'00 VW Jetta 2.0 Oil change question

No, it's not. Unfortunately, it's not unusual for oil-change places to overtorque drain plugs and to strip out the threads. Some of them will use an impact wrench to tighten them. My mother took her '99 2.0 to a shop near her for a few years for oil changes, and I recently convinced her to let me do it for her. I notice that when I tighten the plug, it has that funny feeling of too much "give" in it -- you know what I mean, you can just tell by feel when threads are about to let go. I have no doubt that the shop she'd been using regularly overtorqued and those threads are going to go, soon. Those pans are aluminum, you have to observe the torque specs. Well, of course, no matter what the brand or the pan material, you have to observe torque specs.

No, it's not a VW thing. But you can expect to have to replace the pan.

Hey Brian,

Thanks for the quick response. I was afraid of that. Are there any ways to fix the pan, heli coil? Oversized self tapping drain plug? etc.? How hard is it to pull the pan on that car? I know most FWDs need to have the engine jacked up and/ore removed, half shafts removed etc.

Thanks again,

Derek

Don't be in a rush to pull the pan. In the very short term, one of those expanding rubber plugs (the kind with two washers and a bolt) will be secure enough while you search for an alternative.

For many cars there are self-tapping replacement oversize oil drain plugs available. VW might even sell one, though there is no reason to buy one from VW if, say, Autozone has one that is less expensive. Don't just screw one in and hope for the best. Instead, be sure to grease it well and to retrieve as many chips as possible with a rag-wrapped wire, etc., after screwing it in the first time and then removing it. Needless to say, clean it before reinstalling it.

In the worst case, buy a tap that matches a larger oil drain plug. It does not need to be a VW plug--even one from a Chevy or Ford will work fine. Make sure the new plug is at least .040-.050" larger than the old one so there is enough thread to retain it securely (but not a lot more than .050" or you will have to drill the hole out before retapping it). It's helpful if the threads are close to the same, so try for a metric one with the same thread pitch first.

I'm pretty sure Nissan still uses a significantly larger thread than VW but nowhere near certain. Good luck...

JRE

Some VW 2.0L engines have gotten a reputation for rapidly burning oil.

I don't know for sure yet, I'll have to tackle that job eventually, though. I asked my local independent VW mechanic about it, he said he just replaces the pan, he doesn't mess around with helicoil inserts. From the bottom of the engine, it doesn't look like there's anything to interfere with just dropping the pan off and replacing it, there's only a steel shield over it which is held in place by only two screws and a couple of expanding fasteners of some sort. For something as important as keeping the oil in the engine, my personal approach would be to go with the fix that would allow me not to have to worry ever minute the car's being driven, I'm inclined to go with the pan replacement myself.

Wish I could be of more help -- good luck.

Thanks again for the advice. I think this is a classic case of pay a little more now or pay a lot more later if that plug blows out and empties the pan. Maybe I just need to fill the crankcase with Pro- Long. Didn't they run engines for many miles with no oil in the pan? I guess if I saw it on TV, it must work.

I will most likely change the pan and next time I get under there, will try to assess how hard it will be. Thanks again.

Derek

That's even worse than a leaky oil pan. I am not sure how much is being burned but it's definitley leaking at the drain plug. I figure chase one problem at a time and start with the most obvious. Thanks for the help.

Derek

Yep I've heard of this too. Can't help on the drain plug problem but 2.0s are known for rather high oil consumption. Not a huge problem but just know that it should be checked a lot more frequently than one might be used to doing.