Little red pickup

This is a place for us to share progress on and upgrades to our vw diesels.

Moderator: Fatmobile

Fatmobile
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Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

74 miles
Hmmm I hadn't thought of adding sand to scrub the reservoir.
He said I can give it back with soapy water in it.
He's had to flush oil from a block before.

Looks like I fixed the leaks on 1 and 2 injectors ,...
now 3 is leaking at the halves. ha.

Starts great without even waiting for glowplugs.
Just hop in and turn the key.

I don't think the fuel gauge works.
I put 4 1/2 gallons in after removing the gasoline/diesel mix.
The gauge is in the reserve, below 2 gallons area.
On second thought that might be about right.
I've been accelerating it then letting off to break it in right.
Probably getting around 30mpg driving it like that.
I guess I should carry a spare fuel can when taking the first trip into town.
Or my bike, ha.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

84 miles
Got number three to quit leaking.
Took a couple tries.
I finally decided to change the middle piece and lap the top of the injector insert.
Then put some of my razor stropper paste between them to lap the pieces together.

Also cleaned some oil from the reservoir.
The sand, soap and hot water worked great.

About ready for the trip into town.
A couple pictures.
Here she is next to the D250:
Image

So one mistake I made during this project.
I was torqueing the headbolts with a Lyle ZXN, triplesuare, 12point
and it dropped out if the 13mm socket,..
behind the block.
I looked over the top of the engine and saw the toilet bowl exhaust.
Yep, right down the toilet bowl exhaust.
I couldn't get it back out without messing up the exhaust connection.
Image

I'm going to put a rag in that next time.
But,..
While I was welding on the exhaust I fixed the front exhaust hanger so it lined up with the one on the body.
Here it is clamped and tacked in it's new place:
Imageredpickupexhaustbracket by vwfatmobile, on Flickr
I am not good at welding upside down.

Looks like he had some exhaust work done on it.
But they didn't put a muffler on it so it's loud when you step on it.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

184.7 miles

I took it for a 10 mile ride into town for fuel.
It got right down to the empty line but I didn't need to use the fuel in the can I brought.

It seemed slow.
So when I got home I reset the timing to 12BTDC with the pulse detector.
It was pretty retarded.
Then turned the max fuel screw in as far as it would go.

Took it out for a couple hard runs a mile out of town and turn around.
Got back home and the coolant reservoir was overflowing a little.

Next day I swapped a different reservoir cap on and took it out again.
Ran it even harder but had no problem with overflow this time.
Might have been the cap or maybe I had the reservoir too full.
The temp gauge ran in the middle, right where it should the whole time.
So it wasn't an overheat.

Took it over to pick up the tailgate for the dodge.
About 70 miles without a problem.
#1 injector is leaking slightly again so I'll have to pull that and lap it.
I can put new heat shields under all of them this time.
On my cars I just reshape and reuse them but I have some new ones for other people's cars.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
sgnimj96
Turbo Charger
Posts: 259
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Little red pickup

Post by sgnimj96 »

On the current pump I'm using (rebuilt at an injection shop mexicano) I had to pry the collar off to get the power I wanted.
Also had to install the IP's throttle arm so I know that was correct.
The fuel screw just needed a bit more.

I don't mind the extra fuelly throttle. I imagine the design was to keep people from blowing up their engine flooring it all the time.
Black smoke and/or rising temp is all I need to tell me to let off.
81' Scirocco 1.6D (conversion)
86 Golf 1.6D
85' 300TD
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

Right, it has good power but I don't see much black smoke.

I don't see many VW diesels around here.
And I know most of them.
But there was a MK1 Jetta crossing the intersection the other day that had the smoke turned way up.
A huge cloud of black smoke,..
no turbo to burn it up.
I think he was trying to be obnoxious.
Because all that peddle and smoke didn't make him go any faster.
Just puttering across the intersection in front of me.

I was in the right turn lane and he was traveling left or I would have chased him down and gave him a good smokin, ha.
Actually I was in the MTDI and it doesn't smoke much before it just takes off.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

217 miles
I took it into town today.
Even left the tool box at home.
No problems.
The temp gauge rides at up to 1/2 a mark over center.
Just right.

Got home and reset the valve clearances with the engine warm.

