2003 Jetta 1.8T odd oil leak question

My friend smashed his oil pan on his Golf TDI.... not actually a difficult feat of accomplishment, it's mounted pretty low apparantly (tho I drive over way worse roads then he does, and i've been fine).

**Hi Rob. I hope there's no hole in the oil pan. They might try to blame me :) I know I haven't hit anything.

kaboomie

**Well, I got the car back this afternoon. They washed the car down and watched for an oil leak and couldn't locate a source. They think I did run through something on the roadway. It had to be a big something, they said there was oil everywhere. They also said that my oil was on the low side and they put more in. That makes me wary, I didn't think that 1.8Ts burned oil (especially synthetic). I only have 3K on it since the last oil change. I'll just keep an eye on it. Also, I didn't have to pay anything :) Hurray!

The CEL on the other hand was a problem, so they replaced the coolant sensor and seal (O-ring?). I think it was that green-topped one that I alway see mentioned here and in vw forums. Since my car was a wee Jetta, it's had a very minor erratic idle. You might be sitting at a light and you'd feel the engine stumble and see the rpms dip a bit and rise and then level out. I noticed on the way home today, the car didn't do it. That's not to say the problem is gone though, I just need to spend more time in the car.

Is your friend's Golf lowered at all? There have been some manhole covers and bumps that I hold my breath and go over with fingers crossed.

kaboomie

The 1.8T's aren't known to burn oil... Same friend has a buddy with around

300hp in his 1.8T GTI and apparantly not even that thing uses oil, big turbo and all.

His Golf was a bone stock Golf TDI 5-spd manual with 17" alloy wheels and the correct profile tire (99% correct in height) to be the same diameter as his old 15" wheels, the 17" alloys were VW brand... His new car is a Jetta TDI Sport (Canadian limited edition) - which featured lowered suspension and sport shocks (GLI - TDI kind of... has nice heavily bolstered cloth seats - no body kit tho, just badging).

**Dang. Well, I think something else is now messed up with the car. When they VAG'd it, I think it did something. I'm finding that now when I start the car after being parked for 4 hours or more, the tripometer resets itself to zero. Is this fixable? What's wrong? Any ideas? Hey, a question barrage! :) **Wow, that's cool that they did that to a TDI. I just recently returned from vacation in CT (I'm in MI). I usually drive through Ontario (from Niagara to Detroit) and I see tons of VWs. What a change from southeastern Michigan ;) Many, if not most, are TDIs. On the way to CT, I spotted two SMART cars in Canada, also. Are those sold there? **I live on a maintained gravel road myself. It doesn't get plowed in a timely manner in the winter so I end up having the prettiest tornado red snowshovel on the block.

kaboomie

Trip odometer goes to zero after ~4 hours... well... it's electrical, in the electronics shop at work a problem like this would likely happen if the pull-down resistor (connected to ground, so the input on a chip doesn't "float") going to the input of a chip which would normally receive a +5V signal when the pushbutton for reset happens, disconnected itself, and now when the button isn't being pushed the input is "floating" at an unknown voltage... if the chip sees a higher voltage then maybe 2-3V on that line, then it could think you are pressing your switch and it's resetting.... How's that for complicated, unless you understand electronics... Though I am not sure this is how the VW trip odometer reset functions - so this might not apply (though most switches that are tied into electronics work like this).

Yes the limited edition TDI Sport are NICE cars... 5000 allotment to Canada and all seem to be sold out. TDI models account for over 40% of Canada's VW sales, in my area I would say they sell over 60% of Jetta's with a diesel, and 50/50 2.0L/TDI on the Golfs, have seen a good number for Passat TDI's consdering they are pretty new... no Touaregs yet you.

**I...uh... :::BOOM::: Look what you did! There's my cranium rolling around the floor like an errant hubcap. ;) Actually, I kind of understand, however, it hasn't happened again (so far, at any rate). Is it possible to have a one-off glitch like that? Or perhaps one that will rear its head occasionally? **When I look under the hood of my 2003 Jetta and then under the hood of my Dad's 66 El Camino...........I still would rather have the Jetta! ;) However, I'm stunned by how simple engines were then compared to now. **I've seen some of the Touaregs around but they don't really do anything for me. They're nice, of course. I think getting the diesel one would be cool. Today, my sister got a new BMW X5. Her hubby talked her into the biggest engine so 'he' could tow his M3 to places like Watkins Glen. She thinks the engine is cool but she's really cheesed that it doesn't come with a manual transmission. Is it normal for some of the really big-engined SUVs and whatnot to only come as an automatic? She really loved the X5 with the 3-liter and manual tranny. Mucho fun! I wouldn't mind getting one of those. **You mean 130-140 kph right? I'm not a slow driver either. I find that people are fairly decent on the 401 (death highway) ;) and the 403 is okay but I find some Ontarians (?) are just plain nuts on the QEW. I'm not dissing the Canadians at all! Driving through Detroit is a horror and that doesn't even include the shitty drivers! :)

