my 86 pirelli 4 door gas to diesel build

[Rabbit on Roids]

the head bolt hole is where the oil enters the head dude. dont worry about it, nothing is wrong. its supposed to be like that.

[lovinthedeez]

so thinking that parts would arrive by the weekend, I went thru my fav online parts place.  for the price of local markup and free shipping, I got t a few extra little things for nothing .  The price I paid though is time, but whatever.  I have the block and the head all cleaned up for the most part, and didn't find any cracks in the vicinity of the head bolt holes.  The block cleaned up real nice, but the head was kinda tougher because I didn't want to use my scraper.  I'm using a pretty good gasket stripper aerosol, but the head had some caked on stuff around the coolant jackets.  I don't wanna go through the hassle of plate glass or anything like that.  just looking to clean up some gunk.  What are people using out there to clean up the head surface? 
but anyhoo, parts come tomorrow.  I'll have it together by tuesday.  fingers crossed

also thinking at this point.  if the thermostat reading is close to what is was before, the radiators are getting swapped to the rabbit rad

[Baron VonZeppelin]

  What are people using out there to clean up the head surface? 

With a cautious mind and steady hand you could dress the flats on that head with scotchbrite on a drill pad.

Or do it by hand with an SoS BriLLo pad.
And/or red scotchbrite.

Plug up all oil and prechamber holes and cover all significant adjacent areas. Duct tape over any opening/opened valves as needed.

Blow everything out good when its over.

Put 12v to each Gplug and see if the prechambers glow nice too.
I just walked into this and haven't read all the pages, but it would be a fine time right now to do a first class Gplug wiring revamp -
- if you haven't already done one.

[lovinthedeez]

got it all put back tomorrow yesterday.  install went without any problems.  I pulled the thermostat to test it before I took it for a test drive, and it turned out to be bad (just bought it before the pump went )  So now the motor runs GREAT, just need to get a new thermostat.  so yup, no more overheating, no more coolant puking, and no more leaking; at least for the most part.  wish I took some pics before I slapped everything together, but the little lady had the camera. So after all, this was caused by a cracked wp housing and a bad thermostat. wish I could remember who sold me that stuff on the vortex so I could go choke em.     But whatever, I got my rig back and runs better than it ever did in either car......very happy for 50 bucks and five hours of labor.  it was also good to see the motor cracked open to know it might be a good idea to start shopping for a new head.

[Rabbit on Roids]

you need an old style mech 12mm head right? ive probably got you covered.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

got it all put back tomorrow yesterday. ..........So after all, this was caused by a cracked wp housing and a bad thermostat. wish I could remember who sold me that stuff on the vortex so I could go choke em.    

tomorrow yesterday? That's a new one on me.

Did you buy a used thermostat and water pump from someone on vortex???
Anyway, good that it's back on the road.

[lovinthedeez]

tomorrow yesterday? That's a new one on me.

Did you buy a used thermostat and water pump from someone on vortex???
Anyway, good that it's back on the road.

I bought what I thought was a new in the box pump.  I didn't give it a thorough lookover over when I first got it, so I don't know the housing was cracked or not before I put it on.  I bought the thermostat new, but again, I didn't check it before I put it in. 

and rabbitonroids, its a mech 11mm head, but I think i want one of your other 1.6's for my other jetta.

[92EcoDiesel Jetta]

My thermostat was stuck shut when I bought the car. It was heading to the graveyard in the sorry shape it was in. It had everything against it staying alive. The connectors on the 2 temp sensors were swapped so the temp gauge was not working. The fan relay and the other relays (except one) were laying on the floor because the fuse relay panel was not mounted and hanging by the wires and the left foot kicked all the relays off. I didn't know any better at the time, I thought they were extra relays. The connector to the radiator fan was not plugged in all the way and fell off, same thing with the radiator temp switch connector. My friend drove the car home that way and luckily didn't kill it. On the drive home, he stalled the engine (forgot it had a clutch and jerked the engine) and it wouldn't re-start because the connector to the starter motor solenoid fell off!!! .I really want to wring the neck of the last person who worked on my car. When I put it a new thermostat, I made sure it tested good in boiling water before I installed it. I fixed things one by one and it's running pretty good now.

[Rabbit on Roids]

tomorrow yesterday? That's a new one on me.

Did you buy a used thermostat and water pump from someone on vortex???
Anyway, good that it's back on the road.

I bought what I thought was a new in the box pump.  I didn't give it a thorough lookover over when I first got it, so I don't know the housing was cracked or not before I put it on.  I bought the thermostat new, but again, I didn't check it before I put it in. 

and rabbitonroids, its a mech 11mm head, but I think i want one of your other 1.6's for my other jetta.

other jetta? i didnt know you had multiple jettas.

[lovinthedeez]

got this 84 gl kicked down to me from a guy who snagged the td out of it and was gonna scrap the shell (he does the bus/van thing)


fully complete except for the motor itself which the guy did a great job of taking it out with cutting anything.  it just sits waiting for a motor....someday

[rallydiesel]

That rabbit was sweet. Nice Pirelli Jetta though. Good work all around!

[lovinthedeez]

thanks......that rabbit was a moldy mess that I rescued from behind some tweaker's trailer that had sat for 3 plus years




the inside was just plain shatty.  mismatched everything, spray bombed dash, no carpet or headliner.  the only good thing about it was the body and the mileage it got.   the shell will live again as my friend now has it.

[lovinthedeez]

so I finally got around to putting in another thermostat, and got some interesting results.  so I bought the 180 degree thermostat.  after installing it and test driving it, the temp guage is right back where it was before, smack dab in the middle.  it doesn't deviate though, so that makes me comfy.  so like I thought originally, the pump water pump must have been crap when I installed it.  Maybe the guage is just not reading correctly.  I thought that gassers used the same 180 degree thermostat, so why would would the guage read differently as I've heard before.  Still need to dial in my timing though.  waiting on a new dial indicator as I wasn't real happy with my old one and got rid of it.  need to get on this before the rainy season hits .

[lovinthedeez]

a lot of time has passed and I just let the car sit for the most part.  I just put in a new water pump and housing in from german auto parts and it runs great.  Also put in new glow plugs, and she runs perfect right now.  I love it.    looking for turbo parts atm.  got this guy to work for cheeeeeaapp.

[Rabbit on Roids]

thats really cool that your kid is under the hood every time you are. hes gonna be a big boy huh? and its obvious he already has grease & diesel running through his veins..