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Will someone remind me why I still like these old VWs?
by
dieselweasel
on 07 Feb, 2009 20:09
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Bought my 3rd VW in April last year, 2nd diesel. First VW was an '89 Fox which I seemed to be fixing all the time. It was a learning experience. I finally got sick of fixing it when one of the front wheel bearings went, so I sold it with 250,000 some odd kms and bought a '93 Golf TD. It was a little more reliable, put 130,000 km on it and parked it at 368k. The floor is now all rotten and the rear axle bushings are shot. Still I did a lot of fixin on it too.
Then there's the '94 Jetta I got in the spring with 215k. I bought this particular car because of the relatively low kms, the body was relatively rust-free and the floors were solid. I have put a lot of kms on it in the past 9 months...its now at 242k...or what I might call "middle age" where stuff starts to break. I drive 180 km round trip 5 days a week to work and back.
So far, I have done what I would call the normal maintenance items:
-front brakes
-oil changes
-air/fuel filter changes
-timing, serpentine, water pump belts
-cam, crank, and i-shaft seals
-coolant hoses
-t-stat
-snow tires
Then there's the PITA things that leak/wear out over time:
-replaced the head gasket at Christmas due to oil in cooling system
-rear struts
-springs all around
-R/F wheel brg
-replaced the heater control switches with those from the Golf because fan only blew on high
-one ball joint
-crankshaft damper (the rubber was separating and the whole assembly was wobbling)
Also I have installed a trailer hitch, alternator clutch pulley, and 1.6 boost pin.
This past week, the clutch started slipping, I found that the left front wheel bearing has failed, and the master cylinder crapped out completely. Obviously I bought a car that probably did not have much maintenance done to it other than the basics. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect this stuff to last forever. It's a 15 yr old car with a quarter million kms. I just get sick of spending my precious weekends arseing around with the car and stressing over whether it will make it to work and back for another week.
The thing is, I could afford a much newer car with under 100k on it that I wouldn't have to touch with a wrench other than regular maintenance. My family, friends, and co-workers think I'm kind of nuts for driving these old things when I could afford much newer. The real reason I drive these older VW diesels is because I appreciate their simplicity, fuel economy, styling, and ease of service. I like to do all my own maintenance and repairs, and would not want to do the timing belt on a mk4 tdi for example. Having a check engine light come on would just piss me right off. It's not that I'm afraid of electronics...I repair electronic engines at work all the time. And driving pretty much anything gas powered just doesn't do it for me. I think being more pro-active with repairs might help alleviate the hassle. For example, one could replace the front struts, strut bearings, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, and ball joints all in one shot, have it aligned, and be good for another 200k. I hope that I can get some of these more major repairs out of the way and be done with fixing for a while so I can focus on mods/upgrades :lol: .
Anyway, sorry for my ramblings...just need some encouragement to stick with the old dubs.
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#1
by
Smokey Eddy
on 07 Feb, 2009 20:17
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My understanding with maintaining older (our cars fit in this catagory because of their high mileage) cars is that when you start to fix all the stuff that goes wrong you sorta have to do as much as $$$ possible while you're already "in there" to avoid having to do the same job AGAIN a couple months later.
Example.
If you're taking the head off to change a HG, if you have time, i would lap the valves, check that it's true.
If you have even more time, prior to removal of the head you could do a compression test to see if you even need to lap valves or if its low you could do rings while the head is off. That's what i did... I had to change the head out so i did the rings at the same time. While the pistons were out i changed the rod bearings. Do you follow where im going?
these cars sorta become restoration projects not just simple maintenance after a while...
im dreading drive train issues but i KNOW they're coming my way soon.
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#2
by
dieselweasel
on 07 Feb, 2009 20:30
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My understanding with maintaining older (our cars fit in this catagory because of their high mileage) cars is that when you start to fix all the *** that goes wrong you sorta have to do as much as $$$ possible while you're already "in there" to avoid having to do the same job AGAIN a couple months later.
Example.
If you're taking the head off to change a HG, if you have time, i would lap the valves, check that it's true.
