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When do you quit?

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  • #1

    When do you quit?

    Out of 18 months of owning this car, I've spent 4 driving it. And I think I've just hit the bottom of the barrel.

    List of what I've done:
    Replaced PD BEW Head
    New Gaskets all around
    New KP39 Turbo
    New Timing belt/serpentine/waterpump kit
    New EGR
    New Coolant hose
    New engine mount
    New brakes rotors/pads
    New handbrake cables
    Replaced ABS pump
    New ABS sensors all around
    New rear hub assemblies
    New Battery

    I had the afternoon off so I figured I'd continue trying to find out why my ABS is still acting up. The car had a weird start and so I checked again under the hood.

    Behold:




    I can't keep dumping $$$ into this car. I've gotten myself fairly broke with the money dumped into this car already. By the time I get it fixed again I might as well have bought that GLI from kijiji!

    What would you do now if you were me (and broke like me lol)? I am pretty depressed, I feel this has been a huge waste of my time and money.
    Last edited by witchcraftz; 10-28-2012, 03:53 PM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: When do you quit?

    I've been there before...

    If I was you I would either fix it up to its running condition and sell it, or sell it as is.
    Purchase a TDi or a 2.0 in really good shape mechanically and save some money.
    Then eventually buy a garage queen.

    I did that...

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: When do you quit?

      Sounds like my passat.... Granted a big chunk of mine fell under cpo warranty, fortunately. 10k$ or more under warranty, probably 5k$ after warranty ran out. Upside, I really like my car now that it works and has all new parts.... But it can drag you down a bit. Don't make a decision until you are in better mood.
      Stefan
      -> '19 Deep Black Pearl Alltrack
      -> '05 Urban Grey Passat Wagon TDI.
      -> Past rides: '14 Allroad, 06 Mazda5, '98 Jetta K2, '01 Jetta TDI, '91 Mazda B2200, '81 Toyota Cressida
      -> FutuRe Ride...??!

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: When do you quit?

        cut your losses. I had an 03 1.8t, dumped about 5k into it, ended up parting it out because it wouldnt hold compression. I basically just said **** it. Sometimes modding a car becomes an endless money pit with supporting those mods. climb out of the money pit

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: When do you quit?

          the general rule I believe is when repairs end up costing more than the car is worth you move on. knocking on wood my tdi has been bullet proof, but I like to believe that I got it early enough to start a rigorous maintenance routine and keep on top of those small issues. I know one day something is going to break and it is going to cost a lot, but honestly the price of a new engine or transmission will still be justified for another 10 years of driving..

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: When do you quit?

            Originally posted by krchnv View Post
            I've been there before...

            If I was you I would either fix it up to its running condition and sell it, or sell it as is.
            Purchase a TDi or a 2.0 in really good shape mechanically and save some money.
            Then eventually buy a garage queen.

            I did that...
            Screw that. DD 400hp A4 for me

            Pat

            His
            1989 Porsche Carrera 4 // 5 Speed // Guards Red

            Hers
            1987 VW Cabriolet // 20VT // O2J // Recaros // Porsche Slate Grey // Ronal Turbos // FK Coilovers

            2005 Porsche Cayenne S

            Theirs
            1977 VW Type 2 Westfalia

            Gone
            2004 Audi A4 1.8T // quattro // 6 Speed // Brilliant Red
            Fully built 1.8T || AEB || Motoza tuned || ID1000 || S4 MAF || GT3076R

            Comment

            • #7
              Re: When do you quit?

              If you can fix your abs issue I would keep it. Those other leaks I wouldn't worry about unless they are big leaks. How did you torque your head and all your other components down?
              2001 Jetta TDI GL Silver
              Malone Tune stage 5+ ,VNT17-22Turbo, OMI, PP Race Pipe, PD 150 Intake, 2 1/2" Straight back exhaust, no mufflers, 2 1/2" downpipe straight no Cat, Race 520 Injectors, 11mm Fuel Pump, Lift Pump, EGR Delete mod,DC Stage IV Clutch, Michelin X-Ice 2's, 26 lb/s of boost alll day long, Smoking like a train!

              Comment

              • #8
                Re: When do you quit?

                I meant as in someone's garage queen :P or a new car.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Re: When do you quit?

                  Honestly this is not an easy choice and one you sometimes regret later on. My wifes Passat TDi had the fan clutch go and take out the fan+Rad+clutch+fluid which would have been an expensive repair had I not had access to parts at wholesale. I knew what was to come (suspension, balanceshaft, transmission) and figured it was time to get rid of it. I enjoyed the car and took care of it, just saw that upcoming repairs made the car not worth it.

                  My ALH is no where near perfect either, but the car is inching towards 400k km's so I don't expect perfect either.

