Author Topic: New VW owner questions (Read 4377 times)

cube1980 · « **on:** July 10, 2008, 06:24:02 pm »

Hello to all and thanks in advance for any help I get off this site. I'm proud to say that I've just purchased my first VW and my first diesel. I picked up a 1996 Golf diesel 5spd std the other day with 212,000km on it. It needs a bit of work on it but so far I haven't found anything major (just brakes so far) As a first time VW diesel owner I have a few questions (may add more as the days go by)

Firstly I'm looking for anything in particular I should do to this vehicle since it has been sitting for nearly 8 months. The brakes will be replaced as they are rusted and were seized. I've purchased some 15W-40 Quaker State diesel oil and a filter and a fuel and air filter. The car runs fine and starts no problem. Should I be looking at doing anything else to it right now? I've heard of people flushing the injectors with some product called diesel purge or something of the likes?

Ok here are some specific questions.

What type of oil should I use in the engine. I live in Northern Ontario so should I use two different weights (summer/winter)?

What type of manual transmission oil should I use (should I think about changing it? The clutch was done about 30,000 km ago

What type of antifreeze should I use? I noticed there was no filler cap either (other than overflow) does this mean it's a maintenance free coolant system?

What type of brake fluid should I use? Should I think about draining it all and replacing it with new fluid?

Is there any service I need to do to the turbo?

What is the difference between the golf TDI's and the 96 golf I own?

Are there any chips or engine controllers to boost performance?

Anyways these are just a few of the questions I have right now, I'm sure more will come up as I go along.

As of right now I'm currently in the process of trying to get the front brakes off (caliper bolts are seized, and the head is stripped, most likely going to use an easy out and try and find new bolts)

I had oil leaking from the oil pressure switch but it was simply a matter of tighning it to the side of the engine.

Thanks for any replies

burn_your_money · « **Reply #1 on:** July 10, 2008, 06:34:23 pm »

Welcome to the black side

With the engine running look at the crank pulley, if it is wobbling you have a serious issue known as crank pulley failure. Do some research on it and determine your best course of action.

thedeezel · « **Reply #2 on:** July 10, 2008, 07:58:24 pm »

Any idea when the timing belt was last changed?

Why was it sitting for 8 months?

I use 15w-40 Shell Rotella in my rabbit all year round, is the Quaker State you bought a synthetic?

You could suck out the brake fluid resovoir and replace the fluid, brake fluid draws moisture over time which is bad for the system. Better yet you can fill the res. with new fluid and crack the bleeders and let the new fluid force the old out of the lines, just be sure to keep the fluid res. filled as you do one wheel at a time.

You can use PowerService Diesel Kleen on the system to flush it.

Change the fuel filter at the same time you replace the oil and filter, fill the new filter with fuel before you put it on.

You can pull the intake hose off the turbo and check for wobble on the main shaft, side-to-side and up&down shaft play. Minimal play should be expected.

Good luck, and dont be afraid to ask anything, even if it seems trivial, and give us time to respond.

cube1980 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 10, 2008, 08:06:36 pm »

Thanks for the replies so far!!

The car was sitting for so long because the person was working out of town (flying helicopters up north) and he just wanted to get rid of it. (got it for $1500)

I ordered a repair manual for it since I'm not familiar at all with this engine.

The oil is not synthentic that I bought but I did see the Rotella there and it wa around the same price as the oil I bough.

What do most people use for an oil change interval? 5,0000 km??

As far as cleaning the fuel system, do I just add it to my tank or is there a way I can attach it to the fuel pump and clean the system without diluting it in the tank?

I don't know when the belt was changed last. I'm going to call the local VW dealership here in Northern Ontario and see if there is any record. If not I'll just foot the bill and have them change it since I want to get it on the road ASAP and then I'll look at doing it myself next time.

Well back to work trying to get the front brakes off...thanks again for the helpful replies.

jtanguay · « **Reply #4 on:** July 10, 2008, 08:16:00 pm »

go with a synthetic 0w40 oil in the winter. if the engine is loose it will burn off a bit of the oil. you can run 15w40 in the summer to help minimize oil burn off, and even go with a thicker oil if she burns too much, but the initial oil pressure will be lower, so you have to let the engine build up pressure before taking off. 0w40 flows pretty fast throughout the engine so you can get moving quicker :wink:

do as thedeezel says. the brake fluid in that car is probably highly acidic. there is a vent on the brake reservoir that lets moisture in (its to allow air to move in/out during hard braking). brake fluid is hydroscopic so it aborbs a hell of a lot of moisture and turns very acidic... i believe a wheel cylinder on my car got eaten by just that... not such a bad job. just very messy, and care has to be taken when working on the brake system (you dont want to spill brake fluid on your drive way :lol:) most manufacturers say 2 years for brake fluid, and you can get synthetic stuff but just go with dot 4. would be nice to be able to use the silicon brake fluid, but our systems won't take it (it does not turn acidic... pretty much good for the life of the car??? :shock:)

diesel purge is pretty good at cleaning sticky injectors etc. the full product name is lubro moly diesel purge. can easily be found online.

and as stated above, inspect the timing belt as well. look for cracks etc. if that goes, kiss your motor goodbye & have a nice big repair bill.

i'm guessing you live in Canada, and here's a good site where i bought my diesel purge:
http://www.precisiontuning.ca/catalog/index.php?cPath=43_47

they also have a broad range of high quality lubricants- Total (formerly Elf) being one of them.

thedeezel · « **Reply #5 on:** July 10, 2008, 09:28:30 pm »

Hydroscopic, that's it, I couldn't think of the word when I wrote that.