If you have even more time, prior to removal of the head you could do a compression test to see if you even need to lap valves or if its low you could do rings while the head is off. That's what i did... I had to change the head out so i did the rings at the same time. While the pistons were out i changed the rod bearings. Do you follow where im going?
im dreading drive train issues but i KNOW they're coming my way soon.
I agree. When I did the hg I did a compression test prior (all ok), and had the head pressure tested and checked for flatness. When I do the clutch, I am replacing the rear main seal, transmission input seal, pushrod, pushrod bushing and seal, release bearing, and changing the fluid if I can find GL-4. I also have a flywheel machined and ready to go back in.
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#3
by
Smokey Eddy
on 07 Feb, 2009 23:06
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What are you using for your parts source?
Since you're in ON i really recommend
http://www.importcarpartscanada.ca/ you can choose brands and they have seemingly close-to factory direct prices. I had great success with them
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#4
by
Jettagli16v
on 08 Feb, 2009 08:38
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If its support you are fishing for, then I have your back, my friend in the great white north.
I have never owned anything that was not a VW, 4-cylinder, Manual transmission, and manual windows.
That range includes:
88 Golf (P.O.S)
91 GLi 16v (Great car!)
98 GTi 2.0 (Best car yet!)
78 ASI/Rivera camper bus
74 Thing (restoration project... currently on rotisserie!)
85 Jetta TD
I currently split my time between driving the Jetta and bus, depending on weather (or which one has fuel!)
Here are my little bits of advice (as though I have any!!!!)
1) keep a few cars around. After all, old VWs can be had for cheap.... If you have more than 1 car, if one breaks you do not have to fix it immediately. This has worked well for me. If I do not feel like fixing my car this week, I dont have to!
2) Always look for low mileage (relatively, my Jetta has 150k miles) cars, and ones that have been maintained well. If you find the same car with no maintenance, and one that an old person had and replaced many components over the last few years, they are worth about the same.
3) stick with the same era of car... (Mk2 / Mk3 4 cylinders are virtually all identical underneath) the better you get on one chassis, the easier all the jobs become.
Keep fighting the good fight brother!
There is not a single car manufactured after 2000 that does anything at all for me. Keep the old VWs alive!
-Brad
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#5
by
Possum79
on 08 Feb, 2009 09:37
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Ha as you say replace struts bearing etc in the front I sit here and think of what I want to spend my tax return on. All those parts replaced or the timing tools I dont own yet. Wife wants to go on a honeymoon so both is out of the question. Tools are cheaper but parts lead to fun times and some bad language.
Im trying to find another old vw diesel around here but I cant get as good of a deal as I got. 600$ and its lasted me over a year. Ha. Everyone around here wants at least 1k$ and its junk.
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#6
by
burn_your_money
on 08 Feb, 2009 09:46
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All I need to do to remember why I love these old rusty contraptions is to go on a long road trip and watch the fuel gauge not move
That and telling my friends that my mileage isn't that good right now. I only got 800 kms on my last tank, which cost $45 :lol:
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#7
by
commuter boy
on 08 Feb, 2009 13:41
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Tools are cheaper but parts lead to fun times and some bad language.
Tools. Having a good set of tools, like owning a pickup truck, means you never have to buy your own beer ever again. It's an investment!
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#8
by
8v-of-fury
on 08 Feb, 2009 13:43
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Will someone remind me why I still like these old VWs?
Because they are the bomb diggidy-fresh. lmao. My friends all ask me why i drive an 84 (6 years older than myself) and I ask them, why are you on your third or fourth cars? Oh wait i know.. because the last ones crapped out only being 5 years old
Long Live The Fɔlksvagən. :lol:
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#9
by
maxfax
on 08 Feb, 2009 17:18
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I figure I can either pay a car payment every month, and at the end of 5 years have a piece of crap that isn;t worth s**t.. OR pay the equivelent of one month's car payment for a car and pay the equivelant of the interest on a car payment for parts and insurance every month and still have a piece of crap that is worth about as much as I have in it...
I always fell better when I hear someone saying that they only have to pay a $300/mo car payment to get 28mpg... I paid $600 bucks one time and about $50 a month in parts and maintenence to get an average of 49mpg.
