JT,
I should first state that I have never put a 1.6 NA or 1.6T in a sammy or a trackick but I am a VW Diesel addict
. My daily driver is a '81 VW Caddy (AKA PU) with a Jetta 1.6T transplant. I had Giles at Performance Diesel perform his majic 1st on the NA injection pump then on the turbo pump when I found a wrecked jetta. He does amazing work! You will find he is the Bosch pump guru on
www.VWDiesel.net. I got 3 more mpg on the first pump and unbelieveable increase in off the line power for a NA. The turbo pump rebuild gave me about 4 more mpg and even more off the line power but I think this pump was in need of a rebuild. He uses a seal kit(Viton) that enables you to use Biodiesel blends. Some people ? his prices and think he should devulge his secrets but I don't think he should give his expertise away free. There are other changes you can do like bigger injectors etc. but go to the website and you will learn alot about the VW diesel. My Caddy is alot lighter than a Sammy but I get 40 mpg if I keep my foot out of it! Most people put a diesel in a Sammy for the low end torque. The 4x4 show on the Spike TV channel did this swap in a 2part show and it is available on Amazon. Your initial ? on gearing changes is something I have always wondered about for the Sammy tranny 5th gear. My Caddy has a .70 and I keep the rpm down to 2500.
