!979 Rabbit Diesel Need help!

[vw-tim]

okay so ive been moving the IP towards the engine and still white smoke and then back away from the engine and it seems to be less smoke but still kinda white blueish smoke also wont idle and the throttle lever still does nothing..

does that mean bad IP or i just need to get a guage and hook it up and just really time it.

I also have another IP i was thinking about hooking up and seeing if that changes anything.

on another note i put some clear tubing to one injector to another injector and it does seem fuel is flowing between them? what does this mean? i still have yet to get a clear tube from the return fuel but what if no fuel is returning ?

and also does the white smoke mean unburned diesel fuel?

[vw-tim]

also would running automatic transmission fluid threw the IP instead of diesel maybe help clean up the IP ?

[vwroadkill]

yes...and then some..amsoil is good as well

[vw-tim]

yes...and then some..amsoil is good as well

alright maybe ill try some

[8v-of-fury]

If it smokes, what colour is it? lets get down to the basics here .

The throttle does nothing? You are off on the throttle arm to throttle shaft orientation. Horrible blackberry picture, but this is where I find most are good.. Set your throttle splines to look like this, and then adjust everything else to make it run good.

[745 turbogreasel]

This kind of basics?

okay well heres the deal i bought the car for $500 the engine that was in it the block had a broken rod the go threw in 2 other spare 1.5L diesels one complete and the other was just a tranny and block so what i did was i took the head that was on the car orignially got all the valves and everything re done on that

Got exactly what redone?
Was it pressure tested?
check it for warpage  just in case
Was valve clearance checked? make sure there is some clearance with the cam lobes pointed up.
check the one from the donor block for a big warp at the middle, or a crack  to H2o.
Never presume that because a machine shop  did work that it was done right.

and i took of the blocks that i cranked and it was free from binds and what not and i didnt do anything to the block except put on a new clutch kit and oil pan i

... i probably should of thought this wasnt right and stopped but i kept going and i torqued them all to 36 or whatever the book says.. do you think maybe because they were hanging up they might of been torqued but it was not accurate reason for not having the compression?

clean it well, and measure stickup of all 4 pistons very carefully.  if this block previously hydro locked  in these 2 adjacent holes, the rods may be quite bent.  all 4 should spec  for the same head gasket thickness at the least.

What is the procedure you are currently using to tighten the head bolts?

IMO ring wear in 2 cyls is not the most likely  thing.

[8v-of-fury]

Absolutely, I wasn't about to read through 15 pages to figure that all out. All I see is in the last few comments an engine that still doesn't run, so basics are still needed.

[ORCoaster]

okay so ive been moving the IP towards the engine and still white smoke and then back away from the engine and it seems to be less smoke but still kinda white blueish smoke also wont idle and the throttle lever still does nothing..

does that mean bad IP or i just need to get a guage and hook it up and just really time it.

I also have another IP i was thinking about hooking up and seeing if that changes anything.

on another note i put some clear tubing to one injector to another injector and it does seem fuel is flowing between them? what does this mean? i still have yet to get a clear tube from the return fuel but what if no fuel is returning ?

and also does the white smoke mean unburned diesel fuel?

To answer your questions vw-tim,   

White smoke does generally mean unburned diesel fuel.  And you can have it over advanced and it will run like poo and smoke white at times. 

I would go for the ATF for now.  Fill it up by letting the car use it out of, and return to the quart container.  Once you have red coming out the return line shut it off for several hours.  Then start it up with the lines connected to their proper places.  This is going to refill the pump with diesel and shove the ATF into the tank.  Not a problem, but letting the ATF set a bit will help clean it inside.  You can also get some diesel purge and hit the pump real hard with the cleaner but ATF may do the job for you.


Fuel moves from each injector to the Out banjo then to the fuel tank if it wasn't then you would notice a huge puddle under the car as well as the engine drenched in it.  Consider that it moves about 3/4 of a liter in a minute in a half.  Running the car for just five minutes pushes nearly a gallon of fuel around the loop.  Tank to filter, to pump, to injectors and back to home.  Having the clear tube between the last injector and the Out Banjo will tell you if there is air in the system.  Move it from between what ever injectors you have it between now to the end of the line.  If you are like some of us we have the two outside injectors coming together with a tee then into the Out banjo.  Just a different way to route the excess fuel. 