kaboomie

Sorry about the electronics jargon... but it's as simple as I could get it - and is the only explanation I could think of... basically the switch shows position 1 or position 2... your cars + battery voltage (well... about half) or the cars chassis ground... If it's somewhere in between things get messy.

Auto's in big SUV's - pretty much the norm... maybe not in Europe, but even there most big engines get the automatic... People would be frying clutches all the time is the logic according to most car magazines I read. - That and their consumer groups indicate there would be only marginal sales.

I am Canadian so, yes 130-140 would be kph.... Canada is a weird place, we use metric for speeds, fuel at the pump, and official documents, but we still buy a lot of food at smaller stores in Imperial units, I measure everything in feet and inches unless I can find a metric measuring tape (I prefer metric here, as everything divides by ten making it much easier then pesky fractional numbers), and I only know my weight in pounds.

I enjoy driving on the 401 as well... The 2 lane stretches are nicer... some of the 3 lane parts outside of Toronto are great too... it's only bad when you are in the city, then the idiots come out.... I like the high average speeds - most people find 130 to be comfortable, and on clear evenings/nights the traffic might flow with a solid 150-160 in the fast lane.... You mentioned the QEW - that is a pure commuter road from Niagra/Hamilton to Toronto.... It's the worst road ever, I suggest using an alternate... the 403 is essentially the same road, but yes it is better for some reason.

The SMART car is a great metro vehicle. You can park them in a small spot and I think they are also TDIs or at least diesel.

Mercedes common rail turbodiesel engine, 3 cylinders.

There was one at my house on friday night - friend of my father's was getting dropped off by his girlfriend and she had to drive their SMART car home... So he showed me the engine/interior... it's tiny, think lawnmower sized, the radiator is puny - Our old Volvo wagon has a far larger one just for the transmission! To get to the engine you open the back hatch, then lift a small cover - they were driving it around an hour to my house and there was hardly any heat coming off of it (tho it was quite warm still.... but not like when you open the hood of a normal car).

Inside was rather spartan, but it was roomy for two people, seats were comfortable, and it had all the necessary equipment - CD player, I believe I saw Air Conditioning, Moonroof... Didn't get to drive it, but the F1 style paddle shifters looked cool.

**No need to be sorry :) You don't learn anything if you stick your head in the sand so feel free to explain away. By the way, Rob, I really appreciate all of your help. Also, so far, that little problem hasn't shown up again. The replacement of the coolant sensor has changed the way the engine runs. It used to have a slightly uneven idle with what I think were misfires, now it's pretty steady. I haven't felt the engine stumble at all. Acceleration feels different, I can't explain it though. **Consumer groups can kiss my butt. Since the BMW was ordered and made in Germany, they should be able to have that option. However, if that option is not available 'at all' then, sure, you have to settle for what you can get. Sometimes I think all the Europeans get the good stuff. :) Check out the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA...sweet. I like watching BTCC races, there's a bunch of neat cars. **Yes, but you're only half as much in pounds ;) **There is that lovely manure smell in the summer ;) Have you ever been on it during a fantastically foggy early morning. You can see about 4 ft in front of your car. One morning it was so bad that I missed Wellington Rd (London) off-ramp. It's like driving in a marshmallow. **I was on the QEW one day on my way back from CT. These two idiots got in a tussle right in front of me and started throwing their cars at each other. They were side by side, I was behind one of them. The traffic was so thick, I was boxed in right with these bozos. Literally, they were lunging their cars at each other. I would've been freaked out if I wasn't so pissed off that they were dragging me (and others) into their tussle. One of them finally made a break for an exit (or sortie!). Jerks. Once the traffic thins out, everyone gets mellow.

kaboomie

Europeans do get better cars.. it's a fact of life. The French and Italians gave it a shot here but their cars were too different, and at the time they were more troublesome to own then they were worth... They were also too different for the public's tastes.

