From a MK2 8V GTI, to a MK2 TD Jetta.

[Vangruver]

Inaugural posting, so i might as well start off with a little bit of history.

Currently, I work for a VW dealership as a Product Advisor [fancy way of saying sales]in a suburb in Vancouver Canada, and currently own and drive a 1986 mk2 GTI 8v.

For the most part, it's a phenomenal car, attains on average 27mpg consistently [ http://www.fuelly.com/driver/vangruver/gti ] but due to my travels, and commute [north Vancouver to Coquitlam] and my lust for getting "lost" i've decided to go to an alternative route by sourcing out a mk2 Jetta Diesel. I was contemplating getting another motorcycle, since I used to ride that to and from work, but the wife suggested that I keep to a car for the comfort, and plus having the deal with traffic and ignorant drivers who refuse to shoulder check puts my life on the line everytime i saddle up.

So, after i searched the local forums, and craigslist, i found a 91 Jetta TD with roughly 430k on the chassis [nothing in comparison to what other car's i have seen] and with a rebuilt head on the TD roughly 100k ago. All at the asking price of 1500

here is the blurb from craigslist

I have a jetta with 400,000km rebuilt head and injector pump 100,000km ago new a/c rad, ball joints ,tie rods,strut bushings,total rear brake assembly,just spent 380 on exhaust/cat/muffler/tailpipe then found out the turbo leaks a little needs gasket, the car gets 900km/tank full few other cosmetic things .NO RUST

The PO definitely wasn't lying about the car by anymeans, as I had a chance to talk with him over the phone and grilled him about the details surrounding the car. He also mentioned that prior to his ownership it was maintained and taken care of from THAT PO, as the previous owner prior to him was a diesel mechanic. Fair enough. The only thing i could do is go and check out the car. That detail has yet to be satisfied. Arrangement has been made within the next 48 hours.

The picture that he had sent to me in regards to it is pretty impressive, minus the wheels of course.



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The PO had also mentioned that upon start up it blow bluish, and after reading the forum pretty vigorously i can see that it isn't an overly LARGE problem, just something that i would have to have checked out.

But with that being said, superficially, it's a good looking car, and it would be a good candidate for some fun as well. BTW, a lot of my parts on my GTI will be going into this if it all pans out.

More to come as I go.

[8v-of-fury]

blowing bluish smoke on start up could be, retarded timing and air in the fuel. rather easy things to fix for a mechanically inclined person. good luck with this, its a beauty

I too like the fact the mileage makes getting "lost" way mare fun

[Vangruver]

So. I've taken possession on the car, driven it for the last week and having a blast driving this. It's no where near as nimble as my GTI but that's not what I want in regards to a car.

Sorry for no pictures at this point in time, but i've been having too much fun driving this and taking it places without having to worry about filling the tank just yet.

I've got "some" plans for it, of course as time and money allow. And while I have priced out a 2.5" turbo back exhaust, I consider preventative maintenance to be priority #1

Since the car is pretty well equipped, I intend to bring it back to as stock as possible. The AC isn't connected YET, but there seems to be a small short that isn't allowing the Alternator to charge once the AC is turned on. No big deal, the weather out in the PNW is super mild anyways, no real sun that is beating down and demanding the use of AC at the moment.

The one thing i do want to do is repair all the body work that is loose, or falling off. And the rear portion where the VW symbol is pushed in, so I wouldn't mind having that pushed out.

But the car drives REALLY well on the highway, aside from the squishy suspension, it's much more gratifying than my GTI.

Pictures to com SOOOON

[Vangruver]

And it passes the emissions testing

After 3 years outside of the emissions testing zone, and my 2500 kilo road trip over the last 5 days, i took the plunge and took my Drrty Deezel to get "aircared"

It passes by a .05 on the opacity testing. It's a squeak, but a pass is a pass. Time to clean this thing up and make it a little less Drrty.

[Smokey Eddy]

.05!!! Holllllyyy hahahah
my 1.9/1.6 was less than half of the allowable after i mini-rebuilt it.

That blue may be leaky valve stem seals (very easy to change) leaking oil down the valve and on the first few fires it's burning some oil.

[Smokey Eddy]

ps. i bet you could use that AC now eh?
I'm at 1066 west hastings if you work in the area?

[Vangruver]

Well there are a few things that I want to accomplish first.

To replace.

Air filter
Oil and filter
Fuel Filter
Alternator Voltage regulator [the probable cause of the lack of current/voltage when AC is attempted to work]
Coolant.

To do.

Purge the engine [diesel purge]
Swap over the 15" Corrado Steelies from my GTI
Swap over the GTI seats from my GTI

Once I have all the fluids, and parts, then I'll start working on the things on the car that pertain to fashion than function.

