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VAG 1.9 tdi's


pompei

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In the quest to find something to replace the 9 - 5 I thought I had narrowed the choice down to Civic v MG. Now I have come across a couple of Bora tdi's. I feel tempted but after the previous Saab diseasal disaster I am v cautious about going down the heavy oil route again, although I would love the economy and the torques

 

Thanks.

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They have a good reputation, but mine is being an arsehole.

 

If it drives well, has no cel flashing and starts from cold without issue and doesn't use oil or water its probably worthy.

 

They're fairly simple and have less electronic dickery than later cars, but personally I still believe that the peak of diesel engine development was the PSA XUD 1.9 and 2.1 turbodiesels with bosch pumps and no electronics....

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I'm not a fan of VAG stuff generally, but I bought an 1997 A4 110bhp 7 years ago with 192000 on the clock as a temporary runabout thinking it wouldnt last. I've not given it an easy life and its now just shy of 250,000 and still pulls like a train. The only thing i've done to it engine wise apart from general maintainance and a cam belt is the top part of the fuel pump. Its got a fly-by-wire throttle arrangement which failed twice, but at £20 per replacement and 10 minutes work each time its been well worth it. The only other mishap was a small hole in a injector return pipe which took ages to find but free to fix!

 

I'm well happy with it still and will keep it until its proper dead. Not the most refined unit but I would personally well recommend, just my thoughts!

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I have a Bora 1.9tdi, and did about 35k in it last year, during which time it's had quite a few replacement bits, but none that wouldn't be expected for a car approaching 200k.

Suspension bushes - fronts are easy, but the rear beam is a pain to do, once done transforms the handling.

Cambelt/water pump - pain to do as limited space, expect grazed knuckles at the minimum.

General servicing - cheap & easy.

 

Bora's came in quite a few different specs, some with pd 115/130 engines and some with 6spd gearboxes. Personally I went for the older non pd (110bhp) with a 5spd box. These are generally thought to be less troublesome and can run on 100% veg oil. I fitted a cheap tuning box off ebay which makes a nice difference to power delivery. I'd avoid "sport" models and go for an SE as the interior is more comfy and means it should have a/c and/or climate.

 

My boring on Fuelly - click

 

The only thing I'd replace my Boring with would be a Rover L-series, or 75 cdti. However all the MG\Rovers I looked at before I got the boring had interior's that were falling to bits. I did find the handling of the MG's a lot better than the VW, double wishbones ftw.

 

After I've said all that, last summer I bought a Volvo S80 auto with the Audi 5-pot diesel. It's nowhere near as good on fuel as the boring, but it's so much nicer to drive. I am still toying with going for an S60 with the Volvo d5 enjin, but doubt it'll be as comfy as the S80.

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Seriously consider a Seat TDi.

I had one years back when i lived abroad, an Ibiza TDi 90BHP. Bloody stonking car, quick, nimble, handled like a go cart and very good fuel economy.

Ive seen Ibizas, Cordobas and the like for ridiculous amounts of money (Flea bay) considerably cheaper than its "better badged" brothers.

Build quality is good and I dont think there is any reason to go VW when the equivillent SEAT model can be had for peanuts.

Its a no brainer really.

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Water pump impellers are a weakness in the engines from around that Passat's period. Some had crappy nylon blades on an aluminium spindle. The only thing that gives the game away initially tends to be a rise in coolant temp when going up a long climb. The last one I did also had a seized motor on its electric fan and a failed clutch on the viscous one along by it so needless to say, that water pump took a while to track down. Still, that car has now covered some 340,000 miles and apart from the usual broken springs every 100k or so and the equally usual heater meltdown at 240k, it's been utterly dependable and no, it isn't a taxi! :shock:

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Pre 2005 Octavia tdi, 5 speed ones, are virtually indestructable

 

Yep, and because their engine's facing east-west there's only an electric fan to worry about and doing the water pump job doesn't involve having the bodyshop take the bumper, bonnet landing panel and front inner panel out to get at the thing. They're no less prone to failure of the heater though. But still it's a shorter list of common, well-known faults than most other vehicles of that age bar a Lexus or a bicycle.

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