If you still have poor performance after all this it might be time to try that other pump.  But don't expect it to fire off and be perfect.  It takes some amount of tweaking for every pump to work best.  Cleaning, new seals, soaking in cleaner, maybe all three will be necessary.

Good luck with it all. 

[TylerDurden]

Having the clear tube between the last injector and the Out Banjo will tell you if there is air in the system. 

There is normally air in the injector return lines ( and very little flow). A clear line from the out-bolt to the rigid tank return line will reveal if air is getting into the IP.

[ORCoaster]

Duh,  How did I miss that one?  I know better.  Must have been the 6 hour drive home has me head rummy.

[TylerDurden]

6hrs in a mk1 will do that... even with earplugs. 


@ Tim:

While the IP is moving a lot of fuel, most of it is circulated back to the tank and a small portion is used by the injectors. The generous flow is how the IP stays cool. Even the injectors don't use all the fuel they get, a little bit is returned through the small lines.

Clear lines and a gauge are basics to troubleshooting. The gauge is a few bucks at Harbor Freight. The adaptor is not expensive and you can find DIY adaptor descriptions online.

Until a baseline is established, It will be hard to isolate some of these issues with the car.

[8v-of-fury]

Timing is not absolutely crucial for basic running, it is only then even somewhat crucial for optimal performance/economy while driving.

You will find that it will run with the timing anywhere between like 0.80mm and easily as high as 1.20mm.

Do the ATF soak, regardless. Whatever you don't use put in to the fuel tank, no harm cleaning it too.

[vw-tim]

This kind of basics?

okay well heres the deal i bought the car for $500 the engine that was in it the block had a broken rod the go threw in 2 other spare 1.5L diesels one complete and the other was just a tranny and block so what i did was i took the head that was on the car orignially got all the valves and everything re done on that

Got exactly what redone? i believe the head was checked for warpage and cracks and the valves and shims were replaced everything was redone on the head that could be redone.
Was it pressure tested? i believe so its been a while i dont remember ha
check it for warpage  just in case that was done.
Was valve clearance checked? make sure there is some clearance with the cam lobes pointed up. i have the correct shims in place.
check the one from the donor block for a big warp at the middle, or a crack  to H2o.
Never presume that because a machine shop  did work that it was done right.

the block i pulled the head off had a broken rod and i did check the block i didnt see any cracks to h20.

and i took of the blocks that i cranked and it was free from binds and what not and i didnt do anything to the block except put on a new clutch kit and oil pan i

... i probably should of thought this wasnt right and stopped but i kept going and i torqued them all to 36 or whatever the book says.. do you think maybe because they were hanging up they might of been torqued but it was not accurate reason for not having the compression?

clean it well, and measure stickup of all 4 pistons very carefully.  if this block previously hydro locked  in these 2 adjacent holes, the rods may be quite bent.  all 4 should spec  for the same head gasket thickness at the least.

What is the procedure you are currently using to tighten the head bolts? I have APR head studs and i got the head torqued down no problems

IMO ring wear in 2 cyls is not the most likely  thing.

with all this i feel im past it though. im just looking at an issue of it not idling correctly.

[vw-tim]

Timing is not absolutely crucial for basic running, it is only then even somewhat crucial for optimal performance/economy while driving.

You will find that it will run with the timing anywhere between like 0.80mm and easily as high as 1.20mm.

Do the ATF soak, regardless. Whatever you don't use put in to the fuel tank, no harm cleaning it too.

okay i can get it to run and stay running but its just very very rough and wont like settle to a nice idle and the throttle on the IP doesnt work. Ill definitly run ATF threw it all and see if that helps and i think im going to put on the other IP i have and just see if that makes any difference ill run ATF threw that as well.

[vw-tim]

Thank you everyone for all your help! ill post back with what i figure out tomorrow