'92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup

On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 17:21:49 -0400, Nevermind
wrote:

>Apparently,the car throws it s alternator
>belt on a fairly regular basis also.Could it be a pulley/tensioner or
>something like that?

I had a 92 Jetta TD (Canadian model) and it was the worst VW I've
owned, going back to 1978. No other VW came close to leaving me
stranded so many times.

It threw the alternator belt regularly too. I used to carry a spare
in the trunk. I also figured out after getting towed a couple times
that I could still drive the car without that belt as long as I didn't
run the battery down too much.

I'd say it is just a problem with that model, and not anything
specific to the car you're looking at.

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 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

In article ,
Nevermind wrote:
>.....I'm looking for a VW to convert to a greasecar and I came across a
>'92 Jetta diesel that emits a small plume of white smoke the first few
>seconds after startup.I'm new to diesels,and I was wondering if this is
>a benign occurance,or could it be something more ominous like a head
>gasket.? The owner of the car says the car does not consume coolant.
>The car does take several starting attempts to get going.The owner
>blames it on the glowplugs.Apparently,the car throws it s alternator
>belt on a fairly regular basis also.Could it be a pulley/tensioner or
>something like that?There are 198 k miles on the clock.
>Advice would be very greatly appreciated!


If it eats coolant, run.
If it does not eat coolant it may be just a bad glowplug.


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http://www.carfun.cl | Murphy, la oportunidad.
http://e.nn.cl |
| Yo.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

In article ,
Nevermind wrote:
>
>
>Thanks man.The coolant was *LOW*

bad headgasket or cracked head... run


>
>In article , Eduardo K.
> wrote:
>
>> In article ,
>> Nevermind wrote:
>> >.....I'm looking for a VW to convert to a greasecar and I came across a
>> >'92 Jetta diesel that emits a small plume of white smoke the first few
>> >seconds after startup.I'm new to diesels,and I was wondering if this is
>> >a benign occurance,or could it be something more ominous like a head
>> >gasket.? The owner of the car says the car does not consume coolant.
>> >The car does take several starting attempts to get going.The owner
>> >blames it on the glowplugs.Apparently,the car throws it s alternator
>> >belt on a fairly regular basis also.Could it be a pulley/tensioner or
>> >something like that?There are 198 k miles on the clock.
>> >Advice would be very greatly appreciated!
>>
>>
>> If it eats coolant, run.
>> If it does not eat coolant it may be just a bad glowplug.


--
Eduardo K. | Darwin pone las reglas.
http://www.carfun.cl | Murphy, la oportunidad.
http://e.nn.cl |
| Yo.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

aircoolit wrote:

> ALso, if I were to get a veggieoil conversion car, Id get a late model
> mercedes Diesel. The only thing I hate about Mercedes is in America,

Why? Too much money?

The late models of Mercedes are equipped with CDI engines, which do NOT
like veggie oil too much. The mega expensive CommonRail fuel pump
(producing ~1500bar) is lubricated by fuel and a veggie oil is not
suited very much.
OTOH, old mercedes models (pre ~1997) can be used with veggie with good
results.

The best suited for veggie oil modern cars are VW/Audi diesels with PD.

> their considered a top luxury for the rich, but in Europe, their a
> workhorse like Crown Victoria is here.

You think? Oh, yes, you are right, here in europe mercedes is a real
workhorse for top management Others usually buy something more
affordable, as mercedes here is not cheaper as in usa. If you judge by
the taxis, that does not mean anything.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

> Thanks man.The coolant was *LOW*

You can also tell by the smell of the exhaust. If it's a bad glow plug,
the white smoke is vaporized diesel fuel, and there's no mistaking the
odor. If it's coolant, there won't be unburned fuel coming out, and it
won't have the same oily odor.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

>>Thanks man.The coolant was *LOW*


Could be an issue, or the owner just never tops it off.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

Nevermind wrote:
> .....I'm looking for a VW to convert to a greasecar and I came across a
> '92 Jetta diesel that emits a small plume of white smoke the first few
> seconds after startup.I'm new to diesels,and I was wondering if this is
> a benign occurance,or could it be something more ominous like a head
> gasket.? The owner of the car says the car does not consume coolant.
> The car does take several starting attempts to get going.The owner
> blames it on the glowplugs.Apparently,the car throws it s alternator
> belt on a fairly regular basis also.Could it be a pulley/tensioner or
> something like that?There are 198 k miles on the clock.
> Advice would be very greatly appreciated!
> Thanks!


I was told that white smoke from a diesel meant it was getting more air
in the cilinder than it should.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

Nevermind wrote:
> .....I'm looking for a VW to convert to a greasecar and I came across a
> '92 Jetta diesel that emits a small plume of white smoke the first few
> seconds after startup.I'm new to diesels,and I was wondering if this is
> a benign occurance,or could it be something more ominous like a head
> gasket.? The owner of the car says the car does not consume coolant.
> The car does take several starting attempts to get going.The owner
> blames it on the glowplugs.Apparently,the car throws it s alternator
> belt on a fairly regular basis also.Could it be a pulley/tensioner or
> something like that?There are 198 k miles on the clock.
> Advice would be very greatly appreciated!
> Thanks!


