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68K views 40 replies 24 participants last post by  Indigosmissin 
#1 ·
I am looking at and considering buying a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel here in the states. The VW, for it 's age, appears to be well maintained. It has approximately 180k miles, with 4 speed manual tranny. I want to know what I should expect to get in mpg? Also I would like your general opinion about the overall integrity of the car. Are genuine parts still available for this car? How easy is it to work on this car? Any information anyone can provide me, will be greatly appreciated.
 
#2 ·
I have an '89 Jetta Diesel and when it was running i got about 47-48mpg. highest was 50.5mpg. You should be able to get that but it's gonna be SLOW! I miss mine but I shouldn't have cracked the head! Look at the odometer closely. The VDO gauges have a habit of stopping to read mileage.

Parts should be available from a number of the same sources you'll see mentioned here and they are pretty bullet proof, but not idiot proof.(that's me)

Good luck! It should be a good car and if the odo is correct you should have alot of miles left on it. Mine has 280K and minus the head issue was on the way to over 400K easy!

Panzer
 
#4 ·
My 82 Rabbit gets 45 mpg, mostly highway travel. I bought it three months ago for VO conversion because it had a very solid body. Here is a list of what I've done so far:

Front wheel bearings
Front strut inserts
Both drive shaft replacement
Welded cracked right front shock tower
Rear wheel cylinders
Rear bumper mount repair
Replace metal for rust spots on doors
Paint job
Rebuilt injection pump
Timed injection
Rebuilt injectors with new tips
WVO system installation
Steering shaft repair
Shock tower brace installation
Trailer hitch install
Rear helper springs
Radio install
Horn troubleshoot
Speedo cable
Various engine wiring ends replaced
Changed air, oil, fuel filters
4 qts. Rotella oil
wiper blades

Still needs: Steering rack boot(probably rack replacement), washer pump to switch connection.

All the parts were available online or locally and were installed with a little help, make that a lot of help from my friends on the internet.

By the way, the VO system works great, we took an 180 mile trip to the dirtbike races at Redbud yesterday and probably used $2 of pump fuel. Top speed: 78mph. But the other day it would only go 50 pulling two dirtbikes on a trailer--I guess some things weren't meant to be.

The only issue I have is "clunks" over bumps in the road. I'm thinking about strut bearings or new springs, both of which appeared ok but which might not be performing correctly.

Anyway, get the car, it'll keep you out of the bars.

Ralph
Wheatfield, IN
 
#6 ·
I havent got my 84 5speed running yet but my neighbor has one that is the exact twin to my car same color same year everything he claimed the worst milege he ever got was 45mpg that was with 5 people ac on and doing 70 he said the best he has got was 65mpg with just him no ac on and going 55 he says the faster you go the milage goes down dramaticlly im not expecting 65 but i think 50+ isnt out of the question.
 
#8 ·
When my 81 with a 4spd was new I got 61 mpg @55mph

When I sold it with the 5spd upgrade, I was still getting 40 ish on the highway but then it has 230k.

One of the best investments I made was waiting till it had 17K on it and adding Slick 50.
 
#12 ·
I bought my diesel new. I allowed it to get 17k on it then slicked 50'ed it. I ran 10w30 in it.

The timing belt broke on it at 130K. And we all know what happens.....
But on tear down, besides the hole in the head, and the Mushroomed piston, there was no wear in the cylinders. The Crank looked new.

Now unlike most folks I abused that engine, I changed the oil filter but rarely changed the oil I was always adding to it. I would change the oil once a year totally, but Changed the filter about every other month. That was a great running engine.....No maintenance needed at all.

I bought a timing belt from a Generic parts house, and it slipped a tooth, because the tooth gave out. So after the rebuild, I used only genuine timing belts from VW.

I sold the car about 8 years later.... it had only 230K on it....but ran great. I had a stroke and until about 5 years ago shifting wasn't fun.. I was scared that I was going to roll back into someone on a hill...None of the kids or the wife wanted to drive it.

I slick all my cars, I have seen what it can prevent.... Time and Time again.
 
#15 ·
trouble reviving my 1981

Mine has been sitting 9-10 months, relatively new starter, managed to get the sweetie to rollover but I don't think any fuel is getting there. How do I attach a manual pump and where? What sort or make of pump? Seems like I need to pump out the air, or possibly old snotty diesel from lines and tank and start fresh. Any additives out there to just solve this kinda problem overnight?

I am not a total hack but pictures are good too

1981 Rabbit 4Dr White Custom L Diesel ( vermont )

I picked this car up in Indiana in 2001, cost me 25 bucks to drive it back to Vermont. Will post pics
 
#16 ·
Start out with a new fuel filter, then try cracking the nuts on the injectors to allow fuel to flow through the pump..... crank the engine a few times watch the fuel to see it spray out the nuts on the injectors. Tighten the nuts.

Put one new cold start plug and install it in number 4.

Give it a go.
 
