A milestone

[Troike]

No, not using this post just to whore my postcount (although convieniently situated). I've had my car two years as of next week, and its about to hit 80,000 on the odo (got it with 65.5k). Being my first car and not putting many miles on it, I haven't done much since I bought it [City VW and/or the previous owners actually did a good used-car treatment, props to them].

I've got the basics covered/done (oil, oil filter + air filter change).
My father says he can tell me if the distributor cap / rotor need to be replaced. I suppose I trust his judgement :rolleyes:

Also need to do spark plugs for sure. I've heard that the OE (NKG?) are best. No idea how to change them. My father has a removal tool used on a civic, not sure if that works for VW? Also not sure about replacing plug wires .. how often should that be done? I assume mine are stock.

Last summer I had 10mm front discs and 5mm rear drums remaining. I'm guessing I need to get on those. I've heard shoes are a pain and half to mess with and should be left to a service shop. front pads are supposed to be easy though - but I have no jack, knowledge, or even tools at the moment. Not upgrading rotors at this point (for VR6/corrado swap I'd need larger wheels :( ), if anyone can offer a helping hand with that I'd greatly appreciate it.

Already got the brake fluid swapped ... v-belt was apparentely changed at 60kish, and i've heard the timing chain is good for at least 100k. I'll leave the clutch until I need it.
Anything else I should look at / have looked at / think about? I'm trying to be cost-efficient, but maintenance is always a priority over mods, so if there's something I should do

Looks like I need to make time for some Bentley reading.

[lostntainted]

No, not using this post just to whore my postcount (although convieniently situated). I've had my car two years as of next week, and its about to hit 80,000 on the odo (got it with 65.5k). Being my first car and not putting many miles on it, I haven't done much since I bought it [City VW and/or the previous owners actually did a good used-car treatment, props to them].

I've got the basics covered/done (oil, oil filter + air filter change).
My father says he can tell me if the distributor cap / rotor need to be replaced. I suppose I trust his judgement :rolleyes:

Also need to do spark plugs for sure. I've heard that the OE (NKG?) are best. No idea how to change them. My father has a removal tool used on a civic, not sure if that works for VW? Also not sure about replacing plug wires .. how often should that be done? I assume mine are stock.

Last summer I had 10mm front discs and 5mm rear drums remaining. I'm guessing I need to get on those. I've heard shoes are a pain and half to mess with and should be left to a service shop. front pads are supposed to be easy though - but I have no jack, knowledge, or even tools at the moment. Not upgrading rotors at this point (for VR6/corrado swap I'd need larger wheels :( ), if anyone can offer a helping hand with that I'd greatly appreciate it.

Already got the brake fluid swapped ... v-belt was apparentely changed at 60kish, and i've heard the timing chain is good for at least 100k. I'll leave the clutch until I need it.
Anything else I should look at / have looked at / think about? I'm trying to be cost-efficient, but maintenance is always a priority over mods, so if there's something I should do

Looks like I need to make time for some Bentley reading.

i just hit 94k on my car last week and i would HIGHLY recommend doing your timing belt now... just ask people to post up pics of their engines getting shot just cause they waited for that 95k mark to change it... i was looking at changing it myself but after looking through some manuals and asking a few people i found that it was safer for me to have a pro do it... oh and also change the timing belt tensioner as well.. mine was shot as well as some small hydraulic piece holding it up... all in all i tcost me about $200 for parts and $400 for labor :(.. but it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying a new engine :tup:

if you're really anal about your car then give ingolstadt west a call... they went down a full list of things that should be done in that mileage range ;)

[RavinJetta]

Are you sure that the 2.0 uses a timing chain and not a belt? The VR6 uses a chain but I am not sure on the 2.0.

[lostntainted]

Are you sure that the 2.0 uses a timing chain and not a belt? The VR6 uses a chain but I am not sure on the 2.0.

just looked in the manual, 2.0 is a belt ;)

[mitssn]

1.8t is chain right....

[ncttrnl]

1.8t is chain right....

nope... toothed belt

[mike]

rear shoes aren't that bad to change, pull the inspection plug on the backing plate to check, they are usually fine at 80K, unless your wheel cylinders leak.

Did they do your Timing belt before you bought it? Don't know? do it as a piece of mind, and the water pump, t-belt tensioner, serp belt tensioner, also see if the crank, cam, accesory shaft seals are leaking. All three seals are the same and they are cheap at the same time. as it should have been done at 60K

Front brakes are easy and cheap.

Factory plugs are good, but you need a special tool to get the wires off. I have a factory Hazet one you can borrow, or snag one from the hood prop of a VR6 car.

Fuel filter should have been changed at 60K. The basket that holds it has some horrid metal clips that hold it on, but if it was done at 60K, ALL VW techs (including me) leave the clips off and put the 17MM nuts right on the basket.

Brake fluid flush is good as it keeps the wheel cylinders from leaking

Also think about changing the gear oil and coolant. Leave the colant to a shop as it is really messy.

The MKIII is a indestructible car and the 2.0 is a bulletproof motor, I've done nothing but services for 130K miles. not one ounce of trouble (knock on wood) and it see's redline atleast once a day!
If you need any help or a point in the right direction, PM me

[kooz]

...
The MKIII is a indestructible car and the 2.0 is a bulletproof motor, I've done nothing but services for 130K miles. not one ounce of trouble (knock on wood) and it see's redline atleast once a day!...
I agree! My 98 Wolfsburg 2.0L Jetta had ZERO problems. Just the typical maintenance items. I sure do miss that car. :(

[Troike]

And the parts accumulation begins ...

Still not sure about some stuff, but I might as well replace whatever I can think of now, not planning on ditching the Dub for years ... I'm hoping its only halfway dead right now :)

[Troike]

I figure I'll go with the timing belt now, since it'll have to be done at some point .. that's gonna kill my account though. Gonna do distributor/cap/wires/plugs myself.

One question though, is there a trick to getting the plugs out? The bentley says a 5/8th wrench with extension, or the $40 plug tool. I was able to get the outer most plugs out, but no clue how to get at the middle ones without removing the intake manifold (something I'm not messing with). I haven't seen the VW tool, does it circumvent this problem somehow?

The Bentley also says the fuel filter should be good for the life of the car ... wish I knew if it was changed @ 60k, but I don't. Can't find anything on replacing it in the Bentley either.

I'll hold off on the coolant/fuel pump till 100k, likely. No way I'd be able to take apart the AC compressor/alternator to get at the coolant pump; my friend's just went out @ over 120k on his toyota. Cost him $400 to fix. I can't do much at all if I have the timing belt done .. although I do think I could use some brakes.