The VW Horror Begins - Chapter "Deaux"- (long and venomous)

Chapter I:

Bought a third hand 98 Jetta 2.0 GLwith 130 K in Sept. Car started, ran, idled, (and even looks flawless). Listened (sic read) to all the horror stories about the timing belt breaking and turning the engine into modern art so decided to have it, and the water pump, changed preemptively. Scheduled appointment week ahead for a Thursday and left it overnight on Wednesday. For some reason the "chaps" didn't touch the car until Friday/morning/afternoon and then proudly announced when I went to pick up the car that evening the work had been proudly and dutifully done, however- the check engine light now glows and the engine skips and bucks, (especially at low speed). Was assured after giving them a check for $400 and change that it was a "minor" (cam position sensor) problem , the car was runnable as is and would be fixed sometime next Monday.

Chapter II:

Next day, (Saturday), start up the car to go to work and now the engine temp light is flashing to accompany the CEL. Drop the car off at the nearest VW dealer to have them check it b4 I kill the engine. (After turning off and restarting engine- temp light goes and stays off) They confirm with VAG that it is the camshaft position sensor- and here's the funny part- it's about $500 to fix because it's integral with the distributor.

Epilogue: Besides my own stupidity and bad karma does:

  1. Anyone have a best guess what's going on with this machine?
  2. And is this going to be a recurring problem, in various scenarios, with my new "friend" from Wolfsburg?

Cam

Reply to
cam lowes
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Reply to
none2u

Looks like you need to find a trustworthy service facility, and perhaps arm yourself with some detailed knowledge regarding your particular vehicle. The VWvortex forum and/or a Bentley service manual are great sources.

Reply to
Papa

What happened: Life! What to do about it? Hope the future is better. How to prevent in the future: buy a new car, not a used one with 130K miles.

Stupidity? Not really, except that you went to a shop that was not competent. Probably not your fault unless you go back there!

What's going on? 130K miles, 10 years of use. Is this going to be a recurring problem? Maybe. Let us know.

Good luck with it, and perhaps find a better mechanic.

Reply to
PeterD

You've been MILKED by your so called mechanic.

  1. You brought in a car that was running fine and needed some PREVENTATIVE care.

  1. You were given back a car that is barely running.

And now they want MORE MONEY.....?

Grow a spine hon and inform them you want it FIXED NOW and you are not paying another penny for their incompetence.

If they give you the run a round, take it to another mechanic, explain the problems, document everything, get it fixed and sue the original mechanic.

BTW it sounds like they are off a tooth or more on the belt.

Alicia

Reply to
Alicia Hunt

All things you are now experiencing should be minor!

FYI FIRST your 2.0 engine can lose a timing belt and do no engine damage. Of course driving it at 6K rpm and losing one and all bets are off! lol SECOND you did not need to do the water pump at the same time, but it CAN be easier at the same time.

I would say that the Engine Check light came on because you, I mean that shop, need to time the timing belt correctly and even adjust the distributor slightly. I usually eye-ball the distributor. I have even seen some bad timing belt install jobs done by the dealer. I would say that the Cooling Light blinking means that more air has found it's way out of the cooling system and you need to replenish with G12 coolant mix, or whatever they put in there. You should check to see if the color of the coolant is pink/reddish and look for any leakage on the ground or engine compartment.

Get a repair manual and read it along with the owner's manual so you kinda know your car a little more. Oh and read some of the internet posts about the 1998 Jettas. ASK US FIRST AND GET ADVICE..........AND find a specialist that loves to work on VWs and does a good job!

BTW did that shop check your timing belt or you just TOLD them to replace these items? Either that belt was original and cracked badly or it had been changed probably within 40-50,000 miles. Just a guess here! ;-) JMHO, dave (One out of many daves)

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

Reply to
cam lowes

Hey guy:

Just because a female said it doesn't make it false. Those two know about cars, and you obviously do not. Get with it. Quit getting scammed. Start learning!

Reply to
Papa

Gee, when the little girls run out of smart mouth "papa" comes to the rescue. How Freudian.

Reply to
cam lowes

You really aren't looking for any advice or help here, are you?

*PLONK*
Reply to
Keep on Plonkin'

You really aren't looking for any advice or help here, are you?

*PLONK*
Reply to
Keep on Plonkin'

Reply to
cam lowes

Reply to
Jim Behning

Same here. But it's just one bad apple, and that's what filters are for. Otherwise the advice is usually pretty good.

I suspect Mr. "Cam"-belt is probably used to spewing similar venom on other groups, if one were to bother to look. Or maybe a marriage just ended badly...

Reply to
Keep on Plonkin'

The way I read this is that the person brought a working car to a mechanic to have PM done before these parts failed and he went home with a car that was barely running. As a shade tree mechanic who has been working on cars for 30+ years, this is why I don't let anyone near my cars unless absolutely necessary or warranty type repairs and even then I check and double check everything. Personally, I think the ladies are correct. We have some ladies over in the Mustang forums that would put most guys to shame when it comes to knowledge about cars. And before you ask, yes, they look mighty nice as well :) What I would do is bring the car back to "click and clack" and see what they say. If they try and sell you more parts, explain to them that you brought them a working, perfectly running car and they returned to you a disaster and you don't expect to have to pay for their mistakes.

As far as the VW dealer is concerned, if he is telling you he's going to replace parts without even testing the car yet, I would RUN as fast as I can from that place.

I agree with the other person who said your timing belt is more than likely installed off a tooth or two. It's very easy to make a mistake doing this BTW because the new belts are extremely tight and difficult to get over the pulleys so sometimes the pulley will move a little and if it is not marked well problems will occur. Good luck in your quest!

Reply to
Tomas Eaton

Thanks Tom,

Glad to see someone actually READ the message. And yes, I am going to do pretty much verbatim what you advised. Big TY to you and all the other coherent replies.

See "Punk...i mean "Plunk" what happens when you actually go to school and do learn how to read. BTW "Plunk" I tried c> > The way I read this is that the person brought a working car to a > > mechanic

Reply to
cam lowes

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