Probably should have retorqued the head bolts instead of waiting for 1000 miles.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

The little red pickup went tokatokatoka all the way home yesterday.
Said it ran nice and has real good power.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
sgnimj96
Turbo Charger
Posts: 259
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Little red pickup

Post by sgnimj96 »

Just in time for Independence Day! Nothing says automotive sovereignty like a good running vw IDI.
Congrats on the creation !!!
81' Scirocco 1.6D (conversion)
86 Golf 1.6D
85' 300TD
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

Thanks, yeah maybe he can hit some car shows with it this summer.
The lady with the blue golf I fixed last year is looking forward to being in the Clear Lake car show and ride around the lake with it.
I didn't have it running in time for it last year,.. if they even had it.

These was a guy who wanted me to fix his TDI turbo but by the time I was done with this pickup he already had it done.
So I can work on my own projects now.
Upgrading the VNT controller for the (Pa) Tina.
Last one was just proof of concept and worked great.
This one will have little bearings in it and holes won't wear into ovals.
ANd I bought a front smashed MK3 TDI to part out.
Use the trany and some front end parts for the MTDI project.
Engine might go into the GTI Rabbit. Try for an AHU MTDI.
Dodge project should get some brake work.
The list goes on.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

So the little red pickup came back because of oil in the coolant.
I got the head back off and it looks like maybe it leaked under the head gasket
into the cooling hole very close to the bolt hole the oil pressure passes through on the way to the head.
Like the o-ring failed. That's a first.
The only thing I did different this time was spray hylomar on
both the block and the head too.
I usually just spray it on the gasket.

It's nice to get it back for awhile to check on the rest of the stuff.
Ya know, sometimes axle bolts get loose and stuff.
The driver's side inner CV boot is spitting grease.
Just a small amount that looks like it could be coming from a tiny crack down in one of the creases.
Looks like a slight leak around the front coolant neck gasket.

And the passenger side steering rack boot has a hole I didn't notice last time.
Hard to find the passenger side rack boots but looks like fcpeuro has them for a good price.
Never heard of them before but the prices are right so I got a few caddy emergency brake cables
and they have the trany push rod tube seals, bushings and mainshaft seal kit I couldn't find elsewhere for a good price.
Bought enough to qualify for free shipping.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
sgnimj96
Turbo Charger
Posts: 259
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Little red pickup

Post by sgnimj96 »

I always try to take it easy until the engine warms and pretend that helps.
Those old mating surfaces, aluminum head on steel, 20:1 compression.
It will be interesting to hear this one may come to light.
Thanks for keeping the thread going :)
81' Scirocco 1.6D (conversion)
86 Golf 1.6D
85' 300TD
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

Yeah, romping on it too hard when it's cold isn't good for any engine.
I don't think I beat it too bad when it was cold.
did make sure it was under load or backing off.

The fuel lines are dripping as they come from the tank.
So those need replaced.

I noticed no anti-rattle clips on the brakes last time but didn't get to them.
Until today.

Also bought a couple emergency brake cables for it with this order so might get those put on.

I like to make the block and head oil-free so the gasket sticks better.
This time I went to put the new bolts in but forgot to grind the washers down to fit the 11mm head.
When I pulled the head back off,
I noticed that oil comes out of the bolt hole the oil passes around.
It soaks around the hole with oil.
Even though I chased all the bolt holes.
So I put all the other bolts in first with a slight snug.
Then with that hole sealed, that bolt went in.
All the oil that was pushed out by the bolt should have stayed inside the o-ring.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

The parts arrived from fcpeuro, faster than they said.
Had it running but the fuel lines to/from the tank were leaking.
I forgot there was a fuel line that was about 12mm on one end and 8mm on the other.
A tapered fuel line.
Fortunately I had remembered that for the Rabbit's it's the same.
...and I used a 3/8" to 1/2" PEX coupler.
It's not really 3/8" or 1/2" way closer to 12mm and 8mm.
Bought some new fuel line, actually used a couple inches of 7/16" because it fit tight but not too tight on the fitting.
Got got that put on and fuel back in the tank.
Put the new pside rack boot on.
Got her started and set the timing with the pulse detector.

Made sure the belt tension was right.
I like to get it running then rev it and see how much the belt vibrates between the crank and roller.
got the vibration down to a respectable level, and it's not hitting the cover.

Go test drive it around tomorrow and see about oil in the coolant.
I've never had this oil in the coolant problem after doing a head gasket.
I think I could see where the oil had been sneaking past the o-ring and under the gasket.
There was a layer of surface rust on the cast iron inside,
because of the water and soap.
But one area near the edge closest to the o-ring was rust free and clean.
I figure the oil protected it.
I sure hope this solved it.