#17 ·
i meant to post on here earlier, worst mpg ever was 26,

the injector pump was leaking badly, and i only put on a few miles during the day, between here and school, and if i stopped for more than about thirty minutes or so, there would be a 2ft square puddle of diesel under the rabbit, and it would constantly be dripping as i drove down the road, any time i parked, i would put cardboard under it, but i think you all get the point, even leaking diesel horribly its still quite efficient, and now the injector pump is resealed, so i should be getting back up in the 40's again
 
#19 · (Edited)
That was on a "new car" as it was about 3 weeks after I drove it of the LOT. I drove it from Decatur, Illinois to Grenada Mississippi, before I needed fuel, but that was in the Winter, no a/c and of course the speed was kept at 55. and it was about 8.5 gallons that I used.

I used to drive to Mobile, Al. and back on a weekend about 6 times a year for quite a few years. I know the route by heart.
 
#22 ·
About 50 MPG I run a Veggie oil mix in it to Ratio depends on time of year.

The Final Tally.......Priceless


new fuel tank 130.00
steel brake lines 20.00
rear Calipers 28.00
front caliper 10.00 Millerstown pick-a-part
inj pump 150.00
rubber brake lines 24.00
head-liner mat 33.00
and adhesive
metal for body 00.00
20 ga frame metal 5.00
new rad 143.00
rivits screws ect 30.00
brazing rods ext
e brake cables 00.00
starter 99.00
2 used engines 250.00 to make one good engine
battery 76.00 good thing it was warrenteed i used 3 so far
shifter bushings 20.00
motor mount 8.00
glow plugs 24.00 times three sets
head bolts 9.00
right half shaft 74.00
belts and timing belt 30.00 and tensioner kit
timing tool 74.00
4 new injectors 96.00
hoses 15.00
axle bolts and special tool 17.00
gasket kit 18.00
water pump 12.00
And probably a 100.00 dollars of other stuff I have forgotten. MM
 
#23 · (Edited)
Hey, I had an 81 Rabbit 2 door I bought new on Dec 1 1980 . It was Mojave Beige had a 5 spd , and I put an electronic digital Pioneer Am Fm Cassette in it . Drove it for 18 yrs, sold it when it had 425,000 miles . Then bought a new 1998 Jetta TDI ..TDI hauls ass , ( has a chip)
and still delivers when thrifty 49 mpg , with a/c , ps, turbo , sat radio, cd.....modern conveniences. Car was totaled 4 yrs ago at a traffic
light during a police chase . I fixed myself ( ins gave me 3k) new left fender, macpherson strut , and outer tie rod . Didnt want to let die
a car that delivers near 45k avg mpg and doesnt need a pile of batteries under the seat and floor like the hybrids
and electrics ..Last time I fueled up went 664 miles on 13.489 gals. = 49.22 mpg

ps - My 81 Diesel Pickup is almost ready for the road again .
 
#24 ·
Hey Dude,

Mileage is great! Don't even worry about that. But DO plan on replacing a lot of parts... and I mean a lot... if they haven't been replaced already..... and make sure that you get the engine checked for cracks and leaking head. I bought my Rabbit for $2500 and have spent an extra $3000 on it so far and did all the work myself. it's damn near new, but still something to think about. The Fuuuucccked up part is that I still need to replace the head gasket. The guy that sold it to me blew a gasket and loaded the radiator up with block sealer just to sell the car.
 
#25 ·
Wow!
I can't believe I found a thread talking about 1981 VW Rabbit Diesel mpg! I have a white four door with a "Rust" colored interior I have had for about 10 years. Back when I first got it, people would laugh out loud when I pulled up to a yard sale. That was all put to bed with the advent of the $147 barrel of oil. Once when I went to a event at my daughters high school, I was kind late, and was stunned when I got out of my car and noticed I was the only one who had not driven a gleaming new SUV. Ha Ha Ha! in retrospect. Anyways, I keep tinkering around trying to get 70 mpg. VW did it back in 1984 I found recently, using a really tall gear ratio among other things. I too find that slower gives better mpg, I recently drove from Tempe, AZ where I live to drop my daughter off at U of A in Tucson, and back and got 64.6 mpg round trip. I calculated I would have made 65.4 mpg, if she had not delayed our start so long I had to run the lights all the way back. The H6054 headlamps draw 65 Watts each, and I assumed a BSFC of 0.4 #/hp-hr and an alternator efficiency of 50%, at my target speed of 53 mph. All my other lamps are mostly converted to LED, still looking for a headlight solution. My latest mod was to put on a four into one header, 2 1/4" diameter exhaust system with a Flowmaster #942450 muffler. I put it on to get better mpg but the results are so phenomenal that so far it has backfired on me, because it turned me into a leadfoot. It sounds like punk ass rice rocket, and just hauls a$$. If the top end went from 75 to 85 (and I let off it at 85 cause I didn't want a ticket today), I figure the power increase might be ~28% WOW! I am hooked on the new found power, I only got 43 mpg today cause most of the time I was cruising 70-75 with a grin on my face. Anyways, I found this thread and joined VWOC to respond cause I just learned about 3+E and 4+E tranny's and am trying to figure out where I get one from.
 
#27 ·
I've gotten around 45MPG in my 4 Door Rabbit LS, that includes siphoning fuel for the tractor and running in the driveway as I worked on her the past couple of months. Not to bad at all! This car will pay for itself in no time at all, and the go-kart like handling of the chassis keeps me happy!
 
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