'79 diesel LHD

the system will self bleed if you an crank it long enough and fast enough

you can put sum starter in the air intake which could get the spinning quick enough

diesel need 3 things to start

compression, speed and diesel

Hi everybody,

Good news this evening. After an overnight charge, I switched on the glowplugs, waited 20 seconds, twisted the key and she started, just like that.

No smoke, no new rattles, no noisy tappets, no leaks (after a couple of checks)

I took her for a quick run, and she's just like before, perfect!

Now she needs a good wash and she'll be back in daily use.



Thanks for help, as ever,
Robin

Glad you've gotten it sorted


The sweet sound of a diesel 

jellybelly said

Glad you've gotten it sorted


The sweet sound of a diesel 

You're absolutely right - it does sound sweet. I"ve been running around in my 1800 cabriolet recently, which sounds OK but is a bit rattly, and in a lovely Twingo 1.2, which sounds horrible (oem spec) and it was such a relief to hear my old diesel again. I'm really looking forward to putting it back into use.

Plans are to tidy up a few things under the bonnet, then break out the mig again. The top edges of the front panel are holed, and the sills are on their way out, so I'll be looking for advice on the best way to do them soon.

I think I'll just enjoy the old girl for a few weeks first.
Robin

My dog gets excited when I come home in the 1.6d! 
Your thread inspires me.

Ben Cavers said

My dog gets excited when I come home in the 1.6d! 
Your thread inspires me.

Hi,

I don't have a dog but if I did he would love the car.

Took it out today for the first time in a month or so (I've been away with the 1.8 cab on the Atlantic coast)

Started first time, no smoke, only rattles. So nice to drive…

Things to do in the next few weeks:
1: spongy brakes
2: ropey sills
3: clean her (maybe)

News soon, I promise!
Robin

Hi,

I found a asmall leak under the brake light switch which was making the brake pedal soft. I assume this is some sort of pressure sensor:

A new switch was 9 Euros with a new boot:


The switch took only seconds, but the boot needed carefully cutting and stretching on the wire outlets to get the spade terminals inside. Final result is much better though:


There's another switch further back which will need a new boot too:


Also in the parcel was a large scary piece of metal:

A full sill for the drivers (LHD) side. It was not so much more than a repro part (70 Euros vs 35), and seemed to make sense, though I'm not sure where to start really. I'll wait until I'm feeling a bit braver.






Robin

PS: Does anyone know where I can get a RHS sill for a 5-door? The company only has LHS

Just tested the brake light switch, after sorting the grommet cover thingy for the second switch, and it seems sticky. The brake lights come on OK but don't go off again for a few seceond.

Strange!

I'll try it on the road tomorrow. Maybe it's just a sticky switch,
Robin

I've had this on a few cabbys where it stays on for a few seconds - sometimes longer. You can try cleaning things up, but sometimes a new switch is the only answer.

unplug 1 of the switches and test, then plug back in and unplug the other you'll see which is to blame, if not both!

Still here after 5 years and 65 thousand kilometres, though the wheel arches and sills are looking very sad. The car is used all winter for the journey to work, and as a general run-around, nothing ever needs doing and it always starts and runs well.



The lack of updates is simply due to the lack of work done on the car, but that is going to change pretty soon. It needs new tyres (done 50 thousand km and I bought them s/hand) so the wheels, brakes, ect, will be checked and painted at the same time. The front wings are detached at the front bottom corners, and one sill and one rear arch will need work.

Only recent job is a new speaker!



Robin

Hey Robin that speaker looks cool mate! 😀 😉👍🏼




Sent from my Smartphone 📱

Golf Cabrio said

Hey Robin that speaker looks cool mate! 😀 😉👍🏼




Sent from my Smartphone 📱

And the sound is just so much better than the old AM radio with 1970s speaker on the dash.

Robin

Think you need to treat her to a spruce up for her 40th

Nice to see you're both together still Robin  

Looks good man and lucky you are doing work to it

I bought a 78 RHD 5 Door diesel with the intention of restoring her and she been sat for 2 years now… shame will be selling her soon  

allana13 said

Looks good man and lucky you are doing work to it

I bought a 78 RHD 5 Door diesel with the intention of restoring her and she been sat for 2 years now… shame will be selling her soon  

Sorry to hear you’re selling, I could be interested though! Sorry to highjack the thread!

Hi Guys,

decided to try to fix a cam-cover leak today - big mistake! I ended up making it worse, but hope it is solved now.

Basically the block was oily at the timing end, both front and rear:



I cleaned it up, got a new gasket, removed the old one (rubber, but with old style studs), fitted the new one (rubber again, but with new studs) and tightened it down. My VW parts supplier in France can supply cork gaskets and rubber gaskets, but didn't seem to think the studs were needed. I since found out they were longer and thicker… (Oh, and I painted the racker cover while I was at it)



Next day, after a short run, twice as much oil coating the whole of the front of the engine…



Had a look inside, everyting was OK, but, oh, there's no plastic cover on the early models…



A quick check on a spare engine provided rhe necessary cover, all clean and re-fitted now, but I really think I should have done better the first time. The torque setting in my manual is too low for my torque wrench. Is there anything I'm missing?

Robin

This is one cool car! Everyone just thinks golf gti but this car is just what ordinary golfs were made for. A reliable every day workhorse. Pure class. Keep up the good work robin!

dont worry about torque settings for the cam cover bolts, tighten them down till you feel the nut bottom out, then nip up lightly, thats all that is needed.

you cant over-tighten either the rubber or cork gaskets (well, unless you go mad and strip/snap nuts/studs ) the nuts tighten up to the shoulder on the cork gasket studs, and on the rubber one there are metal inserts round the stud holes to do the same job.