common problems the rabbit

[razr_88]

well i'm thinking of purchasing a diesel rabbit from the eighty's and would like to know the most common problems these cars had. any help would greatly be appreciated. i don't know any of the details like exact year, mileage, body type, exact engine type, or even the condition because the guy just told me that i might be interested since i've been looking for a diesel car for a while now.

[zagrot]

my appoligies, i had a decent outline rel=velant to your question, but something happened and i could not post it; so here's the short deal (from the aspect of an '81 owner):

rabbits tend to have leaking wind shields that make electrical gremlins attributed to the fuse panel and corrosion. the front driver side does some funkey stuff with the turn signal. regaurdless of what the previous owner says repalce the timing belt and timing brlt idler as soon as possible, and then every 55,000 miles afterware (yeah, the book says 60,000 but what's 5,000 to play with when you have an interfierence engine?). the fuel injection system needs a "tune up" every 100,000 miles, around $500, but it will *work* indefinately at a cost of efficency. the vaccume pump will eventually go, but rebuild kits are cheap, however the pump will usually go at an inoppurtuine time, in my experience it happens slowly at first (like "why is it hard to stop?") then seemingly all at once to the uninitiated. definately attend to the CV boots, but tyhat is for an FWD vehicle. i have not seen less than 35MPG out of a VW diesel and the was on it's last leg. expect 45-50ish from om one that was well maintained. these things are known to go around 250,000 - 300,000 miles before massive failure.

anyway, if it starts easily on a COLD morning (like around freezing) buy it for around $6-800 and drive the f**** out of it intill it dies.

later
zag

[zagrot]

oh, yeah; unless you manage to score a turbo diesel don't expect more than basic transportation. the NA-IDI is good for about 80 MPH top (that's interstate driving and eventual speed), but on a positive note IDI rabbits are a pleasure to drive in town traffic (with a manual transmission), they have a ton of idle torque, and they can manage to beat most vehicles off the line if you don't mind flailing them like they did something wrong (heh, heh, heh).

[veedubmechanic]

Heh... the leaky windshields. Cabrios are known more so for theese than base rabbits. I have seen one burn to the ground. Heard another story of one that started during a storm and since it was in gear drove down the street into a guys garage.. Nice... And dont try to replace the windshield because you'll take out the whole a-frame with it.

[zagrot]

Originally Posted by veedubmechanic

...story of one that started during a storm and since it was in gear drove down the street into a guys garage..

wow, and i thought mine had a mind of its own. could i get a little bit more information about the windshield gasket since my brother is considering replacing his.