I think I killed my car...

Why don't you guys just write up a sign that says "NO GIRLS ALLOWED!" and put it on your little website-- we can all feel like we're seven years old again.

The final flickering you reported was most likely caused by 'low oil pressure'.
In a diesel engine especially, this lets you know that damage is occurring.

migbro, don't ruin it for everyone. Grow the **** up. Then let's move on.

Wouldn't there be low oil pressure as it was losing the oil tho? I don't get it, I feel like it should warn you before the damage.

Also, does anyone know what the initial problem was? Why it was burning oil in the first place, before I ruined the engine. Because if the initial problem wasn't engine related, and I replace the engine, it could still potentially happen again right? (yes I know, check the oil)

E-Dula --> sorry to hear about the engine failure.

Unfortunately, from the descriptions you have described - I fear that you have indeed lost the engine.

Some of the guys here have posted suitable places to source a new/used engine. I would have to agree that re-building it would more likely cost you more money.

on a side note - for future reference - VW diesel oil is different than most diesel oils available on the market. Anything off the shelf most likely isn't healthy for the newer 2004+ VW diesel engines. I know that 2004 needed VW 505.01 oil and my new 2012 uses VW 507.00 oil. Your 2006 needed VW505.01


I do find it weird that you didn't get CEL and OIL warning lights. I hope that I never get into a situation to find out first hand.

E, by the time the lights come on, damage is usually done. It just tells you that you already messed up as if you didn't already know. Kind of like... well, like something. I'm not good at analogies. They are called idiot lights for a reason. They make you feel like an idiot for messing up.

Aaron at Boraparts can hook you up for parts and Matt can take care of labor, but it won't be cheap. Another avenue is to keep an eye out for someone that wrecked their car, then you swoop in (I'll let you borrow my cape) and get the engine for cheap.

Thanks for the reply. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm going to have to replace the engine but I'm just wondering if anything else in the car is failing?

Haha. Yeah I was looking at salvaged cars but my particular engine is especially hard to find. It obviously wouldn't be worth it to buy a salvaged car half-way across the country, when there's no guarantee the engine will be good anyway. But I am going to keep calling around and checking craigslist, etc. My mechanic told me he'd replace the engine, as well as change the timing belt and water or fuel (I'm not sure which) pump for 2200. I just have to bring him the engine. Is that a reasonable price for the labor? I honestly don't know.

Turbo has been mentioned, but it could also be broken rings on #2 and #3 which would explain the low compression, but that would be replaced with a long block. Just be sure that you know what you need before ordering anything, including the turbo.

It would be the water pump with the timing belt. I think $2200 is a bit high, but what's his labor rate?

Education

E, you have just had an expensive education in what knowing little-to-nothing about your car will mean for your car and pocket book.

I think I read in one of your posts, that you are in college. If that is the case, then you are not a stupid girl. You are ignorant with regard to how to take care of your car. Ignorance is curable. This should be a motivating factor in educating yourself in how to properly take care of your car. This is an excellent website for you to further education, regardless of how you personally feel about some the replies. Take it in stride and find someone who will teach you what to do to care for your car.

Many have advised you to get in contact with a couple of very reputable people to help you fix your car. Bora Parts and Matt are two of them. They will help you and get your car running again.

After that it is up to you to keep it in good working order. These are wonderful and fun cars, but they need proper maintenance. It's ok for girls to get grease on their hands. It doesn't take a lot of grease on your hands to do regular fluid level checking.

As for the reason you had catastrophic oil loss, there are a number of things that could have caused it. If you have a good mechanic that you trust, he can tell you what went wrong.

Whatever you major is, I wish you well in your "car care minor".

This is from NAPAs flat rate:

Operation
All In-Line4,Diesel,1.9L Eng
Includes: Transfer fuel and electrical assemblies, replace engine mounts, adjust idle speed and ignition timing. DOES NOT include transfer of manifolds, valve covers, oil pan, timing cover or water pump. NOTE: For bare engines, refer to Long Block - R&R.

10.1 hours.

Assume they are padding 25% then add 4 hours for the timing belt and water pump.

And the 4 hours would be if the engine was in the car. On the floor, it should take a couple of hours tops, but what should he charge? That's all between you and the guy with the wrench.

whitedog said:

It would be the water pump with the timing belt. I think $2200 is a bit high, but what's his labor rate?

Click to expand...

