The Project Pad

Ah I see, I didn't realize it doesnt have the needle lift sensor. If you didn't live so far I would let you borrow my indicator.

I know the newer I5 TDI's were adjusted more like the ALH's as in the pulley moves and not the pump, but I agree that it probably just needs a little advance for starting.

It does have a needle lift sensor on 4th injector.

I thought that is the entire idea of TDI the computer should be doing the fine adjustment, no?
I understand the static setting like a dizzy on a Motronic, but reast should be taken care of by the ECU... or a code thrown for "out of range" or something like that?
The 4th injector tells the computer exactly when the pump is injecting and the flywheel tells it where the crank is.
I might throw VAGCOM on it next time I am at Craig's or use his lab scope to se what the 4th injector is doing WRT the flywheel and adjust like that.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

I took it out for a longer drive 15min or so and the only smoke is under accel and it's not black but blue. ?!?!
All else is well, the turbo is making some funny noises under acceleration, so it might be the culprit as far as the smoke is concerned.
I remember having the engine on a stand upside down and the oil from the pan was dripping through the hot side of the turbo (through the oil return tube). Not sure if that's normal but it was there. If it's gone it will be a perfect excuse to go GT22V :wink:

Tidied up some of the interior and mounted the ECU under the HVAC unit... it's big and typ 89 cars don't really have a ton of space on the pass side. :(

Cheers

I think you might be on to something wrt the smoke.

So... here is a vid of a startup using bypassed glow plug relay.
There is a strange noise I've heard before but don't know what it is... sounds like a bearing ?!?
Have a listen. Sounds like a rooster in the morning, sort of a sick one.


Link to video

Here is another piece I am looking for.
If you look at the very right, there is a shroud between the fender (inner) and the radiator, did any of the North American cars ever come with one of these shrouds?

Cheers

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The noise is definitely the starter, I wouldn't worry about it too much as it's just when it retracts that it makes it. I just haven't heard it on any transverse engine before.

Besides the starter noise, it sounds pretty healthy. Should be quite fun and economical at the same time. I think you should change out that turbo sooner than later also. It may only be leaking on the hot side for now, but if the intake side starts to leak you could very very easily have a runaway diesel on your hands and about the only way to stop the engine is to cut off the air supply. I'm sure you have heard/seen this happen in the past. I had a diesel start to auto ignite on me, it had a ton of power but scared the dickens out of me. Luckily it was a newer BEW TDI and had the shut-down flapper valve on the intake manifold. Besides that like you said it's a good time to upgrade .

:barf: :barf: :barf: ^that scares me just thinking about it...

Yeah, especially when you take the safety-flapper out and replace it with a race pipe

What about fabbing a safety-flapper and setting it to close on key-off?

Eric

80qtdi wrote:The noise is definitely the starter, I wouldn't worry about it too much as it's just when it retracts that it makes it. I just haven't heard it on any transverse engine before.

Besides the starter noise, it sounds pretty healthy. Should be quite fun and economical at the same time. I think you should change out that turbo sooner than later also. It may only be leaking on the hot side for now, but if the intake side starts to leak you could very very easily have a runaway diesel on your hands and about the only way to stop the engine is to cut off the air supply. I'm sure you have heard/seen this happen in the past. I had a diesel start to auto ignite on me, it had a ton of power but scared the dickens out of me. Luckily it was a newer BEW TDI and had the shut-down flapper valve on the intake manifold. Besides that like you said it's a good time to upgrade .

Thanks, I thought I have heard that noise before (not in this car).
The more I drive the less smoke I see, took it for another, longer drive last night.
The tacho is definetly not working properly, the 6 cyl one was reading too low, the 5 cyl one is reading too high, not sure what to try next..
Euro TDI B4 only came with 4 cyl so I doubt it will work in this application, I might just settle for a nice big round clock.

Cheers

I bought a aftermarket Diesel tach form Autometer for my golf ...didn't want to try and find a proper cluster and pay for it.
Great tach. 5k rpm max.
That starter noise is just like pretty much all MK4's ... drive gear can't get out of the way fast enough.

Yep, the starter on my 200 made the same noise. Time for a replacement! Engine sounds really healthy!

I wonder if the transporter starter will fit. Otherwise I have to go to Europe for a replacement...

I don't think it's doing any damage to the starter.

It could just be that the solenoid is sticking, you could probably pretty easily clean that out, and presto! The starter would work fine. The solenoid out of a regular 5-cyl starter (or whichever starter it is similar to, 4, 5, 6, 8) could probably donate a solenoid to the cause.

Starter is behaving now, the more I drive it the better it runs.
Still issues with glow plugs not being activated by the ECU, and starting issues.
Tried VAGCOM at Craigs and it would not connect. I know the black plug has ground and +12 so I'll have to see if the other plug is connected to where it's supposed to be. Mr Cook said it is not running as strong as it should and feels like there is a lot of potential, I am happy as it is, it's much better than that 12v paperweight that was there before

Put over 200km on it already and used just under quarter of a tank, so not bad, but I am sure it will get better.
I also advanced the timiing today, but it made no difference on how it starts or runs.
Need to connect VAGCOM and see what the measuring blocks show. Might be something simple.... no codes to speak of so all good that way.

Also got he RS2 fan shroud and fan motor on, woohoo... slowly buttoning things down, but at least it's on the road and not an imovable object.

I get 200km on a quarter tank with my 2.0 FWD automatic. You should able to do better than that.

How does it pull ? Leave any soot trails ? I wonder if a any ecu mods can be done

Actually zero black smoke even on full load up a steep hill, which leads me to believe there is something not right.
Pulls better than that V6 I had in there, but that doesn't say much.

Stock fueling is VERY conservative. That's why chips usually increase 20-40 hp on TDI's. There is a massive ton of potential in this engine.

Brendan

I agree with the conservative nature of the stock configuration. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but that's why diesel tuning is awesome, they are pretty highly de-tuned and when the power is turned up it usually doesn't affect the life of the engine or the economy under normal driving circumstances.

I might import an AXG in the future, that's the 150hp version with all the goodies including the GT22V turbo and large injectors/pump etc. etc.... but for now this will have to do.

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On a good note I had a proper read through the workshop manual.. guess what?
The glow plug system is not even in play untill it gets below 6 degrees C, so that would explain why it's not activating.
Which also means I do have a major issue as far as starting is concerned.

Back to the drawing board.

Just run a standard IDI turbo diesel GP relay. They're pretty easy to wire in. I can give you some help if you need.

I have the stock one in by-pass mode.
My point is that it should be starting without one.
Even if it's fully up to operational temps I still need the glow plug turned on for 7-9 sec otherwise it cranks and cranks and then the smoke show.
Almost like flooding a gas engine. Not normal.