Highest recorded milage on an ALH or similar.

What the highest recorded milage on a stock unmodified only maintained alh?

Been a few 500K, 600K, 900K mile ALHs.

bbob203 said:

What the highest recorded milage on a stock unmodified only maintained alh?

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Bob_Fout said:

Been a few 500K, 600K, 900K mile ALHs.

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On these that Bob mentioned, it's still to early to tell.

How long can a well maintained TDI engine last? The world may never know.....

Don't believe everyone. TDIers lie a lot to justify having one. Trust your own numbers....For sure you'll beat the gassers every time though.

I know of a handful that have exceeded 500K without internal engine work, but not a ton.

Are you meaning fuel mileage or odometer reading?

Odo!

I'm at 275 on the original turbo and clutch... I'm sure before too much longer my wallet will take a hit for one of them.

397xxx on my 2002. Changed turbo @382000. Old one still works. Just upgraded to a 17/22. Changed cam and lifters @365000 during my timing belt job. Old cam lobe measured same as new cam with micrometer. One lifter had some slight scratches on top. I was surprised to see how good they looked with that amount of miles. I think the engines will out last the bodies.

I think NutsnBolts is over 600K. ??

I watch U Tube a lot and search for clips, that show that.
Everything for the engine is ORIGINAL, clutch too

not a ALH but my BEW has 325K
ALHs should not have an issue reaching 400K on their second injection pump

Dimitri16V said:

not a ALH but my BEW has 325K
ALHs should not have an issue reaching 400K on their second injection pump

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*GROAN* and also LOL.

My 02 Golf only had 361k miles on it when I sold it to a co-worker whose son needed a car for college. The car was heavily modded for performance but was still on its factory original injector pump with no seal leaks and no other issues. The car is still on the road today at 380k miles and still no issues with the pump. It should easily make it past 400k miles.

I was always careful about where I fueled up and regularly used an additive to improve lubricity and take care of water. I stuck to filling up only at busy high volume / high turnover stations along major routes. The car has never been run on bio except for one tankful of B5 when it had around 50k miles on it. All maintenance was done by the book and on schedule. The fuel filter used was the OEM standard 1J0 127 401A filter. (no CAT 2 micron filter etc.) Fuel quality is absolutely EVERYTHING when it comes to ensuring long pump life!

I figured I must be doing something right to be well past 300k miles and still on the original injector pump with no seal leaks and no issues.

I thought our ODO's froze at ±621,000... still a lot of miles.

i made a $500 bet with my friend that my 2000 STOCK manual trans tdi will make it to 300k. its currently at 234k. stock everything except stage one normal maintenance.

FlyTDI Guy said:

I thought our ODO's froze at ±621,000... still a lot of miles.

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The cluster does stop counting at 1 million km, but the ECU still counts.

Ahhh, kind of the Y2K syndrome... odometer style.

n1das said:

On these that Bob mentioned, it's still to early to tell.

How long can a well maintained TDI engine last? The world may never know.....

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Ah, one...

...ah, two...

..ah, thereee...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rHeD5x2tI

My '00 Jetta is pushing 338k miles. I changed the clutch/flywheel at 271k miles as part of a front-end refresh ....... nothing was really needed but the sway bar bushings. Everything would have lasted another 100k miles easily.

My IP is OE with no leaks. I do not use fuel additives. I do not drain the fuel filter. It's been my practice to change the fuel filter once per year regardless of miles on it, generally in November for the winter. I buy fuel whenever I need it ... station brand doesn't make my decision. I do avoid the rip-off joints when possible!

EDIT: I did lose 5th gear at 291k miles. The tranny was always nice and clean on the bottom. So, I just assumed everything was fine inside .............. The synthetic tranny oil must be changed and kept topped off. Trust me!

i've said it before i think but anything will run for a million miles if you keep throwing $ at it! And generally i've found other things start nickel and diming before the engine, given a reasonable maintenance history....

It's not a TDI, or even close! But i have a 2000 Chev Silverado half ton 5.3L with about 577000km on it. Never seen a drop of synthetic oil!! Just a solid maintenance history and reasonable operators lol. Tranny went at 550k and transfer case at 575k, as well as a few other things along the way. But the motor is still strong, doesn't even burn oil..... not bad for a gasser!!!!

Above is true. I don't give much credit to high mileage TDIs that have had internal engine or transmission work (5th gear notwithstanding). That leaves my wagon out in my opinion: If you rebuild it it'll keep running. Evidence of durability is running for high miles without teardown.

How long can a manual trans clutch go, assuming the user is experienced?

I always thought of clutches as 'wear items', even when used properly.

I have never personally had to change a clutch - but the most miles I've put on a manual transmission is about 65,000 miles.