$110 an hour... but he's the only person for miles who even remotely knows what they are doing, so I don't really have a choice.

aslspiderman said:

E, you have just had an education in what knowing little-to-nothing about your car will mean for your car and pocket book.

I think I read in one of your posts, that you are in college. If that is the case, then you are not a stupid girl. You are ignorant with regard to how to take care of your car. Ignorance is curable. This should be a motivating factor in educating yourself in how to take care of your car. This is an excellent website for you to further education.

Many have advised you to get in contact with a couple of very reputable people to help you fix your car. Bora Parts and Matt are two of them. They will help you and get your car running again.

After that it is up to you to keep it in good working order. These are wonderful and fun cars, but they need proper maintenance.

Click to expand...

I'm knowledgeable in prettymuch everything; with the exception of cars. But that is quickly changing as I'm learning more and more each day- and learning the hard way.

whitedog said:

This is from NAPAs flat rate:

Operation
All In-Line4,Diesel,1.9L Eng
Includes: Transfer fuel and electrical assemblies, replace engine mounts, adjust idle speed and ignition timing. DOES NOT include transfer of manifolds, valve covers, oil pan, timing cover or water pump. NOTE: For bare engines, refer to Long Block - R&R.

10.1 hours.

Assume they are padding 25% then add 4 hours for the timing belt and water pump.

And the 4 hours would be if the engine was in the car. On the floor, it should take a couple of hours tops, but what should he charge? That's all between you and the guy with the wrench.

Click to expand...

That is for removing and replacing the engine? And the engine is already going to be out so he suggested the other maintenance since it would be less work to get it done with the engine out.

So what I'm taking from this is that 2200 is really more than it should be, correct?

I'm just skeptical because he obviously knows that I'm a girl and I don't know much about cars, so he could be charging me up the ass just because he thinks he can get away with it. I don't want to make any accusations or assumptions, I just want to be sure that I'm not getting taken.

No cheap way out of it.. a good engine is gonna cost good money. I think 2200 labor is probably average for a shop, but if you can go awhile without a car, waiting for Matt to get back to CA to locate and install an engine for you might be the best option for several reasons. He will save you money and you will get the best TDI mechanic on the west coast to install it for you as well as teach you about how to properly maintain it.

something to think about.

Gilty_one said:

E-Dula --> sorry to hear about the engine failure.

Unfortunately, from the descriptions you have described - I fear that you have indeed lost the engine.

Some of the guys here have posted suitable places to source a new/used engine. I would have to agree that re-building it would more likely cost you more money.

on a side note - for future reference - VW diesel oil is different than most diesel oils available on the market. Anything off the shelf most likely isn't healthy for the newer 2004+ VW diesel engines. I know that 2004 needed VW 505.01 oil and my new 2012 uses VW 507.00 oil. Your 2006 needed VW505.01


I do find it weird that you didn't get CEL and OIL warning lights. I hope that I never get into a situation to find out first hand.

Click to expand...

Hm weird. Because the mechanic's shop (that is supposedly reputable according to TDIClub) is where I got the oil changed the first time- and they put 5w-40 synthetic in there. So that's what I used when I filled it up again. Should the oil be purchased from the dealership, or online, or...?

car 54 said:

No cheap way out of it.. a good engine is gonna cost good money. I think 2200 labor is probably average for a shop, but if you can go awhile without a car, waiting for Matt to get back to CA to locate and install an engine for you might be the best option for several reasons. He will save you money and you will get the best TDI mechanic on the west coast to install it for you as well as teach you about how to properly maintain it.

something to think about.

Click to expand...

A few weeks is a long time to be without a car, but it may take me that long to track down an engine anyway. Are you pretty certain that his rate would be lower than the 2200 I was quoted? Many people have recommended him so I really am considering just waiting.

aslspiderman said:

E, you have just had an expensive education in what knowing little-to-nothing about your car will mean for your car and pocket book.

I think I read in one of your posts, that you are in college. If that is the case, then you are not a stupid girl. You are ignorant with regard to how to take care of your car. Ignorance is curable. This should be a motivating factor in educating yourself in how to properly take care of your car. This is an excellent website for you to further education, regardless of how you personally feel about some the replies. Take it in stride and find someone who will teach you what to do to care for your car.

Many have advised you to get in contact with a couple of very reputable people to help you fix your car. Bora Parts and Matt are two of them. They will help you and get your car running again.

