tdi_tim
Veteran Member
Hey folks! I need your help/opinions.
I have a 2004 Jetta wagon (BEW engine) with 275k miles. Yesterday I was merging on to the highway, and while accelerating I hit a small bump - at which time I noticed the car had lost some power. It was still driving, but you could tell that if you wanted to accelerate more, it wasn't going to do it. I didn't notice any smoke or anything out of the rearview mirror. I was going about 50mph and was able to drive (up a hill) about 3/4 of a mile to a rest stop. When I was approaching the entrance of the rest stop, I pushed the clutch in to let the car coast, and the engine just died. It will crank over (sounds normal when cranking) but will not start (or even sound like it wants to start).
Car got towed to a dealership. The mechanic there says the timing belt shows signs where it's stripped in one section, so its obviously out of time, and since it's an interference engine, the valves are probably in bad shape so the head should be replaced.
The diagnosis of being off time seems to make sense. The timing belt was replaced 85k miles ago (about 4.5 years), but I guess it's not unheard of for them to fail early. I'm curious to hear what others think of the rest of the diagnosis. They sent me a quote that includes a new cylinder head, but not new pistons - and my assumption would be that if there was a collision inside the motor, both the valves and pistons would need replacing.
I live in CT and the car died in MA, so I have never been to this dealership and it's very unlikely I will have them perform the work if I do decide to do anything. I'm really just trying to decide if I want them or any other shop to investigate further, or if it's time to cut my losses with this car (which makes me very sad).
Thanks for your help!!
I have a 2004 Jetta wagon (BEW engine) with 275k miles. Yesterday I was merging on to the highway, and while accelerating I hit a small bump - at which time I noticed the car had lost some power. It was still driving, but you could tell that if you wanted to accelerate more, it wasn't going to do it. I didn't notice any smoke or anything out of the rearview mirror. I was going about 50mph and was able to drive (up a hill) about 3/4 of a mile to a rest stop. When I was approaching the entrance of the rest stop, I pushed the clutch in to let the car coast, and the engine just died. It will crank over (sounds normal when cranking) but will not start (or even sound like it wants to start).
Car got towed to a dealership. The mechanic there says the timing belt shows signs where it's stripped in one section, so its obviously out of time, and since it's an interference engine, the valves are probably in bad shape so the head should be replaced.
The diagnosis of being off time seems to make sense. The timing belt was replaced 85k miles ago (about 4.5 years), but I guess it's not unheard of for them to fail early. I'm curious to hear what others think of the rest of the diagnosis. They sent me a quote that includes a new cylinder head, but not new pistons - and my assumption would be that if there was a collision inside the motor, both the valves and pistons would need replacing.
I live in CT and the car died in MA, so I have never been to this dealership and it's very unlikely I will have them perform the work if I do decide to do anything. I'm really just trying to decide if I want them or any other shop to investigate further, or if it's time to cut my losses with this car (which makes me very sad).
Thanks for your help!!