VW tdi

SKYNYRD

SKYNYRD

"Drunkard"
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
5,668
are there any motors that tend to have more issues than others. i'm looking at getting a 2000-2005 tdi either jetta or golf depending on what i can find for sale. might even get a passat if i can find one with leather and a manual transmission.
 
FWIW, TDI Passat's with a manual were the old body styles and were sold only in 1996 and 1997. They were all manual trannys and the 2004-2005 2.0l 134hp TDI Passats were all Automatics .
 
The 98-03 Jetta and Bugs will have the better engine for mods, the 04 and up use a unit injector and can get pricey to make power with. Find an auto car that has a screwed up tranny and slap a manual in it, cheap route to get into one. Another route is one where they ignored the timing belt, replace the head and slap a new belt on and go.
 
99.5-03 are the p-pump 12v's of the vw world. Gest best mileage, easiest to make power with, and usually on the cheaper end of the spectrum. Chip, nozzles, clutch, hybrid turbo, and an "off road" downpipe will get you ~165whp and 300+wtq while still getting 50mpg. May not sound like much, but remember you're starting with 90hp at the crank.

The 04-06's are unit injection as Billy's Goat mentioned and they like to eat stock camshafts because they're ground wrong from the factory. If you don't mind dropping about $650 to put a new cam from Colt Cams with the fixed lifter profile and new lifters, then don't be scared of one of them. With just a tune, they really wake up to about 150whp. Anything past that though gets expensive though.

zstroken said:
I think the 2005-6 passats have an engine issue.
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Yeah, in addition to eating oem camshafts, they have a balance shaft module that's very trouble prone. The fix is an updated OE part that's gear (instead of chain) driven. It's about $1K in parts and a 12 pack of beer to fix. After that they're bomproof and actually very peppy for a big car with a good tune.
 
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Check turbo seals on any of them, from what I see at work I can't see how they don't run away daily.
 
roachie said:
Check turbo seals on any of them, from what I see at work I can't see how they don't run away daily.
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I presume you work at a turbo shop of some sort? If you do, we need to chat. I've been on the hunt for a new turbo shop.
 
Whitbread said:
I presume you work at a turbo shop of some sort? If you do, we need to chat. I've been on the hunt for a new turbo shop.
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Actually I work at a body shop. Every turbo VW I pull the intercooler off of has oil in it, even the gassers. Most times I can pour a quart of oil out of the diesel intercoolers.
 
Have you ever checked where the CCV goes into ;) The IC is at the lowest part of the plumbing so all oil from either the turbo or CCV is going to end up there.

I'm not saying the turbos wont leak, but they can live pretty damn long life if you dont drive like your granma. The thing needs some abuse and revs to get the soot out of the vanes and clean it up. If you dont drive it like that then you'll end up with stuck VNT in notime.
 
Usually have the whole induction system off, it's the chargers.
 
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