Otherwise - I agree with the above - any engine can run forever, if continually rebuilt. Witness gas cars putting around from the early 1900's...

I also agree - with TDI's, its the body/interior that's likeliest to go before the engine. I searched for an 80's Mercedes Diesel - some/most are still running in good condition, but almost none have a decent interior. Power windows don't work, antenna doesn't work, sunroof totally dead, power locks intermittent, no A/C, heat works but is weak, seats torn...list goes on....

I also consider clutches wear items, and replacing them during the life of a car is something you can probably expect. We have one customer who got 545K out his original clutch in a TDI, however.

Body and interior bits will last if you take care of them and replace what breaks. Rust is the big problem here. I have a '93 M-B that looks new inside and out, and everything except the cruise control works. However, the car wintered in Florida and now rarely even sees rain.

puntmeister said:

How long can a manual trans clutch go, assuming the user is experienced?

I always thought of clutches as 'wear items', even when used properly.

I have never personally had to change a clutch - but the most miles I've put on a manual transmission is about 65,000 miles.

Otherwise - I agree with the above - any engine can run forever, if continually rebuilt. Witness gas cars putting around from the early 1900's...

I also agree - with TDI's, its the body/interior that's likeliest to go before the engine. I searched for an 80's Mercedes Diesel - some/most are still running in good condition, but almost none have a decent interior. Power windows don't work, antenna doesn't work, sunroof totally dead, power locks intermittent, no A/C, heat works but is weak, seats torn...list goes on....

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I'll bet the clutch will last a long time if lets say it's "used properly" but probably more important it will last longest if theres only one user. Like just your driving habits patterns etc. I've seen it a few times where cars with high mile clutches go to new users and clutch has gone pretty quick....

My GF learned to drive a stick on mine... and it is still going. [knock on wood]

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Evidence of durability is running for high miles without teardown.

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Agreed. I'm not gonna lie i'll give Chevy credit for that 5.3L Vortec engine. Almost 600k and all it's ever seen is routine maintenance...

Used to work with a guy that had an old beater Nissan truck. He had at least 700-800k miles on it. Don't remember exactly. It was a pile and he was proud as a peacock despite its condition. Engine bay was a mess, paint gone, interior in shreds but it just kept on running. I wish I remember the exact mileage but we used to call it the Energizer Bunny.

I would be happy to reach 500k in mine. Time takes it's toll. I think the faster you can build up miles, the better chance you have of some extraordinary numbers. Lots of freeway cruising is relatively easy on most parts (wheel bearings aside) and plays to the strengths of our TDI engines.

FlyTDI Guy said:

Used to work with a guy that had an old beater Nissan truck. He had at least 700-800k miles on it. Don't remember exactly. It was a pile and he was proud as a peacock despite its condition. Engine bay was a mess, paint gone, interior in shreds but it just kept on running. I wish I remember the exact mileage but we used to call it the Energizer Bunny.
I would be happy to reach 500k in mine. Time takes it's toll. I think the faster you can build up miles, the better chance you have of some extraordinary numbers. Lots of freeway cruising is relatively easy on most parts (wheel bearings aside) and plays to the strengths of our TDI engines.

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Totally agree, the quicker you put the miles on the better chance you have!

IndigoBlueWagon said:

I also consider clutches wear items, and replacing them during the life of a car is something you can probably expect. We have one customer who got 545K out his original clutch in a TDI, however.

Body and interior bits will last if you take care of them and replace what breaks. Rust is the big problem here. I have a '93 M-B that looks new inside and out, and everything except the cruise control works. However, the car wintered in Florida and now rarely even sees rain.

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I agree - the interior can last for as long as they are cared for - especially true if there's one owner throughout the life of a car, and they are diligent. But, time usually takes its toll - even on well-built Mercedes. Its hard enough to find an an older Mercedes in clean condition - older VW's are typically, well..... And all those little parts can be expensive and tedious to replace (often more expensive and tedious than engine repairs) - and that's only when you can even find the replacement parts.

For the MB sunroofs - the repair, done professionally, supposedly runs around $1,000. I haven't found anyone that claims it can be done by a DIYer (and that's coming from people who tear down and rebuild engines).

Of course, who ever really uses a sunroof? So long as it doesn't leak....its just, all those little broken things can add up to a car that seems like a piece of junk. Its largely because of this that I prefer cars with simple interiors, and manual everything. Nothing blows more than a broken electric seat. The one exception might be electric windows - and only because hand-crank windows don't have much of a reputation for holding up any better.

Good to hear on the clutch though. I got my TDI with about 165,000 miles. Now at 200,000 miles. Clutch was fine when I got it (no idea if it had ever been replaced), so, if it ever goes bad, its on me. But, for now, its as good as it was when I got it.

I love a sunroof and wont own a car without one.