TDIs and wmo

[cranknrods]

ive been lookin at gettin the wife a tdi. she wants a diesel cause for the last couple of years i have been fillin my tank up with wmo and i pay less to drive my truck then she does to drive her camry. so here are my questions.

does any of the vw diesels have weak injector pumps. example, chevy 6.5 and dodge cummins 98.5-2001 have weak pumps that dont handle thick fuel to well.


if i was to use a new vw for WMO what years are the best (19__-20__)


one of the reasons the chevy 6.5TD didnt like alternative fuels was cause it had an optic sensor in the pump that needed to look through the fuel,cant see through wmo or wvo to well. does any of the vw have these?


i quess what im tryin to say is that if you guys came over to the cummins side with these questions i would tell you to get a pre 98.5 year cummins cause that fuel system is pretty much bullet proof. does VW have any
years that compare to that?

thanks for the help in advance-im lookin to get her one as a "honey im home gift" when i get back from iraq

 

[gonecrazyi]

I dont think that I would run wmo in a tdi, those little buggers are expensive to fix. If she can drive a manual tranny, a little tuning, some slower speeds, and running without the ac can net between 54 and 58. That what my dads gets with over 200k on the clock. The mpg's drop drastically when the speed goes over 60 and when the AC is used.

My mom has an 03 jetta wagon with an automatic and that usually gets around 38.

With the higher mpg figures I dont see much of a point in running the newer tdi's on wmo. The savings from the higher milage should offset a lot of the costs of her current vehicle. Plus the cost of repairing a vw is rediculously high unless you source and install all the parts yourself.

We do all out own work here, so we ended up buying the computer programs needed to do the timing as well as modify the computer settings. This has allowed us to tweak settings and play around with timing curves to get the best mpg's out of the motor.

Now if it was an older 1.6 or 1.9 vw idi diesel I would have no problems with it. Thats what I plan on doing with my 84 1.6td when I get it going again.

 

[cranknrods]

thanks for the reply, i understand the cost to gain ratio. it makes since that if your only burnin 10gallons a weak then it would take along time to offset the possible cost of a new IP. i have about got wmo fiquered out. my finished wmo is not acidic, is almost the same viscosity as D#2, and has less grit then pump diesel.

i was hoping the TDI was as robust as the old mechanicle pump engines cause it would be nice to not have to worry so much about viscocity like i do in my CR cummins. however in the cummins, if i was to mess up and blow a pump then i would have already saved well over that much in fuel savings, but something that gets 50mpg probably wouldnt be the same.
your point is well taken, thank you

ohh by the way, do all the TDI years have the same pumps or do some years have more reliable pumps then others, which TDI is best for reliability?

 

[gonecrazyi]

Im pretty sure that there are different pumps for different years. The Early TDI's have mechanical pumps that are monitored and controlled by the computer.

I think I have seen people running them on wvo and wmo but when something fails it seems to take a lot of other expensive things with it.

One thing I have found about vw's is that even when they are 20 years old, parts are still crazy expensive. They run great for a long time but when they do break down its not easy on the pocket book.

I think that if I were going to use a TDI it would be a one of the first gen tdi's. I think they came out it the mid 90's and a little past 2003.

 

[cranknrods]

ok, thanks. ill start doin some research on those years and see what comes up. i appreciate the input.

 

[cranknrods]

hey i found this post(i draged and droped it below). seems to me that the 98-2003 models would be the most durable/forgiving when it comes to alternate fuels. 2009-2010 looks like a no-go. dont know about the 04-06 models though. what do you think?



Very quickly:

For TDI reference:
1998(9.5)-2003 - ALH motor, VE fueling system (rotary mechanical)
2004-2005 - BEW motor, PD fueling system (unit injectors)
2005.5-2006(7) - BRM motor, PD fueling system (unit injectors)
2009-2010 - CBEA motor, CR fueling system (Common Rail)

The 2001 you have does NOT require the hard to get motor oil. It's a 15w-40 full synthetic available at most parts shops...Mobil1 Turbo Diesel Truck and Rotella are just fine...many oil tests have been performed to back this claim. It's the 2004 and newer that have difficult to locate oil.

Coolant is specific to VW and the dealer should have this in stock as all their vehicles require this special coolant (it's called G12 or G12Plus). It has also been made available at Napa Auto Parts stores, as they now carry Pentosin, LiquiMoly, and Motul products (at least in my area they do).

Injection pumps are no more expensive than a Moose pump. Rebuilds are available depending on condition of core for $700-$1000. You have the automatic transmission, so you have a pump with 11mm plunger vs the 10mm plunger found in the manual transmission vehicles. It is perfectly acceptable to put the 11mm in a manual when the 10mm dies; this will provide a nice performance gain.

Timing belt failure will likely take out motor. COMPLETE parts kits are available for $300-$350 from numerous online retailers. Through the years the automatics started at a 40,000mi interval, slowly working their way up to 100,000 mile intervals with parts improvements/upgrades (bearing sizes). If you were to go to the dealer, they have been known to spec the kit based on your model year, so it's very likely they'll give you the older parts. Buy from a reputable online dealer. I can provide a list if desired.

Timing belt tools:
The only place to get them besides the dealer. This guy has top quality stuff, browse his site for other nifty tools... http://www.metalnerd.com/cat02.htm

***-Com is required for proper timing belt change. Do not get the ebay knockoffs, they often don't work out of the box. Spend the money to get the real deal...resale once you've moved past VWs is pretty good, so just get the genuine product. http://www.ross-tech.com/***-com/index.html The site can get confusing. Ask me for help if needed. Choice depends on how much forward compatability you want.

Fuel filters:
A new person has come along and made what appears to be a better alternative to the original CAT filter head design:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=262613
The original CAT filter head provider:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread...&highlight=cat

More info if needed, got to get to work, just ask if any clarification is required.he