Mk1 Diesel - newbie questions

[malliemcg]

Greetings,

I have a friend who has found someone selling a Mk1 Diesel for around the 1k mark - I was wondering what sort of things someone should look out for wrt to these cars as well as any benefits - questions I think that are worth asking are:

1) When was the timing belt last changed (I assume every 4 years/90,000km is the schedule for these motors).
2) Filters - which ones? Air, Fuel etal
3) Are there any things to watch with regard to switching from 500ppm diesel and the 50ppm diesel now being sold I believe there may be something there lubrication wise in the fuel system?
4) Any catches with BioDiesel and if its been run on BioD?
5) Anything else that should be asked/examined/looked at...

Sorry for popping in and getting straight to the point, I suppose that my mate has decided that because I own a MkV TDI I must know everything about the VW TDI's from then to now

Out of personal interest - what sort of fuel economy do these motors get?

[Brom]

I can't give you many answers. But the mk diesels are strong engines....Weak, but strong. Fuel wise they'll run on just about anything. If you have a look in the states, the rabbits just about the favourite car to run on biofuels, along with mercedes.
I'm just about to go over to 90+% veg oil with an inline heater and more mods a little later.
Hope that helps a little

Also i sat right on 6L/100k's the whole way home last month. And thats with grinding brakes and bad bearings, so will need to test it out again now thats fixed

[Mischa]

ruuussstttt... check rust. inside front wheel wells, under the carpets, in the hatch, in the pillars and in the spare wheel compartment.

[mollins]

Mk1 diesels are a great car.

Like any 30yr old car they require a bit of tender love and care. If your friend can hold a spanner and follow a workshop manual and is keen to get his hands dirty, its a great investment as parts are cheap and its soooo easy to work on.

The engines are bulletproof, as long as they have been well oiled and not overheated.

to answer your other points-

1-I would look at replacing this once you buy the car anyway. It is not really a problem that it hasnt been done in a while, unless its fraying/cracked.

2-Good oil filter maintanance is most important, air/fuel filters are not a big issue as they are easy to replace and dont hurt anything.

3,4-As mentioned above, they can run on anything mildly greasy as long as it flows (hence the fuel heaters for veg oil).

5- as above, rust. check under the carpets, bottom of doors and in the corners of the raintray under the windscreen

once its running well, you should be able to get less than 5L/100ks if you take it easy. Worst fuel economy ive heard of in a diesel 1.5 is 6.7L/100ks

a good shell with a diesel for less than 1k is a good deal.

i hope that answers most of your queries

cheers.. mike

[Preen59]

Mollins hit everything on the head dude. stick to that and you'll be fine. for a grand thats a pretty good deal if its a good car.

But whoever is selling it doesn't need to know that..

Heh, great engine by the way. They'll run on anything that burns slow. Cooking oil, kerosene, Jet A1..... ANYTHING. .

[gldgti]

a concur to all of the above cheers dudes

[Brom]

once its running well, you should be able to get less than 5L/100ks if you take it easy. Worst fuel economy ive heard of in a diesel 1.5 is 6.7L/100ks

Noticed this today. Think it sums up the economy