Guest
USA
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Dave, I used to have an 02 1.8T with a stick and really miss that car (the times when it worked, anyways). But I recall the manual saying not to tow at all with that engine combo (though it had tow ratings for the other engine combos). How'd you get to a comfort level towing with it? Have you ever pulled over and had a look at the turbo after a long grade (I'm thinking it might glow in the dark...)
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Road Ruler
Canada
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Joined: 09/11/2003
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Dave&Nanc wrote:Hello there,
And as an aside, I would LOVE to see Andy Thompson's setup with the Jetta and Airstream combination. I read his article and that setup looks oh so sweet!! If anyone has any pictures of it or his custom fitted hitch for Jettas, I would appreciate it very much.
I saw the Jetta at the London RV show a while ago. There is was connected to a dual axle TT (non Airstream).
I looked underneath at the custom receiver. I believe it was similar to this....
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Road Ruler
Canada
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Guest wrote: Have you ever pulled over and had a look at the turbo after a long grade (I'm thinking it might glow in the dark...)
Some turbo engines seem to work for towing and some do not. I asked Andy T about this once when I was considering towing our Airstream with a turbo V6 SAAB 9.5. He replied by saying that if the engine design makes HP by using the turbo then it may want to use the turbo all of the time when towing a load. This would cause heat build up.
A friend of mine towed a boat once with one of the older Chrysler turbo sedans. After 4 hours on the highway he stopped for gas and popped the hood to check the oil. The turbo was in fact glowing red.
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Caddywhompus
Southeast WI
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Road Ruler wrote:Guest wrote: Have you ever pulled over and had a look at the turbo after a long grade (I'm thinking it might glow in the dark...)
Some turbo engines seem to work for towing and some do not. I asked Andy T about this once when I was considering towing our Airstream with a turbo V6 SAAB 9.5. He replied by saying that if the engine design makes HP by using the turbo then it may want to use the turbo all of the time when towing a load. This would cause heat build up. Exactly true.
Now I don't know what about the VW turbo, but I've been told that turbo Saabs and Subarus can actually run full boost all the time with no damage. They designed the motors to handle this mechanically for longevity. The biggest difference is the question, "Is the turbo bolted on to an existing motor with minimal modification, or is the motor designed from the ground up as a turbo powerplant?" The ones that are ground-up designed tend to hold up a lot longer than the ones with a turbo duck-taped onto an existing engine.
'04 Ford Freestar (Primary tow vehicle)
'05 Subaru Forester (Backup tow vehicle)
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Looking for a tow vehicle
Minivan towing
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Dave&Nanc
East Coast, Canada
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Guest wrote:Dave, I used to have an 02 1.8T with a stick and really miss that car (the times when it worked, anyways). But I recall the manual saying not to tow at all with that engine combo (though it had tow ratings for the other engine combos). How'd you get to a comfort level towing with it? Have you ever pulled over and had a look at the turbo after a long grade (I'm thinking it might glow in the dark...)
That's a very valid point, and something that I had read previously. Sadly, I'm pretty much unfamiliar with the turbo configuration in my own car, but I do know that even on relatively long uphill grades I don't hear the turbo spinning at all (not to imply that it's not working at all). In fact, the only time you actually feel and hear the turbo working is during the few seconds after downshifting to pass, or pulling away briskly from a full stop. I never lug along in high gear expecting the turbo do all the work. Maybe that's the key. If it is, then I'm glad that my style of driving seems to be working.
Again, I have been very fortunate that this setup seems to work fine for me. Someone once suggested that after long grades it's a good idea to pull over and let the vehicle idle to cool down the turbo, but I haven't heeded that advice yet. Perhaps I'll rethink that reasoning in the future. I don't know if the '02 1.8T was specifically built as a turbo engine, but it did get a 30HP boost over the previous year's model (150hp to 180). Base model for the '02 Jetta was 2.0L, and the V6 was a 3.6L.(I think)
Your comment "the times when it worked" gave me a chuckle. I too experienced some of the earlier electrical glitches and annoying recalls on some parts. Fortunately, that was all taken care of under warranty by my dealer, with whom I've had excellent service - contrary to may peoples' VW dealership experiences. And they know that I haul a trailer.
Thanks for the post, I think I'll do a little more research into how I can keep my little tank running for years to come because so far I have not been disappointed.
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Dave and Nancy(and 1 camping pooch)
1995 Coleman Cedar 8'
2002 VW Jetta 1.8T
2002 Grand Prix GT
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qtla9111
Monterrey, Mexico
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A guy named Mark on our Yahoo Shadow Cruiser group who is towing a 16ft Funfinder with his new Jetta diesel wagon and averaging 34 mpg. He says mountain driving is in "fourth" gear. Sounds pretty good to me. I think he posts on here too.
1998 Nissan Pathfinder
2004 Shadow Cruiser 18ft.
Living and Boondocking Mexico
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PavementPilot
Vernon, BC
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One thing to remember when pulling with a turbo unit is that when pull off the road and want to stop for gas or whatever, let the engine idle for 5 minutes to let the turbo cool off and spin down to low rpms. The turbo is cooled by lower air intake temps and the oil puling heat from the bearings and the oil cooler doing its job. Seeing a glowing red turbo just after pulling off the road with the engine stopped leads me to think that the turbo will not last long.
DW, 2 girls, and me
07 Freestar
76 Parklane Tent Trailer
08 Minn Kota 30 lb Troller
56 Featherlite 10' Cartopper
Nights camped in 2007: 14
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17 years Professional Driving accident free all over North America
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grahamular
Baltimore, MD
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The "hot turbo" is mostly a thing of the past, and even then only on poorly engineered vehicles (ie. like the old Chrysler as someone posted). My Subaru WRX runs with moderate turbo boost at highway cruising speed, as indicated by my boost gauge. When towing, the level is only slightly higher when pulling a grade or accelerating. And my 1983 Bluebird Wanderlodge with a CAT 3208 turbo runs at nearly full boost all the time, as do most OTR trucks, so it's certainly not a new concept.
2005 Viking 1204LS Pop-up
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Caddywhompus
Southeast WI
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grahamular wrote:The "hot turbo" is mostly a thing of the past, and even then only on poorly engineered vehicles (ie. like the old Chrysler as someone posted).
I wouldn't call the old Chrysler turbos "poorly engineered". The turbo 2.2 and 2.5 can put over 300 streetable horsepower to the pavement, and that was 20 years ago. 12 second EEKs are pretty common, and 10 second cars are out there. The 92 Dodge Daytona was the fastest FWD production car that year with the TII 2.5 and 5-speed manual trans. Plenty of enthusiasts still around to attest to the fact. I know of a couple people using Turbo Caravans as tow vehicles even today (I at one time wanted one also). Mildy worked over, 250HP and 200k mile engine life can be a reality with the Mopar engines.
Yes, the Subaru turbo is probably a better design, but the Chrysler wasn't bad either. It didn't deserve half the bad rep it ended up with. It just wasn't ready for the masses back in 84 when it came out. Nobody knew how to drive or take care of a turbo engine, and that was half the problem.
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mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
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OK, let's get back to the original subject. Further discussion/arguements on turbo's need to go to the Tow vehicle forum unless it's mounted on a VW.
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