[Vwdiesel] [Diesel-Vanagon] Re: Decision time...

[Shawn Wright]

On 28 Sep 2005 at 18:56, libbybapa at wmconnect.com <Diesel-Vanagon at yahoogroups.com> wrote:

> I pondered this a bit at work today.  If you are seeing constant high end 
> boost, then it is *not* air intake related AFAIK.  If you are seeing high EGT's,
> plenty of fuel is getting there AFAIK.  So, what else is there on a diesel. 
> *Timing*.  I know that you said that you adjusted the timing to spec.  If that
> was done correctly, then I would assume that the pump is not correctly advancing
> pump with rpm.  Incorrect timing advance would cause high EGT's and lack of
> power at higher rpm's AFAIK.  Air in fuel is another potential, as that *might*
> be dependant on demand.  If there are not bubbles in the line, I would swap the
> pump for sure.  

Well, it seems your pondering and my pondering paid off. I was thinking along similar 
lines, and decided I would try to swap the pump, since I wanted to check the valve 
timing anyway, and figured I could do it without removing the t-belt completely. It 
went smoothly, but I had to swap lots of pieces from pump to pump so it took a while. 
I also drained the oil (again) and put in 30W and a new filter. And I tightened some 
loose exhaust bolts, including one loose turbo bolt. I was able to swap the pump with 
the t-belt in place (not having to remove bottom half of belt cover, wp & ps belts, etc.) 
Cam timing was very slightly off, but not enough to make a difference, maybe .10mm 
side to side. New pump took a while to prime, and smoked/ran rough for a while 
since I had stored it 2 years ago with ATF in it. Then it smoothed out and sounded 
nice, perhaps quieter than before, hard to tell for sure. As soon as I pulled it out of 
the garage I could feel a difference. The hair trigger throttle was gone and replaced 
with a nice smooth progression off idle. And power is *way* better. I'm guessing 
smoke probably is up, but I couldn't tell since it was dark and raining. I noticed EGTs 
and boost build even faster, and I hit 1200F in the neighbour, so fuelling is probably a 
bit high. I went up my test hill in 4th, granted with more speed going in than usual. At 
this point, barring some other problem, I have decided to take the van, along with as 
many tools and parts as I think I will need. I will drive carefully to the ferry (1hr) and 
turn down fuelling if needed when I get there.

So thanks to all of you for putting up with my roller coaster ride, and especially to 
Andrew for giving me the final push to try swapping the pump. I don't expect a trouble 
free trip, but will be alert for any warning signs, and prepared to do roadside repairs 
as needed.

Shawn Wright
http://zuiko.sls.bc.ca/~swright
'85 Jetta D 
'88 Westy 1.6TD 5 speed
 (see progress at http://members.shaw.ca/vwdiesels)
'82 Diesel Westy