Video of my AAZ (dialup warning!)

[Infinitrium]

I took a few videos of my engine idling and tried to get the crank pulley in the shot too, so you can judge how bad it is. Keep in mind my camera only records video at about 12 frames per second, so it makes it look like everything is running in slow motion, but it's actually running at proper speed.

http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/1993%20Jetta%20turbodiesel/?action=view&current=fjgb.flv
http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/1993%20Jetta%20turbodiesel/?action=view&current=100_0672.flv
http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/Infinitrium/1993%20Jetta%20turbodiesel/?action=view&current=100_0673.flv

[Infinitrium]

comments?

[jtanguay]

um.. i would take it easy on that crank.  it just doesn't look good at all with the way it is wobbling like that.  get it checked out ASAP.

[Infinitrium]

Aww shoot, I was hopin' someone would say that it's alright lol.

[burn_your_money]

Yikes :shock:

[Infinitrium]

Hm, noticed something today. I had the right front wheel off, checking my brakes. One of the 4 bolts holding the pulley on looked like it had a few washers underneath the bolt head. Would that cause the pulley to wobble?

[jimfoo]

Nope.

[commuter boy]

As a matter of routine, every time I buy a VW diesel I replace the timing belt ASAP.  You never know how competent the previous owner or their mechanic were, and the failure is catastrophic.

It also gives you a chance to inspect the pulley and set the timing properly.

It may not be bad, I had one a few years ago that was just worn a bit on the keyway, so I pinned it into place with two well positioned drill bits and some liberal application of JB Weld.  Still good 20,000k later.  My father did one years back and it's still on the road as well, so you may not need to pull the crankshaft even if there is some damage.

I can hear some of the purists cringing from here  .  It's ghetto, but it works.

[Infinitrium]

As a matter of routine, every time I buy a VW diesel I replace the timing belt ASAP.  You never know how competent the previous owner or their mechanic were, and the failure is catastrophic.

It also gives you a chance to inspect the pulley and set the timing properly.

It may not be bad, I had one a few years ago that was just worn a bit on the keyway, so I pinned it into place with two well positioned drill bits and some liberal application of JB Weld.  Still good 20,000k later.  My father did one years back and it's still on the road as well, so you may not need to pull the crankshaft even if there is some damage.

I can hear some of the purists cringing from here  .  It's ghetto, but it works.

Could you give me some details of the hack repair job you did? I'm feeling like trying it some time.

[insdtanoodles]

my car was doing that before everything went down hill. I would get it fixed and do it fast. I didnt ruin my engine but I was driving down the road and the wobbling got so bad it threw the serpentine belt off, it wrapped around the tensioner and broke it off. Lucky for me I was on my drive home so I could take the engine out and fix it.

[burn_your_money]

If you are on vortex you can search for G60 engines. They have the same problem and alot of guys fix if with the drill bit method

[Infinitrium]

Is it the center bolt or the other 4 bolts?

[burn_your_money]

The center bolt. The other 4 just hold on the serp pulley. Maybe remove the serp pulley and then start the car up and quickly look at the crank pulley to see if it's wabbling. Don't let the engine run long because your WP won't be working.
30 seconds would be the absolute max I'd run it for

[commuter boy]

http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2058&highlight=harmonic+balancer

It's very much a last resort method, I'd really suggest you get someone to do it properly, assuming there's already damage done.

If you look at the end of my thread, one of the members in Ontario offers a replacement crank service, ship him your old one and get the new one already machined ready for your mechanic to pop in.

[vvandu]

Infinitrium what did you end up doing with it?

I have the same problem with my 94 Golf TD
Check out mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuVO2PfzYvw

Srry for bad camera skills...

So from what ive read up so far, this is what i have to do:
a.  find a good repair shop that actually knows what theyre doing
b.  purchase harmonic balancer,replace belts and pulleys if needed?  
c.  Aslo, im still a little confused on this "JB" weld or the tdi fix, does it guarantee a permanent fix?

Ive checked the timing belt for a jump, all timings are good, pulled the valve cover and everything looks fine...