1.6 TD weird problems-Long

[chuckless]

I just purchased an 83 rabbit w/ a 1.6 TD out of a Jetta and when diving it home (halfway into a 2000 mile trip) I had some odd things happen. I was going up a fairly good sized hill, getting on it pretty hard (full throttle at just over 70MPH in 5th gear) and all the sudden lots of white smoke started puring out of the tailpipe I lost all boost/quite a bit of power and smelled something burning. Made it over the hill, pulled over and there was a little smoke coming from the front of the engine (opposite from turbo) that went away w/ in 15 seconds or so (car still running) and no more exhaust smoke. Then the car seemed OK. Limped it to the nearest truck stop to take a closer look. Check oil/coolant-everythings fine. Drive it a little further and it actually seems to be running better at lower engine speeds/lighter throttle, it just won't build much boost and I notice (more than before) black smoke coming out at higher throttle. Before it wouldn't go much past 8 PSI before dropping(which seems low, I think these things are supposed to go to 10-I assumed it was a faulty boost bleed valve or whatever it's called), now it's about 6, but only in 4th and 5th gears. If I try to accelerate hard in lower gears the boost gets to about 5 and then falls to 0 (this may be because the RPM's raise quicker in lower gears). On the highway I can pass people uphill just fine w/ partial throttle in 5th gear-it runs really well accelerating from 65 to 70 in those conditions(like I said it seems maybe even better than before), taking off from a standstill is a different story. Also, before, I never heard the turbo spooling up /down at all(something I was expecting to hear), now I can-faintly. You know-the cool '18 wheeler-accelerating' whistle.

Anyway, I haven't hit full throttle since, but I made it the remaining 800 miles w/o a single problem. No signs of oil in the coolant or vice versa. No more white smoke. MPG was down a bit though (but in different driving conditions, so I'm not sure how much). Just the turbo going out? Why the white smoke then? I have been using generous doses of fuel conditioners for a couple tankfulls (the previous owner didn't, except for anti-gel in winter) and running it hard so I thought maybe it knocked something loose, but that almost seems rediculous. I don't have a lot of money to throw at it, so any help is appreciated. Sorry for the long first post, just wanting to give enough info.

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to put this in the troubleshooting section.

[VWRacer]

Chuckless, have you looked at the compressor blades? After I bought my '85 Quantum 1.6TD I noticed that the boost was low (wouldn't go over 9 psi), so eventually pulled the air inlet away from the compressor section of the turbo and found that the blades were knackered. Here's a pic...



You can see where the leading edges of every other blade is ground off. They should stick out another quarter inch or so. In any case, this is keeping me from reaching full boost, but is probably drivable indefinitely.

Could be you are in the same situation.

Stan

[fspGTD]

Possibly when pushing it hard up the hill, you overheated it?  Maybe enough so that there was a temporary head gasket leak, but then once the engine cooled back down the leak stopped and engine returned more or less to normal?  Perhaps coolant leaking through the engine cleaned some carbon off the turbine wheel, making the turbine noise more apparent.  I would try and keep an close eye on the engine temps and do a little more testing, and if this is what you suspect happened, take some measures to improve your cooling system.

There are a lot of things:
* check that electric fan is coming on (through both speeds... high and low.)
* check for build-up of crud inside cooling system (common on a 20 year old radiator.)  Consider replacing radiator with brand new if in doubt.
* check thermostat - make sure it opens fully at operating temp.
* check coolant pump - is it a "cheap-o" stamped steel impellor, or a OEM-quality cast impellor?  Wedge screwdriver into the coolant port while turning gently the v-belt drive to make sure the impellor is not slipping.
* check coolant level and condition - might be time for a flush and fill of new coolant?  You know with the green coolant, you're supposed to do it every 4 years.  Trouble is if this had been neglected, the radiator may be crudded up.

Good luck!

[chuckless]

Thanks for the tips guys.

Well, the turbine blades are perfect, shaft seems fine.. The cooling system appears to be doing its job also. I have an accurate coolant temp gauge and was watching it when the white smoke incident happened, it got just barely over 200-just under 210. Fan is working properly. Also the car has the greasecar system, so it has a little extra capacity. Normally runs 185-190.  EGT and oil temp. guages are coming soon.

checked a couple of things and took it out for a pretty hard run, noticed the PCV hole in the valve cover to be putting out lots of air and a little smoke (smoke at idle only after running hard-only w/ pcv valve removed). Is this normal(mostly wondering about amount of air)? It also appears that the small amount of oil in the turbo is coming from the PCV hose. Car runs well, but won't build hardley any boost in 1st gear, maybe 2 PSI in 2nd (though sometimes a couple more), maybe 5-6 in 3rd before dropping off completely. 4th and 5th seem almost as before I bought it (~8-9 psi, eventually, at WOT-according to my boost gauge anyway). Once in a while it drops off in 4th as well I really don't understand why it changes, to this extent, depending on the gear.  My first post describing boost-gear levels was incorrect, these are the real numbers.

Tried plugging the air valve on the side of the intake, but the only thing I could find that fit ended up popping off-don't know how soon this happened. I will find something else that size tomorrow to try again. I might try cleaning the intake manifold tomorrow on the off chance that's the problem. Maybe low flow is preventing enough air to even begin to spin the turbo enough-until in higher gears where it isn't being shifted as often to go thru the RPM range? This still wouldn't explain the 3rd and lower gears drop-off though. Boost builds up pretty fast to 6-7PSI in 5th.

Maybe just fond memories, but I would swear it was building boost in 1st when I first drove it. It should, right? The off idle torque and highway passing in 5th are (relatively) excellent FWIW. Thanks again.