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The T4 5 pot diesel is an amazing engine due to it tolerance for abuse and lack of maintenance. As I have mentioned before.
Were you using svo or mixing it? How long before the engine suffered sticky rings?
lynx-
Yup using veg from a friend who was brewing it from waste oils from a large base near here, also using a mix from a retail operator in the other end of the city (has duty built in so was barely aby cheaper thwn regular diesel). And yeah gumming issues started happening within a few thousand miles of first use.
Pump etc is dead happy just the rings! Oil gets changed regularly (quantum synta 10w40 which is vw trades own brand oil for vp and pd engines, its like £9 for 5 litres) every 6k.
Having worked on a few they rarely go mechanically bad, it's more their ageing control systems and mechanics that aren't familiar with them that is the common cause for them to end up in the bin.
Was at least 2 years of not 3 since last using anything other than pump diesel, but still the damage has been done. Tried leaving cylinders to soak in that carbon melting stuff (some kind of stinking organic compound) just before an oil change but made no real difference.
Has all new rings in it now, gaps and wear seem ok, had to buy a bore gauge as my friendly engine builder is shut, often borrow his sexy spec tools.
Lesson learned cheap fuels or improper use kills engines
BrickMan
Vw t4/lt/crafter all use 5 pot diesels, different models but the 90s ones generally more sought after.
Have the same engine in my 90s volvo, just done bottom end after it needed piston rings (gummed from using veg oil), decided to replace crank and rod bearings (with factory spattered type), after 260k and 22 years they were fine. Some measurable wear but not terrible, nice and even, no scouring, no anything really. Polished the crank journals and put new ones in along with one grade higher of bolts.
The high power guys are running massive steel plate girdles across the main bearing caps (20mm thick steel!), double squirters, forged h beam rods (forgot brand), a chunky decompression plate and then very serious heads, they've been chopped up, dissected and bits somehow welded in to increase everything, amazing really.
Cast iron all the way!