My name is Dave and I'm an oil burner.

I own two virtually identical 1990 VW Jetta turbo diesels. I have had more than a few VW diesels, and think they are quite possibly the most durable diesel made by anyone. Having worked on many, many diesels over the years, I am yet to find anything that takes as much abuse as the 1.6. Both of my Jettas have over 460,000 kms and show no sign of needing any serious repair. I am seriously considering buying used and broken Jetta TD's and fixing them up for resale. I'm also thinking the market for relatively cheap diesels is rich with buyers. Not to mention that there are thousands of Jetta's showing up in wrecking yards to pick parts from. That's the nice thing about the type 2. Most parts are interchangeable, even from the Golf! And short of a cracked block, you cant seem to kill that engine if you try!

Well, that's it for now. If anyone has any diesel problems to sort out, just ask away. I have experience with almost anything from gen sets to massive dump trucks and heavy equipment. I got tired of constantly bending over a fender with cars, and went into the big stuff! With some I needed a ladder just to remove the drain plugs!

 

Hey turftech, nice post and thanks for the heads up on your knowledge

Kudos to you from a fellow oil burner who's been doing just that for around 20 years now ( a time when it wasn't as acceptable, almost cool as it is today )
At that time I ran a Peugeot 309 GLD......A real dog of a car, but that engine was almost bulletproof too. Got it new with 7 miles on the clock and 3 years later it had 196k miles and hardly a blip in between

 

Well Dave, I reckon you're onto something there. Fuel is so damned expensive now I'm well glad my S-type is a 2.7D. £1:32/litre today!
So I'm thumbing my nose at all you petrol heads and your empty wallets!
Leedsman.