Jessie, this is his truck, gave me a great tip for getting the oil out of the reservoir.
Put gas in it.
I had some old chainsaw gas, removed the reservoir, threw that in and shook it up.
No more oil in the reservoir.
Used soapy water to clean the gas out and then rinsed it.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
sgnimj96
Turbo Charger
Posts: 259
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:08 pm

Re: Little red pickup

Post by sgnimj96 »

the flat anti-rattle clips on my S1 kept falling off. I started putting a dab of silicon caulk on the ends to hold them to caliper, helps but has to be redone every time the brakes get worked on.

Seems like there are a lot of different opinions on re-torquing the stretch bolts.
I was just looking at my old haynes diesel-only manual, says the 12-pt ones get a 1/4 turn extra at 100miles and also 1000 miles, no loosening.
Some people say the german manual says 1000km, so 600 miles for the 2nd retorque
some people say they never retorque?.
I just retorqued my 11mm studs for the 2nd time. They all went at least 1/8 turn more (some 1/4) to get back to just 80ft/lbs.

It's hard to believe the original hex head bolts were torqued to just 66 ft/lbs on a 23.5:1 compression engine
but that was back when the speed limit was 55
81' Scirocco 1.6D (conversion)
86 Golf 1.6D
85' 300TD
Fatmobile
Global Moderator
Posts: 7564
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: north central Iowa

Re: Little red pickup

Post by Fatmobile »

The threads on those 11mm bolts are pretty fine though.
That effects the torque.

So an update on the little red pickup.
Something is wrong.

Not sure I mentioned this. Didn't think too much of it the first time I took it for a drive.
After a short drive for a few miles and coming back
I would hear the head boiling around the 4th cylinder.
Not the whole head, just near the waterneck going to the heater.

The coolant hose to the radiator felt hard but didn't set off the relief valve in the reservoir cap.
I figured it was maybe air trapped in the head after the rebuild so I took short trips to let it purge.
It didn't seem to be doing it so much when I handed it off to him so figured the air found it's way out.
Temp has always read in the normal range, actually straight up like it's supposed to.

So I did the same thing after this second gasket.
Heard the boiling, took several short trips
before heading into town.

On the way back, coming down the hill into town from the west
sun behind me, working it a little
going 60mph.
Temp was normal.
I felt a jolt, more like a short hesitation.
I pulled over and shut it off.
The head above #4 cylinder was boiling again.
But everything else seemed fine.
I started it up and rode into town.
The temp gauge climbed a couple notches then settled down.
And it ran great.
But started it the next morning and one cylinder wasn't firing right.

Trying to figure out why #4 would overheat.
The original problem was a head gasket leak on #4.
With coolant coming out the exhaust.
I've seen lots of head gasket leaks from cylinder into the coolant
bubbles flowing into the reservoir just like this one did
but none of them had coolant coming out the exhaust.

Maybe the coolant boiling/overpressurizing traveled with the head.
Maybe a coolant restriction above that cylinder or a place that traps air in the head.
He said he had only put around 15,000 miles on it before the head gasket blew.

This one has me stumped.
I can't keep doing the same thing,..
replace the gasket and bolts
and expect a different result.

I'm going to put a different head on it this time.
One that I know is good because I had it on my rabbit
that got replaced because of an external oil leak in the block
cracked the block below the oil filter.

The history on the block had a problem with the #4 cylinder.
The exhaust valve was too tight.
It held the valve open a little and the exhaust port clogged with carbon.
But I can't see how the block could cause this or fail to be surrounded with coolant.
The machinists didn't catch anything but who looks for a coolant restriction inside the head.
I think the guy working on the block would see something if it was there.

Maybe a piece of crud in the block that raises up and clogs the small head gasket hole/holes.
Then when the block gets drained it falls to the bottom of the engine again?
Time to get a boroscope of some kind.

I had to step back from it for awhile and get my garden harvesting/storing done.
But will dive back into it soon.
Will probably lap the valves and change the valve stem seals before installing it.
I haven't lapped valves before so that'll be new for me.
'91 Golf gasser converted to a 12mm pump, M-TDI.
'84 1.6TD Rabbit with a VNT-15 turbo, still setup to run on vegetable oil.
'84 GTI with 1.7TD pistons and intercooled.
2003 TDI wagon
2000 TDI Jetta.
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