After that it is up to you to keep it in good working order. These are wonderful and fun cars, but they need proper maintenance. It's ok for girls to get grease on their hands. It doesn't take a lot of grease on your hands to do regular fluid level checking.

As for the reason you had catastrophic oil loss, there are a number of things that could have caused it. If you have a good mechanic that you trust, he can tell you what went wrong.

Whatever you major is, I wish you well in your "car care minor".

Click to expand...

The mechanic still doesn't know what went wrong, he just knows that now I need a new engine. So I'm really getting the feeling that I should just bite the bullet and hold out for Matt to get back to CA.

And my major is English by the way. I'm in my last quarter-- really looking forward to no longer being a completely broke college kid. haha

5w-40 synthetic is the proper oil for your engine, it calls for 505.01 spec, but using non-spec 5w-40 syn is popular around here and would never cause the problems you are describing.

At this point, a new engine complete with turbo is the only way I would consider repairing your car. Even if this was my own car, I would consider a junkyard engine a better option than trying to rebuild your engine. Just too many variables vs a known good engine out of a car that was rear ended or otherwise damaged in a way that didn't harm the engine.

Talk to matt and get him to estimate a labor rate, Talk to Boraparts about getting an engine. I believe that is your best route.

You have brought your gender up in this thread at least a dozen times. Any particular reason why?

because it's so unimportant, natch.

No time to read the whole thread....amazing...you guys see a girl post and 90
responses....lol...

Did ANYONE inspect the cam? Smoky and noisy when bad. Possible injectors.

If it's a DSG automatic they are noisy too when the flywheel is going. That is a rattle at idle and when shutting the car off.

All would be mute if the car is in Fullerton at Wild Rose Motors and Harv is looking at it. I'd defer to his judgement at that point.

It's also worth looking at car-part.com. Late 2005 and all 2006 Jettas use your engine.

That said, flaunting your gender isn't going to get you far. You screwed up, don't expect your different parts to help you out of your screw-up. As was said before, plenty of men do the same exact thing you did.

Also, in my opinion, a TDI is far, far from one of the cheapest cars to run. They're also one of the least tolerant of neglect - when an issue comes up, you need to fix it as soon as possible. You need to play an active part in the maintenance of the vehicle (outsourcing major repairs to a competent mechanic (such as Matt) is great, but you need to be well tuned to what the vehicle is doing, and CHECK things periodically), and you need to not cheap out - fix it right the first time. However, when properly maintained, a TDI is an extremely rewarding car to own. But still not the cheapest to own.

As others have mentioned, I'd wait for Matt to get back to California. I can't guarantee that he'd be cheaper, but I know he'd do the job right, and he won't rip you off by either misdiagnosing problems and then sticking you with the bill, or by doing the job wrong and then needing it to be fixed again. A lot of shops out there will just throw parts at a problem (although, based on the symptoms, it does sound like you really do need an engine), and not even do the job right.

Did you give Wild Rose a call?Good service record lowers the odds but things can still break.Do you Know when the DSG was last serviced?Was DMF(duel mass flywheel) ever been replaced?You might want to replace it while you have the engine out.Take it as a like lesson.


Good luck Tom

E_Dula said:

The mechanic still doesn't know what went wrong, he just knows that now I need a new engine. So I'm really getting the feeling that I should just bite the bullet and hold out for Matt to get back to CA.

And my major is English by the way. I'm in my last quarter-- really looking forward to no longer being a completely broke college kid. haha

Click to expand...

I'd wait for Matt at this point I think. Talk to him via phone/email/message about what to do on your end for hunting down an engine.

You have good public transportation if needed, so that will help (although it sucks when you own a car you can't drive - i know that one first hand).

Good luck this quarter in school!

E_Dula said:

Whitedog and flee THANK YOU. It's really sad that some of you guys have nothing better to do than sit around on a forum talking **** to girls; I really appreciate all of the condescending OBVIOUS remarks, thanks. When someone is admitting that they ****ed up, you don't respond by telling them that they ****ed up. But thanks for the unhelpful advice.

Click to expand...

Oh give me a break. This has nothing to do with you being a girl - you made sex the issue. STOP trying to make this an issue of sex.

"I had no idea how quickly it was losing oil" "I didn't neglect my car"

You had no idea cause you didn't check your OIL!!!

E dula - enjoy some time off to collect your thoughts.

I'm shocked that you start your first post by making this an issue about sex and then get all bent out of shape when people jump on your sexism bandwagon.

Goodbye thread and good luck getting your car fixed.