                  Fix up the remaining problems and get another, just remember you could be buying the same problems all over again when you know you have fixed all this.
                  Ben
                  2016 Ram 3500 Laramie
                  2000 Jetta TDi, Dead and removing parts
                  2005 Passat Wagon TDi, 310,000 km's and counting, BSM delete done....Trans died going to replace
                  Her's
                  2016 Toyota Highlander XLE Pearl White

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Re: When do you quit?

                    nailed it Ben. sort of where I was going with my comment. I know what's been done to my car in the last 100, 000 kms. if I were to move on if mine blew up I'd be in for a treat I'm sure, especially with the tdi maintenance routines.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Re: When do you quit?

                      Almost every car i have owned has needed lots of repairs, every car you buy is going to need some kind of work and money put into it.
                      Justin

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Re: When do you quit?

                        When I did the head, I torqued everything to exact specs, I followed Service Manual to the letter. Same with everything I've done.

                        My biggest worry is I suddenly have a turbo leak and a headgasket leak, that makes me think something else that created some very high pressures is the root problem, what that could be I can't even speculate at but I'm guessing it's bad.

                        Currently I have:

                        Headgasket leaking
                        Turbo gasket leaking
                        Insane ABS issue - I'm thinking that some wiring is bad, will need to pull the entire ABS wiring loom out and replace it.

                        I've been thinking about getting a low mileage BEW engine and having a garage swap the engines: of course I don't know about the quality of the new engine, also that won't fix my ABS issue.

                        I'm getting tired of fixing one thing and having something else fail immediatley after, the engine in there currently is a 60,000k engine with a 4,000km turbo for heaven's sake!
                        Last edited by witchcraftz; 10-28-2012, 05:37 PM.

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                        • #13
                          Re: When do you quit?

                          This Mk4 is the first car that I have owned that needs maintenance. I had an '87 cabby that was bullet proof, replaced that with a Toyota van, that was actually bullet proof. My 73 bus was pretty damn reliable considering I pushed it out of the woods. Now I have this mk4, had to do water pump/tb, two new accessory belts, accessory belt idler pulley, wheels bearings are up next. I also think tie rod ends are in the fold. It is probably the lowest mile vehicle I have owned, at that. But I love it, and the cost of repairs are made up for how fun it is to drive.

                          Next to the bus, that is the most fun thing to drive on the face of the planet. Just can't keep a grin off my face the whole time.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Re: When do you quit?

                            Head gasket, which gasket did you use? 1,2, or 3 holes? Since the head was used I hope you use a 3 hole gasket due to thickness and new bolts of course.

                            When you did the turbo did you use all the exhaust manifold washers?

                            Before you go through the crazy job of the whole wiring loom make 100% sure that the front sensors and abs ring are exactly the the same distance all the way around. When you replaced the sensors did you wire brush the crap out of the wholes to make sure they sat completely in? I skipped that part when I did my front right and when I slow down a certain way my abs kicks in. I have a new sensor to fix the issue, just have more important things to worry about.

                            Also keep in mind, if all the wheel speed sensors are giving you readings down to 0 I highly doubt the wiring harness is your issue. Is there a way to log each sensor when slowing down to see if your problem is due to a sensor? I would check, but I am not sure of where my vagcom is at the moment.

                            Your list is long, but many of us could easily put a longer list down if needed. If you want something that you don't need to fix drop the $30k for a new car and get a warranty.
                            Ben
                            2016 Ram 3500 Laramie
                            2000 Jetta TDi, Dead and removing parts
                            2005 Passat Wagon TDi, 310,000 km's and counting, BSM delete done....Trans died going to replace
                            Her's
                            2016 Toyota Highlander XLE Pearl White

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Re: When do you quit?

                              When you replaced the head gasket, did you make certain that you replaced it with the exact same gasket as the one that was in their previously? Reason is that there are like 4 different head gaskets. As far as torquing the other things like the intake and turbo, I've never used a torque wrench for either. Usually I just tighten by feel and crank on it with a 3/8 drive until I know its not going to leak. I use antiseeze for both the intake bolts and turbo studs. Are you losing any coolant? Because a head gasket leak should result in lost of coolant.

                              The ABS issue, I haven't been following the thread but I assume you have tried vagcom a few times. If the compression in your head is off because its leaking it could cause your vacuum to be suffering which would also throw off your abs.
                              2001 Jetta TDI GL Silver
                              Malone Tune stage 5+ ,VNT17-22Turbo, OMI, PP Race Pipe, PD 150 Intake, 2 1/2" Straight back exhaust, no mufflers, 2 1/2" downpipe straight no Cat, Race 520 Injectors, 11mm Fuel Pump, Lift Pump, EGR Delete mod,DC Stage IV Clutch, Michelin X-Ice 2's, 26 lb/s of boost alll day long, Smoking like a train!

                              Comment

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