Starting aid for cold starts

[jolotter]

I finally got my 93 Golf on the road this week. It has a hard time starting below freezing. It's a combination of weak battery, low compression, (assumed,) and maybe some dead glow plugs, (I tested them all in the summer.) A local shop I've been buying parts from for years gave me a can of Quickstart starting aid which works like a charm when sprayed into the air cleaner box for a second.
Now the spraycan says for gasoline or diesel engines, but not for use on glow plug engines. I thought about it and decided that on DI engines the plugs would get the start aid coming in with the air and might burn out quicker similar to a faulty injector dripping on them, but in the IDI engine the plugs are far enough away in the prechamber that they would suffer little ill effect.

Can I continue to use this until the spring when I can pull the plugs again in comfort, or will I end up wrecking my engine?

Johann

[Quantum-man]

I thought the danger was in the glowplugs igniting the ether tooooo faaar in advance of TDC creating a super knock which may break something.
I tried using it on the laid up 'Q' It made no difference [towstart did it] This is why elsewhere I mentioned that I have a hunch it may be linked to the hydraulic valve followers somehow when stood for a long time or maybe renewed as a set.

[hagar]

There two kinds of people in the wonderful land of VW "diesels" -----------those who read the forums ---and those who wish they had.

I lived in Taranna at one time. --SO ? after reading you will NEVER use those spray-bombs again --- read my lips.

hagar.

[libbybapa]

I wouldn't advise using ether unless it was an emergency and the engine didn't matter afterwards. You can bust piston rings when it detonates. Using it until "spring" would constitute madness, IMO.

Also, FWIW, the necessity for compression is overrated, IMO. IF the cranking speed is good, all glow plugs work well, and timing is correct (advance it from the stock spec a bit) then it will start even with compression that is quite poor.

I'd remove, dismantle, clean, lube and replace the starter. I'd get a big battery. I'd clean all the electrical connection for power and ground. I'd pull the injectors and have them tested, test the compression and visually see how the glow plugs are doing. I'd replace them if any are less than bright.

Andrew

[jolotter]

Thanks for the warnings.

I checked the plugs in the fall, wired direct to the battery and the ones that didn't glow got replaced. I'll try a big battery for now. Hopefully it will see me through till warmer weather.

Regarding timing, in the fall when it was warm I set it to 1.00mm. The car would not start. I then retarded it to .85 and it started, but if I pulled the cold start then the car would not start and would buck like it was preigniting. Does anyone have any experience of this 'bucking?'

Johann

[82vdub]

Regarding timing, in the fall when it was warm I set it to 1.00mm. The car would not start. I then retarded it to .85 and it started, but if I pulled the cold start then the car would not start and would buck like it was preigniting. Does anyone have any experience of this 'bucking?'

Just a guess, but too far advanced????

[jolotter]

Regarding timing, in the fall when it was warm I set it to 1.00mm. The car would not start. I then retarded it to .85 and it started, but if I pulled the cold start then the car would not start and would buck like it was preigniting. Does anyone have any experience of this 'bucking?'

Just a guess, but too far advanced????

That's what I thought. My dial gauge has quite a bit of side to side play that I think would throw off a reading on the lobe of the cam. I'm going to try to time it by ear next.
It drives alright now. What's the symptoms of too much advance?

Johann

[82vdub]

Typically the more advanced you get it, the louder (diesel knock) the engine will get. You should advance it to the point where it's just quiet, and when you pull the cold start level, it gets louder. In any case, this is something that takes just a little bit of time on a weekend day and you can loosen most of the IP bolts, start the engine, loosen the one remaining bolt, and rotate the IP while it's running to see how it runs. Pretty simple at this point.

[jolotter]

It's pretty loud right now. I'll try tuning it soon and report my results.
Will over-advance make for harder sub-zero starts?

Johann

[Quantum-man]

Is the gauge extension inner pointy or flat nosed? That would give a false advance translating into too retarded????

[jets]

Is the gauge extension inner pointy or flat nosed? That would give a false advance translating into too retarded????

Can you explain what you mean by this comment please Quantum?

[VW Jon]

Have any of you who time by ear, checked your pump timing with an indicator afterwards?

[Quantum-man]

The gauge will be extended by an add on tool that screws into the M8 hole in the end of the pump. The extension inner can be a 'sawn flt edge which doesn't 'follow the cam lift on the Ahhhhhhhh I'm talkin'rubbish DUHHH Forgot about the injection piston Maybe that's the trouble with my car

[jolotter]

The gauge will be extended by an add on tool that screws into the M8 hole in the end of the pump. The extension inner can be a 'sawn flt edge which doesn't 'follow the cam lift on the Ahhhhhhhh I'm talkin'rubbish DUHHH Forgot about the injection piston Maybe that's the trouble with my car

Forgive my ignorance. I have yet to disassemble an IP. So the gauge extension doesn't ride on the cam itself but on an injection piston actuated by the cam? So my wobbly gauge extension doesn't make a damn bit of difference?
I guess I'd better time it again and do a better job this time.

Johann

[Vincent Waldon]

Forgive my ignorance. I have yet to disassemble an IP. So the gauge extension doesn't ride on the cam itself but on an injection piston actuated by the cam? So my wobbly gauge extension doesn't make a damn bit of difference?

No worries... none of us were born knowing this stuff either !!

You got it, though, the gauge (and extension) measure the stroke of the injection plunger that is driven by the camplate.

If your gauge doesn't fit without wobbling there's a good chance you'll have a hard time setting the timing accurately.... it's a game measured in the thousandths of an inch so everything needs to be stable.

It's also not uncommon for the shaft of the extension tube to bind... so a good idea to try reading the timing several times until you convince yourself you are getting the real numbers.

Does your dial gauge adapter look something like this ??