I very clean 1984 245 diesel / 5 speed showed up at the local pull a part. The car is rust free and has 187K miles on it. The previous owner ran unfiltered bio-diesel and clogged the injectors. I am thinking of picking it up. Any thought would be appreciated.

wouldn't touch it for the motor or the trans, only the body parts-if you have a wagon. the bottom ends are weak and the trans is diesel only. rarely see them past 200k, unlike a benz where 300k or higher is the norm. HATED doing timing belts because the crank pulley is bolted so tight, even with the tools. also, diesels aren't immune to the wiring issues, only simpler to fix. 1 good point is the diff ratio should be about 3.23-3.55. better in a gas car if your goal is fuel mileage and not drag racing. good luck, chuck.

Good, it sounds like you've been convinced to pass.

I cut my diesel teeth on a 1982 Diesel VW Vanagon. Loved the Vanagon, not so much the diesel engine. The performance, or lack of it, made me long for my 1963 VW camper with a 1600cc type 1 engine. Seriously, that diesel Vanagon could not get out of it's own way!

On the other hand, the specialized tools weren't too bad (about $300) and it was an interesting learning experience (I had the engine completely apart twice). One thing I learned was that torqueing the head bolts required breathtaking amounts of force. Another is that spilled diesel fuel is VERY STINKY and does not evaporate away like gasoline.

Regards,

Tatra Mike
Seattle, WA

1985 244 "Alfsen" (wife's car - the good one)
1984 245 "Buster" (the kid's car, now sold)
1985 245 "Cosmo" (parts car, sold off for move to WA)
1985 245 "Daisy" (back seat down, full of tools, the work truck)
1985 245 "Earl (CA vehicle 'retirement' program)

I disagree, VW has been making great diesel engines for years now. Like any VW diesel from that era, they
will be slow and rattle.

The weak part of any old VW diesel motor is the fuel injection system. They are reliable, but when
you have issues, like a leaky injector pump is a major one, it is nearly impossible to find anyone
that will rebuild one for a decent price - around $700 in my area.

Look up Parts Place, Inc., they have tons of VW parts. Also search Giles injector pump, I've talked to this guy myself, and he know his stuff about rebuilding injector pumps. Parts can be had fairly cheaply, injector nozzles, etc., but the most of your money will be going to repair the injector pump.

Volvo used a VW diesel engine. My experience of VW diesels from the 80s isn't good: they are totally gutless, need specialized tools, and are very noisy. But if you want to run a car on vegetable oil, you could do worse -- like a 1980s 1.6 liter non-turbo VW vanagon: deafening over 45mph and you may get passed by ride-on lawn mowers...

I'm not a big fan of later VW (TDI) diesels either. My parents have an '08 Golf TDI, and basic things like changing the oil filter are complex and strange operations on these.

As the other posters have indicated--the VW sourced motor leaves a lot to be desired. While some individual examples may have reached high mileage it is not a diesel motor like a MB or Peugeot. I've seen many come my way with starting problems at as low as 150k. Low compression--not a "tune-up" problem--was the cause and low compression in a diesel means BIG bucks to rebuild. If you can't hear it fire up from cold it isn't worth bothering with. The body/chassis may make a good candidate for a carbureted V8 conversion but that's about it. -- Dave

Thanks for the feedback. Will pass on the car. Maybe the rear end could help me with gas mileage on my 1983 242 b21ft. Is the front sway bar any thicker becasue of the engine weight?

The front bar is no thicker. However, it has a great deal of value to V-8 240 builders, because the Diesel sway bar has a dip in the center that will clear a Ford or Chevy oil pan, where as the gasser sway bar will not.

It was a piece of crap engine when new, and now its 29 years old. Forget you ever saw it. If you do pick it up, use a forklift.