And 8v, as a rule of thumb I always try to buy a car that is not newer than me.. Unfortunately most vehicles that fit that qualification are gone, or expensive classics now.. :x My first 1981 Rabbit broke my rule..
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#10
by
dieselweasel
on 09 Feb, 2009 08:29
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If its support you are fishing for, then I have your back, my friend in the great white north.
I have never owned anything that was not a VW, 4-cylinder, Manual transmission, and manual windows.
That range includes:
88 Golf (P.O.S)
91 GLi 16v (Great car!)
98 GTi 2.0 (Best car yet!)
78 ASI/Rivera camper bus
74 Thing (restoration project... currently on rotisserie!)
85 Jetta TD
I currently split my time between driving the Jetta and bus, depending on weather (or which one has fuel!)
Here are my little bits of advice (as though I have any!!!!)
1) keep a few cars around. After all, old VWs can be had for cheap.... If you have more than 1 car, if one breaks you do not have to fix it immediately. This has worked well for me. If I do not feel like fixing my car this week, I dont have to!
2) Always look for low mileage (relatively, my Jetta has 150k miles) cars, and ones that have been maintained well. If you find the same car with no maintenance, and one that an old person had and replaced many components over the last few years, they are worth about the same.
3) stick with the same era of car... (Mk2 / Mk3 4 cylinders are virtually all identical underneath) the better you get on one chassis, the easier all the jobs become.
Keep fighting the good fight brother!
There is not a single car manufactured after 2000 that does anything at all for me. Keep the old VWs alive!
-Brad
Thanks for the support! When I get a house with some space outside I may buy another vehicle as back up...could use a truck.
BTW I just flew into Orlando yesterday...in Micanopy now...the 70F sure beats the snow and 10F back home!
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#11
by
dieselweasel
on 09 Feb, 2009 08:33
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Yes I use importcarpartscanada.ca and autopartsway.ca. They are very similar with lots of decent quality parts at great prices. Sure beats the stealership prices, and the other parts stores where the prices are still high and they never stock much VW stuff.
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#12
by
dieselweasel
on 09 Feb, 2009 08:35
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Yes I use importcarpartscanada.ca and autopartsway.ca. They are very similar with lots of decent quality parts at great prices. Sure beats the stealership prices, and the other parts stores where the prices are still high and they never stock much VW stuff.
And yes, I love the fuel mileage. I'm getting about 800km on $45 worth now too...damn winter fuel...
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#13
by
Jettagli16v
on 09 Feb, 2009 15:28
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Too bad we are not better connected....
Everyone on the GTD has a friend in Orlando, (me!)
(weather is almost always great, but always better than Canada! assuming 70-80F is nice)
And when in town, be sure to look me up so we can kick it!
Get a backup ride,
makes it SOOOO much easier.
And you dont need too much space,
just throw them in the yard (a month ago, I had 7 VWs in my yard at most times: '66 Vert bug, '68 Std bug, '78 Camper Bus, '85 Jetta TD, '85 Golf, 98 Ginster GTi, and 07 Rabbit! And that does not count my Girlfriends Japanese thing!)
-Brad
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#14
by
maxfax
on 11 Feb, 2009 15:52
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Get a backup ride,
makes it SOOOO much easier.
X2!! Makes things so much less frustrating.. All I had was an 81 Rabbit in college.. SO many times it was, "I need the car in an hour, I'll get it running and fix those other things later".. Whihc I never did till they broke anyhow..
Now if Murphy's Law comes into play then, your backup will die when the VW is down... Now that I have six various vehicles on the road..... Well okay none of them work half the time either..
And you dont need too much space,
just throw them in the yard (a month ago, I had 7 VWs in my yard at most times: '66 Vert bug, '68 Std bug, '78 Camper Bus, '85 Jetta TD, '85 Golf, 98 Ginster GTi, and 07 Rabbit! And that does not count my Girlfriends Japanese thing!)
The more the merrier!!! Having several vehicles on the yard is eco friendly too!!! (No burnin gas to mow the grass!)