ALso, if I were to get a veggieoil conversion car, Id get a late model
mercedes Diesel. The only thing I hate about Mercedes is in America,
their considered a top luxury for the rich, but in Europe, their a
workhorse like Crown Victoria is here.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

I did smell the exhaust,and I could not detect the smell of coolant.
The engine oil looked as black as coal,but there wasn't any
cloudiness to it like you would expect from a coolant leak into the oil
from a blown head gasket.I did not see any oil in the coolant either...
Might this be a false sense of security ?

In article , Brian Running
wrote:

> > Thanks man.The coolant was *LOW*
>
> You can also tell by the smell of the exhaust. If it's a bad glow plug,
> the white smoke is vaporized diesel fuel, and there's no mistaking the
> odor. If it's coolant, there won't be unburned fuel coming out, and it
> won't have the same oily odor.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

> One of the injectors appeared to be wet where it screws into the
> block.I rubbed my finger underneath it,and it smelled like diesel
> fuel.

I suppose you could get a puff of unburned fuel at start-up if you had
an injector that was leaking fuel into the cylinder while the car sits
parked. It would burn off pretty quickly, and wouldn't cause any
problem until the next start-up.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

> I did smell the exhaust,and I could not detect the smell of coolant.

I find it hard to detect the odor of coolant in the exhaust unless it's
really a lot of coolant. But the odor of unburned fuel from a cylinder
with a dead glow plug is unmistakable, to me. It smells "sweet," it
doesn't have the sharp, sooty, sulfur-y odor of burned oil.

I imagine it is very possible for coolant to seep its way into a
cylinder without there being a leak between oil and coolant passages --
it's all in the way the gasket failed. When my '85 diesel's head gasket
failed, first thing I saw was oil in the coolant tank, but I wouldn't
know if that's universal.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:38:46 GMT, Brian Running
wrote:

>> I did smell the exhaust,and I could not detect the smell of coolant.
>
>I find it hard to detect the odor of coolant in the exhaust unless it's
>really a lot of coolant. But the odor of unburned fuel from a cylinder
>with a dead glow plug is unmistakable, to me. It smells "sweet," it
>doesn't have the sharp, sooty, sulfur-y odor of burned oil.
>
>I imagine it is very possible for coolant to seep its way into a
>cylinder without there being a leak between oil and coolant passages --
>it's all in the way the gasket failed. When my '85 diesel's head gasket
>failed, first thing I saw was oil in the coolant tank, but I wouldn't
>know if that's universal.

You can also tell if a headgasket is failed by checking for excessive
blowyby. Pull the rubber hose that goes into the top of the valve
cover and if you can feel pulses of air as the engine runs, that's a
pretty good indication (recently had a head gasket replaced on my 300K
km VW diesel, that's the way the mechanic checked it). Also, oily
residue in the coolant expansion tank is also an indication.

My '91 also goes thru belts on a regular basis. It's a design fault
thing. In the rain, right front tire keeps the belts nice and wet.
If they aren't adjust just perfectly, they'll squeel and you'll lose
PS etc.
 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup 

In article ,
Gerry Wolfe wrote:
>On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 13:38:46 GMT, Brian Running
> wrote:
>
>>> I did smell the exhaust,and I could not detect the smell of coolant.
>>
>>I find it hard to detect the odor of coolant in the exhaust unless it's
>>really a lot of coolant. But the odor of unburned fuel from a cylinder
>>with a dead glow plug is unmistakable, to me. It smells "sweet," it
>>doesn't have the sharp, sooty, sulfur-y odor of burned oil.
>>
>>I imagine it is very possible for coolant to seep its way into a
>>cylinder without there being a leak between oil and coolant passages --
>>it's all in the way the gasket failed. When my '85 diesel's head gasket
>>failed, first thing I saw was oil in the coolant tank, but I wouldn't
>>know if that's universal.
>
>You can also tell if a headgasket is failed by checking for excessive
>blowyby. Pull the rubber hose that goes into the top of the valve
>cover and if you can feel pulses of air as the engine runs, that's a
>pretty good indication (recently had a head gasket replaced on my 300K
>km VW diesel, that's the way the mechanic checked it). Also, oily
>residue in the coolant expansion tank is also an indication.
>
>My '91 also goes thru belts on a regular basis. It's a design fault
>thing. In the rain, right front tire keeps the belts nice and wet.
>If they aren't adjust just perfectly, they'll squeel and you'll lose
>PS etc.
>

Isn't there a mod that you can buy from the dealer or get out of a junk
yard that protects and shields from underneath?

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 >> Stay informed about: '92 Jetta Diesel-White somke upon startup