1977 VW Rabbit Diesel Review

[Bob]

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/197 ... sel-review

Pretty entertaining read.

[kevm14]

Amazing. It weighs only 1,946 lbs, yet is still slow as balls. The mileage is pretty lame, too. And people remembered these that fondly?

What you get for your money is fuel economy, about 50-percent more than a normal Rabbit, in fact. We measured 39.5 mpg (city) and 35.0 mpg (highway) in the C/D mileage test, numbers that provide graphic evidence of the Diesel's low- and mid-range economy.

Man the gas version was that much worse, eh?

The second boon Dieselization brings is a longer service life for the engine: VW claims it will last twice as long as its gas engine based on endurance bench-test results.

Uh huh. I blame carbs for this. What's the connection? Imprecise fuel mixture leads to washing down the cylinder walls, which prematurely wears out the rings. In addition, that extra fuel also makes its way to the oil sump, diluting the oil, which also prematurely wears out bottom end bearings.

The third benefit is that maintenance requirements are slightly reduced.

Slightly? What, did this thing need 60k timing belt changes or something? Also, we've come a long way. Gas engines need far, FAR less maintenance than they used to, while I think diesels need the same or more than they used to. Isn't that funny?

The initial clatter is not unlike being inside a garbage can during a hail storm. Herb Williamson, VW's press relations man, prefers to call it "the sound of pennies dropping in a piggy bank."

Oh man, that's priceless.

I like this part:

Granted, there is more noise, but it's not intimidating, and the classic Diesel vices of odor and smoke just don't apply.

Lies.

There's no chance of fumigating your neighbor with the Rabbit on initial start-up, because all that comes out is a small puff of black smoke

And then:

A few might be slightly annoyed by the very faint haze of black dust trailing out your exhaust pipe during a hard pull, but most likely if your cover is blown, it will be by the smug look of professional parsimony that most Diesel operators radiate after a very short period of time.

Wow this was an early smug emitter! And black cloud emitter. But it doesn't smoke or smell, we swear.

It seems somewhat lost under there because the usual tangle of hoses and incomprehensible emission devices is gone

I have to say, these "incomprehensible" emissions devices were nothing more than crude, early versions of emissions devices we had in the 80s and 90s (and beyond). Without computer controls, for example, you end up with a complicated array of thermal-triggered switches, vacuum triggered solenoids and whatever else. We still have EGR (not sure about the air pumps) but most other emissions controls have either evolved (multiple levels of catalytic converter, starting right at the exhaust manifold), or been added (lots of sensors). We've replaced all the complicated mechanical systems that messed around with spark advance and fuel delivery with fully electronic spark control (solid state, as early as 1984 in the case of the Buick 3.8 SFI Turbo) and obviously fuel injection. As a side note, there was a strange time in the 80s where the "cold start injector" was a thing. I only knew of Japanese engines that had that, but those are long gone.

But check out this scandal that never materialized!

The main block and head castings look familiar, and in fact they are quite close to the original gas-engine pieces in every way. The block is now common to both, with but the few changes required to expand the application to a Diesel. The single biggest alteration was a thicker section for the deck surface of the block to better contain Diesel pressures. And, believe it or not, the crankshaft and connecting rods are also shared with the gas engine.

O RLY?? That's far more than the Olds diesel had in common with the Olds 350.

But admittedly, this was pretty simple. It even had a manual injector advance lever for cold starting.

[kevm14]

Comment quote:

Driven one, noisiest and most uncivilized experience this side of a Tempo/Topaz; my high school Pinto had sportier aspirations.

Hey just like a Detroit Diesel!

Ali G. wrote on 03/20/2014 at 07:58 AM

"These cars were legendary for running amok, powered by their own engine oil if consumption reached a certain point. This was not a problem as the brakes could easily overcome the engine's torque but it made for some entertaining stories...."

yup yup! mine did this at the end of its life. first time it ran away it scared the piss out of me!
I ended up putting a 1 gallon milk jug next to the battery and cutting the breather hose. added some hose from the valve cover to the jug and then back to the intake. still breathed the fumes that way and the excess oil was caught in the jug. once a day I would pour the oil back in the engine, lol.

[bill25]

I don't know if I should hate or be jealous of somebody that can put a positive spin on:
"The initial clatter is not unlike being inside a garbage can during a hail storm."

And it still sold...


My first car was a Mercury Topaz. I do not recommend that.

It almost caught on fire from the wiring harness, the brakes went, it had that really annoying automatic seatbelt.
The only good thing I can say about it is that it beat a 2.8 Blazer on 295, until it overheated and died. Then the Blazer passed the Topaz on the side of the highway.