buying 81 rabit diesel

85gti4door · #1 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005, 01:10 AM

yeah i just recently bought a 81 diesel rabbit it has no motor or trans. i have a 8v with a 2.0 block i am gonna through in it.now i heard a few different things should i change out the gas tank cuz there was diesel in it. might sound dumb i am new to mk1 always had mk2 should i change the fuel pump to because it was a diesel

Fourt1thirty · #2 (**permalink**) 12-06-2005, 03:15 AM

Diesels don't have a fuel pump, they have an injection pump mounted on the motor.

You're going to need to change the tank, filler neck and fuel lines as well as install a fuel pump, fuel accumulator, filter, injection, fuel pump wires and relay and an engine wiring harness and probably a few other things that slip my mind right now. Really a genuine pain in the ass, especially for someone who doesn't know MK1s.

trev0rbr · #3 (**permalink**) 12-22-2005, 02:47 PM

actually you don't need to change the tank or any of the fuel system, jsut eliminate the fuel pump and ur good to go, you don't have to compeltely clean the tank of gasoline either, unless if it is old. diesels will still run even with gasoline, it even says in the owners manual to use it if you can't get winterized diesel fuel. little late but i had to make sure no one went out spending all sorts of money on stuff they didn't need to.

16vjettapower · #4 (**permalink**) 12-22-2005, 06:32 PM

sorry to say but diesels will not run with regular gasoline. diesel fuel combust's under extreme pressure gas needs a spark to ingnite

trev0rbr · #5 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 12:23 PM

actually what i was say, is that you do not need to get every last drop of gasoline out of the tank when you do a gas to diesel swap, i'm fully aware of how each motor works, my cars manual says to use up to 25% gasoline in order to winterize the diesel fuel, so the gasoline isn't going to hurt the motor, just have to make sure that there isn't 100% gasoline in the fuel lines.

Fourt1thirty · #6 (**permalink**) 12-23-2005, 06:29 PM

Couple key points here:

1: The point of the thread was to put a gas motor in a diesel car, not the other way around.

2: The reason the fuel system must be changed isn't to get the diesel/gas out but because the parts are different. Don't contradict me boy... I'll bury you :P

3: A diesel engine will run on a decent amount of gas, it will just pre-ignite harshly and usually run away from itself. Some run (as in start, run like crap) on straight gas, but most VWs don't really like gasoline. The compression, heat, and glow plug are enough to ignite gas. You can run a diesel on old engine oil, cooking oil, mouthwash, post binge drinking urine... etc, it just usually has to be warm before it will ignite some of the tougher fuels.