Neeewbie intro

[morgoon]

Hello Everyone

My wife and I just bought our first rabbit, it is an 81



It looks great all around with some surface rust, We had the shell examined by a local mechanic to ensure it was a good build platform

This is our first diesel VW, our other VW is a 73 bus westy...(sold)

As it happens the fellow I was buying the rabbit from, always wanted a westy bus, so hmmmmm, he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

So what I should have done was go and buy a high mile Jetta, and drive it. Probably will end up being cheaper in the end but I had a plan within a plan

In buying the rabbit, it brings me closer to my very dear friend and mentor, an 85 year old electrical engineer, resident genius, bushcamp mechanic and former Rabbit owner (nine or something like that). He is my best friend, and best life resource I could ask for.

So I am a diesel newb, and I was so glad to see a radiator again, after my aircooled experience. Let me say very clearly..if I had the cash I would have stayed air cooled forever, they are sooo cool, definitely not knocking the air cooled crowd. The parts are pricey it seems

So the initial plan was to get a runner that in worst case scenario will get me back and forth to work 75km roundtrip, and if it all works out, perhaps turn it into a long distance driver to visit family. (that was the plan or the bus originally, but now we are going to be making double the amount of trips down south)

Macka, Vanagoner, burn_your_money, and Vince Waldon on here have been very helpful, as well as myke_w (the Dub Doctor) and it is a good thing too, as this is where the plan starts to pick up a little criticism (very positive of course)

Originally we were thinking “Ok so we get a rabbit, fix it up and drive it", with our ace in the hole being a “barn find” 1.5 with 60 000 kms on it, stored by my neighbour for the last 17 years for a sailboat project. He got a good deal on a marinized  VW diesel engine, so this one sat.

The fly in the ointment is that the oil pump was removed about 4-5 years ago, to give to a friend of his.
So it could be in any kind of shape inside?

The 81’s engine I have found out thru searching/reading is the crossover and not very desirable. It has an overheating issue, most of the reason the PO sold it. (cracks? HG.. it leaks there for sure) The IP has a steady drip too, and it has puffy grey billows when you hit the throttle hard



But the car has a bunch of new stuff, new suspension out back, new aluminum rad, new alt, and it is as rust free as I have ever seen up here in the rust belt. New tires too, and it drives like a dream

So those in the know are trying to steer me away from the 1.5, and I priced out all the 1.6 stuff I would need from the Dub Doctor, I even went so far as to buy a 1.6 core motor (I hope, it is in rough shape)

And now I am awaiting some tools in the mail, (comp tester, timing gauge etc)

The plan as of late is to test the 1.5 and see if it is a dead issue, if so then build the 1.6
I also have a few electical issues to sort.

[rs899]

If it's an 81, it should have an earlyish 1.6.  That's what it looks like in the pic  to me, anyway.  Nothing really wrong with an early 1.6, if you are careful with the head (11mm bolts).  The one in my pickup has close to 200K miles on it since I rebuilt it in '96, and the head hasn't been off since '97...

Welcome aboard

Rick

[morgoon]

Wow that is pretty cool

Stories like that are what make this project exciting to me

What discouraged me about the air cooled stuff, other than the fact that it was a gasser, was that there were so many variables that related to engine life. And from what I understand 200 000 miles, or "not having the head off since 97", would not be very likely. Especially with a dual carb set up like we had.

However no cooler ride can be found than a VW bus IMHO

Today I solved some of my electrical problems, (I think that might be an overstatement) I had been searching for a mysterious power drain, that appeared to be fairly sizable, judging by the spark and sound that the battery terminal made when you hooked it up.

First I disconected the clock, and that noticably took some of the sting out of the rehooking of the battery cable, then I dug into the aftermarket radio wiring, someone had put in previously. It was one of these fancy schmancy tilt front cd/mp3 players, with an obnoxious blue light that glared at you constantly in the dark. Once I did that, no more sparks at the battery.

Once I hook the test light in series, I am sure to find some other suprises...ha ha
I plan on a fusebox/wiriing cleanup, terminal cleaning OCD festival

IE: this has to sorted, does anyone know what it is? a Solenoid of sorts perhaps?





It seems to be hooked into the glowplugs, and it goes to a momentary switch by the fusebox, and it makes a clunking sound when you press the button



Is there a VW part that should be in its place?

What is its purpose?

Any help is appreciated

[rs899]

That lashup appears to be a home made manual glow plug relay.  You probably need to press the button, count to 8 and turn the key to start ( if they are fast glow plugs).  Take a look at Vince's "pimping your glowplugs" writeup in the FAQ for improvements.

You can determine whether you have a 1.6 or 1.5 from the serial number prefix on the block.  The 1.6 starts with  a CR (1.5 I think is CK?).  This is located on a flat spot right at the block to head junction near 3# cylinder.

