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1.9 tdi longevity

31K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  Dougal 
#1 ·
can anyone in here vouch for me about how long 1.9s normally last before they give in? I'm going to look at a 98 tdi jetta this weekend with 330k on the clock. current owner claims no burning oil, only minor smoke on start up and hard acceleration. I'm going to do blowby tests and everything when i go and look at it, but it looks very well cared for. very minor dings for the use, interior is spotless, no rips or tears. what do you guys think?
 
#2 ·
I had a 98 Jetta TDI with about 225,000 miles when I sold it. It was doing well and ran as strong (better actually with the chip tune) as it did when I got it on 12-25-05 at 238,644 miles (happen to have the original receipt sitting here..) http://www.foobert.com/carhunt.html
The rest of the car was holding up decent but beginning to show it's age, some rust peaking out at the fender edges, some trim inside broken around the seats and cup holder and that sort of thing.

While the engine may be going strong at 330,000 I bet you do have to add some oil between changes and more importantly the rest of the car might be pretty beat. If it's priced right it could still be a great deal and give lots of service, might not be anything special though. Synthetic oil is important, if they haven't been using and changing it I'd pass. How many miles will it go?? you might get another or couple hundred thousand out if it but I wouldn't buy it with that as an expectation, so price it accordingly.
If it runs good it runs good, spend some time poking and prodding for rust if it's been in PA all it's life, I have seen and heard plenty of that body style with rusty floor boards.

In your search for a used TDI check this every morning, it's a great tool and if you want a good TDI at a good price they go FAST. You've got to be ready to jump and fork over the cash.
http://www.foobert.com/carhunt.html
I replaced my 98 with an 05 Jetta wagon, found it with the search, called about it within hours of the listing, and had a friend in Colorado go check it out just as soon/fast as the seller would meet him, and I agreed to buy it on his advice on the spot. Two others were scheduled to check it out later the same day and I knew it was a good enough deal not to take that chance.

Grigg
 
#3 ·
this guy wants $2000 for it, which i think is reasonable. it has some mods done (custom exhaust, raceland coilovers, etc) it does have a spot of paint that is peeled up by the wheel well, but it is still solid metal. this car is a non-sunroof car (ive had past expirence with sunroof cars and rusty floor boards...seems to go hand in hand). i dont expect it to go another couple hundred thousand, i just dont want it to quit on me within 10k and get burned on it. but thats a risk with any used car now a days. im a huge fan of 48 MPG. ;)
 
#4 ·
I think for $2000 you can't go wrong. I had a 98 GT that I loved, if it was a TDI I would of kept it. I think that body style is more desirable. I wouldn't worry about the engine, there easy to fix/replace. It's everything else that falls apart on the newer cars...
 
#8 ·
+1 that sounds like a great price! I have known a family TDi to reach 325K and is still traveling 150 miles a day. The engine shows no signs of stopping but some of the suspension, brakes and such are beginning to wear at a more rapid pace. I would pay close attention to these aspects of the car as well.
 
#6 ·
I drive a 1997 Golf TDI and while mine only has 2xx,xxx some odd miles on it and does not use a any oil, my brother has a 2000 Jetta TDI with 380,000 miles and his runs strong but had a few issues over the years. The injector pump has a leaky seal and the turbo was blowing oil so we had to rebuild it. 200,000 miles is considered low for the TDIs if they were properly maintained, 3-400,000 is like midrange and 5-600,000 is getting to be high. My advice is to pull the turbo hose off at the intercooler to check for oil from the turbo seals, KEEP A NEW TIMING BELT on it, and it will go a half million miles easily. Also, check out hansautoparts online for really cheap parts.
 
#16 ·
Also, check out hansautoparts online for really cheap parts.
Dear sweet jesus, please be more specific about Hans auto parts. DO NOT BUY ANY PRECISION COMPONENT FROM THERE (or any of prothe's compaines)!!!! Intake gaskets, dipstick tubes, or injector lines, OK fine. But for the love of all things holy, do not but any internal or precision parts from there. Bearings, turbos, pistons, cams, timing belt kits, lifters, injection pumps, etc. It's all chinese garbage. 3 seconds of googling and you'll find more horror stories than you can read.

ID Parts, Bora Parts (and rock auto for pistons) are the only places you need to visit.

Once I finish my Dakota swap, I am thinking about doing a swap with a VW 1.6L TD into a Suzuki Samurai.
After messing with a tdi, you won't be able to go back to an IDI. Even built to the moon, they're so gutless compared to a mildly built tdi. Just stick a land rover 300tdi pump on an ahu if you must have a mechanical engine and want the older block style.
 
#9 ·
Not a bad price. My brothers 1999 Jetta TDI has 356,000 on the clock, and still burns no oil. Mine is a 2000 with 200,000 and runs like new the day I bought it.
Good luck.


Sent from my iPhone using tap talk.
 
#11 ·
Once I finish my Dakota swap, I am thinking about doing a swap with a VW 1.6L TD into a Suzuki Samurai.


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#12 ·
Once I finish my Dakota swap, I am thinking about doing a swap with a VW 1.6L TD into a Suzuki Samurai.
an uncle of mine had a 4-door suzuki vitara with the non turbo 1.6idi and it could get 42mpg consiostently all day long... the turbocharged into a samurai might get even better mileage...
 
#13 ·
Tdi's can be great motors if maintained well. I bought mine with 199k on it, and boy did I get some surprises. The intake manifold was clogged with a sticky combination of soot and oilt crank case vapors, turbo vanes were sticking, both caused by the car being babied its whole life, headlight harnesses were melted, etc... owner told me it got 50 plus mpg, and burned no oil. Turns out someone had been using the wrong oil in the engine, it burns oil, and has a considerable amount of blowby, and can barely obtain 40mpg's. I've taken care of most issues on mine, but I still need to pull the head and oil pan, and drop the pistons to inspect/ re ring/hone the cylinders.
 
#15 ·
My only questions: how long have you been looking, and how many cars have you looked at? Every market is different. Up here, I see some TDIs with between 125k and 160k miles for $1900 to $3k.

Great deals are only great relative to what is available locally.

I have had several friends get 300k on TDIs. I don't personally know anyone with 500k on one.

Roy
 
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