Volkswagen Diesel Engine Performance

[ccw]

Some of the german diesels in the Volkswagen 80's Rabbits had a good reputation. The new VW diesels in the new Golf's and New Beetles... what are the opinions about longevity, reliability, maintainability? The cars are rated 37 MPG city 44 MPG higway (diesel and manual tran.).

 

[CRG]

Good drivability and great gas mileage.

For $120 you can install the larger injectors they use in Europe and get an extra 20hp with no loss of drivability or fuel economy.

Any fault codes must be reset by dealer or with VAG-COM equipment. Had loose temp sensor and ended up buying the VAG-COM data interface cable.

EGR circuit can plug up intake manifold; however, if you use the VAG-COM you can reset the computer to severely limit the EGR flow making this a non problem.

Engine must have periodic timing belt changes. 100k miles if I recall correctly. Valves will hit the pistons if belt breaks, so inspect often to ensure belt remains clean and free of oil.

Headlight bulbs are awkward to install, sometimes the housing breaks if you live in a sandy environment. Had to replace lamps 3 times in 70k, housing one time. A real pain.

Very low ground clearance under engine sound damper/plastic panel.

I am not sure I would buy another one. Tough to beat the fuel economy and power.

 

[deanc]

Your lights will last longer if you install a Bosch surge suppressor on the alternator.

Must treat fuel in the winter or mix.

Unless you have a turbo-don't be in a hurry.

I have had 3 of them and love them. Do my own work and currently have a 87 rabbit with 345000 miles on it and still get 42mpg. I consider it a recycling thing.

Must learn how to drive/treat a diesel.

 

[CRG]

For clarification, mine is a 2003 TDI

Headlights don't last as long because they cannot be turned off. The front lights are always on.

No need to treat fuel in the winter. Will start without engine preheated at -20 degF. Never had problems down to -45 degF if I plugged in the block heater.

The new models all have turbochargers.

Drivability is great. Not much to learn about how to drive/treat a diesel.

 

[globi5]

In France and Spain the number of newly registered passenger vehicles with diesel engines surpassed the number of newly registered gasoline engines, despite the higher purchasing costs. I don't think this would have happend if longetivity and reliability was an issue.

If you do some search you'll find companies like this that offer ECU tuning for diesel engines.

http://www.chiptronic.ch/html/index.htm

For instance the Golf IV GTI with a 1.9l TDI engine delivers 150HP stock (probably not available in the US though). With the adapted ECU it reaches 187HP and a max torque of 389Nm (which should be enough if you are in a hurry). The adapted ECU in this case also offers a lowered fuel consumption of 52mpg at constant 72mph.

 

[SirClowNFish]

Hi all. My first Post. What an awesome forum!
I have a 00 Golf TDI w\ approx. 125,000 on her.
About the EGR system. The cooler plugs up because the blow by mixes with the exhaust and soot forming one hell of a carbon based resin which completely plugs up the cells in the EGR cooler. I remove my cooler whenever it gets plugged. A radiator shop runs a long drill bit though the cells, and soaks it in Simple Green, after this, they blow it out w\ compressed air and all the soot is removed. You could also remove it completely and just join the coolant lines, and plug the holes in the exhaust system. Of coarse your NOx would be through the roof, but you would never have to get it cleaned or buy a new one (which costs about $515) Dialing back the duty cycle with Vag-Com is a Band-Aid, and it will eventually plug up again. Ive never seen an EGR system plug up like this, I deal a lot with Heavy Duty off Highway Diesels. I never would have expected to see this in a tiny little Light Duty Diesel engine.