[Vwdiesel] Diesel talk for beginners --- ( Does a Dieselengine slow down ...

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

except I think the bucking trashed a
tranny to chassis mount. The car now swerves to
right after accelerating hard and letting off the
fuel. Anyone concur on this diagnosis?


  I'd look at a lower control arm bushing instead.  Tranny mount would 
let the engine and transmission buck and move but shouldn't affect the 
alignment, which is what it sounds like you have going on. 
  If I didn't find a bad bushing then I'd check tie rod ends (outer AND 
inner) ball joints, wheel bearings (front and rear) for slop and upper 
strut mounts, in about that order.
  
  On braking, I think most of us refer to a running engine when we talk 
about "engine braking".  Meaning foot off the accelerator pedal, going 
downhill or coasting to a stop.  Seat of the pants, in my experience 
says that an unthrottled diesel doesn't offer a lot of it.  Compression 
doesn't figure in as much as it should due to the compression resistance 
being overcome by the engine's own fuel system while idling.  A gasser 
has a throttle valve which then has the engine pulling a vacuum, fighting 
the idle momentum a bit more.  Compare either to a throttled diesel (early 
Mercedes) and then you REALLY get some engine braking!  Get your 
foot unsteady on a rough road in Dad's '70 220 and you start getting 
thrashed back and forth pretty good!  It's not all that noticeable at higher 
speed though, really noticeable at an idle.
  Sure engines shut off and the diesel should "brake" more.  That's generally 

not standard practice though.
     Loren