You don't know how much i'd want a 4-Motion 150bhp Golf diesel, 4 door GT spec Golf (It's a 4-door, GTI, TDI... essentially!).

The pea-soup fog; I am training with people who drive the 2 hours (4+ round trip - ouch) from London every day... and they can attest to the weather being bad for driving. I haven't been trapped in that fog yet, but I do have friends in London, so I may one day get caught in it.... I've driven in some thick fogs around here - the strong projector beam headlamps on my Golf cut through it pretty well - my old Mark-2 Golf was horrid in fog.

**I want a 4-motion Jetta! What bhp are the new TDIs going to be? Aren't they going to bump up 10bhp? 150 in a TDI and you'll be towing livestock! ;) They should enhance the Golf's options, just because you get a TDI doesn't mean that you only want a base model. Get the 17inchers and lower it!

kaboomie

No base model for me, I have a fully loaded GLS spec car. 15" alloys, moonroof, fancier seat and door trim material, full power package.. I think it has everything except the foglights and climatronic (my owners manual claims they are optional - maybe they were in German made 1999 cars - i've been told the manual is wrong tho).

I've 1/2 way there as far as lowering/tuning.. I have Koni shocks, might do the springs (but I have to drive 40000kms a year.... so maybe not), cross drilled rotors on all 4 corners, upgraded brake pads (5th brakelight modification done too - inactive rear foglights act as extra brake lights), PSI injection pump tuning module (...makes the car smoke and check engine light right now, I need to get it adjusted)... As for the 17" wheels, maybe

**Mine's a GLS, too. I have 17s and an OEM sport suspension. I think the 17s look and feel cool but I wouldn't mind going to 16s (in a future car) because the roads here in MI are abysmal (as you can imagine). The car's great with 2 people in it, but throw someone in the back and it handles differently (and is very bumpy for the people in the back). I don't have foglights or climatronic or power seats. But it has a sunroof (moonroof? what's the diff?) and leather interior.

I think I've figured out what's changed with the car after the replacement of the coolant sensor. At 2K rpm, the turbo usually kicks in and sends you flying. You literally squish back in your seat and there can be a bit of tire squeal if you're pushing it. It has not been doing that. I know the turbo is working, I can hear it and feel it but mainly when I'm already moving along. Is it possible for the turbo to not be working properly when you're accelerating from a stop? Or perhaps working weakly or partially? I'm wondering now if perhaps that oil originated from the turbo area.

The car is by no means slow, if you got into it now, you might think that nothing is wrong. I'm wondering if the *much* steadier idle (with the new sensor) has anything to do with it. The engine used to feel really desperate to go forward and fly, now it feels like it's fighting against resistance. I don't know how to describe it. Any ideas?

**Go with the 16s! What color is your car? I thought it would've been neat to get anthracite colored wheels or darker. My Jetta's tornado red. Then I decided that since I never keep a car longer than a few years, why bother upgrading anything?

kaboomie

Handling/ride with 4 people in mine - Ride is actually WAY NICER then with just 2... Put some weight on those Koni shocks and they seem to go from sporting to luxury touring (I have them on soft, which is still firmer then the VW Sport shocks)... Tho with 4 people there's too much weight in the car for spirited driving (90Hp and 195mm wide tires see to that in a hurry - tho high speed straight line cruising is still brilliant).

A moonroof is a glass sunroof and has a sunshade - you can still see the sun (or the moon) with the roof closed. A sunroof is steel, and must be opened to allow light in - not as good for when it's cold or raining...

The 1.8T Passat I drove had turbo lag till around 2000rpm then the tires spun, the car took off, and the salesman said "pretty quick, huh?" - I told him I thought that the turbo lag was annoying, the Passat rode too softly, and that I'd never drive anything but the V6 version with sport suspension and manual tranny.... he told me "I could never do that for 30 grand" - Oh well... The Passat is too much of an older guys car.

I've had that fighting against resistance feeling on my diesel... it was my MAF sensor crapping out on my... There is a 7 year warranty (at least on diesels), and your sensor might not who up as defective when they test it.

My car is "Everyone has it Silver" (also known as Satin Silver, to VW)... Plus a shade of my own version of Satin Silver from when I tried my hand at body work (I matched the colout on the bumper and some of the front fender when I did a blend... but I ran out of paint and it got blotchy around the top of the fender).... My fender started to rust prematurely because of a paint adherance problem :-( - VW's warranty doesn't cover it unless a hole develops.