Just bought a VW Jetta diesel (used)

[Chris N5CWM]

I found a great deal on a used VW Jetta GLS TDI 5 speed!



It has a few miles on it (60,400) but is in excellent condition.



Needed to get the wife out of the Yukon XL 2500 496 that

was being driven to work and back, 1,400 miles per month

at 12 MPG!



The Jetta ought to go about 4 times longer on a gallon of

fuel. They get about 45 MPG!



I figured the savings in gas alone makes the payment on

the Jetta!



Jetta Pics



-Chris

 

[Motorhead]

Chris, Neat car! I know that you will love it. I had a '80 dasher diesel wagon that I drove the doors off of for 19 years. I did some Mods,1. 6 eng, 5 speed out of an Audi 4000 diesel. The thing regularly got me 38 to 44 mpg and NEVER let me down!

If I could get my Wife out of her '84 MBZ 300 turbo wagon, I would put her in a jetta too. Chris

 

[lschultz]

Good looking car Chris. You should get in the 50s with the Jetta. The jetta/golf get high mpg. The best I have got on my NB is 52. ? I started to get a Jetta. Drove the NB and bought it. Did not even drive the jetta or golf. I got about 38000 on it now. Remember when it comes time to have that timming belt changed. It should of had it done. If not get it done. I guess you already know about www.Freds TDI and www.vwvortex

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Well I found out about the timing belt change requirement

AFTER I got the car home. The dealership I bought

it from IS a VW Dealership! This is kind of a sore subject here.

The Jetta I bought is "Certified Pre Owned" and since the

timing belt is a MANUFACTURER REQUIRED mandatory new

timing belt at 60,000 miles, then they should have put in a

new one before they put the car out on their lot to sell! I

called the service dept and they said $450 parts & labor.

Monday morning I am taking it in and making a fuss.

The least they could have done is advise me that the

timing belt needed to be changed. Since they service and

sell them you'd think they would know better.



Otherwise I'm very happy with the Jetta. Looks GREAT and

this was the first red one I have ever seen, new or used.

I've been looking at them for a long time.

 

[Doubleclutch]

When my buddy sold his '67 427 'vette, he bought a VW bug- big change for sure. He never ran out of gas in the 'vette because he'd stop at every gas station. He DID run out of gas in the bug because he got out of the daily routine. Good luck on the new wheels!

Greg

 

[jimk]

vw diesel

I think that the vw diesel has saved me more money that any thing else I have ever bought.

I have a 81 and my brother a 83 and a tdi jeta also. Great fuel mileage an very dependable.

I wish that the engine was in a welder and a power plant. Use the web sights for info just like the TDR for the dodge.

lol Jim

 

[Motorhead]

Chris N5CWM, I would make a BIG fuss about the fact that they didn't change the timing belt before they put it on the block. I used to do them all the time (Timing belts) on the non turbo Rabbits and Dashers. They were easy other than having to have some special tools to time the pump and set the belt tension. Do they still use an injection pump as we old timers know it? If they give you a hard time talk the "Small Claims Court" thing, and call VW of America.

And So Goes The Battle!!:-{} Good luck and let us know what happens. Chris R

 

[lschultz]

Time to throw a fitOo. :-{} . Make them do it and pay far it or refund your money and give them the car back. I would not drive it too much. I have heard some bad stories about what happens if it breaks. Go to Freds and post your problem.

http://www.tdiclub.com or www.tdiclub.com will get you there or maybe both. Another one that is just started several weeks ago is

http://texastdi.com/6/ubb.x

 

[Motorhead]

Not saying to do it but i put 75,000 on a belt on my Diesel Dasher wagon before I replaced it. You can usually take off the top half of the timing cover and ck the belt for wear and cracks.

Chris

 

[Chris N5CWM]

I've been doing a lot of research at the TDIClub site.



Today I did take a look at the belt and it is worn but

not showing any signs of cracking. Still going to set

up an appointment to get it replaced. Might do it

myself if I can borrow the special VW tools to do it.



I posted some more pics, mostly engine and turbo

pics for you motorheads!



I have some pics of the fuel pump too. It's a Bosch

unit that looks mechanical.



TDI Jetta pics

 

[cwienenga]

tdi belt

I had a 1980 rabbit p. u. diesel since new,sold it last year,had 300,000 plus (many head gaskets and one o-haul). did all work myself and finally body was rusting out. got a 83 quantum tdi and o-hauled it and is running good. the access is a lot worse because of inline engine with many pulleys and belts on front. '



If you take a chance on the belt on one of these and it breaks it will destroy the engine,Ive seen it. blows the cam right out of the head, and hits the pistons.

