WTT: TD setup for NA setup

[towns]

I have a perfectly working TD motor that I want to convert to naturally aspirated.  The setup is in my car now and works perfectly, has 356000kms.  Reason for wanting to swap is lower maintenance costs and better fuel efficiency with the NA.  The turbo oil return line has a leak in the braided section, one without a leak can be supplied.

[zyewdall]

Darn!  If you weren't in Ontario, and me in Colorado....

[wyldman]

No problem ! I have a few 1.6L NA's all in good order.Email me and we can work out the details.

[email protected]

[Kudagra]

Darn!  If you weren't in Ontario, and me in Colorado....

I know...all the good deals are in the great white north, eh.

Im going to start hording parts.

[irdiver]

dont hord too many!  those of us way down south need td parts and engines too!

[stewardc]

That kind of swap would only be considered by someone who's never driven both for a long time. I've had both. Bought em new. My 1986 NA finally logged 620,000km and my 1991 TD logged 580,000km before I sold em. The TD always got better mileage, never cost any more to maintain, and was a good bit more interesting to drive.
IMHO (never humble) stay with what you've got. You'll be sorry if you swap.

[QuickTD]

I'd never, ever give up 16hp, even for 5 mpg. Turbo diesels tend to deliver the same or better MPG numbers anyway, if driven at similar speeds and accelerating at the same rates. Maintenance costs? The turbo tends to be the most reliable part of the car. The only turbo's I've ever seen die on stock VW diesels have injested foreign objects, use an air filter and don't worry about it.

[935racer]

I would have to agree with the above, the td wins.

[wyldman]

I will disagree,but it depends on who owns it.

Guys who take good care of their cars,and change the oil regularly,usually get good life out of the TD's.Guys who just drive and abuse them don't.I've seen a lot of them with blown turbos.TD's seem to blow head gaskets more often too.When the cars get older,performance seems to drop off.The gas mileage thing is debatable too,I guess it depends on driving style.

Most TD's I have worked on usually start to have problems after 300,000 Km's.

I've had both,and I still usually keep a 1.6L NA around as my daily driver.With a good pump,ram air system,and exhaust,they are plenty quick around town,especially if you have the right trans.

The TD's are more fun to drive when you start turning things up,as they have way more potential than any NA diesel.

If I wasn't mechanically inclined,and wanted cheap,reliable,economical transportation,I'd take the 1.6L NA over the TD.

[vwmike]

I had an NA 1.6 Rabbit pickup. I'm not entirely sure how many miiles the engine had on it. It averaged around 37-38 mpg which I think was pretty bad for how slow it was. I had to keep my foot to the floor pretty much everywhere I went as it would barely do the speed limit on the freeway and would struggle to do 10-15 mph under on hills. On the other hand my TD Jetta got around 40 mpg from the beginning (it had 348k km on it when I got it and has 365k km on it now). Even after 2.5" exhaust, GTD nozzles, a 10mm pump, and around 25 psi it still returns 40 mpg. I think a lot of the mods are a trade-off but balance out well. I'd never go back though.