If your main complaint is the rattling, then just take the stock rubber bumpers, remove the two metal bolt discs and drill a hole through the bumpers. Reinstall with a bolt through the holes and it is fixed. Unlikely you will ever have to replace the bumpers again and they do not rattle.

You're a genius!!!! This is such an excellent idea idk why I didn't think of this.

The air flow sensor issues are from the Oil used on the K&Ns. Usually, the resistance of a heated wire is what gives info to the ECU (or whatever VW calls it). The Oil I suppose insulas the wire.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

In any event no one is promoting K&N air filters. On my year and model, you can toss the stock only filter setup and cheaply make a setup using a paper filter element media on it if that is what you want.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I am attaching a picture of what the air filter element on my 1953 Chevy Pickup Truck looked like. Except that I believe mine was stainless steel instead of copper.
You cleaned the mesh in gasoline or paint thinner and let that evaorate then you dipped it in 40 Wt Oil or even differential lube if you wanted to.

In theory as the air twists and turns through the maze the dirt particles impact into the oiled mesh and stuck there.

The K&N filters work on that same theory of flittering except that the mesh is not as course and is made of cotton instead of metal.

After I also bought a Dodge Car I found out the paper element filter for that fit the Chevy housing and I used that after removing the metal mesh filter.

Here is a place that sells replacement copper mesh.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/7911/Chevrolet_Air_Filter_Copper_Mesh_Only.html

My fist car was a 1954 Cadillac. This is the air filter that was on it.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/43334/Chrome_Air_Cleaner_Olds_Cadillac_Steel_Style.html
It was a type of oil bat air filter in which the oil level came part way into the steel mesh and the air flow sort of partially bubbled the oil washing off and dirt on the mesh.
https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/43334/Chrome_Air_Cleaner_Olds_Cadillac_Steel_Style.html

Attached Thumbnails

 

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Was that a 235 or 261 in your '53 ? .

The copper mesh air cleaner was the light duty one, they also had an oil bath one to be used on farms & etc. where it got dusty .

I prefer oil bath air cleaners but then I like tinkering and so don't mind the periodic maintenance of same .

I run ATF in them, this makes the internal mesh self cleaning ~ you won't believe how much fine silt settles into the oil cup after you begin using ATF instead of light engine oil .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

The last place I worked as a mechanic I worked on a diesel generator refer units. They all had Oil Bath Air Filters. I am the one that cleaned them.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

It was is a 235 that someone added later as it came with I believe it was a 216.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

There's a fair goodly bit of power in that old thing if you tune it carefully .

No need for dual carbies / headers, a dual outlet exhaust manifold will do the trick ~ splitting it will rob power .

Your '53 was the last year of Babbitt Pounder "Target" lube 216 .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

VW has used hot film MAFs for some time. It's basically a PCB track. When the oil gets on it, or dust gets on it, the track overheats and damages the PCB. Then the sensor reads very low all the time.

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

The rattle comes as a result of the rubber being sheared off of "the metal bolt disks" of one, two or all three of the vibration damping mounts. These then no longer provide fastening much less a damping function and let the air-cleaner bang against its surroundings.

There's a reason vibration-damping mounts come as designed: To dampen vibration. Just drilling a hole and attaching a bolt straight though defeats the damping function. I've often found the heat shields (little metal cups to protect dampers from turbo/exhaust manifold heat) missing leading to earlier demise of the rubber.

These damping mounts cost almost 3x as much as stock but might stand up better to turbo/exhaust manifold heat:

https://www.mcmaster.com/vibration-damping-sandwich-mounts/extreme-temperature-vibration-damping-sandwich-mounts-with-studs-6/

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'83 SD, 2x '85 SD
You are entitled to your own opinions, you are not entitled to your own facts.

I use KN less restrictive than paper. alway oil side away from maf. never a problem.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

WDBCB - I have had the bolt-through-bumpers fix on my SD for maybe ten to fifteen years now and do not believe I can see any difference in the damping. Rattling, yes, but really not on the damping. Have been quite happy with this fix.

However that is quite an interesting website. Would have probably tried this years ago. Not too expensive if they last.

With zero effect on a mechanical diesel.