You need to get yourself a Bentley workshop manual.

[macka]

Hey Morgoon,

    There is a 1.6 in storage up in Terrace Bay. I can ask the guy if its OK for you to get his number for the purchase of the motor. Its from an 88 IIRC.

[morgoon]

Hey Yeah Macka

Options never hurt, so if it is an 88 would that be a hydro head? ( I have been reading a lot of stuff on here) would there be any difficulty in putting it in (ie does it have any computer controls?)

I am awaiting some tools from Ebay just now, and I have pulled the trans off of my 84 1.6 to look at the rear main seal, as well as I wanted to pull the pan, and the three bolts tucked up at the back of the motor were difficult to get a socket onto. Plus they were pretty rusty looking, so by dropping the trans I could get a good hold on them.

The trans fluid looked good, I got rained out so I had to stop for a while, might get the pan off this morinng but I have to work this aft.

I have been soaking the injectors on both 1.6's (the 81 that came in the car, and the
one I picked up locally) as well as the 1.5 of my neighbours in anticipation of compression tests for all.

I am also hoping to build a leakdown tester this week comming


On the button under the dash issue, it does seem to opperate the solenoind, but the soleniod is also wired to the car itself and if you wait few seconds on start up for the glowplugs, there is a clunk sound and you can hit the key and it wll fire right up

Not sure why you would want to interupt the glowplugs?

Pimping the glow plugs is on the list of things to do anyways

[Patrick]

put a test light on the glow plugs to see exactly what the wiring is doing. I'll bet your switch is a bypass to run the plugs when the car doesn't want to (reads off temperature) but the operator thinks it needs the heat.

[morgoon]

Would that have been something someone would have done for cold weather starting?

I will be sure and do that test light testing

[lovinthedeez]

don't let the pre mid 81 haters get you down.   I just sold (because I found the jetta I always wanted)   my 86 jetta that I put an 11mm 81 motor in to replace the gasser 8v .  That motor had over 350,000 miles on it, but needed a head gasket last summer.  everyone said it was a no go, but i did it anyhow.  well, over six thousand miles and one new owner later; no problems at all.  the new owner drives it a 100 mile round trip five days a week, and hasn't had a problem yet.  If its in good shape, it WILL treat you the same.  just my 2 cents
w

[morgoon]

Well I have been introducing myself to the VW world…the non Air Cooled diesel side of things, and it has been a whole bunch of fun

Lots of work, mind you, but that is the fun part 

So I have been learning about the 1.6na from the core motor I bought.

I  have it hanging  on a support pole outside my little shed, alas no shop for the time being. I dropped the trans and took apart the clutch, I hope I put it back together the way I took it apart, I marked the thing in about 10 places with a shapie. It seemed to go back together well.

I BS’d my way around the flywheel with a scotchbrite pad, thinking that this is all a demo run, and whatever engine I choose to run 1.5 or 1.6 will get a new clutch and a turned flywheel. So I just made it workable and clean for the time being. While I was doing that my neighbour with the 1.5 showed up with his engine on a fridge cart, as he apparently has other projects that need the space that was occupying.

I have not bought the motor yet, and his instructions were to do whatever testing I want to the thing, then decide.

So I thought I would learn more on the core 1.6, like taking the injectors out of the head if they have been sitting for a long time, or pulling the clutch off to see the seal back there. I also plan on setting the timing on the 1.6 and changing the belt, doing a compression test, leak down test (never done either), and running it on a pallet for a minute to see if it runs decent.

When I get that all done I will have some sense of how to determine if the 1.5 is still decent, it sure looks it, and if it wasn’t for the fact that the oil pump has been sitting exposed (in a dry location) for about 4 or so years…I might have more faith in the motor, but I fear that moisture may have attached the pistons to the cylinder walls…It has been sitting for 17 years after all, the thing looks like it came from a time machine.




I don’t know I have to get some numbers, and the test mule 1.6 is fun, I was hoping I could run it, if I changed the IM shaft bearings…but then again I could save it and run the 1.5 for a while

My biggest concern is having enough compression for the winter…we get -35 -40 here often, of course it will be plugged in and have a pan warmer.

Projects like this, are in need of a plan, and everyday I change the plan…

The Plan

Get compression numbers/leakdown numbers and then make a decsision.
Money is a factor in all of this, it may be cheaper to run the 1.5 for the time being if it holds out

[8v-of-fury]

If you run Rotella 0w-30 or whatever there super light synthetic oil is. along with plugging it in AND a pan warmer.. you should be able to start it with deathly low compression even.

with good compression it will start like a TDI on a 30 degree POSITIVE day