Its all about stashing your ill gotten purchases someplace else till you can get them running and find a way to work them into something useful. Working crap that you can use is much easier to explain, and if you can say look honey it works and i only paid X dollars ( without mentioning the work you had to do to make it run) they usually take it better. USUALLY....lol
I admire your determination and resourcefulness . I'm retired now after 44 years as a mechanic , I think before I'd wrench on or sit in that rolling pet cemetery it would have to have been on fire for five or six hours the day before .
A great video. I still have the 81' pick up diesel that I bought brand new. I have done most of the maintenance on a truck that has 562,000 miles. It's always great to learn more techniques. Thanks again.
Hey ya'll, I botched the Teaser clip at the end but just picture in your mind a large machine lifting an equally large engine off a trailer 🤣🤣🤣..... hope you enjoy!
large machine lifting an equally large engine... just hazarding a guess, but sounds like you either got an engine for(or designed for) a generator or bulldozer
A diamond in the rough!! I worked for VW from 1979 till 2009. My favorites were always the Rabbit and Jetta diesels. The last Jetta i had .....i gave away at 495 thousand miles......it was still running!! Once running change the timing belt!! ASAP!! ENJOY!! Sounds normal to me......... uses glow plugs......check fuse on firewall! Engines are great for running pumps or generators too!!
Glad to see that VW Diesel running! I drove VW Diesel Rabbits all my life and repaired them as needed. Even a few rebuilds! They are tough little motors, but one thing I have learned really quick is that if you don't know how long it has run or when the timing belt has been changed, I always replace that timing belt. I had a timing belt break at idle and it did some pretty good damage. Ended up with a new head, new piston and a new rod along with a new timing belt. Also, with those diesels, have glow plugs which really helps to start. But that diesel sure sounded good though, just like all of mine have sounded like!
@@fastinradfordable Yes. Sorry. VW Diesel engines always sounds like somebody put a handful of 8 mm nuts in them, especially when they're cold. It was the same with the old Mercedes diesel engines.
Hole in exhaust mainfold on one cyl. or piston is broken or valve broken pressure pump or one injector can stuck too. Smoke from intake at first isnt good sign like valve not close
My cousin had a diesel Rabbit hatchback with over 350,000 miles on it when he was a teenager. Despite him beating the snot out of it, it still ran great and got 50+ mpg. If I remember correctly, it took two rollover accidents to finally kill that car. Those engines are simply amazing.
My dad had one, stepmother had a diesel Vanagon with that same engine that could never get above 60. Love those old diesels, noisy as hell but so long as you kept timing belts on 'em, they were tough as hell.
Matt, those pickups are getting valuable out here on the west coast. After shop vac/pressure washer, you could sell the rolling chassis! All the interior can be borrowed from a sedan, so that's not an issue
I got my daughter a diesel VW rabbit for her 16th birthday and it was old then and she drove it till it hit 200,000 miles. It got 50 MPG with the cost of diesel back then she loved it. The diesel motors just sounds like that.
My 93 idi when cold has a slight injector knock that goes away after warm, & it sounds exactly like this. In this case she probably has a dirty injector or something. Sounds pretty typical tho, we’ve got an 83 w123 & sounds pretty similar just a little better since it was just rebuilt.
This is a good idea. The engines are really quite good if you can balance out the shake. I had a diesel Dasher once that shook the alternator right off, broke the bolts that held the alternator bracket to the engine, then broke the bracket. Had to drill and tap larger bolts, and reinforce the bracket. Drove it without an alternator for a summer.
I'd watch this vid! It sounds like a good way to build a cheap generator! Maybe get a couple washing machine motors and you could put them on like an accessory drive.
My first diesel was an 80s Golf TDI. Got to be pretty much the same lump with a bigger bore & the turbo. It'll run on raw vegetable oil if the weather's warm when you start it & there's no computer to say "Yuk, too gooey!"
Another nice video. These 1.6 Diesel engines have been sold a lot with us in Belgium. They were known for being very reliable, and you could drive them for hundreds of thousands of kilometers without major problems. The engine sound is typical of this small VW engine. don't worry, but be sure to check the timing belt. A new clutch kit ... and off you go. As a project I propose to turn it into a mini mobile home. Have fun with all your projects. Greetings from Belgium.
I drove a VW Rabbit from the Darlington SC car auction back to High Point NC for a car dealership in about 1983 or 84. That thing didn't have enough power to pull a greasy string out of a cats rear-end and smoked like a freight train when I started out but I ran it hard all the way back. By the time I got it back to the dealership she was purring like a kitty cat. Good luck with your project and stay safe dude.
