| Author | Message | ||
     Scottorious |
Looking into buying a diesel rabbit as I have been bitten by the rabbit and I think they are super cool. I drove one the other day and they ride amazingly well for being 30 years old. Im no Diesel expert however and the car I am now looking at has been barn kept since 97. It has been run occasionally but not often. The last time it has ran has been about a year. It also has a little oil in the coolant, but has no coolant in the oil. Is that just a diesel thing, or am I looking at a car with a lot of seals that deteriorated? | ||
| Hughlysses |
I'd think that oil in the coolant almost certainly equals a blown head gasket (as would coolant in the oil). I think you can still buy a kit to check for the presence of combustion gases in the coolant system which would let you diagnose it definitively. My brother-in-law had a couple of these things running ~10-15 years ago. The basic engine seemed to last forever, but on one of his, the injection pump went out at about 200k miles. He said the cost of a new pump was insane and he had to pay ~$500 for a decent used one. I have no idea what the current availability/pricing is like but that might be worth checking out. They do get great mileage, but remember these early VW non-turbo'ed diesels have like ~60 HP; you won't be going anywhere in a hurry. If it was me, I'd look for a later early TDI diesel; that way you can have the great fuel mileage AND decent power. | ||
| Rubberdown |
I have an '82 VW Diesel pick-up and an '05 TDI Jetta. The pickup is a great around town/farm truck and is in great shape with about 240,000 miles. Gets 37mph around town. Over 40 on the road. It can do the highway all day, just don't get in a hurry. People are now touting the virtues of direct injection ... VW was doing it in '82. The 05 Jetta is amazing. Over 100,000 miles, get 50+mpg on the highway, 45 around town. I pulled a trailer and Bike to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago and got over 40mpg ... pulling a trailer w/ bike and four people plus luggage in the car. It has great power too. I don't know about the oil issue. That's an old machine and will require tinkering. OT: Hugh ... really sorry to hear about the bike. Hope it's back together soon. (Message edited by rubberdown on March 07, 2011) | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I think 60HP is optimistic for an old oil burning VW. 2nd car is a 2003 TDI Jetta. At 170,000 miles now and going for 300k. The turbo went at 150K. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
My rusty 85er is marking his territory everywhere but still running strong!  they have no horse power but these little engines are running forever! they are also very useful for transporting buells! | ||
| Scottorious |
by marking his territory everywhere what is he marking with? Does anyone know of what problems I might encounter with a vehicle that has mostly sat in a barn for 13 years? It was the owners first car which is why he held on to it. I think it has run some since it was put in the barn but not sure how much. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
It's leaking oil at the crank seal and sweats also at he manifold I would say ,refresh all fluids and filters and start from there! The vw rabbits are easy to wrench on | ||
| Hughlysses |
For a vehicle that's been sitting up 13 years, I'd guess your biggest problem is going to be fluids and dried out seals. Diesel fuel won't gum up like gas but it will grow bacteria/slime. If it's running that's probably not a problem. | ||
| Xb9er |
yeah put some algae formula in the fuel. You can get additives that do this at any auto parts store. | ||
| Ratbuell |
As for a "kit" to check for combustion in the coolant...pop the radiator cap (cold!) When its running. If there's bubbles in there, you need a headgasket. Common check when I was running 30psi on my turbo Dodges. I popped a *lot* of headgaskets!  | ||
| Aesquire |
It will need work. Few can do that work. It will be slow. It will be quirky. It will have character. You will learn that there are 2 sizes of Diesel nozzle at the pumps. ( some have a collar to let them hang from saddle tanks. ) Your shoes will taste spilled fuel. So will your floor mats. You will not spill it. It will go to Miami from your house on the same # of gallons as my Van uses to go to Pittsburgh. ( from your house ) | ||
| Oldbueller |
I can't comment on the head gasket issue, but I can say I'm a big fan of the Rabbit diesel pickups. Twenty years ago, I road raced a Scirocco in the SCCA. I had the stock 5-speed gearbox to use for long courses and the 4-speed out of a diesel pickup to use for autocross and short courses. That 4-speed had seriously short gearing which made for decent acceleration with a slightly modified gas engine. I had a friend with a diesel Rabbit. Whenever someone tailgated him for going too slow, he just stood on the gas. Huge smoke clouds... | ||
| Scottorious |
Aesquire....I love all of those reasons which is why I have been bitten by the Rabbit. It would really just be my in between ride. I have a full size chevy and my 1125r...it would just be a fun little diesel to tinker with....I just dont want to spend 1800 on a fairly solid car only to get home and the head be warped or all the seals dried out and i then have a 3000 dollar 1981 rabbit.. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My father was in the autobody field in the 70's and early 80's. He said that there was a popular accessory tank that fit in the back where the spare was supposed to go. It was then plumbed into the fuel system and the spare was strapped to one side in the back of the hatch area. He said that it boggled his mind why anyone would want that since a stocker had like 400 miles of range. Oh well customer's paying....... His saying was "There's an ass for every seat!" | ||
| Hughlysses |
It's pretty cool having the long fuel range. My 06 Jetta TDI will routinely go 600 miles on a 15 gallon tank of fuel. It saves a lot of trips to the gas station. | ||
| Datsaxman |
$1800???? It should look - and run - really well for $1800. Rubberdown: //Gets 37mph around town. // hawhawhaw...yes, they ARE slow. | ||
| Scottorious |
plans changed, I found 4 basically complete cars for 1000 bucks that someones wife is forcing him to sell. Should be one or 2 complete cars in there! | ||
| Blake |
Too cool Scott. I really appreciate the idea of keeping old vehicles on the road. | ||
| Jpgrego |
I don't have a rabbit, but I did buy an old diesel benz that sat in a barn for a decade. Basically, if it's made of rubber it will need replacing soon, from motor mounts to hoses, suspension bushings and some gaskets. It can be a huge pain catching up on a decade of disuse, but it is an awesome feeling of accomplishment to finally get them back together and running smooth again. |
