[Vwdiesel] 1985 1.6TD Jetta recently acquired

[gary]

First off, sounds like a good deal even considering the maintenance I'm
about to throw at you ...

Let's go down the list.
1) Oil. If there is only 2000mi so far on that gasser oil, I don't see
an issue. The diesel spec oil you just put in will take care of any
leftovers.

2) Headbolts. Here I think you have a couple of options. However, unless
you can get a definite answer about re-torquing from the PO, I wouldn't
trust them. a) Like others have said, you can just shell out $114.xx at
Summit Racing for ARP head studs, and never have to worry about them
again. Or, you can spend what, $3 a piece ( most likely less from
on-line sources such as AutoHausAZ) and replace them one at a time(like
ARP) and just run through the entire torque sequence as if it were
already at 600mi, 29ft-lbs, 44, 1/4, 1/4, 1/4, 1/4.(One(1) turn total)

3) Replace the timing belt. Now. Tensioner included. Did I say now?

A) Replace all of the injectors with rebuilds.

B) Check Cam timing. You will do this anyway when you replace the belt.

C) Check valve lash. the '85 was still using solid lifters. Tedious, but
easy enough to do. You can do this in two parts. Measure each of the
clearances, remove each shim in turn, note the thickness on each, put
car back togethjer to drive. Determine the size of the replacement shim.
Order new shims accordingly. In two weeks, when the shims have arrived,
replace said shims. I happen to have a big box of shims at the ready for
this purpose, so I don't need to wait. Used ones can be re-used.

D) Check/set injector timing. Just set it to 1.00mm and be done with it.
This will give a nice performance boost. Search the archives for
"Dynamic Injector Timing" to study where 1.00mm is coming from(as
compared to the OEM 0.88mm)

Congratulations on your find. I am sure you will get many years of happy
service from it.


-Gary

MLightner wrote:
> dear all, sorry if this is a bit long winded but please bear with me.
>
> I've been going over the archives and finding very helpful guidance and 
> information from the many contributors who post on this list, my thanks 
> to you all for sharing, this list is a great resource for anyone with a 
> diesel vehicle, be it a VW or not.
>
> First, a little background on the car and new owner thereof.
>
> I had been looking to buy a VW diesel vehicle for several years off and 
> on, but, up until recently I never had the money at the same time that I 
> had found a fixer-upper - I've owned 7 volkswagens previous to the Jetta 
> and, being a do-it-yourself kinda guy, I've always done most of the 
> repairs to them and all the maintenance.
>
> The story on the car, a short summary:
>
>  It has 190k miles, it had been parked for a few years in the previous 
> owner's driveway.  I'm told that the engine was rebuilt for a cost of 
> about $1,300 , but the owner didn't keep any of the receipts or know for 
> sure what all had been replaced, other than rings and bearings. It 
> supposedly developed a slight exhaust leak after about 2,000 miles that 
> the rebuilder 'couldn't hear' and so wouldn't fix. The PO said that he 
> had the rebuild done because it had started smoking and sooting up the 
> rear of the vehicle. It  has great tires, body is in fair condition, no 
> rust, asking price was $600. How could I resist?
>
> When I got it home and found that there were only 3 nuts left loosely 
> holding the manifold to the head, I began to have doubts about anything 
> the PO had told me  - Slight exhaust leak , righhtt.
>
> Anyway, I pulled the glow plugs and squirted some oil into each cylinder 
> and let it soak for a couple days, then changed the crankcase oil and 
> cranked the engine over  till I was sure oil was getting everywhere. I 
> replaced the glow plugs, then disassembled as needed to put new locking 
> nuts and gaskets on the exhaust manifold. Upon reassembly, and once I 
> finally got the IP primed it started up without too much trouble, and  
> it sounds OK to me (but what the bleep do I know?).  So  far I've only 
> driven it just a bit on a steep road near my place and it seems to have 
> plenty of power, and it starts right up at 30 degrees F (the coldest 
> it's been so far);  I have a few concerns that prevent me from having 
> the confidence  to make it my daily driver at this point, so I was 
> hoping someone here might be able to give me a few answers.
>
> 1).  I found a half container of Valvoline 10W-30 oil in the trunk, it's 
> a non-diesel rated  oil;
> if this is what the PO was running in the engine for its first 2,000  
> miles, is there any thing that could or should be done to correct any 
> problems that may have caused? ( I changed the filter and put in some 
> Shell Rotella 15W-40)
>
> 2).  Since I don't know whether the head was ever re-torqued, would it 
> be wise to do so before I start putting any miles on it?  Could I 
> possibly cause any problems by doing so?
>
> 3).  Judging from the reading I've been doing, the timing belt seems to 
> be properly tensioned, and
> doesn't seem to be showing any overt signs of impending failure, is it 
> possible that the belt could
> have 'plenty of life left in it', assuming that it was replaced during 
> the rebuild?  I guess there's no way to tell for sure, but thought I'd 
> ask in case there actually is a way.
>
> If you got this far, thanks for listening, and thanks in advance for any 
> insights / advice any of you may have to offer.
>
> Mike, in NC
>
>
>
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