And Eddy, I work at Regency VW in Coquitlam, and live in North Van. I'll message yah when things aren't hectic.

but yes, .05....but like i said, a pass is a pass

[Vangruver]

Well, this weekend it's finally time.



fuel filter
OEM oil filter
Voltage regulator so that i can have AC in the heat *fuk*
diesel purge for the engine knocking
Rad flush for the cooling system



Redline Water Wetter
12 liters of distilled water
Rotella Synthetic
and if time allows, some engine degreaser to wash this sucker down.

This weekend should be fun

[Vangruver]

The effing injectors still knock!

Changed the fuel filter filled it with the remainder purge, ran the car, and the car still knocks like a hyper active 2 year old playing drums with the pots and pans

stethescoped each injector and they all sound normal. But one of them is knocking SUPER bad.

Oh well, time to get some GTD injectors

[Vangruver]

Well, i took the car back into my shop for final inspection BECAUSE of the fact that it's making a LOUD LOUD sound.

I managed to drive the car out to visit Smokin Eddy to see what he had to say about it.

He concluded a few things...the clanging sound was similar to valve knock. But i said that it wasn't because the sound only emitted when it was under acceleration.

Then Ed said that it might have been resulted in the exhaust leak....which i found out upon purchase, but never really surfaced as badly as of recent.

Well underneath the car, since it's hoisted, I had a tech flashlight out that the exhaust manifold had a stud missing and the exhaust mani gasket was BLOWN out.

Well that's why it sounded like it was a diesel with an open header and no turbo and no power and poor fuel economy!

Well, the manifold studs are on order, the gasket is on order and hopefully if the remainder of the studs come out there isn't any severe pocket book damage.

HOWEVER

if the studs don't come out, then the head has to be removed. Then I'll be crying......

As mentioned, preventative maintenance is really priority number 1.

*sigh*

[Vangruver]

Well here it is.

I've changed the wheels. I had a set of 15" Corrado Steelies, with 195.50.15's on there at the moment.

Suspension is stock mushy junk.

Alignment is cocked to the right.

Exhaust is still stock [no time frame yet of when the 2.5" will be installed]

There is a desperate need of detailing on this beast. Spider lines, swirl marks, fine scratches, etc. 

There is minor surface rust on the lower portions of the doors.

The bumper, and the trim isn't as "black" as they could be, but that's minor.

The turn signals work, but the lens is broke, as shown in pics

There is a dent on the rear [hence why i take the pictures of the good side first] from the PO suffering a minor rear ender.

For a car with 462XXX km on the body, it's in AMAZING shape.

heeerrree she is.



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[Vangruver]

Got this not too long ago.

2.5" Passenger performance downpipe and custome 2.5" crush bent catless exhaust with straight through resonator.....it's still sitting as of this posting, and collecting dust. might have some cobwebs by this point, but i'm looking forward to putting it on.



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And............ So i washed, and gave it a mild polish over the last weekend.

Put on the racks, and a pretty slick cargo box and the car should suit me till i decide to strip the beast and rebuild it [if that ever happens]

Side by side the car looks a wee bit better. Well at least I think so.

[Vangruver]

Well.

I made a post about how I had lost some exhaust studs on the engine, and as a result I sent it into a VW shop that is highly reputable in Vancouver and had some work done to it.

I have to first thank Shift autosport for the work done.

the news was pretty harsh....there were exhaust manifold studs broken in the head. 2 of the 8 were broken in there. every other stud was easily removed or had fallen out.

Which meant that the head had to be removed, and everything had to be taken apart. the news hit me hard against my wallet more than anything.

The cylinder head was taken to a machine shop where they had a chance to clean everything up, machine out the broken studs and heli coil the holes.

I find out that when the head was at the machine shop that there was minor warpage of 4/1000's of an inch. Just enough to not warrant milling, but enough to be concerned in the process.

Then the machine shop relays details about the exhaust mounting holes. Turns out that at one point there was an attempt of machining out previous studs, AND inside one of the holes there was a broken stud. no problem, so that got drilled out, then on another hole there was a broken drill bit inside THAT one.....leading me to shake my head in shock.

yup that wasn't cool. More money mysteriously flying away from my wallet. But all in all, the quote that I was given which was in the vicinity of 1300 including parts, actually dipped below the 1000 dollar mark. Which I felt was super reasonable.

Anyways. the car comes back together without a hitch, and in the process I get the downpipe and the exhaust installed.

The engine completed and running with new coolant, new oil, and the new exhaust....oh man I'm a giddy kid now.

I've been driving the car [when there wasn't snow] just to feel the difference in power and sound. It's fun.