If you do it yourself,make sure and double check your crank position after as sometimes the crank moves when you tighten the idler and a little movement can make a big difference.



good luck



cliff

 

[emarsh]

Chris, what kind of a digital camera did you use to take those photos? They look great! I am in the market for a new digital camera?

 

[lschultz]

Chris last picture. Have you taking that hose off the egr valve and looked in there?Get the egr mod done with the vag-com too. Run that hose that comes off the breather to the ground and cap where it went to. They say if you do this you want have any problems with the intake so I did it. Time will tell. Clean looking car/engine.

 

[sdalton]

Chris, let us know what mods you plan on making, and what benefits you expect.

 

[StevenWalker]

It is a great car. I have a 2000 jetta 5 speed. Mine is red to. I have 61. 5 K on it. I commute from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and back everyday. Last week I got 50. 6 MPG. That's at 75 MPH with the A/C on and 1000 foot evelation change. Use the best synthetic diesel rated oil, adapt the EGR flow rate and do a CCV modification. Buy or find someone in your area with a Vag-com and the Bentley CD. Do the belt replacement yourself if you can't get the dealer to do it. It's not hard, but you need to invest in a few special tools and get access to a Vag-com. It's not worth risk to go beyond 60K on the original belt. If it breaks you'll mash your valves and pistons. Look into your intake manifold at the EGR valve. It will most likely be clogged up. Clean it up and do the EGR and CCV mod's and it will stay clean. Search Fred's. There are lots of TDI owners in Texas to help you.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Successful day

Took the Jetta back to fight for my rights!



I went in and asked to speak to the used

car manager. Gave him my side of the story,

which is basically that I bought this car that

was "VW Certified" with an extended 2 yr

24,000 mile warranty. Told him I bought the

car so my wife would have reliable transportation

to and from work 5 days a week, 1,400 miles a

month. I was not informed that the timing belt

would need changing while I was buying the car.

(I did find out on my own after I got home and

did some research. A call to the service dept gave me

an estimate of $450 parts & labor. ) Told him

that I felt since this was a VW dealership they

should know a TDI belt has a 60K mile limit, and

mentioned it

to me pre-purchase, at least so I could arrange

to have it replaced and arrange to have the cost

added to the financing.

I was not amused that I would have to lay down

an additional $450 before we could start driving

the car without risking engine damage and/or being

stranded on a busy highway.

I also had an issue with spare keys. They told me

that the one key and keyless entry fob was all

they had when I bought the car. Today I politely

demanded they search for the other set of keys.

Lo and behold, 10 minutes later (three salesmen

and the manager) searched all of their key boards

and found two more keys and one extra keyless

entry remote! Thank you very much!

That alone saved me over $100 getting those

replaced.

I felt better after that and when the manager asked

if I would accept splitting the cost of the timing belt

change at their cost ($360 or $170 apiece) I felt

that was fair enough. I did not have any bad

feelings against the salesmen, so I was not out

to get back at them nor did I have any desire to

demand they give me my money back. I really like

the car.

So I have a "We Owe" from them on paper!

And a total of three keys and two remotes.



Sure I could have fought harder for them to pay

100 %. Maybe I should have. But that was my

plan until they found the extra keys.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

emarsh,

The pictures were taken with a Sony DSC-S75

digital camera with 3. 3 megapixel CCD. Found it on Ebay for

a good price last Christmas. Also try Buy.com and the local

store Best Buy.



Get at least a 3+ megapixel. There are some reasonably

priced 4+ MP cameras out now. Sony, Olympus are good

namebrands to start with.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Ischultz & Run8ram,

I bought an intake manifold gasket today along with some

oil and fuel filters. I heard about the VAG-COM but have yet

to find one locally. Once I do I will do the EGR adaptation

mod. And the CCV mod too. I have seen some pics of TDI

intakes that are so plugged up there is barely enough room

to stick your finger in the remaining space! Thanks for

bringing those issues up. I found out a lot reading the

TDI Club FAQ.



sdalton, I plan on adding a fueling box soon. Hope

the clutch can take it! Going to add boost and pyro gauges

too.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

New timing belt has been installed!

Made an appointment with Demontrond VW on I-45 North

near Greenspoint mall. Finished it by 5PM that day.

I called and advised them I wanted the -119M belt

and -243N tensioner. Out of curiosity I checked

the belt after I got it home and it is the new 80K

belt. Whew! I am not sure if they changed out any

of the engine mount or fuel pump bolts.



Tonight I chaged the oil & filter. Biggest PITA as

you all know is the plastic engine belly pan.

Everything checked out OK. Refilled with Amsoil

15W40 synthetic (AME-04) and a VW filter.



I bought two fuel filters the other day but did

not bother to look in the box. They are for a

gasser! [roll eyes] Gonna have to take em back

and get the right ones. I did mangage to drain

the fuel filter a bit from the bottom petcock.



61,208 miles and counting!