TDI Questions

[AndrewVR6]

Hi, i have been thinking of buying a diesel VW this weekend but i dont have any sorty of experience with buying diesels. I see a bunch of them in the 2k range. I am not suree what i should be watching out for. Seeing how my bonus just came in this week i am looking at something between 2-3k. Was also thinking gas but i would really like to take the leap to diesel. Any info on gotchas with diesels ?

[elrich_d]

up. also interested in this. Outside of the obvious TB ive noticed a couple people selling on kijiji have done the glow plugs and glow plug harness. Im guessing that the harness cracks just like the 1.8t ignition wires.

[AndrewVR6]

Ive heard numerous things related to fuel pump problems on diesels.
One other question i would like to add is mileage ? I know with gas 300k is a lot, what is a lot with diesel ?

[GTIDamien_407]

Ok some basic things you should know:

Make sure the TB has been done recently as it can be expensive to do, anywhere from 600 to over a $1000 depending on where you go. The timing belt should be done every 120-160k everyone does it at different times.

Glow plug harness can be an issue, it's more common in the 04+ pumpe dues motors, it's about a $90 part so it's not bad, regarding the glow plugs they were replaced under warranty on the 04+ cars because the factory ones were faulty. It's also good to replace the glow plugs if your car has some trouble starting, they're like spark plugs they were out over time.

Regarding milaege 300k isint really alot for a diesel, but then again it depends on who owned it, I rather own a higher milaege diesel that has had all it's maintenance done on time then to own one that was beat to crap and abused.

Some other maintenance items you should look at are the fuel filter and oil changes, fuel filter is every 60k I believe and oil changes should be done every 8-15k or every 6 months using SYNTHETIC ONLY. Regarding rust, it's common for TDI's to have rusty fenders due to the foam behind the fender, don't be to worried about rust because Vw has a 12 year rust warranty and they don't really give you any troubles with the fender rust. But obviously you can use this play with the price abit.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask I'll try my best and whoever else wants to chip in to answer them, also check out tdiclub.com it's a great resource.


Good luck with the search

[elrich_d]

What happens if you removed the foam. Is it just a sound barrier?

[Marchmen]

The foam was added to the diesels to help reduce cabin noise. Problem is that the foam holds moisture which rusts the fenders.

TDIclub should have any information you'd need that would help you make a buying decision.

[futur]

just buy one. i have NEVER heard of anyone switching to diesel and not liking it.

as stated above, the maintenance is a bit more rigorous but if you drive +30000kms a year its worth it.

[GTIDamien_407]

What happens if you removed the foam. Is it just a sound barrier?

I didnt really notice any difference

[Greg_J]

if you can, find a TDI wagon. the wagon's were built in Germany and the build quality is noticeably different. my 03 wagon with double the miles/abuse of my friends 04 golf, is astounding. his is starting to rust heavily, where mine is only rusting where the fender was hit and run...

im just about to roll over 320k km's also. car still runs perfectly fine. at this point though, wear and tear is taking its toll. most of the suspension bushings are needing of replacement. which i'm slowly doing

[elrich_d]

just buy one. i have NEVER heard of anyone switching to diesel and not liking it.

as stated above, the maintenance is a bit more rigorous but if you drive +30000kms a year its worth it.

can't say i have either which is why i wanna switch

hopefully going to look at one next week. will update and ask any q's.

thanks for the help

[SoNgMaN]

I didn't enjoy the TDI I had. the mileage was nice, the 2.0 CR is a decent motor but it was SOOOOOO boring to drive

[deno]

^^^

250 pounds of torque at around 1.5rpm...boring to drive ???

Traded in my GTI for the new TDI...best decision i had ever made in my life

[MXTHOR3]

I didn't enjoy the TDI I had. the mileage was nice, the 2.0 CR is a decent motor but it was SOOOOOO boring to drive

wat.

[SoNgMaN]

^^^

250 pounds of torque at around 1.5rpm...boring to drive ???

Traded in my GTI for the new TDI...best decision i had ever made in my life

yes because you were in 3rd gear by 60kmph if that.

I went GTI(mk5) (265/290) to TDI(mk6) 140/236 to R(mk6) 256/243 other than the mileage I'll never look back. the gearing in the TDI was brutal.

[deno]

yes because you were in 3rd gear by 60kmph if that.

I went GTI(mk5) (265/290) to TDI(mk6) 140/236 to R(mk6) 256/243 other than the mileage I'll never look back. the gearing in the TDI was brutal.

Your comparing a tuned gti to a stock tdi......the gearing is brutal ? ..

cheers bro

[MXTHOR3]

yes because you were in 3rd gear by 60kmph if that.

I went GTI(mk5) (265/290) to TDI(mk6) 140/236 to R(mk6) 256/243 other than the mileage I'll never look back. the gearing in the TDI was brutal.

Stick with a gasser, you obviously don't know how to drive a diesel.

OMG WHERE ARE MY RPMZZZZZZZZ

[SoNgMaN]

Stick with a gasser, you obviously don't know how to drive a diesel.

OMG WHERE ARE MY RPMZZZZZZZZ

apparently not

[MXTHOR3]

apparently not

It's quite obvious if you're complaining about the gearing... Did you expect it to be the same?

[deno]

It's quite obvious if you're complaining about the gearing... Did you expect it to be the same?

LOL !

[BigVWman1]

The tdi,td, idi actual maint is less than a gasser. Even the timing belts on most recent gen gassers should be done at similar intervals to the diesel as most are also interferance engines. The diesels have no plug wires coil packs and assorted other crap. They are relatively simple. Based on your price range the above comparisons to mk5 and 6 gti's and r32's even Cr2.0 tdi's aren't at all relevant. The Timing belts on IDI, td's and TDI's into the 98 Model year have a change interval of 60k not 100+. The later 98 up to 2003 or so with the alh had a original change interval of 60k and an updated 100k belt available. The gearing and mileage on a td or tdi are great lots of fun IMO. Common issues on the td's which would be mk2 gen and a few canadian mk3's are crank snout issues, TDi's had some issues with the GP harness like you saw but the fuel pump issue is usually the much later vehicles, the majority up to 2003 ran what is called a bosch ve style and it has a typical diesel pump and hardlines going to individual injectors. They are very durable when general maint is observed lasting 500k and beyond. When maint is overlooked they can deteriorate rapidly. You'll want to keep an eye on maint records especially oil changes. Synthetic or blend helps them last so long!

[GTIDamien_407]

I didn't enjoy the TDI I had. the mileage was nice, the 2.0 CR is a decent motor but it was SOOOOOO boring to drive

What are you 16 and just got your g2? I dont really see why you need like 300hp or whatever unless you're tracking your car or autocrossing. There's no where on the streets to use that kind of power legally. You only use a fraction of that power when you're actually driving so to have that much is actually kinda pointless unless like i said you're tracking your car or are a streetracer lol. Like sure my tdi may not be the fastest thing on the planet but it sure does handle pretty good and has plenty of power to pass *%$#!*%#$#^#% truckers with ease that pass you just to pull 2 m in front and dump rocks sand gravel and whatever the hell else they have not properly covered. I never go more then 3/8th's throttle, the turbo kicks in and takes over pretty much instanly. like at 3/8th's throttle i can go from 100-120 in about 4 seconds or so.

The only reason I'd buy cars with more power or whater like the golf R is because I like the way they look and not because they have alot of power that doesnt really matter to me.