Chris wrote:
> ive also heard the turbo diesel
> 5cyls were mechanical nightmares. (the 5cyl diesels i have seen in
> junkyards have half the engine in the trunk..makes me wonder)
>
> '86 up intercooled gas 5cyl turbo is the way to go.

Huh? Excuse me, is this one of these I've heard from someone who
have heard from someone... How about sticking to what you know?

John W. has already refuted what you said on a technical basis, but
let me offer the following quote written by VW from the SAE tech report
on the VW Diesels:

"At this point the effect of an enourmous advantage makes itself
felt: Volkswagen Diesel engines use parts which are also used in
the spark ignition engine which is being produced in large numbers.
We are in a position to select close-tolerance parts to be used
for the Diesel from the total amount of, for instance, crankshafts,
and connecting rods produced".... (The article goes on to describe
many other quality securing measures by VW for the Diesels)

So what the VW engineers that designed and produce the inline
engines say is that out of the total production of shared parts
for Diesels and gas engines the best "cream" ones are skimmed off
for the Diesel engines. The rest are made into gas engines.

/Martin
--
Westy 1.9l Turbo Diesel
Quantum 1.6l Turbo Diesel

Martin Jagersand                 email: jag@cs.yale.edu
Computer Science Department             jag@cs.rochester.edu
Yale University

        Slow down and visit the VW diesel Westy page:
          WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw
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