finally found a Jetta to buy.... would like a skid plate too, advice?

fouillard13

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Location
Pincher Creek, AB
TDI
03 Jetta TDI Standard
Hey guys, rode in my brothers jetta the other day down a gravel road, the ruts were 2-3 inches deep, little gravel build up in the center, and we kept scraping the gravel.. LAME!!!!

I found a Jetta to buy and one of the first things id like to do to it is a skid plate... a steel one. where do I get them, and how hard are they to install? I seen pics here and cant seem to find them again.

the car I found is a 2004 GLS (whats GLS??) sedan. diesel, standard, 160,000km (100,000 miles). 5500$ canadian which is about 4500$ USD.

previous owner said the owner before that had timing belt done but doesnt have receipts.. ill probably end up doing it myself in the next few weeks anyways.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Most aftermarket skid plates like the Panzer Plate are aluminum. I think that there's a steel OEM plate available from VW stealers.
 

dremd

Veteran Member
Joined
May 31, 2007
Location
South Louisiana
TDI
06 sprinter. 03 jetta wagon premium with 6 speed ALH swap, 14 JSW
My advice is to actually keep the skid plate on the car unlike me.
I HEAVILY scuffed my oil pan on something last week and now it leaks(slowly).

So, just buy one and keep on.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
One more consideration the OP might want to consider. The OP lives in Canada. Dieselgeek is in Texas, but Evolution is in BC (Canada). Shipping might be cheaper from Evolution, plus there will be no customs delays. Other than that the 2 products are very similar.

Have Fun!

Don

P.S. I believe that Defender is a Canadian company also.
 

fouillard13

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Location
Pincher Creek, AB
TDI
03 Jetta TDI Standard
judging by the reviews, all the defender reviews are canadian so I think thats my best bet, especially regarding shipping!

got the Jetta today. all black leather interior, I love it!
 

fouillard13

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Location
Pincher Creek, AB
TDI
03 Jetta TDI Standard
well. all the mounts from my evolutionimport skid plate have broken (thanks previous mechanic). not too sure how, or why he couldnt figure them out or what happened, but the 2 rears are not being used and he used self tapping screws to secure it to the frame.


while crawling under the car to diagnose a leak I notice that my passenger front one seems to of failed. the nut plate that was welded seems to have broken off, leaving the front of the skit plate dangling on the passenger side. seems like itll be a fun fix...






looking at the dieselgeek skid plate mounts... those seem like the way to go. WAY beefier and well made. I think its a little too late now though. emailed evolutionimport and see what they can do for me. send new mounts or if these are gonna be near impossible to remove due to the rivnuts maybe ill just clean these ones up and get a new nut welded on. should be easy enough.
 
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