Thinking of a swap

I'm going to be in PDX next weekend; I can't guarantee my schedule yet though. I've done a few timing belts...

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I haven't traded yet. It's been tough, my car runs and drives fine, but to my understanding when the Prius fails, it's sudden. Also, it's a soulless little car. The Passat has all the usual cosmetic problems with it. But it does run really well. 289k miles. I don't have any of the special tools to change a belt, if need be. I do need to figure out if I want to do this deal, though.

You've got PM.

Scottveazie said:

I haven't traded yet. It's been tough, my car runs and drives fine, but to my understanding when the Prius fails, it's sudden. Also, it's a soulless little car. The Passat has all the usual cosmetic problems with it. But it does run really well. 289k miles. I don't have any of the special tools to change a belt, if need be. I do need to figure out if I want to do this deal, though.

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I agree... Prius are disposable. No offense to Prius owners here though.

But the thing with Prius is it's very compact and economical....

goahead said:

But the thing with Prius is it's very compact and economical....

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Isn't that really just another way of saying that the Prius won't haul squat? As for economy....that's a matter of some debate, especially when the battery pack goes south.

Steve

It's my understanding that when the pack goes south it's sudden without warning.

Should I be worried about 290k on the clock of the Passat?

Scottveazie said:

Should I be worried about 290k on the clock of the Passat?

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My JY engine for my B3V Passat project had 240k on it when I bought it. I didn't know this until after I got it (and the cluster from the same car) home that night, taking time to check the cluster before pulling it wasn't an option. Other than pulling the the head to have it worked on it's all be seals and gaskets that would need to be done on anything of that age anyway. The head was fine but as a precaution I pulled it and had it serviced at the machine shop.

My cylinder walls still had the cross-hatching and so far she's been a really reliable engine. The car this came from ended up at the JY because the front k-frame was completely rotted out on the passenger side.

I'm not sure I would worry about 290k on the car but I'd want to look over the rest of it to make sure it was good and also I haven't seen anything about price yet either.

Steve

I'd be less worried about the engine and more concerned about the body. Everything is maintainable virtually forever, but someone needs to make a decision to actually do that.

Besides the obvious stuff like shocks / brakes / etc, things a high mile car probably has issues with:
- wheel bearings
- rubber suspension components
- door hinges and latches
- window regulators
- transmission
- seats
- interior parts
- switches (wipers / headlights / turn signals / etc)

All of that is fixable. Lots of it will need to be done on any car of that age. A car that has had maintenance probably has most of that dealt with. A car that's been ignored may have a laundry list of stuff that needs to be dealt with to have a vehicle you actually enjoy driving.

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Steve Addy said:

Isn't that really just another way of saying that the Prius won't haul squat? As for economy....that's a matter of some debate, especially when the battery pack goes south.

Steve

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Not really Steve...

I opted to pass on it. Now looking at a 2000 Jetta tdi that will need a belt but is a nice car. Is that belt just as easy to change?

Scottveazie said:

I opted to pass on it. Now looking at a 2000 Jetta tdi that will need a belt but is a nice car. Is that belt just as easy to change?

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Because the engine mounting system is different on Mk4 vs Mk3 the belt change is more complicated. The belt and water pump components are different as well.

The engine needs to be supported from above in order to replace the belt and that makes it more complicated and inconvenient.

Steve

You can't use a floor jack & block of wood from below? (Not in the market for a Mk4. Just wondering)

turbodieseldyke said:

You can't use a floor jack & block of wood from below? (Not in the market for a Mk4. Just wondering)

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The oil pan is cast aluminum on the Mk4 platform - they crack somewhat easily. I'm sure someone will chime in saying they've done it before successfully but it's a concern.

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Wow. That's even stupider than plastic headlight lenses.