85 Golf 1.6 diesel???

[jcc01]

I just bought a 85 Golf 1.6L diesel 5 speed. I want to get all the maintenance up on it before I start driving it. Where can I find fluid types and quantity info and whatever else I may want to know???

Thanks in advance

 

[RLDSL]

I just bought a 85 Golf 1.6L diesel 5 speed. I want to get all the maintenance up on it before I start driving it. Where can I find fluid types and quantity info and whatever else I may want to know???

Thanks in advance

For basic lube , regular 15w-40 diesel oil will work, 4.3 qts without filter 1/2-1 qt more with filter ( and of course you are going to change the filter) , although VW diesels won't last well on dino oil ( which is why they specify synthetic on their newer engines ) Amsoil European Car Formula 100% Synthetic 5W-40 is designed specifically for that type of engine and meets the spec of the newer vw diesel engines, although that is not needed for the old critters. If you use dino oil you will have to adjust the valves every 15k miles as per the manual, if you use synthetic, you will be able to stretch those valve adjustments out by a rather large interval beyond that.
75w-90 manual trans gear lube for the gear box Preferably synthetic 4.1 pints .

They are great little cars, if you have a steady foot and do a lot of hwy driving, enjoy your 55-60mpg I miss my old one, but I have a few of it's larger brothers

As far as antifreeze they pretty much take the old fashioned stuff, but need SCAs like any diesel or will suffer head gasket and liner erosion

 

[jcc01]

Thanks for the info RLDSL, I love this little thing. I am no where near the 55-60 mark, averaging 40-45mpg. Any tips to bring that up? I drive mainly the highways to work and back. She likes to cruise at around 60 (should it be more or less?) and the tires are aired up to the specs on the door. Without a tach it is hard to tell, but I try to keeps the revs to a minimum. Would like to add one but not sure on hoe to go about that... I have been trying to figure out if there were any intake/exhaust mods. The car has 220k on it and has been maintained by a VW mechanic for the last 20+ years, so I am confident it has a lot of life in it.

 

[Kevin 007]

I believe the 85 had hydraulic lifters. The early 1.5 in 78 and 1.6's until 83ish and solid lifters. I may be wrong in the years but they did switch at somepoint in that era.