Thread: A few questions about my D1

At 4000rpm you've hit the wall with a tdi, gradually apply the go pedal is the only way to prevent the auto kicking down (at that speed mine just powers on without kicking down) check youre engine and trans mounts as they may be stuffed or even the rubber coupling- i only get a slight vibe in the tc lever at idle. I didnt think any tdi's came with ABS, i would rip it out if it was me. Also check for any slack in the acc. cable and also the adjustment of the auto kickdown cable as it may be too tight.

I found that on the corrugated dirt roads around my place, it typically took twice as long to bring the Commodore [ABS equipped] to a complete stop than the Disco [No ABS]. There was a technical explanation for this given at 4wdriver training, to do with the small tyre to road contact area over corrugations.

2. ABS brakes!! I have never had them before and it feels like I lose all control when they pipe into the braking equation. Personally, I would rather the wheels skidding.
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with them, but has anyone else found them to be a bit scary??? and have an "out of control experience?"

ABS brakes are designed to give you control of the vehicle while braking heavily, try steering around an object (say a stopped car in front of you) in an emergency stop without ABS, all that will happen, no matter how much you turn the wheel, is that you will plough straight ahead with tyres skidding and locked and into what you were braking to avoid.
With ABS you can steer around objects with the brakes applied as above, you have control of where the car steers while in an emergency braking situation, first thing they teach you at a Performance Driving school, how to steer with the brakes on hard, Regards Frank. P.S. Does not apply to dirt roads, unless ABS is designed for dirt roads.

Originally Posted by Peppercorn

Hi all

.. just dig in and pour power on in top gear

As a fellow D1 tdi auto owner I don't get the "pour power on" concept !!

Like loanrangie says - at 105k the only way to speed up is to apply the pedal slowly and keep it from kicking down.
Mine will kick down at that speed if I give it a boot full of throttle, but it will hold 4th with enough extra power to accelerate.

If yours kicks down at the lightest touch it could possibly be that you are down on power for some reason and already have a bit more accellerator on than normal at that speed. Or possibly your kickdown cable needs adjusting

steve

I agree that the throttle cable adjustment would be the first thing I would look at and then the KD cable.

The kickdown cable should be just slightly firm or at least the slack taken out at idle throttle position.

If the throttle cable is not pulling all the way on then it wont produce full power and will kick down earlier.

You have to understand that you have a diesel engine that is revy as far as diesels go but 4k is topped out and anything above about 3k is just wasting fuel.

These are not a powerhouse, neither are the V8's but unless you start tinkering with exhaust, intake air, boost control and fueling of the injector pump then as long as the cables are adjusted properly what you have is what you will get.

You did get excellent economy for pushing 3k to 4k and above the 100kmh mark, around 2500Rpm is about optimum for these engines and gives you a bit of room for acceleration.

Hills are a Tdi's worst enemy, never try to over take up a hill as you will run out of steam and the car your overtaking will re-pass you before your passed, this is because they are only a 2.5ltr diesel engine, nothing to do with it being an auto.

As far as ABS, it stands for AUTOMATIC BRAKING for the STUPID and off road is damn near useless and in some cases dangerous on the older cars.

Later model ABS is much better and works most of the time the way it was intended but still not really that nessesary if you dont put yourself in the situation where to aviod hitting one car you drive into another innocent one because the ABS allowed you to avoid the car that caused the inncident in the first place.

Regardless of the situation, it is always safer ABS or no ABS to brake in a straight line as with both types of braking systems they will work better with a balanced car.

We have ABS on the Carolla and I dont find it feels uncomfortable or anything but then again I expect it will do what it does but on corregated roads it stinks but then again, it's not designed to work on corregated (or off road) roads.

I would suggest that you get a propper brake mechanic to check it out, you could probably get one of those free quotes on the system as it may just have old fluid or need a bleed but I would also look at pulling the ABS fuse if driving on corregations but other conditions there is the slightest possability that it may be as good if not a little better than normal braking so I would there for leave it alone.

100 or so horsepower + 2000 kg = no skin off rice custard acceleration at any point in the speed ramp!

10l/100 km is about the right economy point.

Check engine and transmission mounts, and the entire transfer case shift mechanism for correct operation. If it has been out of the car, there will be the good chance of missing clips, wrong diameter clevis pins, etc.

Cheers

Pete

Thanks for the reply's.

Concerning the power. I don't think that I am pushing it harder than it can deliver, or expecting more from it than it can give. It just seems to kick down earlier than it should, as I'm expecting "grunt" as opposed to revs"

Can someone tell me where the fuse is for the ABS?? Is it just in the normal fuse box?

Thanks again for your advice, when it cools down a bit I'll check out the accelerator cable and kickdown. Too bloody hot here atm