Andyinchville1
Veteran Member
Hi All,
Been doing a fair amount of work on the car as of late (mainly replacing stuff BEFORE they go bad because I drive my car for work and cannot (or do not) want to break down out in the middle of the night out in the middle of who knows where.
Anyways, I thought it might be informational / helpful for people to know how far parts can go or how long they can last before the could be or should be changed out.
I realize the factory manual had guidelines for things like timing belts etc .... but other stuff not so much so ....
With that here are my findings / experiences ....
Timing belt - I wimp out and do it at the recommended 100K interval ... I think I can go further because I mainly do highway miles but last time at 90K or so the guru found some pulleys with rough bearings .... sigh...
Hoses - I have 335K on my original coolant hoses .... even vac hoses! .... I did change out the fuel lines from the firewall to the fuel filter and from the thermostatic "T" to the IP not because I needed to BUT because I though they were letting air in .... I think it was the "T" but by then the hoses were changed .... The fuel hoses and T were at 315K miles.
I replaced the Alternator at 315K because voltage on the scan guage were reading in the 13.6 V range .... When removed the 1 way pulley was shot .... New one is consistantly is 14+ volts.
Oil changes - Oil test for 16.5K was good so I'll hold off for 20K next OCI
Wheel bearings made noise (Lefty front did) around 317 K so had all 4 redone figuring if 1 was doing best to do them all (actually I may have done this at 325K below ... I'll have to look at paperwork).
Struts , lower A arms, front springs , front sway bar bushings, inner tie rod end - Replaced around 325 K .... Occasional clunk in front end was probably sway bar bushing , wheel bearings may have been done here as well (see paragraph above) , The rest (a arms with TT bushings, struts, springs were upgrades while "we were in there" in real need to replace other than sway bar bushing / wheel bearings.
I did the headlights and other lights not because I needed to but because I wanted LEDs all around .... did this slowly from 235K forward and $$ permitted.
Rear Axle Beam bushing - around 265K - rear tires were wearing a little "funny" ..... dealer changed out for stock and wear issues went away .... I regret I did not know about / do the cupra bushings when that was done....
Passenger door window motor assembly - about 275K
Injection pump / injectors - did at about 315K ... Injection pump "went out" and 1 injector started weeping a bit ... had to have car towed to TDI Guru
I did do a new battery prior to the alternator change out.
Tranny Oil - About 100K change to g070 .... Better than whatever was in there before! ... shift from 2 to 1 when cold perfect now (hard before), and from 4 to 5 shift is smoother
So far that is what I have done (last odometer was 334K I think) .... been a good car ....
Windshield - replaced about a 2 years ago ... just a few chips and pitted from precious owner following too closely ... go tired looking through the spots at night....
Everything else on car is original.
What are you experiences ? How long have parts lasted for you?
Andrew
PS - Brake pads changes about 245K in but not sure if PO did before me ( I got the car around 225K).
Been doing a fair amount of work on the car as of late (mainly replacing stuff BEFORE they go bad because I drive my car for work and cannot (or do not) want to break down out in the middle of the night out in the middle of who knows where.
Anyways, I thought it might be informational / helpful for people to know how far parts can go or how long they can last before the could be or should be changed out.
I realize the factory manual had guidelines for things like timing belts etc .... but other stuff not so much so ....
With that here are my findings / experiences ....
Timing belt - I wimp out and do it at the recommended 100K interval ... I think I can go further because I mainly do highway miles but last time at 90K or so the guru found some pulleys with rough bearings .... sigh...
Hoses - I have 335K on my original coolant hoses .... even vac hoses! .... I did change out the fuel lines from the firewall to the fuel filter and from the thermostatic "T" to the IP not because I needed to BUT because I though they were letting air in .... I think it was the "T" but by then the hoses were changed .... The fuel hoses and T were at 315K miles.
I replaced the Alternator at 315K because voltage on the scan guage were reading in the 13.6 V range .... When removed the 1 way pulley was shot .... New one is consistantly is 14+ volts.
Oil changes - Oil test for 16.5K was good so I'll hold off for 20K next OCI
Wheel bearings made noise (Lefty front did) around 317 K so had all 4 redone figuring if 1 was doing best to do them all (actually I may have done this at 325K below ... I'll have to look at paperwork).
Struts , lower A arms, front springs , front sway bar bushings, inner tie rod end - Replaced around 325 K .... Occasional clunk in front end was probably sway bar bushing , wheel bearings may have been done here as well (see paragraph above) , The rest (a arms with TT bushings, struts, springs were upgrades while "we were in there" in real need to replace other than sway bar bushing / wheel bearings.
I did the headlights and other lights not because I needed to but because I wanted LEDs all around .... did this slowly from 235K forward and $$ permitted.
Rear Axle Beam bushing - around 265K - rear tires were wearing a little "funny" ..... dealer changed out for stock and wear issues went away .... I regret I did not know about / do the cupra bushings when that was done....
Passenger door window motor assembly - about 275K
Injection pump / injectors - did at about 315K ... Injection pump "went out" and 1 injector started weeping a bit ... had to have car towed to TDI Guru
I did do a new battery prior to the alternator change out.
Tranny Oil - About 100K change to g070 .... Better than whatever was in there before! ... shift from 2 to 1 when cold perfect now (hard before), and from 4 to 5 shift is smoother
So far that is what I have done (last odometer was 334K I think) .... been a good car ....
Windshield - replaced about a 2 years ago ... just a few chips and pitted from precious owner following too closely ... go tired looking through the spots at night....
Everything else on car is original.
What are you experiences ? How long have parts lasted for you?
Andrew
PS - Brake pads changes about 245K in but not sure if PO did before me ( I got the car around 225K).