I tend to stay away from Quaker State and Pennzoil, they are made from a parrafin based crude oil and can, over time, leave lots of deposits in the motor. I had a Chevelle I bought form the original owner who used nothing but Pennzoil and I pulle dthe motor apart and filled a 5 quart ice cream pail with the crude just from the lifter valley. HORRIBLE.

You could also fill the fuel filter with ATF when you replace it, it will help lubricate the injection pump.
The Diesel Kleen just goets mixed with a full tank of fuel.

Patrick · « **Reply #6 on:** July 11, 2008, 03:16:53 am »

Your car is NOT a TDI, alos known as direct injection. You've got a 1.9l idi, indirect injection. Fuel delivery is completely mechanilcal, so no chip to upgrade performance. There's lot's of reading here on how to get more horses out of that engine.....

Local auto parts store should be able to come up with a new tiedown kit for your front (and back) brakes that will include the bolts. car quest deals with "worldpac" as an aftermarket supplier, and Napa uses altrom. Both suppliers get a lot of OEM parts for a lot less than the dealer. There's a guy on the board that knows his stuff in the near north (burn your money). I think he's from North Bay but his profile adress keeps changing, Sudbury, down south, etc. Might be a handy guy to have around if you're working on something.

jtanguay · « **Reply #7 on:** July 11, 2008, 03:28:24 am »

yea burn is working for Giles now

he's a good guy-i met him around when he had his car dynoed

cube1980 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 11, 2008, 03:34:57 pm »

ATF in the fuel filter when I change it???

As for getting the brakes off I will be getting back to that on Sunday. I called the local VW dealership and the bolts are 95cents each so no biggie if I have to buy new ones.

As for the timing belt, is it similar to changing the poly/V belt? I know it was mentioned you need special tools to change it. Is the timing belt under the cover on the left hand side of the motor? What can I expect to pay if I bring it in to a VW dealership to get it done for the first time?

I'm curious about IDI too. Is this similar to a throttle body injection or would you compare it more to a carb?

I've look around the internet and there are some places (ebay) that sell what looks to be like a wiring harness that is supposed to hook directly into a harness on the engine (8 or 10 pin) and boost performance. Has anyone heard of this. It says it fits 92-98 Golf TD's??

ok....thats enough questions for today lol. I'll keep you posted on how I make out trying to get the stripped caliper bolts off on Sunday

dillenger1 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 11, 2008, 03:57:31 pm »

theres nothing on your motor that will electronically change fueling except for your timing(cold start)advance.All hotrodding is done with your mechanical fuel pump,the sacred BOSCH VE :shock: :shock: Its located in front of the cylinder head.you can start by removing the LDA top(space ship looking thing)Then learn about what you find in there.There is a pin which determines fueling with boost pressure from turbo,theres an eccentric fuel pin and guide pin that rides on the slope of the pin.YOU NEED the pin/diaphram from a 1.6td or cummins engine ,as yours is one sided with no increase available just one small slope

remove the four screws on the lda and remove that thing

DieselKraut · « **Reply #10 on:** July 12, 2008, 04:21:33 am »

Putting ATF in your fuel filter helps clean out carbin in your engine. and its also a good lube for the IP and nozzles.

IDI isn't like throttle bodies or carbs. Diesels draw in as much air as posable with nothing regulating the amout of air allowed in like a butterfly valve. On IDI's fuel is injected into the prechamber (also called swirl chamber) where it ignites then travels into the cylinder to complete the burn. Hope this helps understand it better.

cube1980 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 13, 2008, 03:43:44 pm »

Well I managed to get all the brakes off finally. They were seized on there pretty bad. Just waiting for some new calipers and then I should be bringing it for a safety this week.

Just a few other questions when someone gets some time.

How long do most people go with the 1.9TD between oil changes?

I've read about changing the fuel pin to increase power? Is this simply adding more fuel to the engine? Would it increase power as well as Milage?

Also wanted to know if there is any service that needs to be done to the fuel pump and also the turbo? Am I supposed to hear any turbo whistle on this car at all when driving?

P.S. For any Canadians' in Ontario looking for Diesel Purge, I picked up a can today at my local NAPA dealer here in Sudbury, $11.99/bottle.

jtanguay · « **Reply #12 on:** July 13, 2008, 03:55:30 pm »

a synthetic oil should be able to last 50'000km... but the soot in the oil is the main reason why people change at 10'000km or even 5'000km. soot filters like the amsoil bypass or the fs-2500 bypass filter can greatly increase the life of your motor, and eventually save you money from oil changes :wink: installation isn't really that difficult either! it can be considered a hefty investment (amsoil starts at about $200? and fs-2500 at about $300?) but well worth it.

bottom line is that soot is damaging particles. rock hard little buggers are very good abrasives!!! :evil:

cube1980 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2008, 06:15:42 pm »

Made an appointment with the local VW dealer here in Sudbury Ontario to get the timing belt changed. Quote was $500-$800, does this seem reasonable

96 GOLF IDI??

jtanguay · « **Reply #14 on:** July 15, 2008, 06:43:31 pm »

for a shop it does sound reasonable... considering the labour required! plus... if the engine breaks afterwards you can blame it on them and they'll have to get you a new motor