new to this... need advise

[rubberducky]

Hi everyone, i'm in need of some advise...

i'm currently contemplating getting a 1991 Jetta diesel, to 'replace' my gas pickup truck (its getting tired, and its gas, but i'll still need it for the winters around here).  i don't know anything about VW diesels, other than what i've read here (during the last day or so), and not knowing anything about the 1991 diesels, i was wondering if anyone can give me a few pointers, as to what to look for, what to watch out for etc.

it appears to have relatively low miles (141k or so), no obvious rust, no radio, the a/c seems to work (no adjustment knob), tattered shifter boot (5-speed), no breaks (the guy's going to fix this before he sells).  i had a chance to start it, and it started pretty quick, no coughing or anything.  interior seems to be in pretty good shape, just needs a vacuuming and a wiping down of surfaces.

i've read that there are the 'eco' versions of this model year, how would i go verifying this?  are there other desirable traits / features that i should be aware of?  i'm just taking this guy's word for this being a '91 (it has rectangular headlights), so i don't know for sure if it actually is.  but to me it really doesn't matter, as long as the vehicle runs.

i was told that it may need an new exhaust, but i guess from what i've read here, i can just replace it with a straight pipe for added performance?

sorry about all these questions, i'm new to diesel, and new to VWs.  any imput will be appreciated, i've found the posts on this site to be quite informative (although most of it was over my head).  i'm looking to decide on this next mon-tues, when this fella would have the brakes fixed, and i can take it for a drive (anything to look, feel and listen for while test driving it?).

many, many thanks in advance.

[Maarten]

In the IDI section:

http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1757

There are pics of an ECO and non-ECO dieselpump, the main difference between the 2.

[srivett]

I believe a turbo car will have the air filter box against the passenger fender.  A non-turbo has the air filter behind the valve cover with a snorkle heading to the fender.

There's a lot of things that you can check on these cars before buying.  For example, get the car going in the dark and turn on the lights.  Have you got any dash lights?  No?  That'll be a pain to fix and expensive to get a new climate control cover.  The big ticket item on these cars is the injection pump.  If it has a working IP and the compression blowby doesn't blow a pile of oil into the air intake the car will run indefinately.  Check for headgasket and cooling problems too.

The car will be loud with or without an exhaust so don't worry about that too much...VW tried really hard to make a loud car and they succeeded with these diesels.   The worst thing is that it'll sound pretty reasonable on the inside but if you hear somebody driving it two blocks away you'll hear twice as many rattles!  :lol:  Don't straight pipe one without a turbo.  Do check any brake work that the owner does.  If one line has popped it probably needs all the lines and hoses replaced.

Steve

[rubberducky]

Maarten, Steve -

Thanks a bunch for your input!  i recall seeing that pic while i was browsing around the site, i take it that silver thing in the middle is what i need to keep an eye out for...  at this point, regardless of the type of engine, i'm planning on getting it, *if* there's nothing else wrong with it...

and the under-the-hood descriptions are very helpful.  i'm going to have to print this out and take it with me.  the dash light tip was something i would have never thought of.

i'm sure i'll have more questions, especially if i end up picking the thing up.  hopefully i'll get to take it for a test drive today, given that the owner has gotten the brakes repaired...  and also will provide me with other 'issues' that it needs to clear before it'll pass inspection.

Thanks again for your help, i'm sure i'll be needing more soon.

Namasté.

[rubberducky]

Been told that i'll need a new master cylinder and a wheel cylinder for the brakes...  don't know  how much work that'll be, nor the avaliability of the parts.  any ideas?  suggestions?

many thanks

[toomanycars]

Been told that i'll need a new master cylinder and a wheel cylinder for the brakes...  don't know  how much work that'll be, nor the avaliability of the parts.  any ideas?  suggestions?

many thanks

Master cylinders are expensive. Sometimes they pop up on ebay, or you can get the old one sleeved. Really, you need to dismantle it and check the state of the bore before you do anything. If it's not pitted or scored you can often get away with just new seals and a honing. Same with wheel cylinders, except they are much cheaper.
If I were in your position I would get someone who knows VW diesels to test drive it for you and check out the known problem areas.

[vwmike]

At least here in the US, master cylinders aren't terribly expensive. A new German one is about $100, a Brazillian one is about $50. Changing it isn't all that difficult but requires bleeding the brakes.

