Looking to buy mid 80's to early 90's diesel jetta and I have a few questions.

I am about 6 months away from gettong my permit, and I decided its time to get serious about what im going to drive. I have decided that my rabbit pickup diesel is not going to work, because I know that I am going to be transporting my sisters all over the place. So I decided that the jetta would be my best bet. I have been looking at 85-92 jettas, but im not really sure what I want. I need to know which are turbo and which are not. From what I have seen the 90-92's dont have turbos, and the 85-89's sometimes do. I am just wondering what to look for. Also are there any problem areas to look for while searching. I have found a few jettas already, but I am not experienced with these at all and dont know what to look for. Any help would be appreciated

As sold in the USA, the A2 cars were available as such:

Golf 1985 and 1986, 1.6L non-turbo ME

Jetta 1985 and 1985, 1.6L non-turbo ME AND 1.6L turbo MF

(hydraulic lifters came mid 1986 on both engines).

None for 1987 and 1988, although some 1987s were imported supposedly...I have never seen one.

1989, Jetta returns, non-turbo ME engine only, with some upgraded bits.
1990 through early 1991, Jetta non-turbo, both 2 and 4 door versions.

Mid-1991 and early 1992, 1.6L light-pressure turbo 'ECOdiesel' Jetta 4 door only, code 1V. These are very rare.

ME = 52hp
MF = 68hp
1V = 59hp

An NA car is kind of slow by modern standards. The Turbo models have good performance with today's speeds.

-Jason

so there is a mix of 1985 jettas some with turbo and some without? I am looking at an 1985 and 2 1990's, is there much of a of a difference in the two years, unless the 85 is a turbo (which is unknown at this point)??

the 1990 model has nicer looking bumpers, stupider seatbelts, and a better electrical system, and 2 less HP compared to a 1985 with solid lifters. Personally I'd take the HP hit and not have to mess with the lifter adjustments.

I had a 1991 ECOdiesel and loved it

-Jason

1977busman said:

so there is a mix of 1985 jettas some with turbo and some without? I am looking at an 1985 and 2 1990's, is there much of a of a difference in the two years, unless the 85 is a turbo (which is unknown at this point)??

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'85 and '86 Jetta diesels came in the turbo and non-turbo models. The turbos are rarer, I think about 1 turbodiesel to 3 or 4 non-turbos were sold in those years. I had an '85 Jetta turbodiesel, drove it for 19 years and it only saw the inside of a shop for tires and alignments.

The non-turbo will be very slow accelerating, but will easily do legal highway speeds. The turbo model will perform a little bettter.

Any VW diesel from this era will most likely need somthing fairly major to get running or keep running. Unless you can do the work yourself (and you will need some VW and diesel-specific tools), plan on spending more than the car is worth on repairs. By major, I mean any combination of the following items: injection pump resealing or replacement, timing belt, rebuilt motor (or a re-ringing), heater core, alternator, brakes (new rotors up front), drive axles (or boots replaced), ball joints, tie rods, struts & shocks, and the list goes on. Any VW of this vintage will have most likely in excess of 200,000 and perhaps 300,000 miles. I replaced all of the previously mentioned items, and the turbocharger, and several other things on mine and I eventually sold it with just shy of 300,000 miles on it. By that time, it needed a complete engine overhaul. The ring job I did serval thousand miles just did not hold up because the block was worn out.

That said, it was one of the best cars I ever owned. Did not rust and drove quite well. Only my '04 comes close in terms of fine engineering.

Here is the '85 I used to have:



The way you tell if it is a true turbodiesel is the turbo sits right behind the engine and the injection pump has a "spaceship" on it that is the turbo enrichment diaphragm housing.

--Nate

Thank for the info, I think that I am going to go for the 90-92 jettas unless I find a really good deal on something else. As far as repairs go, We have two medhanics, one being a diesel mechanic that are really close friends. So we are covered if the repairs get out of my capability range. I just want something that will last for a long time and get me really superb MPG's. And the jetta gives me all of that, unlike the diesel mercedes that doesnt get the MPG's that I would want.

Note that the late non turbo cars have a "spaceship" on the injection pump too! They use it for altitude correction.

-Jason

There are a lot more differences between the early A2 and late A2 that compu mentioned, but he hit the big ones. Although I prefer my seatbelts, as they do not ride on your shoulder and drive you crazy on long trips . Also, they were just on GL models, not the base models, on the late A2s. My brother's '89 Jetta diesel had the regular seat belts.

The later cars have a different pump with altitude compensation, improved cooling system, standard power steering, improved air cleaner, better oil pump, closer ratio gearing, better starter motor, better seats, one-piece front door windows and better sideview mirrors, improved brakes, better clutch, and I am sure I am missing some other stuff.

As a general rule, when you look at a platform as a whole, the last years are usually the best since they benefit from any improvements along the way, and the first year is usually the worst due to all the teething troubles. But still, you are looking at a VERY old car even if you found a 1992 model. Keep this in mind.

I know that I am dealing with a very old car. But its what I can afford on my budget, but I am eventually going to work my way up to a early 2000's tdi jetta. But for now I am going to get a little more acquainted with the vw diesel engine with something that not quite as exspensive.

I will say this, parts for the Mk2 VW are easy to find (online), and generally not extremely expensive.

-Jason

Personally, I would say shoot for an A3. You wont regret that being your starting TDI. It is mine, and I plan on getting an A4 once I graduate from high school. It may be a little pricey, but you'll find its a good investment.

There is (was?) an A3 near me for $1600...needs some work, but nothing major and would be a nice car to tinker and learn with.

An A3 would be great if I could find one near me in my price range. I also need to sell my 82 vw diesel pickup for some cash flow. As for that A3 near Oilhammer if I am right you live in Missouri, and that is a bit to far for me to travel, I am limited to ohio and the some parts of the surrounding states, depending on distance.

I have a 81 Jetta that I put a 84 turbo diesel in it. It still runs and still gets 40mpg. Great cars, I like your thinking.

I loved my '89 turbo diesel Jetta when I still drove it. Then it over heated, warped the head, lost compression and died. Then I got the TDI. I'm planning on fixing it this summer and doing something special with it.

Well if anyone finds anything close to ohio that is really cheap let me know. I am taking my truck to a vw show in August, and am hoping to sell it there. We will see how that works out in a few weeks.