Love that you found this. At some point in high school I learned that if you overload one of these enough, your drive wheels lift off the ground. Those German engineers were ahead of their time with proactive safety features like that.
Reminds me of high school when my buddy had a non diesel VW Rabbit. Took it on a little drinking road trip and he told us that we had to stop about every half hour to add more oil because the gauge didn’t work and it burnt oil. After about adding 4 quarts over the course of our journey I happened to look at the gauge and noticed that it was the temperature gauge that wasn’t working. I pulled the dipstick out and the oil level was about 3” above the full mark. Needless to say that car didn’t last much longer than that.
Lovely thing, we need more people like you, the more we restore and make parts for those old things the more we don't have to buy that plastic crap nowadays
Had one also, with time it went worn, I took the engine block to a machinist to ( linebore?) it. He had to increase it by two sizes to clean out wear. Eventualy I upgraded to a Skoda with 1.9 VW diesel, similar stuff.
My friend had one of these in England, 1.6 NA Diesel, it couldn’t pull the skin off custard. B106 GFW what a truck. I had one as a project which regrettably never finished D964 WJL originally a diesel but was in the process of converting it to the 1500 petrol automatic. This brought back a lot of good memories, thanks Matt.
That sounds perfectly normal for a 1.6 non turbo diesel. They’re not fast but get great gas mileage and are absolutely bullit proof. The only weak part is the axle joints. They break every 100k
I just got a 83 rabbit dragged out after 10 years of sitting, got it fired up and it ran about 3000 RPM, the governor was stuck in pump, took top off pump and freed it up. Cleaned out a 5 gallon bucket of mouse nest in air box and dash. Been drving it for a few days,it runs great.
All old mechaical diesels knock, it’s just how much, & if the knock stays after warm. Most injector knocks smooth out after warm or some fuel additives.
Had one and Wass a lot of fun to drive. Motor sounded the same but had prob with over heating. Had the motor replaced and that motor over heated. Finally sold it but do miss it
Thanks for teaching me a little bit about diesels. I’m getting old and find that an affinity for diesels comes with age. I haven’t owned one, yet! Those diesel rabbits were slow accelerating. A guy where I worked loved his.
We had a diesel Rabbit in the early 80's. Fun little car, it was a hoot to pull up to a truck stop with it next to the giant semi's to fill up. Only thing I didn't like about it was cold starting in Winter and trying to pass someone on the highway. You had to phone ahead for reservations to pass anyone. Ended up trading it for a 4-door Quantum (remember those) when kids came along. Miss that little car!
I found that it didn't do any good trying to turn up the fuel. But it was great fun being able to smoke out a tailgating idiot that rode you, trying to get you to drive over the speed limit, but refused to pass when you gave them opportunity to do so.
I bought a old 80's Rabbit diesel at a auction, rusty, but ran good. Ran the wheels off of it till the back axel broke loose from the frame from rust, found another one that had a bad motor, but was not rusted out, and swapped the motors, drove that one for many years, running parts for my trucking business! It got 40 MPG all the time, and i ran the squat out of it! That one sounds normal, they rattle like crazy when at idle, but it sounds good at higher RPM! But the way, those wheels are VW Scirocco (SP) wheels, and are worth what you paid for the car, to a collector!
You two are hilarious. It would be fun to see you two collaborate. The commentary that would ensue would be epic....if only the distance between you two was shorter.
The engines are pretty bulletproof, but the bodies rust like mad. These are pretty rare so it will be worth something if you want to put in some time and money! Would make for an interesting resto video!
Knew a guy that ordered/bought one of the first ones that came to the States. Drove it until it started sagging in the middle due to the unibody rusting through. Just sort of broke while sitting in the driveway one night (conveniently).
great engines. Keep it well oiled and it'll go forever. (maybe a set of lifters and valve stems at 400k+ miles but that's a small price to pay). With better fueling and the pump timed it should run better, raising the idle a hair will smooth it out. Those wheels are rare, these trucks are worth like 8 grand in decent shape. Tailgates worth 500. Bang out the front and weld up the floor if it's not that bad, totally worth saving.
