on an older hairdryer
the bearings might protest.  The temperature gain on it will get you to 
20F or perhaps even 50F temps, but not the warmth you really want.
An industrial "heat gun" with an adjustable aperture might be fine though.

On the number of GPs, I also disagree.  Yep, all four is ideal, but I
had a '79 Rabbit where #2 broke off, and remained out of service for 
well over 100Kmiles, and for several winters, including ones where I
regularily started the car at -20F (-30C).  Without ether.  When it 
was cold I always knew that I only had three glowplugs, but the car
was still a reliable starter.  I do, however, agree that if one is out,
and you can replace it, do so.  But if you're going to risk damaging
the GP so that it breaches the cylinder head (a partial removal, unsealing
the cylinder), then I would just leave it.  Get it out when you have to
pull the cyl head.  What I'm saying is trade between the risk of 
having to pull the cylinder head, vs. the risk of being down one 
glow plug all the time.

Oh, the risk of running with three with three glowplugs is that if you
loose one, and it's cold (below about 30F) outside, you may not get the
car started.  Below about 10F it's nearly impossible to get a Rabbit
diesel started with only two plugs working.  Been there.

On the topic of ether.  I've used it, and I gneerally recommend against 
it.  Too many instances of damage.  If you do decide to use ether,
the safest way is to pull the filter.  Two people, one cranking, and 
the other gives a shot of ether, after the engine is up to cranking
speed.  I have heard of (not first hand knowledge) of a local who
totally damaged a starter with ether.  Apparently the engine fired
backwards, or something, and the starter housing cracked, the ring 
gear broke, and it was a thousand dollar mess.  His car was a relatively
new car.  

I can share a first hand experience...the first time I had a GP fuse go,
it was the blizzard of '77 in WNY.  I stranded, and the temps were in
the 0F region.  A light shot of ether got the car going.  Since then,
I carried a phillips head screwdriver in the car (for servicing or 
circumventing the glowplug fuse block on the firewall).

A final note on ether...I don't keep it anymore.  It's too volatile,
and the cans seem to empty without use.  In the garage I have brake
cleaner, and for the situations where I would have used ether, I now 
use brake cleaner.  Then again, I'm not trying to light up equipment
at -40F.

As for a camp stove, I agree with James.  Just not when someone has added 
gasoline to their fuel, though.  The camp stove trick works on airplanes
pretty well, also.  But the oil is usually thicker, and at cold (below
-20F) temps, it's better to drain the oil.  Reheat it and pour it in prior
to engine start.  An old metal gas can works well, because you can heat
the oil right in it.

The cold temps we've all been dealing with will soon be behind us, and 
we'll be chasing some other problem, like water leaks.

Val




> 
> The very biggest deal for Mike is to get that one glow plug that is dead and
> stuck replaced.  The smoke will be a tiny fraction of what it is now.  When
> you crank and crank, it loads up with fuel, then you burn it off sort of,
> and resultant cloud fills the air.
> I can't say enough how important it is to have all four gp's running.
> 
> And Mike, if you are on three gp's, and the temp drops while at work, defeat
> the plugs and use ether rather than running the battery down.  Teeny tiny
> shot is all it takes. Don't blow the damn thing up, but it will start and if
> you only use a tiny bit, there is absolutely no harm at all. I've used
> everything from a camp stove to a hair dryer to start these cars in -40 and
> worse.    Chance of a deere or dog pulling the cord off the block heater
> connection is directly proportional to decrease in temperature.  camp stove
> on the pan for fifteen minutes with the hood closed, stuff a hair dryer into
> the intake, and start the car at any temp with any oil. :-)
> 
> -James
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com [mailto:vwdiesel-bounces at vwfans.com]On
> Behalf Of LBaird119 at aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2005 8:08 PM
> To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Starting a cccccold Rabbit ---( Mike Smith Bondo
> Golfy).
> 
> 
> There is LOTS and LOTS of smoke on start up.  Much worse than my old 88
> Jetta TD.  Smoke is mostly blue.  I am presuming bad rings?  Possibly
> valves?
> 
>   Depends.  Smell of that smoke will tell you more than the color.  Could
> be valve stem seals, rings or injectors.  If it smells like burned oil, then
> you eliminate injectors.  If it smells like being behind a truck
> decelerating
> 
> down a hill, then it's probably injectors.
> 
> >
> > Also, I note that when I am accelerating down the highway and reach near
> > maximum revs in any gears, the car seems to "bog down" and lose quite a
> bit
> > of power.
> 
>    Injectors, timing, dirty air or fuel filter or clogged exhaust.  I lean
> toward
> exhaust or injectors first, assuming you've probably done new fuel and
> air filters.
>      Loren