I was all set to buy it until I found that video...
My plan right now is to wait and week and see if he's still got it, maybe even
go down there with twenty-five Ben Franklins and see if that makes a
difference. I'll detail the turbo problem for him and remind him of the CEL
which sounds like its probably glow plugs (hard cold start and it doesn't come
on until the engine has been running around 30 sec) but he doesn't need to know
that part ;)
This car is pretty basic, manual crank windows, no sunroof. It'd be a good
replacement for my 240D in that regard.
-Curt
Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 15:34:39 -0700
From: Alex Chamberlain <apchamberl...@gmail.com>
To: Mercedes Discussion List <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Subject: Re: [MBZ] Any TDI folks here?
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<CABHyH=avAHkyH6S59L0_-LkfTV1s41rpi9=-7loqobye1jd...@mail.gmail.com>
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On Sat, Jun 22, 2013 at 2:07 PM, Curt Raymond <curtlud...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Rats, more research seems to indicate its a failing turbo, sounds just
> like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B68ANvEma4U
>
Yeeesh, they definitely aren't supposed to sound like that. My ex has a
2000 New Bug TDI that we bought new (same engine as the '98). It wasn't a
Mercedes, but it was a fine car for the price and got great fuel mileage
(40 highway with the automatic, stick cars do about 5 mpg better). The
normal turbo sound is very distinctive, sort of like a vacuum cleaner but
higher-pitched and tapering off as the car accelerates from a stop.
Things to watch out for:
- Frequent oil changes with the correct spec of synthetic oil, 505 point
something. Dealers were notorious when the TDIs were new in the late '90s
for ignoring VW's service bulletins and putting dino oil in them, greatly
shortening turbo life and leading to...
- ...Soot buildup in the intake. Much like with the 300D 2.5, the EGR
system seems expressly designed to clog the intake manifold with soot,
making the car run rough. Solution is to take it off and soak it out, but
it's harder to do that in the tight space around a transverse engine than
in an M-B. (Especially bad in the Beetle where a third of the engine is
tucked under the dashboard, sort of like a full-size van.)
- Electrical gremlins. VW has come a long way since the '80s when it
seemed like the circuitry in their cars was constructed from bent
paperclips and bits of chewing-gum wrapper with the shiny side out, but
they still seem to be more likely to have electrical difficulties than a
Japanese or American car of comparable age. Power windows that don't work
are probably an easy fix--IIRC there was a recall for faulty regulators at
some point--but anything more complex or intermittent is a red flag.
Alex
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