Being much older than you I was around when they were new. They had head gasket problems. People on this side of the pond didn't know how to drive a diesel especially an aluminium head one. They would get off the expressway and immediately turn the engine off . The temperature woud spike and eventually warp. They could be milled up to five times as I I rember. The head gasket has a tab with notches sticking out front rt side. The appropriate notch for thickness of gasket needed to compensate for material removed from head. Useable heads got to be such a problem to find that a company started selling copper shims you could use to take up more space. If people would have let em idle when they ran errands probably the engines would have lasted forever.
@@austinmaxi yes you are correct about piston protrusions and gasket thickness. I am not sure why the machine shop wanted me to use the thickest gasket . Maybe valve interference??? This was almost 40 yrs ago.
@@petepeeff5807 it's possible it was the machine shops way of trying to get the combustion chamber in the head somewhere close to original spec after it had been skimmed, and a lot of material was removed. Tbh I've done similar with my 1.8 IDI ford engine in my van when I turbocharged it to try and drop the CR down a Bit from 21.5:1 to what ever I could get that was lower.
I drove the same engine up to +/- 300,000 mi ( that is 420.000 km then handed it to a friend who added 60.000 km running on vegetable oil). From my experience the rocky sound at idle is normal.
Anyone else just watching him put shit on the core support, and watching it fall over and over again? Third times the charm…and just waiting for that stick to get sucked up into the belts! CONTACT!
Did I see a swarm of flies come out after the door was opened??!! I laughed myself into a coughing fit! This has to be one of the all time best videos...should be a Halloween special!
I had a 2003 VW Golf TDI with a 5 speed for 17 years. Sold it with 276500 miles on it and the original clutch. Ran great. The knocking sound is normal when it is cold.
Hi Matt, I think you should throw that clutch in it, put some air in those tyres and use it as a farm truck. It’s always great to see strange farm trucks doing their thing. Love the channel mate, From Sydney Australia
Whenever you start an engine for the first time, it's always fun to watch things fall. Amazingly, things rarely fall into the fan...there was that tool kit episode...
Only just found this channel, it's brilliant! Just something about finding a random, beat up truck that looks ready to scrap and bringing it back to life 👊👍
Good work getting this thing running, love the determination! Building a go kart could be cool, but I think one of these old VW diesels would be really cool in some kinda small budget rock crawler, lots of low end torque.
Those VW diesels of that vintage always sounded like they were one knock away from destruction, great video reminded me of my child hood and days spent in the local junk yard 👍🏻
On the Engine will run forever, but the glow plugs and CVC shaft what’s seem to have to be replaced regularly. My dad drove the pickup version and we drove the turbo Jetta version. We made my kids learn how to drive and repair it. Seemed like we were constantly working on it, but it gave the kids a lot of exposure to working on cars. Good luck.
I had a 79 Rabbit pickup as a company truck and ran it for over 250,000 miles and it never had a problem and started no matter how cold it got. I had a neighbor that had a 1980 Rabbit pickup. He put 375,000 miles on it. The only reason he got rid of it the subframe rotted out. Those little engines are bullet proof.They all had that marble knock to hem at idle.
I used to work on those back when that one was new, IT SOUNDS JUST LIKE IT DID IN 1980! That motor is only rated at about 82 HP they make a really GOOD WOOD SPLITTER ENGINE!
I know a couple of people that had those Rabbit diesels. They loved them, got 48 mpg and run and run and run until the body literally rusted off the frame.
You could always build a small tracked vehicle using the motor and the rear differential. You could use the breaks to steer. Id put a torque converter on it like what you'd find on a snowmobile and use a couple tracks of that nature too. It might be really fun.
What i can hear from video, runs like normal vw IDI. Just rebuild injectors and swap timing belt and you are good to go. Bolt on turbo kits also available from EU. 1.9tdi vw engine bolts directly in to car. Pretty neat little things, too bad its FWD.
I love how when it first started up, it immediately tried to eat all the tools, branches, starting fluid and everything else around the engine bay.
😂😂😂
It had a single mission, "search and destroy"
It hungers
dude if I bought half the things you do home I'm positive I wouldn't be married any more
She didn’t even know about this one until I was editing the video lol
@@1_2_Many_Projects 😂
@@DieselCreek how much for this rabbit, btw ?
So what are you waiting for? go out and start buying junk
Its all about stashing your ill gotten purchases someplace else till you can get them running and find a way to work them into something useful. Working crap that you can use is much easier to explain, and if you can say look honey it works and i only paid X dollars ( without mentioning the work you had to do to make it run) they usually take it better. USUALLY....lol
I like how the battery you put in matched the level of filth perfectly
it was nasty
Lol that was my exact thought
@@GridIndustries ...Nah!...just matching up the fashion accessories.
It doesn’t look out of place at all.
I admire your determination and resourcefulness . I'm retired now after 44 years as a mechanic , I think before I'd wrench on or sit in that rolling pet cemetery it would have to have been on fire for five or six hours the day before .
A great video. I still have the 81' pick up diesel that I bought brand new. I have done most of the maintenance on a truck that has 562,000 miles. It's always great to learn more techniques. Thanks again.
In germany we called it VW Caddy. And this sound was normal to this old Diesel engine. Its called "Nageln" free translated in "nailing"
There called a caddy here in England aswell 👊👊
..and Sweden👍
And Finland.
And Norway.
Caddy Mk1 was made only in Vw TAS Sarajevo for Europe market.
Hey ya'll, I botched the Teaser clip at the end but just picture in your mind a large machine lifting an equally large engine off a trailer 🤣🤣🤣..... hope you enjoy!
Christine progress???
@@Bobbywolf64 Working on it now
You have peaked my interest, hahaha, can't wait to see what you're up to now!
@@DieselCreek was that a old man lift you picked up at around 3:50
large machine lifting an equally large engine... just hazarding a guess, but sounds like you either got an engine for(or designed for) a generator or bulldozer
A diamond in the rough!! I worked for VW from 1979 till 2009. My favorites were always the Rabbit and Jetta diesels. The last Jetta i had .....i gave away at 495 thousand miles......it was still running!! Once running change the timing belt!! ASAP!! ENJOY!! Sounds normal to me......... uses glow plugs......check fuse on firewall!
Engines are great for running pumps or generators too!!
Glad to see that VW Diesel running! I drove VW Diesel Rabbits all my life and repaired them as needed. Even a few rebuilds! They are tough little motors, but one thing I have learned really quick is that if you don't know how long it has run or when the timing belt has been changed, I always replace that timing belt. I had a timing belt break at idle and it did some pretty good damage. Ended up with a new head, new piston and a new rod along with a new timing belt. Also, with those diesels, have glow plugs which really helps to start. But that diesel sure sounded good though, just like all of mine have sounded like!
Yeah
Little bit rocky sounds. Timing belt is good to check on this type of motor engine.
easily my favorite engineering/mechanical channel now a days. great job.
When they idle they sound broken. That’s just the nature of them
No.
Sorry.
@@fastinradfordable yes sorry my grandfather had two bought them both brand new said they sounded like that off the dealer lot just not as loud
@@fastinradfordable Yes. Sorry.
VW Diesel engines always sounds like somebody put a handful of 8 mm nuts in them, especially when they're cold. It was the same with the old Mercedes diesel engines.
@@jrand2631 any older diesel does really that guy we replied to doesn't know shit
Hole in exhaust mainfold on one cyl. or piston is broken or valve broken pressure pump or one injector can stuck too. Smoke from intake at first isnt good sign like valve not close
A moment of silence for those blankets. They gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Back in high school (1984), a friend had a Blue one. It would get like 50mpg. would do zero to 60 in a week, but great mileage.
😂😂👍🏼
My buddy Joe had one around the same time. He did everything he could for years to kill it. That thing just wouldn't die.
My cousin had a diesel Rabbit hatchback with over 350,000 miles on it when he was a teenager. Despite him beating the snot out of it, it still ran great and got 50+ mpg. If I remember correctly, it took two rollover accidents to finally kill that car. Those engines are simply amazing.
My dad had one, stepmother had a diesel Vanagon with that same engine that could never get above 60. Love those old diesels, noisy as hell but so long as you kept timing belts on 'em, they were tough as hell.
@@N1RKW driving into a pond at bottom of hill with no brakes killed mine
Matt, those pickups are getting valuable out here on the west coast. After shop vac/pressure washer, you could sell the rolling chassis! All the interior can be borrowed from a sedan, so that's not an issue
I got my daughter a diesel VW rabbit for her 16th birthday and it was old then and she drove it till it hit 200,000 miles. It got 50 MPG with the cost of diesel back then she loved it. The diesel motors just sounds like that.
I was around these diesel rabbits a lot as a kid and they always had a low idle knock. Pretty damn tough an great fuel mileage (50 mpg).
My 93 idi when cold has a slight injector knock that goes away after warm, & it sounds exactly like this.
In this case she probably has a dirty injector or something.
Sounds pretty typical tho, we’ve got an 83 w123 & sounds pretty similar just a little better since it was just rebuilt.
Mine knocks like that. I'm hoping it's an injector knock.
A generator to power the shipping container shop.
This is a good idea. The engines are really quite good if you can balance out the shake. I had a diesel Dasher once that shook the alternator right off, broke the bolts that held the alternator bracket to the engine, then broke the bracket. Had to drill and tap larger bolts, and reinforce the bracket. Drove it without an alternator for a summer.
I'd watch this vid! It sounds like a good way to build a cheap generator! Maybe get a couple washing machine motors and you could put them on like an accessory drive.
I agree this engine would make a great generator.
I have a kubota 1.6L on a 16kw genset, engine handles it like its not even there. you could probably run 20kw or more no problem
SPOT ON, beat me to it.
My first diesel was an 80s Golf TDI. Got to be pretty much the same lump with a bigger bore & the turbo. It'll run on raw vegetable oil if the weather's warm when you start it & there's no computer to say "Yuk, too gooey!"
we used to use old fry truck oil in the summer here ( exhaust smelt like a chip wagon )
Another nice video. These 1.6 Diesel engines have been sold a lot with us in Belgium. They were known for being very reliable, and you could drive them for hundreds of thousands of kilometers without major problems. The engine sound is typical of this small VW engine. don't worry, but be sure to check the timing belt. A new clutch kit ... and off you go. As a project I propose to turn it into a mini mobile home. Have fun with all your projects. Greetings from Belgium.
I drove a VW Rabbit from the Darlington SC car auction back to High Point NC for a car dealership in about 1983 or 84. That thing didn't have enough power to pull a greasy string out of a cats rear-end and smoked like a freight train when I started out but I ran it hard all the way back. By the time I got it back to the dealership she was purring like a kitty cat. Good luck with your project and stay safe dude.
I'd admit, "Did this truck used to belong to a preacher" got me chuckling good
Love that you found this. At some point in high school I learned that if you overload one of these enough, your drive wheels lift off the ground. Those German engineers were ahead of their time with proactive safety features like that.
Hey a teenaged thought a stupid thing.
Please don’t pass on stupidity.
A boss of mine had one of these, and he used to carry 2 55 gallon drums of spray foam insulation in he back. Heavy overload springs and big tires.
Reminds me of high school when my buddy had a non diesel VW Rabbit. Took it on a little drinking road trip and he told us that we had to stop about every half hour to add more oil because the gauge didn’t work and it burnt oil. After about adding 4 quarts over the course of our journey I happened to look at the gauge and noticed that it was the temperature gauge that wasn’t working. I pulled the dipstick out and the oil level was about 3” above the full mark. Needless to say that car didn’t last much longer than that.
Lovely thing, we need more people like you, the more we restore and make parts for those old things the more we don't have to buy that plastic crap nowadays
"The best part about working on pickup trucks, they have a trash can sitting on the back of them." I couldn't agree more.
I had a Rabbit in my early 20's -- loved it. Best car I ever owned. My car had just over 1 million miles on it before the engine finally gave out.
Had one also, with time it went worn, I took the engine block to a machinist to
( linebore?) it. He had to increase it by two sizes to clean out wear. Eventualy I upgraded to a Skoda with 1.9 VW diesel, similar stuff.
The Ether Bunny brought in his old friend the VW Rabbit for some TLC
Amazing how you can detect a "knock" in that diesel engine. I mean it sounds like it is knocking just running normally. Thumbs Up!
My friend had one of these in England, 1.6 NA Diesel, it couldn’t pull the skin off custard.
B106 GFW what a truck. I had one as a project which regrettably never finished D964 WJL originally a diesel but was in the process of converting it to the 1500 petrol automatic.
This brought back a lot of good memories, thanks Matt.
This truck here in argentina is known as Saveiro. The engine sounds this way, underpowered but very reliable.
I love this channel but at times I gotta ask “why” this man puts himself through such torcher.
should watch vise grip garage. same stuff but he resurects old iron..
Torcher? Think you mean torture there cletus yeee harr
Because he enjoys it
Thank you ! I had a genuin laugh when the VW came off the trailer and when you whistled “Isn’t She Lovely .”
man this diesel four cylinder sound takes me right back
won't run fast but will get you anywhere
That sounds perfectly normal for a 1.6 non turbo diesel. They’re not fast but get great gas mileage and are absolutely bullit proof. The only weak part is the axle joints. They break every 100k
60k
I just got a 83 rabbit dragged out after 10 years of sitting, got it fired up and it ran about 3000 RPM, the governor was stuck in pump, took top off pump and freed it up. Cleaned out a 5 gallon bucket of mouse nest in air box and dash. Been drving it for a few days,it runs great.
"I'm pretty sure I hear a rod nock or a piston slap"
Revs it even higher
got no coolent, too
nope normal vw diesel sound
Air filter off
All old mechaical diesels knock, it’s just how much, & if the knock stays after warm.
Most injector knocks smooth out after warm or some fuel additives.
Yep, that's how they sound 👍
probably would be a bit quieter with some new oil ( not much ) but that is how they sound
diesel creek : Lets see if he will run!
Timing Belt : PLEASE NO!!! PLEASE GOD NO !!
That’s not a timing belt! that’s the Diesel Creek patented woodchipper!
timing chain
@@jamesleaty7308 *Belt
@@dimoman55 THX
Had one and Wass a lot of fun to drive. Motor sounded the same but had prob with over heating. Had the motor replaced and that motor over heated. Finally sold it but do miss it
Thanks for teaching me a little bit about diesels. I’m getting old and find that an affinity for diesels comes with age. I haven’t owned one, yet! Those diesel rabbits were slow accelerating. A guy where I worked loved his.
I admit to yelling at my screen when the throttle was pinned with the flathead while you were cranking the engine. Great video still!
I did that on purpose, it helps push more fuel to the injectors faster after bleeding
@@DieselCreek It's one way to make oil pressure quickly too lol! Good job tho love your content.
We had a diesel Rabbit in the early 80's. Fun little car, it was a hoot to pull up to a truck stop with it next to the giant semi's to fill up. Only thing I didn't like about it was cold starting in Winter and trying to pass someone on the highway. You had to phone ahead for reservations to pass anyone. Ended up trading it for a 4-door Quantum (remember those) when kids came along. Miss that little car!
My first car was a Quantum GL 5.
@@lakepinesfarm1394 What's the first thing on a bugs mind when it hits the windshield?.......... it's ar*e..
I found that it didn't do any good trying to turn up the fuel. But it was great fun being able to smoke out a tailgating idiot that rode you, trying to get you to drive over the speed limit, but refused to pass when you gave them opportunity to do so.
Matt that’s the way the VW diesel sounds it’s normal. And it purrs like a kitten
I reckon the engine oil is pretty well due for a change, hence the rickety knock.
I bought a old 80's Rabbit diesel at a auction, rusty, but ran good. Ran the wheels off of it till the back axel broke loose from the frame from rust, found another one that had a bad motor, but was not rusted out, and swapped the motors, drove that one for many years, running parts for my trucking business! It got 40 MPG all the time, and i ran the squat out of it! That one sounds normal, they rattle like crazy when at idle, but it sounds good at higher RPM!
But the way, those wheels are VW Scirocco (SP) wheels, and are worth what you paid for the car, to a collector!
Sounds like it has the classic "bag of hammers" feature.
Normal VW diesel sound
@@jjt1093 kle kle kle kle :D
Where have I heard that term before lol
@@DieselCreek Or it's haunted by Wes' chromed cap!
You two are hilarious. It would be fun to see you two collaborate. The commentary that would ensue would be epic....if only the distance between you two was shorter.
The engines are pretty bulletproof, but the bodies rust like mad. These are pretty rare so it will be worth something if you want to put in some time and money! Would make for an interesting resto video!
Knew a guy that ordered/bought one of the first ones that came to the States. Drove it until it started sagging in the middle due to the unibody rusting through. Just sort of broke while sitting in the driveway one night (conveniently).
I saw a restored one driving just a few days ago.
every car has it's fans
I'll be honest, I'm normally a little jealous over some of the stuff you find. This however, that guy would've had to pay me to drag that pile away.
great engines. Keep it well oiled and it'll go forever. (maybe a set of lifters and valve stems at 400k+ miles but that's a small price to pay). With better fueling and the pump timed it should run better, raising the idle a hair will smooth it out. Those wheels are rare, these trucks are worth like 8 grand in decent shape. Tailgates worth 500. Bang out the front and weld up the floor if it's not that bad, totally worth saving.
Vw did not use lifters.. buckets and shims with ohv..
"Kinda sounded like it almost wanted to." Man, I've said that with vehicles more than my fair share of times.
Being much older than you I was around when they were new. They had head gasket problems. People on this side of the pond didn't know how to drive a diesel especially an aluminium head one. They would get off the expressway and immediately turn the engine off . The temperature woud spike and eventually warp. They could be milled up to five times as I I rember. The head gasket has a tab with notches sticking out front rt side. The appropriate notch for thickness of gasket needed to compensate for material removed from head. Useable heads got to be such a problem to find that a company started selling copper shims you could use to take up more space. If people would have let em idle when they ran errands probably the engines would have lasted forever.
My Isuzu diesel has the same type gasket.
The notches on the gasket were for indicating thickness of the gasket depending on Piston protrusion....not the amount skimmed off the head
@@austinmaxi I am aware of that.
@@austinmaxi yes you are correct about piston protrusions and gasket thickness. I am not sure why the machine shop wanted me to use the thickest gasket . Maybe valve interference??? This was almost 40 yrs ago.
@@petepeeff5807 it's possible it was the machine shops way of trying to get the combustion chamber in the head somewhere close to original spec after it had been skimmed, and a lot of material was removed. Tbh I've done similar with my 1.8 IDI ford engine in my van when I turbocharged it to try and drop the CR down a Bit from 21.5:1 to what ever I could get that was lower.
I was so pumped to wake up and see a new video
Same!
Me too!
and then.... :-(
And then I watched it, and passed on breakfast......
That knock is normal, at least from what I remember from mine sounding like.
Mine too!
Yeah had about 12 diesel mk1 and mk2 all sound like that
I drove the same engine up to +/- 300,000 mi ( that is 420.000 km then handed it to a friend who added 60.000 km running on vegetable oil). From my experience the rocky sound at idle is normal.
ya i ran one of those engines a few weeks ago thats what they all sound like and the fan belt slips in all of them.
@@Irishmacwoof it doesn't has a fan belt
Another great show Matt. I have my wife watching now and she really enjoys it too. Good stuff!
Anyone else just watching him put shit on the core support, and watching it fall over and over again? Third times the charm…and just waiting for that stick to get sucked up into the belts!
CONTACT!
Did I see a swarm of flies come out after the door was opened??!! I laughed myself into a coughing fit! This has to be one of the all time best videos...should be a Halloween special!
I seen the same 😂😂😂
That was the spirit of the dead animal 😂
"Does it have a key"?
That would've been one of the questions that I asked the owner.
Roommate had a Diesel Rabbit in the late 80s.. never had a good battery- we just push started it whenever..
Haha I had the earlier 1.5d when I was in university and my room mates used to push start it lol!
Hi Matt, no such thing as a mistake, just golden opertunites for improved learning
Old girl fired up pretty quick after air was removed from fuel Lines and pump Nice Matt 18:50 @Diesel Creek
I appreciate ya wanting to share the smell but I am glad I do not have smell -o-vision on this one
yeah i think that would haver ended my lunch
He is so thoughtful. 😎
Yeah, I was eating lunch at that moment.
Those 1600's always sound and vibrate idling like a tin of nails
Yes. That sounds perfectly healthy 1.6D
Injection pump has build in transfer pump
I think you've just found the power plant for a diesel bandsaw sawmill.
Na pull the drive train and slamm it on to a go cart
I had a 2003 VW Golf TDI with a 5 speed for 17 years. Sold it with 276500 miles on it and the original clutch. Ran great. The knocking sound is normal when it is cold.
Hi Matt, I think you should throw that clutch in it, put some air in those tyres and use it as a farm truck. It’s always great to see strange farm trucks doing their thing.
Love the channel mate,
From Sydney Australia
Motor sounds perfectly healthy!!! Would love to see it fixed up! Have been looking for one for myself for quite some time
Yes! A Go Kart build would be great! Or swap into the Jeep CRJ 5 project. By the way the engine knocking seems perfectly normal for those engines.
If there were "Smell-o-vision", your subscriptions might suffer! lol
My friend bought a new one in the late 70s. It sounded exactly like that when it was idling, really turned the girls heads!
Whenever you start an engine for the first time, it's always fun to watch things fall. Amazingly, things rarely fall into the fan...there was that tool kit episode...
That was scrappy not me.
Thank you for the heads up. I like neither gross nor disgusting things. So I'll catch you in the next video.
I bet mustie1 would love to have that. He's definitely a VW lover.
I dunno. He likes to resurrect the old air cooled motors. Haven’t seen him with a VW diesel.
Bet he'd take it! Toy to haul scrap in....lol
@@bigpatrck2 Yeah, I think he's more into the aircooled era of VW
Mustie is just too crazy about ultrasound cleaning carb parts and gently rubbing contact points... no such poetic items in a Diesel.
The moment you opened the door and smelt it and almost gaged. I died laughing
don't know about you but I almost gagged sitting at home lol
Needs to do some research & find out if that really was a dead rabbit in the rabbit...
That "was" the rabbit that owned the "rabbit".... He died working on it years ago......
I had an 82 diesel Jetta like that and it knocked like crazy particularly when cold. It would quiet down a little once it warmed up. Loved that car
About 18 years ago I had an 81 Rabbit hatchback diesel, this sounded exactly like mine. Good little car.
I like how he just willingly blows a coat of either in the intake. Yikes not worried about the pistons on that sucker.
LOve the Rabbit Truck. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like it on the market today in the US.
Only just found this channel, it's brilliant! Just something about finding a random, beat up truck that looks ready to scrap and bringing it back to life 👊👍
Good work getting this thing running, love the determination! Building a go kart could be cool, but I think one of these old VW diesels would be really cool in some kinda small budget rock crawler, lots of low end torque.
Those VW diesels of that vintage always sounded like they were one knock away from destruction, great video reminded me of my child hood and days spent in the local junk yard 👍🏻
All the tools falling into the engine department cracked me up😅
Hungry, hungry diesel!
after watching Matt doing a few diesel starts I have decided matt must have an aversion to tubing wrenches or he just doesn't own any.
«Ghetto fuel system».. laughed so hard 😆
just remember, if it feels squishy and juicy, then whatever it is, it hasn't been dead long enough.
Good work. The early VW diesels tended to have knocking issues as a standard feature like many others too
On the Engine will run forever, but the glow plugs and CVC shaft what’s seem to have to be replaced regularly. My dad drove the pickup version and we drove the turbo Jetta version. We made my kids learn how to drive and repair it. Seemed like we were constantly working on it, but it gave the kids a lot of exposure to working on cars. Good luck.
Those old vw diesel got the nastiest diesel rattles, bet that thing'd do 100k more
@Shades 1.3 oh yeah
i was thinking the engine would do 400k more but wouldn't trust frame for 1k
You need to get that thing going and run it around a little bit. I think it would be an amazing project.
The people who owned it before will tell everybody they had a VW with a million miles on it, lol, great video, thanks for sharing.
Pore Sheets Matt your going to have to burn them now 😂 23:47 @Diesel Creek
I had a 79 Rabbit pickup as a company truck and ran it for over 250,000 miles and it never had a problem and started no matter how cold it got. I had a neighbor that had a 1980 Rabbit pickup. He put 375,000 miles on it. The only reason he got rid of it the subframe rotted out. Those little engines are bullet proof.They all had that marble knock to hem at idle.
I used to work on those back when that one was new, IT SOUNDS JUST LIKE IT DID IN 1980! That motor is only rated at about 82 HP they make a really GOOD WOOD SPLITTER ENGINE!
55 HP. The turbo version has 65 or 72 Hp.
@@albinklein7680 That sounds right ,but in 1980 THERE WAS NO TURBO VERSION yet!
"...oh my god that's disgusting....oh! Shiny! New clutch set!"
And yeah...I could taste the smell of the inside of that cab.
I know a couple of people that had those Rabbit diesels. They loved them, got 48 mpg and run and run and run until the body literally rusted off the frame.
Umm I don't think they had a frame I believe they were unibody construction.🤔
"Frame" as in a manner of speaking.
You are correct and one of the reasons the bodies self-destructed.
You're a braver man than me. I don't think I would have touched this one.
You could always build a small tracked vehicle using the motor and the rear differential. You could use the breaks to steer. Id put a torque converter on it like what you'd find on a snowmobile and use a couple tracks of that nature too. It might be really fun.
Well, at least your got one of the rabbits running, I guess that’s a win
Random dogs just giving you a piece of their mind lol.
What i can hear from video, runs like normal vw IDI. Just rebuild injectors and swap timing belt and you are good to go. Bolt on turbo kits also available from EU. 1.9tdi vw engine bolts directly in to car. Pretty neat little things, too bad its FWD.
I grew up around those. We had a collection (maybe 7 or 8 of them). Most were $400 beaters. Now they’re bringing in 5 figures in running condition
I’m always keeping an eye out for one of these. But if you’re going to break it down it could be a good generator engine for something