[Vwdiesel] Early 1.5 diesels

[Val Christian]

The early oils I used were C rated.  Later, perhaps 1982 or so, there was 
a divergence in ratings.  Oils were then C or S rated.  I still have cans 
of oil which have both S and C ratings on them.   Most are 20W-50.

FWIW, I have used non-C rated oil since then on my IDI diesels.  I change it
more often.  Several engines have exceeded 380K miles without lower end 
overhaul or re-ringing.

For me, it was cost...I could buy twice as much S rated oil as C rated oil.
Pulling the plug on the IDIs is easier than on a TDI.  (grin)



> 
> "but the real problem was that the heavy oil tended to coke up the rings more than using light oil"
> 
> Do you guys think this was this from the weight of the oil as mentioned, or rather lack of compression-rated oil?  
> Back before I was enlightened by you gentlemen I used a non-c-rated oil and had poor compression by 300K miles in my jetta (91).
> I currently run synthetic 15w40 c-rated oil (Amsoil) in my next (92) jetta; not far from the 20-50 mentioned by Val; and have 333K miles and compression is great...
> 
> Chris 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Val Christian <val at mongo.mongobird.com>
> Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 7:00 PM
> To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> Subject: [Vwdiesel] Early 1.5 diesels
> 
> I had a diesel Rabbit for each of the first five years they came out.
> Actually, I got two 79 models.  Lots of Rabbits.
> Back then, there was no internet, and ARPAnet didn't have a VW diesel
> group.  So we networked differently.
> 
> The problems I saw in the early VWs were:
> 
> -bad rings/ coked up rings/ blowby / runaway Rabbit syndrome
> 
> -bad fuel problems (mostly water, causing wax precipitation)
> 
> -glow plug failures
> 
> Fuel was probably the biggest problem most people experienced.  On cold
> days, you'd see GM diesels and VW diesels at the side of the road
> 1 to 5 miles from home.  It would happen on 20F days, but it happened 
> allot for diesel users on 5F days.  The only people who made it 
> through -20F days were those who used kerosine to dilute diesel.
> [I know we've talked about using gasoline...but for lots of reasons
> I didn't use gasoline, and some of the people I knew who did, claimed
> it didn't help.]  In the late 70's I got around bad fuel by putting in
> a tank, and double filtering it.  Some used centrifugal separators 
> that preheated the fuel with hot coolant.  But those were expensive, 
> and I haven't even seen a half dozen of them in VWs.
> 
> The early glow plugs had long glow times.  Relays got water in them from
> the now-well-understood leaks common to VWs.  Glow plugs would burn out,
> and while a car would start at 20F on 3 or even 2 glow plugs, it would 
> probably not start at 0F with 3, and certainly not with 2 plugs.
> 
> The wisdom in the 70's was to use a heavy oil.  I used 20W-50.  Most 
> VW owners I knew did.  It took more starter power to turn over, but the 
> real problem was that the heavy oil tended to coke up the rings more
> than using light oil.  Even the tribology guys I worked with didn't know
> that.  We started learning as the cars got older and we found poor compression
> after 200K or so.  We got smarter, and started using lighter weight oils,
> and the rings started lasting "forever".  I found that some cars, after
> running high detergent light weight oil would get better compression.
> Personally, two of my vehicles were poor starters in the winter due to
> compression, and did not improve until I pulled the pistons and cleaned 
> up the lands and put them back together.  With the 1.5 engine, the 
> cylinder heads were pretty much in need of valve guides after 150-175
> K miles, although that varied.  
> 
> Another starting problem many people had was related to timing.  Not
> everyone understood the need for timing to be right to start easily.
> Retard the timing a little, have coked up rings, and perhaps a glow
> plug or two which read OK on the ohmmeter, but only drew 4 amps, and
> the car wouldn't start on a cold day.
> 
> The runaway diesel was lots of fun!  It converted a Rabbit ride into a 
> Wild Hare ride!  Usually toasted the glow plugs.  VW came out with different
> breather tubes (the three way breather)...but the real fix was in
> reducing blowby.  Even then some oil would pool in the filter/intake 
> area.  If you were a sensitive driver, you might even notice an
> intermittent surge, as some pooled oil was sucked in.  Some people 
> gave up their Rabbits after a Wild Hare ride.
> 
> The shims for adjusting the valves were a pain.  Injector servicing was 
> a pain, but not often needed.  I never went through a starter.  Never 
> has an injector pump on a 1.5 fail me.  
> 
> They were noisy (fixed with the TDI engines, and with turbos which quieted
> the intake and exhaust).  With a broken flex pipe to the catalytic converter
> (they broke at a flange which had a triangular gasket), the car had a 
> hairy chest like no other car on the road.  It was LOUD.  48 hp, of which
> it seemed like 20 hp was acoustic energy.
> 
> So that's what it was like in the old early 1.5 diesel days.  BTW, that 
> 1.5 engine was used as an industrial power plant, and I've seen them in
> service at water parks, where they are used to pump water for water rides.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Vwdiesel mailing list
> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
>