I think my caddy is getting very close to rebuild time (starting to get a hint of oil in coolant tank, vaccum pump diaphram keeps blowing out, heavy oil consumption - 1 qt. per 200 miles, etc.) Engine runs strong (75 mph no prob with AC on), starts right up. Head looks a lot newer than the rest of the engine. If I'm going to do a full rebuild, I'd really prefer to do a turbo diesel, but haven't been able to find a donor/core. Sooo... I was thinking of just having it re-ringed to tide me over. Any thoughts about this?
that has got me a couple years - but cold weather will play havoc with that little a rebuild.
cheers - C
I could live with a year or so. What kind of cold weather and what kind of issues? "Cold weather" here in Florida consists of 4 days below 40 F per year, so it may not be a problem for me.
914rrr, there is a veedubber in Tampa that goes by the on-line handle of Viesel over on TDI Club.com. I think he is restoring a caddie and I think he has a mid 80s Jetta 1.6. He might have some info that you could use. Suggest you PM him over on TDI Club.com . Do you run any biodiesel? I hear that it might unstick piston rings and clean injectors. Is Ward Oil Co. near you? Good Luck.
Thanks loads for the reply and the tip on Viesel! I will try to contact him right away. Haven't run any bio-diesel (yet), but have run a ton of PS Diesel Kleen thru it. Didn't seem to help the oil consumption at all. I just had the pump rebuilt, and I have a lot more power, but also a lot more smoke! I was wondering if this is normal. I did pick up about 5 mpg after the pump rebuild (35mpg before to 40mpg now). I will try to locate Ward Oil Co. Are they in Tampa?
419rrr, Ward Oil is in Tampa. Stanadyne Diesel Purge might be more effective than PS? It is used undiluted directly thru the pump. Easy to do. Re: the smoke issue - when your pump was rebuilt was the timing altered? My '90 smokes quite a bit but has more torque than my '86 which doesn't smoke. The '90 previous owner told me that the timing was "advanced a little, which is why it runs so good". There is a VW group in Tampa that goes by Tampa VeeDubbers ( I think). I know several diesel owners in Tampa but our group is more specific to TDIs. I don't have my 1.6s in Fl. but if you locate a group that is specific to 1.6s, please advise me here at RedRotors. Does Hillsborough County have tailpipe emission standards and do they require testing? If so, are diesels exempt? We don't have testing in Polk county. Good luck, Paul