Hi 83 Rabbit

[Whitetail]

Hey All. Found the site researching turbo options for my NA 1.6 and yes I know the dangers  I have turboed 3 other non VW IDI's so I am familiar with EGT and keeping the boost low and all that. Been playing with IDI diesels in general for about 8 years and this is my 3rd diesel rabbit I just bought. Ill have to post some pics!

I feel it may have been a gas rabbit before but I am not sure how to tell, its a 2 door with all burgundy interior like a GTI(hope it wasn't). It has a diesel dash and cold start but it has alot of extra wires under the hood going to nothing.

Speaking of the cold start... when I start this one without it it misses alot and puffs grey smoke, if I pull the cold start it runs smooth when cold, push it in and it misses again. None of my other rabbits did this, anybody think I need to advance the timing a little? The PO said the engine has 20K on a rebuild and set the timing to 1.05 but something is not right with that. Other than the cold start it runs strong.

BTW does anyone else hate this verification thing? WHY IS IT THERE!!!?

[TylerDurden]

Sounds good... in cool/cold weather it should stumble slightly without the CS lever pulled, until it is warmed up.

[Rising]

Hey All. Found the site researching turbo options for my NA 1.6 and yes I know the dangers  I have turboed 3 other non VW IDI's so I am familiar with EGT and keeping the boost low and all that. Been playing with IDI diesels in general for about 8 years and this is my 3rd diesel rabbit I just bought. Ill have to post some pics!

I feel it may have been a gas rabbit before but I am not sure how to tell, its a 2 door with all burgundy interior like a GTI(hope it wasn't). It has a diesel dash and cold start but it has alot of extra wires under the hood going to nothing.

Speaking of the cold start... when I start this one without it it misses alot and puffs grey smoke, if I pull the cold start it runs smooth when cold, push it in and it misses again. None of my other rabbits did this, anybody think I need to advance the timing a little? The PO said the engine has 20K on a rebuild and set the timing to 1.05 but something is not right with that. Other than the cold start it runs strong.

BTW does anyone else hate this verification thing? WHY IS IT THERE!!!?

I've had my rabbit timed high enough that it didn't stumble without the CS lever pulled but that was wayyyy advanced. Me trying to make up for TD injectors and n/a application. Anyway: somewhat properly set timing (1.06 or so actually.. Stupid English gauge...) And when its 30 out she gives some stumbles while warming up no cs.  So you are fine.

As to turboing your N/A don't worry you won't find the nay sayers who are going to freak out on you here like you have probably experienced over on the vortex. I also just finished an n/a to turbo build recently so if you have any questions feel free to ask. I'll be posting a thread listing everything I used shortly.

Anyway remember that boost cools egts, and egts are typically what kill these engines. So adding boost without adding any fuel will actually make your engine happier! Diesels love boost. That being said the stock headgasket is the only thing I am aware of that limits the amount of boost you can run and I believe its a problem common to TD and n/a. Headstuds start becoming important around 18-20psi from what I've experienced.

So temperatures is the big difference between n/a and TD blocks. The n/a aren't able to handle the same egts as the TD blocks. I've heard a lot of numbers thrown around for egts but I wouldn't be visiting 1200 a lot with an n/a and I wouldn't cruise above 1000... (Maybe someone else can correct that.) But anyway. Get a stock turbo set up or build one for an upgraded turbo and then keep the egts low and you should have fun

Finding out what your rabbit was is probably as easy as punching in your Vin online to one of the many Vin decoders. I'm fairly certain engine codes are included in the Vin. Hopefully the owner was responsible enough to change the Vin with the dash... There's other places to find it I'm sure though.

Check the FAQ thread stickied above and also look for the "make your n/a a faster car" thread. Good info all around.

[TylerDurden]

The main difference with a NA vs. TD block are the piston squirters that shoot oil up into the pistons to cool the pistons & cylinders. The oil pump may be bigger on the TDs also (hydro heads).

[Whitetail]

I have been reading that thread. Lots of good info, planning on the gov mod, bigger cold air pipe to the intake and 2.5" exhaust to start.

There are alot of N/A to turbo haters but I am curious about something... on bigger IDI N/A diesels you can melt your pistons just as fast if not faster by increasing fuel with no turbo to increase air. Like Rising said boost cools the engine with more air flow and EGT's come from the fuel. Everyone seems OK with playing with the fuel but a turbo is a no-no? Doesnt make sense to me, IMO you should have an eye on EGT if you are playing with the fuel, turbo or not.

We had a bit of a cold snap and when colder the engine misses a little even with the cold start pulled however it still starts very quickly, maybe 1 or 2 turns of the starter. I think I may mark it and try advancing it a dimes width and see what it does. The cold start advances the timing right?

I just talked to my buddy who had it timed and it was actually 0.95mm, for those of you that have timed these how much will a dimes width advance it? (the skinny side of a dime of course)

[TylerDurden]

The cold start advances the timing right?

Ja, at idle and a bit above: