My 1978 VW diesel engine has not run since the fall of 2000. For two years before the Rabbit was parked the engine was becoming difficult to start unless it was plugged in even in the summer time. The glow plugs were replace, but I imagine the injectors were badly in need of reconditioning. The car has between 4 and 5 hundred thousand on the odometer. The original speedometer head was replace after a few years, because the original plastic gears gave out. Anyway, I got a new battery, replaced the air filter because mice had built a nest in it, fixed the coolant line heater power cord, added coolant, and put cetane and other fuel additives in the tank that was left full of diesel fuel five and a half years ago. Will the diesel engine start? I am not sure, but I am going to plug the electric coolant heater in for a few hours. Then I am going to try start the engine. Maybe I should tow the car in gear a few yards to see if the engine is rotating freely first. What does anyone else think about the situation?

 

Charge up the battery and hit the key.....

It'll either Go or Blow.

 

I would at least drain, and refill the tank with fresh diesel. You may end up plugging filters, and doing other damage.

Michael

 

I agree change filter and prime with some good fuel , plus take a good look at the timing belt first . My guess on the hard starting , if the glow plugs check out ok , would be a weak injection pump . On a few older VW diesels I have added a lift pump to increase pressure a little and solved the hard starting problem . A great little engine , I have seen many with a lot higher mileage then yours still running strong .

 

filter change and fresh fuel. maybe some sea foam might help you out as well. Autozone has filter for my rabbits at 6.98 best deal in town that i have found. everyone else wants 20.00

 

Chances are that like Halter said you most likely have a weak infection pump. The older diesels like that it was quite common for the pumps to go bad. I know around here to find one at a wrecking yard you can almost forget about that cause they are all gone.

Travist

 

some things that I do to help start a diesel when all is not as it should be are:
1. warm the engine and inlet air and oil.
2. It must spin readily, a slow cranking diesel must be in tip top shape to start.If it is ailing, must really spin fast.roll starting or 24 volts(just on the cranking motor) will many times do the trick for the first start, after a 10 min run it should be improved.
3. an easy aid that I use with great results is to feed it quite a bit of lube oil through the air inlet.It seals up bad rings and valves and the engine seems to love it.Beware it alarms the neighbors and any local fire department type folks but the smoke will go away and when too much starting fluid has washed the walls down lowering the compression it is a god send.Just use good judgement about how much you feed it at a time as a large slug will cause a hydrostatic lock of a cylinder.The VW is a small engine with small comb chambers so several smaller doses and probably a thin oil like 5w/30 will give the best results.

You will probably be surprised at how easily it restarts.Diesels survive storage better than gas engines by far because mainly of the sealed fuel system.I would NOT try to change filters or open the fuel lines until after you have run it a bit as you will admit air and that can make your initial start much harder.If there is a primer pump do use it to fill and pre pressure the system.

Good luck and go fer it.

 

The timing belt was changed four times spaced evenly throughout the total mileage on the engine. If I remember correctly the timing belt and belt tightener pulley were changed about 28k miles ago. The fan belt, water pump, fuel filter, glow plugs and alternator brush diode unit were all change about the same mileage. The oil and oil filter were change about 3k before I parking the car. The car was parked because the front fenders were rusting off the car from it being driven during the winters in the sand salt condition on the icy roads. The injector pump did not seem to have ever given a problem, nor did the alternator. With the engine becoming somewhat difficult to start I decided to park it. Now, someone wants to buy the engine to put it into a 1982 Rabbit that has had the body totally reconditioned inside and outside. The owner's father-in-law severely overheated his diesel engine and seized it solid.

 

As Michael suggested, you might want to drain the old diesel and replace with fresh fuel. Diesel will grow a fungus/mold after a period of time setting in a tank. If it smells like varnish you're taking a chance of plugging filters and every other critical part of your fuel system.

Just drain the old fuel, add a couple of gallons and some Power Service, hook your battery up to a high amperage "start mode" battery charger as you turn it over.

You might want to wrench it over a couple of times just to be sure it's not hydrolocked or seized by something else, or you may break something!

For a diesel to start easily you need good compression, clean fuel with proper injection pattern, and engine RPM fast enough to generate heat in the combustion chamber and good clean air supply.

I've seen diesel engines fire off that have set in an open field longer then some of the guys on this BB have been on planet earth!! When they first fire off they will probably sound like a there's alot wrong with them, but with that black belch and a little running time they act like it was just a short time out of service.

 

Several years back, I helped a friend at Wheaton College on a real adventure - to find a $500 car! We found an '81 diesel Rabbit at an old dealer that had not been started in at least two years. We connected a jumper cart to it, let the glow plugs cycle three times, and I set my foot half-way down on the throttle. GRR-rr-up! We all jumped as it took about 2 seconds to start! However the front brake pads were rusted to the rotors - unable to move....

 

I will smell the fuel in the tank for that varnish aroma. Our temperatures around Edmonton, Alberta, Canada are somewhat cool usually, even in the summer. The winters here are darn right frigid for five months of the year and the air is dry at that time. In the summer the air is not dry but it is not overly humid either. Does himidity and high temperatures have any effect on speeding fungus/mold growth in fuel tanks? Our diesel farm machinery that remains idle, sometimes for a couple of years, never has problems with fungus/mold in fuel.

If I drain the fuel tank and change the fuel filter, do I have to drain the injector piping and injector pump also? I am not a mechanic, nor have I had a lot of experience working on engines, but I try to use common sense; therefore, your instructions are most welcome. Thanks for mentioning using a wrench to turn the engine over. I have never had to do that before to be able to think about it in the first place even though I remember seeing someone using a wrench to do that very thing.

I have a battery charger on wheels with a very high starting mode. The Rabbit has a brand new battery and I will also put the booster mode on it.

 

Some thoughts: A new battery if unused for 4 years will be JUNK for sure.A charger with boost or start mode without a pretty good battery is worthless (insufficient constant output).A good source could be another vehicle with good battery and a heavy set of jumper cables.--now if it just had a good kickstarter.Should be able to start that little feller with a rope like a Briggs & Stratton.

You are right about your cool climate not encourageing the growth of fuel tank algea.The algea reportedly develops/lives on the interface of fuel and water sediment so if no water--no algea.

 

While everyone here has had great suggestions....you may want to seek some VW diesel experts....like those on the TDI Club.

Not trying to dis anyone, just trying to see that you get vw specific help!

HTH

TOny

 

I heard from a battery dealer that a brand new lead acid storage battery, if left on the shelf, will in time become sulphated. Supposedly the electrode plates in the idle battery become covered with a semi-impenetrable lead sulfate compound; wherein, the plates will not accept a charge. My nephew has an old International 660 diesel 2WD tractor that was restored, but never gets used much. The tractor was used a little late in the fall of 2005 and parked. The two six volt batteries in series had been replaced a couple years ago. We tried starting the 660 this past spring in 2006, but the batteries were dead from not being recharged sometime during the winter while the tractor was idle. We pulled the 660 with another tractor and it started. The engine was run for several hours, but the batteries would not start the engine again. The next day I put his shop charger on the batteries with the charger set on the minimum charge rate; wherein, the DC current flow registerd about 21 amps on the charger meter. His shop charger is not automatic and I set the timer for a couple of hours. The two batteries never charge after three days being connected to the charger for a couple of hours each day. The specific gravity reading was practically that of water after all that charging. I then took the battries out of the 660 and put them in his shop while connected in series to my automatic shut off 2 amp 12V trickle charger. That charger was passing current into the batteries for four or five weeks because I did not need the small charger. Finally, I took the small charger off because it did not seem to be decreasing in charge amps. I put my nephew's shop charger on again with the setting on minimum and the rate showing 11 amps on the meter. That shop charger timer was turned on the batteries whenever I was in the shop for two days until the shop charger was needed for something else. I put my small charger back on again and in two days it automatically shut off. I checked the specific gravity and it was up to charge. The two six volt batteries are still sitting on a piece of wood on the shop floor and have not been looked at as the 660 has a flat tire and would not be used anyway. The high charge rate may have eventually broken down the coating on the plates somewhat and let the batteries charge slowly. I have not checked the specific gravity to see what the charge is lately.

I have a new shop charger in my shop that is automatic and can also put out 275 starting amps at twelve volts. I will use it on my Rabbit when I try start the diesel engine.

 

I'm not sure how two old-school 6-volt batteries would eventually react to repeated attempts to charge them. However I have personally witnessed a 12V automotive battery exploding at work, and have observed the results of serveral other exploded 12V batteries. Believe me, there is a prudent time to simply replace a battery.

This should be insightful...Not saying you're doing anything wrong, it just is a good reminder....
http://rayvaughan.com/battery_safety.htm