Starting Woes with a 1.6td

[Smokey Eddy]

My jetta (1.6 td) has been continually embarassing me with it's only barely existant starting ability.
I've taken the head off, cleaned it all up, replaced the injector nozzles, tons of lines, it gets clean oil > 5,000km, i cleaned up the pump and did the govenor and advance timing mods, made sure the shaft in the turbo wasn't wobbly, i got new steel glow plugs, i made sure they worked and after all that it still struggled to start  (but it was a LOT better. it wouldn't start before i did all that at all unless i rolled it down a hill. in which case it started instantly). And now about 3-4 months later it starts great in the cold, maybe 3-4 seconds of cranking (still pretty poor) and when it's at temp after driving it will not start at all. no chugging or anything for about 20+ seconds until it feels like 1 cylinder or so is going (or trying to) and then it goes imediately after i feel that initial desperate cry from that 1 cylinder. This only started really 2 weeks ago or so. A monumental amount of white unburnt diesel comes out the exhaust too at this point which is understandable but i thought worth mentioning. Oh, and it turns over good and fast and runs great once it starts.

I've been told it's the pump, pump timing, leaky injectors, glow plugs, glow plug relay and so on...
maybe worth mentioning also: the glow plug light sometimes flashes and flickers at me while i'm driving or when i turn the key to acc

I'm going to do a compression test which i think is going to turn out to be painfully low and if so could it be the rings? or the tiny cracks between valves in the head - if you know what i mean by that. I'm extremely stumped and moderately fed up but if anyone has any input i've got very open ears.
Thanks,
Ed

[gigaz2]

mine is also spewing white smoke, unburnt diesel smell, and only starts after a while, once started, it idles fine.

my best bet is on the timing, have you triple checked your timing? (I don't have the adapter to check timing yet )

[fastvicar]

it starts great in the cold, maybe 3-4 seconds of cranking (still pretty poor) and when it's at temp after driving it will not start at all

While I think that the GPs aren't working, this isn't the worst of it.  Based on the above quote, I suspect the IP is in great need of a rebuild and the major cause of the problem.

[oldskool rich]

mine sufers from the same problem form time to time, cant be glow pugs becauce it happens wen the engine is warm.

let me know if you find out what it is. sounds like pump but what cud be wrong with it?

[jtanguay]

I didn't read the original post attentively enough.  The not starting when up to temp would not point toward the glow plugs.  I would still do the 3 part test I outlined above.  I would also do the work outlined on the starter.

Andrew

yep.... my problem was the starter  :wink: rebuilt starter and she usually starts after the first crank!  i thought it was my battery...  :roll:

[Smokey Eddy]

Oh man...
Thanks guys
I bought a new battery(and lead terminals and big ass gauge copper leads) thinking that would do it and all 4 GP's are brand new. i know the relay is okay because i can hear it click off and then off again once it's up to temp. however, the light is screwy; though but i think that's my water seperator after reading a recent post.

So changing the rings would be pointless? when i had the head off wd40 would drain past 2 of the pistons quite quickly (like 10 minutes or less?) but my oil is alright. not too thick or a jet black
The starter has been beat to pieces because the previous owner had like 1 working glow plug and just kept turning it over and over and over and just thought it was a piece of junk. i got the whole car for $500 though so im not complaining ^.^ can anyone direct me to a guide of rebuilding the starter?
cheers, you guys are life savers! :roll:

[jtanguay]

dont pour too much wd40 down there!! it eats seals, and since its so runny it would leak past the rings quite easily... it is a penetrant of course  :wink:

don't worry about bad rings making it hard to start... it should start regardless, but will smoke like a mother f***er if the rings are that bad  :lol:

as for the starter, i was in a jam (cold, and needed vehicle for work) so i got one rebuilt by a pro.

[theman53]

I have wondered if any other VW starters would be a possible "upgrade" to the one in my MK1 Rabbit. I ask for both Smoking Eddy and I as I don't want to hyjack    . Would a TDI or later MK2 or MK3 IDI starter work? If so would it be any better? I am sure the gas starters would be a downgrade, but I was wrong before would any of those work/be better? Just an idea if you have to buy a starter instead of a rebuild, if it is possible to do then maybe upgrade.

[Smokey Eddy]

My starter doesn't sound strange or anything....
It starts up without any complaints when i roll start it. it'll jump start in first at a very slow pace (walking speed?) and idle rough as hell afterwards unless i pull out the cold start.
I took apart my pump to do the govenor mod, could i have screwed with the timing? I kept everything in place and was surgically clean! i had a practice pump to make sure i didnf F*** anything up. it was idling really poorly after that so i had to turn the pump while the car was runing to change the timing manually.  And turn up the idle screw too.... could the timing me extremely retarded or advanced perhaps?
i think it's just in dire need of retiming entirely by someone who knows what the hell they are doing but i have no money to do so. i have one of those timing gauges but i haven't made a make shift VW part to fit it to the pump yet...

does anyone know an easy way to make one without dishing out $$$ to order one from vw?

[alextd]

Mines doing the same, always started very well, been sat for a few years, had new TB fitted new oils filters etc etc,,,,,   did you sort your problem, what was it?

[Smokey Eddy]

im putting an aaz head on it and new rings + a hone. Im thinking it was compression that this should fix