[rubberducky]

Peter,

Thanks for your quick reply.  i'd think its rather difficult to take it out for a drive, since it has no brakes...  although, based on your suggestion, i will call a local shop who deals with VW's and other german cars to see if i could borrow one of their guys for a few hours, to go check out this vehicle in question.  my buddy (who's done mechanic work for the US Air Force) is confident that this particular problem isn't that big of a deal, and we could tackle this on our own.  i guess i'm more worried about the problems we don't know about.

i'll also have to expect the worst and call around to salvage places (unless the local shop guys know a better option) to see if they have the parts necessary...

i just hope that this isn't going to be a money pit...  the whole point of me thinking of getting this vehicle was to try to save some money in fuel costs...

if anyone else has suggestions, ideas, please feel free to chime in.

as usual, many thanks

[rubberducky]

i was out of town on short notice, and haven't had the chance to go further on this...  however, i've been told that its a non-turbo Jetta.  i'm a little reluctant to take a used car dealer's word for it, i guess my question is, is it still worth getting it, even if its not a turbo?  any advantages of a non-turbo over a turbo?

Thanks

[rubberducky]

ok, i had a chance to check things out with a pal of mine, and a few things i've noticed (don't know if they are significant):

-  its got some castle looking symbol on the side, in front of driver's door

-  its got a device similar to the LDA on the aforementioned post, but without a hose coming out of the right hand side (that side is capped off and seems like there's a torx screw adjuster type thing on the top)

-  airbox isn't against the passenger side fender, against the firewall

-  its got a speedo that goes up to 140... i'm thinking its km/h (btw, this speedo doesn't work)

-  seems like there's oil in the coolant reservoir (sp?), but its not mixed in the coolant.

-  no oil in the airbox

that's all i can think of right now, i'm pretty beat and i have to get back to work  *blah*  what do you experts make of this?  my gusstimate is that its a n/a diesel in ok condition that may require some work.  any imput will be appreciated.  at this point, i'm pretty much planning on getting this, as long as i can arrange for its transport to my pal's place so we can get working on it.

Thanks

[fspGTD]

Airbox near the firewall definitely means naturally aspirated diesel.  The LDA looking thing on top of the injector pump is probably an atmospheric pressure compensator.  I believe VW had these on all or some of their late 80's / early 90's naturally aspirated diesels.

[rubberducky]

i bought it today.  its got a number of odds and ends that need fixin, but i think i can manage it, especially since the Bentley manual is on its way.  i'm a little irked by the fact that the door doesn't lock.  oh well.

wish me luck.

[watsongs]

Oil in the coolant resevoir = new head gasket.  Hopefully head isn't warped!

[rubberducky]

having had the vehicle for a few days, and been picking away at little problems, this is what i've found so far...

* the oil in the coolant reservoir looks like a previous head gasket failure, don't ask me how i know this, but i'm just getting a few spots of it, after running it for a while (10 - 15min).  it was on the inside of the reservoir, and the coolant level wasn't where it should have been.  i'm hoping its what was caked on the inside when the reservoir was low was coming off becuase of the warm(er) coolant temps.

*  the headlight switch is bad, it randomly switches what works and doesn't.  sometimes, i get headlights, sometimes i don't get pass. side lights, etc.

* whomever decided to take the radio out, took it out.  they cut the radio out, leaving me with cut wires in the dash.  oh, they did that to the antenna cable too.  and the antenna's bent.

*master cylinder is leaking fluid from where its bolted on.  i'm hoping to pull that today, and replace it, along with the wheel cylinders.

*  caked on old oil on valve cover, but after running it in the last few days, i haven't seen any more oil seepage / leakage.  i'm goin to try to clean it off and replace the gasket anyhow.  i may put the replacement off until i make a decision about the head gasket

*  flasher module was bad, it was humming when you fiddled with the switch

*  horn doesn't work at all...  well, the horn works, but it doesn't get grounded (honk) when you hit the switch

* missing a battery bracket...  i'm assuming it came with one.

* driver's side door latch won't lock, and the lock cylinder doesn't appear to be keyed to the one key that i've gotten for this vehicle.  i may take that apart again, and see if i can switch the wafers around to make it work.  just to save me a trip going to the local VW place.

* rotten shift boot

* no a/c knob

I guess that's about it.  there were a bunch of connectors that weren't connected, but i'll figure that out once the manual arrives...  hopefully that'll be soon.  any opinions as to where to get some of these parts?  if anyone has a headlight swtich / a/c knob / radio wiring harness / shift boot etc they'd be willing to donate, i'd appreciate it.

oh, and the speedo goes up to 120, not 140.

Namasté

[rubberducky]

ok, having pulled the master cylinder, looking at the replacement cylinder in my hand, i've realized that the new part won't work.  for some reason, two of the four holes where the brake lines fit into aren't threaded.  apparently this was for a 1.8L Passat, which i was told should work.  can anyone inform me as to if there's another way of ordering the proper master cylinder for this vehicle, i.e., for a Golf from the same year, etc?

on a brighter note, i've managed to pull a complete radio wiring harness from the boneyard (i think its the radio harness), but having gone through some hassles pulling it, i don't know if i want to do it again to put it in.  but again, having gone through all that trouble, i'd hate to cut it apart, just to splice in the harness...  decisions, decisions...

Thanks.