[Willie]

I've been a long time operator/owner of various types of diesel equipment. The various types are all larger, some MUCH larger, than anything VW puts out. I'm searching for a new ride to take into retirement and am giving the VW Sportwagen very serious consideration. Due in large part to the fuel consumption and comparative lack of maintenance vs a gas engine. The price of fuel is only going one direction and income would be (hopefully) fairly constant.

The site has provided considerable useful information before I joined. Hopefully, I can pick up a few gems and possibly contribute a mite on the care, feeding and use of diesel powerplants in general.

 

[Ben06]

Comparative lack of maintenance? ukerofl Maybe a VW isn't the right car than? Are TDI as reliable or simple as industrial engines, I don't know. I don't think they're any simplier or more reliable than the gas engines though. VW's aren't exactly known for being the most reliable cars and it's made worse by unknowledgeable dealers. I still like them and once you're used to the mpg you can deal with any reliability problems. The only thing that has prevented me from upgrading to a newer one is the high pressure fuel pump problems and hesitation problems. Some people have bad HPFP which shreds itself and contaminates the fuel system. Here is one thread that talks about it: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/f7/dweisels-hpfp-analogy-failure-4187/ The replacement parts are quite expensive.

 

[Willie]

Gee, thanks! I was already freaking over DPF costs, but I figure those will go down as volume increases.

Actually all the vehicle manufacturers use customers for beta testing. You can test on your own all you want, but to find out the full range of possible issues, the product has get into the hands of the end users/abusers. I decided to pass over Subaru 'cause they've got a new engine design. Now this. On the other hand, Standyne had issues with certain injection pumps used by GM on light duty vehicles. I ran into a guy with a just out of warranty GM pickup who was on his 3rd pump, the last one paid for by himself. I'd have had the Service Managers head for a hood ornament if it'd been me. When you look at diesels below medium trucks, most of the dealers are sucking wind.

More constructively, I wonder why they didn't use cast iron as the pump body? Bosch used CI bodies and hardened steel pump pistons for decades with little issues. Granted, that was with fuel with more lubricity.