1.6D Golf (Rabbit) White Smoke

[jellybelly]

Hi everyone!!

I'm from the uk and own a Golf (Rabbit in the US) 1980 1.5 diesel and i must say i'm a little in love

now just a bit of history and a photo for you



bought the car in Febuary after it had been laid up for 14 year, got everything working after replacing the petrol tank and the injection pump

it was running fine until i broke down on the motoway. after further invetigation i'd lost all compression. so after a full rebuild including new rings, bearings and other bits, it's now alive again

anyway back to my problem

i have set the pump timing to 0.95 and it is still smoking. white smoke! when i pull the cold start lever the smoke is less

do i need to set the timing to say 1 or 1.05? to get rid of the smoke?

also this is fresh from the rebuild so do i need to get some miles done to get things bedded in?

all help would be great, there isn't a hell of lot of info on these early diesel in the uk

[82vdub]

Welcome to the forum and nice bunny

The white smoke is likely from poor combustion. It could be a combination of new rings that haven't seated properly, or timing of the injector pump. I would advance the injector pump (IP) until the engine gets a little louder, then back the timing off a bit. When you pull the cold start cable, there should be a little more noise. Try this and see how the smoke goes. If the IP is too far retarded, you get poor combustion and white smoke.

[jellybelly]

cheers for the advise

i have set the timing to the (Advanced running) in the bently at 0.95 but still a little smokey for my liking

so i may just tweek that a little

but like you say it hasn't run for long and everything will still be seating itself so i need to give it time

i have also some new injector nozzles to install, could this improve things?

[82vdub]

Depending on how worn the IP is, the timing you set it at may not be correct for what the actual engine needs. I'd toss out the dial indicator and advance the pump some.

[jellybelly]

it did cross my mind

i shall give it a go at the weekend cheers

[jellybelly]

if there a guide to rebuilding a IP?

and can you get a kit to do so? i have a spare pump that leaks that i wouldn't mind having a look at

[82vdub]

You can search the forum for discussions on the rebuilding of an IP. There's an exploded view on how to put one back together on the forums. There's a key point or two that is missing from the assembly thread, that's one reason why I say to search the forum and start reading.

[avocado]

Depending on how worn the IP is, the timing you set it at may not be correct for what the actual engine needs. I'd toss out the dial indicator and advance the pump some.

Not to hijack this thread, but am I to assume the IP should be timed when the engine is warmed up? I've never seen anyone mention that it needs to be, but it seems like it would only make sense that that was the case...

[82vdub]

Still shouldn't smoke when it's cold (depending on what cold is). Or, it shouldn't smoke for very long when it's cold.

[jellybelly]

i shall have a look around

[jellybelly]

i've had a look around and cannot find the rebuild guide sorry

could somebody link it for me please

[avocado]

Still shouldn't smoke when it's cold (depending on what cold is). Or, it shouldn't smoke for very long when it's cold.

That makes sense.

That said, I was more curious in the generic hillbilly tuning sense: if I'm timing an IP by ear and listening for the engine getting louder/the marbles on a plate, should the engine be warmed up first to a specific temperature?

[82vdub]

http://www.greenbaypartsworld.com/vw/vw ... r_pump.htm

[coke]

As mentioned white smoke is usually from incomplete combustion. Usually advancing the pump can cure this, unless the injectors or a plugged fuel filter might be the culprit. I'm assuming you changed the fuel filter when you changed the pump?

You could try lubro moly diesel purge. Good stuff for dirty injectors. Worked wonders on my father's car and many others in the area.

Here are the timing specs for the car. If you have the yellow dot pump, you are indeed not timing it to the correct setting as noted: (Stolen from Vince Waldon's page)
arly Chassis: (1977-1983)

1.5l non-turbo 1977-1980 0.88 +/- 0.05 mm

1.5l non-turbo 1980 with yellow dot 1.15 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l non-turbo 1981, 1982, and 1983 pickup 0.88 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l non-turbo 1983 Rabbit and Jetta 0.95 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l non-turbo 1983 Vanagon 0.90 +/- 0.05 mm

1.6l tubo diesel (1982-1983) 1.00 +/- 0.05 mm

[Fatmobile]

Put a little white paint and a scratch mark where the pump and bracket meet, near the top front mounting bolt.

Now move the top of the pump toward the head,
the width of a pencil line.

Drive it and see how it runs/starts.

That's what hagar referred to as hillbilly tuning.

If it starts with the cold start out and doesn't miss when you rev it,
it's set right.

The cold start lever advances the timing so it smoothing out when you pull it shows the timing is retarded but real close.