So on a recent trip to Bosnia, I spotted a few early 2000s VW diesels with an SDI badge, indicating that they are powered by the NA version of VW's 1.9L diesel engine.
Is there any significant difference in terms of longevity between the SDI and TDI engines? I heard a lot about turbos burning out petrol engines faster, but idk about diesels.
Only experience with SDI was in driving school. It is known to me they have weaker transmissions than TDI powered cars.
VW used the 1.9 SDI designation on anything and everything from boat engines, to heavy equipment, to multiple car engines and some of those are still in production.
The ones I'm familiar with the EA180 from the late 90s, these could easily last you over 300k miles if you just maintain them well.
That engine was extremely reliable, except for some issues with fuel system (either high pressure pump fail or solenoid overspray), maybe oil leaks or oil consumption - but nothing special.
At the time, TDI and SDI were generally similar - Although most SDI engines were painfully, slow it was a better built engine.
BUT it's important to know that the new 1.9 TDI engines are MUCH weaker than their predecessors, I've seen those fail even at bellow 150k miles. They're not particularly bad engines (as long as your one isn't affected by manufacturing defects) but they're not particularly good.
They're about as durable as Renault K9K units with continental/Siemens fuel injectors (If serviced every 5-7k miles. not the interval given by the manufacturer in the European market - it was way too long and ended up ruining a lot of engines) and maybe a bit more durable than the new modifications of the PSA DV6.
@InThrustWeTrust thank you for letting me know of this question.
Well these are stronger built engines on the head turbos on them for ages they can handle a lot better than a gasoline engine
So is there any difference in longevity between the two diesel engines?