1992 ECOdiesel in green

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Well, I've done it again. I just picked up a 1992 ECOdiesel in Capri Green. Really odd car... no sunroof and no cruise control . Only 150,000 miles! It's not running, and I haven't had time to mess with it a ton yet. It's all there though, right down to the little bolt on the timing belt cover. (I had removed some things when I took the engine picture) More updates to come!





-Jason
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
New ECOdiesel!!!!

Mine's better ;) :D

Oh wait, it's ours. We have two ECOdiesels now!!
 

valvecrusher

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Location
DosCirclos
TDI
'96 Passat, '00 Jetta
VeeDubTDI said:
New ECOdiesel!!!!

Mine's better ;) :D
Mine's the mostest bestly.:cool:
(top that DantheMAN in OH!)

And I also just missed (yesterday)a running '91 ECO for $600, described as 'mint' only a small dent on hood... 250K miles...on the CL

I call DIBS on the parts!!! ( I kid, i kid)

but the name of this thread....hmmm....pardone' if i accidently mispost in here...i'm kinda color blind...?


And just wait til i get a Blu ECO....I've already named it...Rhapsody....
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Mint for $600!? :eek: That would have been a nice score!
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Alright, I finally had time to do some diagnosis on this car tonight. I have identified 2 important and 1 major problem.

Firstly, the timing is dead nuts on. 100% perfect. :eek:

Important problem #1: Glow plug fuse is cracked = no glow plugs. Not good for an IDI.

Important problem #2: Radiator fans do not work, which I believe lead to..

Big problem #1: Head gasket is blown or head is cracked. Combustion gasses come out of the coolant tank as the engine runs, and there is no coolant in the car. I have a feeling it overheated and blew the gasket or damaged the head. Time for the motor to come apart!

Even with big problem #1 the car fires right up! Idles smooth, etc. I think this could be a not-so-bad fix :D

-Jason
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Sweeet! Dive into that thing and see what you can do with it. Hopefully it's not a hard fix. Head gasket is relatively easy as long as the head isn't warped.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
My machine shop fixes warped heads all the time. They have some giant 11tyB BTU oven they cook the casting in until it is elastic, then put it in a special press plate fixture and let it cool back down gradually. They just did my Mitsubishi head for me that was warped .018" :eek: which is a lot worse than most VAG heads could get warped to anyways.

They usually get them so straight that the cam journals do not need to be bored, and they do outstanding work on these older heads.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
I'll keep that in mind! Can I check the head for flatness myself or do I need to sent it out right off the bat?

-Jason
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
If you have a really good straight edge, a clean surface, and feeler gauges you can usually measure them yourself. At least to get a ballpark. You can also remove the cam and lifters, then set the cam back in and bolt the caps back down and see how easily the camshaft turns. When they are really warped, they will not hardly turn at all by hand.
 

valvecrusher

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2008
Location
DosCirclos
TDI
'96 Passat, '00 Jetta
oilhammer said:
If you have a really good straight edge, a clean surface, and feeler gauges you can usually measure them yourself. At least to get a ballpark. .
I've always found something like a nice
piece of plate glass,?

makes a decent 'straight clean surface'
if you just need the 'ballpark'...
eh?:cool:
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I saw the car this weekend. It's pretty clean! Not a bad find for a few hundred bucks. Hopefully it will be up and running again soon. :D
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Nice photo. Now that I have an A1 again, I need an A2. Had an A5, so I can count that. A6? Maybe.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Ah, rates. Are they NLA? :eek: I suppose mine would have come with those ugly wheel covers from the factory, but I like the way the trim rings look.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
Allright, finally got around to taking this poor car apart. Also got a good look under it for the first time. I saw no real rust :D The brake lines are looking a little crusty, but I didn't see any splits... I'll figure out where the leak is later. The cat is gone, and I think someone used an NA downpipe (the same thing was done to my 91)

As I removed the head bolts I found that they were all perfectly clean, except for the two between cylinder 2 and 3, and the one behind cylinder 3. They were covered in black goo. We couldn't get the turbo oil drain line off tonight, hopefully that can be completed tomorrow. Anyway, here's some more pictures:

The car as it sits now:






Some goodies waiting for later:


otm646 and my other friend steve:


The data cards:




Anyone have a set of big bumper mk2 front fender flares they want to get rid of?

-Jason
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I have a set, but I'm not getting rid of them. ;)

Hopefully you get it up and running soon! We'll have twins. :D
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
So, I got the cylinder head off. Looking at the head gasket I found this on cylinder 1:



The hole that the crack touches is for a coolant passage. This is the deepest I've ever gotten into an auto repair by myself, and I'm really enjoying it! I will start taking things off of the head so its flatness can be checked.

The remaining coolant looks quite clean, and I didn't see any coolant come out as I drained the oil. I'm guessing what happened is the car overheated, pressure built up, that crack formed, combustion gasses over pressured the coolant system causing the overflow valve to dump and puke half the coolant out. I don't think it was run much, if at all after this.

-Jason
 
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VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Hehe, glad you're enjoying the repair process. :cool:

Will you have it running before the auto show GTG?
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
VeeDubTDI said:
Will you have it running before the auto show GTG?
That probably depends on how warped the head is. And if I can source a new set of injectors and injector lines by then ;)
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Hehe, I have to think if I need any more parts... hmmm ;)
 

phatcyclist

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
98 Jetta 5 speed
My uncle picked up an ECOdiesel a few months back. He lives a few states away so I haven't had a chance to see it in person, but it looks very nice in the pictures I've seen. I never did see one of these for sale before I picked up my 98 Jetta. I did drive a 1990 non-turbo Jetta with a horrendous lifter tick that had been through road-salt hell. Even so it was a neat little car to drive, if I found a good specimen with the turbo engine I may have picked that up instead. I do like my 98 quite a lot though.
 
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