I have been working to revive a young dude's 1990 n/a Jetta diesel. It received a crate engine of some sort like 15 years ago. Must have been run like 10 years and then literally sat in a field in North Dakota for the last 5 years. Had some nasty hail damage out there in that field...but, whatever.
Believe it or not (I can't), it actually runs very well and has a TOP LINE cylinder head on it (never saw a Top Line in the flesh).
The Top Line camshaft is certainly not VW quality...but, it works for now and apparently did for at least 10 years. The hardened surface is pretty thin and the backside of the lobes is actually porous. But, it is a matter of David vs. Goliath.....VW solid cams were always a work of art...never seemed to degrade.
I have been working in cold, windy miserable weather on this car. I never really had the time to stand back and really "look-it-over" with any degree of comfort. I was literally freezing my anus off every time I worked on it.
Today, I discovered (gulp) that NONE of the three big bolts which attach the engine to the trans (vice-versa) are in the damned car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, NO.....they did not vibrate out. Whoever installed this engine was a total putzz moron esquire idiot. I mean, ALL the other bolts on this thing were like 27 times tighter that any sort of common sense. I had to use a lot of propane and chisels to get most of the bolts to release. The big bolts which attach the struts to the spindles were destroyed from being too tight. Working on this thing brought back EVERY cuss word I had EVER learned and uttered....and I invented a few new ones as well.
Back to the bolts: I did notice that this car has a mean engine-related vibration when you wind it out between shifts. And, I think I know WHY now!
Somehow, the cam belt did not manage to snap before I got involved with the car. Some sort of miracle....as I had NEVER seen one so WORN as this one.
So....my question to myself and maybe YOU is: what the hell has been keeping this engine and trans mated? I guess the input shaft and clutch disc and fatigued motor mounts? Wow. This is very much like jumping off a 100-foot cliff with no idea how you were going to survive the landing?
Yes, I believe I have seen it all now. I have rectified a LOT of stuff on this car. Aged a few years in the process.
My other question was: how the hell did this fuel tank not algae-up? The old filter was still flowing....so, I ran the snot out of the car expecting the filter to clog. Never did....so I put a new filter in place and did-away with the stupid recirculation loop (we have #1 diesel out here, dudes!).