(almost) on the road

Took my rebuilt s3 diesel for a pre-mot on friday.
not too bad a result, the engine would fail on being to smoky (I knew that), there is an oil leak from the top of the filter housing and a bold missing from one of the seal holder thingies on one of the front wheels.

added to that, the brakes and steering where shocking, but I think after the first 4 mile on road the brakes are starting to bed in, and I had the alignment looked at whilst in the garage, so that seems better. The main thing I found on this first real drive was - I could only manage 20mph up a slight hill (about 1:10) and 30mph on the flat (engine roaring and foot to the floor).

so to the questions.
I think the smoke and lack of performance is related - what should I look towards? the smoke is dirty\white but not blue. should I be looking towards injectors, fuel filter, fuel distributor - or does it sound more like a knackered engine? I would like to get her on the road soon as otherwise it seems great.

If I have to go the route of a new engine - any ideas of where I can get another diesel and how much it is likely to cost me? at this stage Im willing to try anything.

also, how much can I tighten the fuel filter safely? don't want to break the thing - but does it just need to be damn tight to prevent a leak?
cheers, J

quickest way to bed yer brakes in is to find a quiet bit of road. then drive along about 10ish mph with yer foot quite firmly on the brake for a100yds or so, repeat 1/2 doz times or so allowing brakes to cool slighty inbetween. then readjust them.


and are you sure they int binding anyways? as that could be the cause of yer smoke, yer lack of top end and yer crap brakes

Then make sure the fuel filters are new or as good as.
Then make sure the valve clearances are OK at about 8 to 10 thou.
Then make sure the air filter is not blocked with crap.
If it's a paper element type take it out then test drive it.
CharlesY

If you still got the butterfly brake vacume thingy, make sure it's adjusted correctly. Mine smoked bad till I drained all the oil from the air filter,routed the engine breather to "the road" and got rid of the brake thingy. Now it only smokes on start-up.