[Vwdiesel] Updates

[Travis Gottschalk]

Since I moved I don't have email on the weekends. Here are some of my responses. 
 
Injection pump-if the bushing is worn then the shaft and interal parts can possibly be worn as well. Mine was on my 81 truck. The pump was around $600 to rebuild. I also sent my injectors in and they were sticky as well so it was around $725 for the whole deal to rebuild injectors and pump. Brother went with Giles and it was closer to $1000 plus a longer wait time. And he hasn't really noticed the power increase nor MPG increase. He said he wouldn't go with him again. And his service over the phone isn't the best (rude) from what he said. Not saying he is bad nor do I personally have experience with him and I know his pumps are in high demand. I wouldn't personally go with parts place. So far I had one pump that would stick at high throttle with less then 20K on that pump and the other pump after around 30K cost me another $600 (the one I just rebuild). I have a place in MN that did my rabbit and it is still going fine. FYI you typically know the bushings are bad if the either the belt isn't tracking correctly and/or you are leaking out the shaft seal. I was leaking out the seal. So was my brother. MAKE SURE NOT TO OVERTIGHTEN. Pretty sure that was part of mine/brothers issue. As someone explained on here the Aluminum head expands when hot - tightening the belt more then when cold. 
 
CV for the TDI. Brother did his clutch and had to take an axle out (actually properly you don't). It got hit wrong and bound up. He replaced with an OEM joint. Don't replace the whole axle-just get the joint if you have issues. 
 
Fuel foaming-depending on the vehicle some are worst. My rabbit is terrible with the foam but if you look where the breather and filler go into the tank you can see why. Basically if you want it to the top for accurate fillings you need to sit at the pump for about 5 minutes. It helps if you do the "sticky finger" fill method. There is a little port at the end of the nozzle that tells it the tank is full. On some -not all - nozzles you can hold your finger over that hold and the nozzle will stop foaming. Other nozzles it shuts if off right away. Otherwise you can sometimes get the nozzle to flow slow enough to not foam. The 04 Golf is my easiest to fill - shy of my two JD L&G diesel tractors. 
 
The MAF sensor-sometimes you can clean them. The test is to unplug and if you have HP back it is bad. Not having it messes with the MPG some but tuners can tune it out better if you don't want. Oiled or bad filters can burn the sensor out (K&N). It gets a film on it (whether dirt or oil) and it heats up more since it is now insulated. If not totally gone contact cleaner can save some. At over $100 for it it is worth a try sometimes. 
 
Picked up the 86 Golf from my brother this weekend. I towwed it behind my 04 Golf. Had a few looks going through the Twin Cities. I had two trannies in the back of that and very little weight in the front Golf so corners were a little interesting. It had a tow bar on it. Now I can get that working for this winter as a winter beater. That puts me to 6 diesels total. The dodge gets to bad of MPG to use more then in town which I no longer live in and the wife has to drive something as well. The old Golf has some rust already to where it wouldn't be worth patching but is structurally there to last a few more years. Contimplating putting the truck (VW) motor in it if it doesn't run right away and just swap motors twice a year. 
 
I moved a week ago to the country finally and have a nice sized shop to work in. Still a rental but there is plenty of working space. I just had to clean several years of bird crap off everything before I could start to settle in. The old chimney for the shop heater had the hole in the wall still and the previous renters didn't rent with the shop so it was locked and closed for several years. Rent is even cheaper then the previous places. 
 
Thats all for now.
Travis