Potential buyer concerned with engine noise...

G Men 08

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 Golf 5 spd
2003 Golf, 5spd manual, Frank rebuilt head less than 20k miles ago. At the same time I did the timing belt and turbo.

Buddy of mine is considering buying the car and he took it for a drive. Only concern he has is he thinks the engine is abnormally loud. I've never thought so, it is noisy but it's a 13 year old diesel with 236k miles.

https://youtu.be/PkW2YlQOlbs
 

JB05

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Location
Il.USA
TDI
Golf,2005,anthracite blue
Sounds like my BEW with the hood up, and I have no muffler.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
Sounds fine, ALH seem to be noisey or so so quiet. Unless the cam is noisey, PD's are very much quieter.
 

G Men 08

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Location
NY
TDI
MK4 Golf 5 spd
Ok, thanks fellas. Kind of thought the same thing! Now the real question, do I REALLY want to sell her? lol.
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
All I have to say is selling cars to friends can be messy sometimes.
 

speed185187

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Location
Hartland, MI
TDI
Case 580 Super M,
I had that sharp clattering on mine long time ago with about the same millage. I eventually tracked it down to a broken cam plate in the injection pump. Still ran fine, same mpg, just clattering.
 

bubbagumpshrimp

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Location
Virginia
TDI
'13 Jetta TDI
They're noisy cars (at least the ones I've driven and been around were). I'm not quite sure what he was expecting. Even my CR TDI is fairly noisy at 52k (by most peoples passenger vehicle standards) and it's going to be a LOT quieter than your car.

If your buddy already has it in his head that there might be something off with the engine...if something goes wrong in six months...you'll be hearing from him. Do yourself a favor and tell him to go buy someone else's TDI.

All I have to say is selling cars to friends can be messy sometimes.
x2. I did it once. I won't do it again.

Edit: A buddy had been after me to sell him my Jeep for close to a year. I finally decided to "upgrade" (I should have kept it) and let him know. He shows up, tells me he still wants it, and I cut him a "good guy" deal off what I was listing it for (which was already a decent deal).

We agree on a price and when we go to do the paperwork...the f****r comes out and asks me if I'm willing to do a payment plan.:confused::mad: The guy p1ssed money away like it was going out of style (money was not an issue for him) and had the nerve to ask for owner financing on a $3,000 Jeep, lol.
 
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eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
An ALH will be relatively loud accelerating in lower gears and at idle, and it varies with injection timing (quieter if retarded) and, in my experience, quality of diesel fuel. I good test IMO to see if it's "extra loud" is cruising at 4th and 5th gear at higher speeds, when engine noise should be a barely perceptible low-drone (that is very good at putting sleepy passengers to sleep). Turbo and relatively low final drive ratio helps a lot here. I bet ALH is quieter than the gasser 2.slow at speed.
 
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fnj2

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 1999
Location
Wellfleet, Massachusetts, USA
Guys, the ALH is quiet! You gotta hear an Audi 5000TD with the hood up. That was like a boiler factory - earsplitting. I assume the old Rabbit diesels were the same. People are spoiled nowadays :)
 

turbovan+tdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Location
Abbotsford, BC.
TDI
2003 TDI 2.0L ALH, auto, silver wagon, lowered, Colt stage 2 cam, ported head,205 injectors, 1756 turbo, Malone 2.0, 3" exhaust, 18" BBS RC GLI rims. 2004 blue GSW TDI, 5 speed, lowered, GLI BBS wheels painted black, Malone stage 2, Aerotur
You guys aint heard nothing until you've heard a old 6.2L GM diesel in the winter. My neighbour's hated me in winter, lol.
 

UhOh

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2014
Location
PNW
TDI
2000 & 2003 Golf GLS (2005 Mercedes E320 CDI)
You guys aint heard nothing until you've heard a old 6.2L GM diesel in the winter. My neighbour's hated me in winter, lol.
I think I've got a good enough idea what that's like. I've got a 7.3L Ford IDI. No neighbors close enough to be bothered by it.
 
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