93 Passat wont start.

[newb]

Ok i have a dodge diesel witha cummins in it, but i got this car for free and i hope to use it to save some fuel costs. I got it for free but the last time it ran was two years ago and it started burning oil then quit and it never was tried to get started again. any ideas/common problems that i can start at to try and get this thing runnin?  ANY ideas are helpful as i know nothing about this car or any vw diesel for that matter. thanx

[QuickTD]

Because it's a '93 It will be equipped with a 1.9TD, engine code AAZ. These engines have a bad habit of wearing the crank pulley key and then loosening the crankshaft pulley bolt. Since AAZ engines are known to go in excess of 400000km without any oil consumption, my guess is that the "burning oil" was actually white smoke due to retarded injection timing caused by a loose crank pulley. The pulley key likely finally sheared and now it won't start. The first step would be to check if the crank pulley bolt is tight, if it can be removed with normal hand tools then the crank pulley key is probably worn or stripped completely. If the key is completely sheared there is a good chance that there is valve and lifter damage, pulling the valve cover will confirm.

 There are many good threads in here regarding this problem and the fixes for it. You may need to set aside and evening to read all of it...  

[burn_your_money]

Have you made any effort to start it? What happened if so?