85 Jetta 1.6L, NA won't start
 

Hey All,

I have an 85 Jetta with about 220k on it.

Last summer we bought this car and it had a rebuilt IP installed by the PO's mechanic. The receipt came with the car.

We put about 7000 miles on it since we owned it and suddenly it went to wide open throttle while I was driving it down the road.

I removed the IP and took it to the closest Bosch service center and they told me a shaft had seized internally. It needed to be rebuilt and would cost $500 to $550.

I found a good used pump from a local guy and installed it. It pumps fuel, I get it to smoke, but it will not start.

I do not have the vw pump timing tools at this time and really didn't want to spend another $125 to get them.

Any other thoughts on what I need to do, or just bite the bullet and get them? This is a California car and is in great shape for the year and I don't want to get rid of it, but it does me no good sitting in my driveway either. There are no decent vw mechanics in the area either. Closest one is about an hour away.

Any and all help will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Rick

fire
 

check fuel selinoid first then pressure test the pump on the car also check the timing on the pump

sounds like a timing issues. The timing on these engines need to be dead nuts to run. do yourself the favor and buy the correct tools for the job.

She runs!!.... But now I find out she's not drivable...UGGGHHHH!
 

Ok,

Got my hands on a dial indicator and adapter from a fellow vw enthusiast and got the timing set right. Purged the air from the lines and voila!! She started, coughed a few times as it worked the remaining bubbles out and now she runs smooth.

Took her down the road and noticed the steering was horribly sloppy. Remember, this hasn't been on the road since August of last year.

Got back to the shop and put it up on ramps, took a look underneath and found the engine cradle where the A-arm attaches for the driver's side wheel is completely rusted out and the front of the arm is detached.

I don't know whether to scrap this car or try to find a new engine cradle to fix it to drive it.

I really like the car, and the fact that it came from California and has no other rust on the body AT ALL. None.

All in all it is a good little car with a lot of new parts. New brakes all around, new exhaust system, new wheel bearings, rear wheel brake cylinders, new starter, rebuilt alternator, etc.

I have looked briefly for a new engine cradle, and have found a few for this year car, but none of them are within 100 miles, and the shipping quotes are more than the cost of the part.

It does have some minor issues, but they are livable, but it cannot go on the road as it is now due to the rusted out engine cradle.

Anybody in the area have an engine cradle to sell me? I'm in west Michigan.

Is it worth more to part it out? Original engine and odometer reads 218,xxx miles and still works. It gets 40 plus mpg unless I have it loaded down and try going 75 mph down the xway. Then it's in the high 30's.

Please put in your $.02 worth. I had a guy offer me $750 for it the other day, but I have seen the engine and tranny's on CL around here for that much or more.

Thanks for your input in advance.

Rick

Back on the road, but with new issues. (sigh)
 

Found a great deal on a complete engine cradle/sub-frame. Brought it home, installed it and am VERY PLEASED!!! First tank of fuel after getting it back on the road showed a 40.8 mpg result when we did the math. Very happy with how the timing is set.

Now that I'm driving it fairly regularly, I'm pretty happy. Installed a new set of shifter bushings, fabricated a new reverse block-out plate out of some steel angle I had on hand, (the stock plastic one had been broken by the PO before I bought it) and it shifts like a different car. Much better.

I also adjusted the clutch cable while I was at it. SOOOOOO much better shifting now.

Unfortunately, I have discovered that I have some electrical gremlins in the dash regarding the headlights, and the dash lights.

When I use the headlights at night I do not have any dash lights, except when I shut the key off, with the light switch still on. At that point, the headlights go out, but the dash lights finally light up the speedometer, etc. While the engine is running, I cannot see my dash at night.

The second issue is that the Hi-beam indicator (blue LED) comes on while the low-beams are on, and goes off when I switch to the Hi-beams.

I purchased a new headlight switch and installed it today. Made no difference. Same results each time.

Any of you experienced Dubbers out there have any idea(s) where to start next with fixing these 2 issues?

I have read in some forum somewhere that the circuit board in the dash that the instruments are connected to may have some short or something.

Can anybody help me out here? I do not want to keep throwing money at guesses. My pockets aren't that deep. Drove home from my brother-in-law's memorial service last night with a small flashlight illuminating the dash, until I remembered that my Garmin unit was in the car and displays my speed on the screen, so we came home the rest of the way using that as a makeshift speedometer. It was almost a 2 hour trip and in the dark. We left my mother-in-law's house around 10 pm, and arrived home just after midnight.

Thanks for your help.

Rick