My 1999 VW Disaster

CrustyOreo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Hanover, Mass
TDI
2011 Golf 2 Door 6MT
Bought this heep of neglected garbage from a guy in VT who was only the second owner. Amazing that in 200k miles, you can neglect a car so badly.

A very helpful member, PeterV, helped me pick it and bring it home.

The previous owner was a real catch. The steering rack started leaking from both ends so he kept driving til the pump locked up and threw the belt. This killed the battery and any hope of saving the pump.

Car is loaded with rare features like a fuel filter that was shipped with the car originally:



As well as very green coolant, a dirty rotten interior, ten pounds of mud (actual measurement) behind the inner fender well but luckily no severe rot, broken hood pull, missing grill, very badly worn tires and other atrocities I will find!





The plan: make it look like not a piece of garbage and put some OEM+ add ons.

Tonight I Replaced the rack. Not a very hard job but a very fiddley job.

Stay tuned for not a lot of updates.
 

CrustyOreo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Hanover, Mass
TDI
2011 Golf 2 Door 6MT
Hey good news.
The fuel filter was only from 2004! What a relief!
The fuel filter tee was wedged in so I bought a new one. Money well spent. Car runs mucho bettero
 

JeffDes4

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2013
Location
Saginaw
TDI
Jetta
Nice pick to me. You have a car that has some issues for sure, but I think what it appears you have bought from the photos and description you got a great deal. Nice paint on it.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Doesn't look bad. Want to sell a motorcycle?

You need to make those photos smaller.
 

CourierGuy

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2014
Location
Canada
TDI
2002 Golf(Summer) 2003 Golf(Winter)
Some of the stingiest people on earth drive TDIs. Takes everything to spend a dime on the car. Makes me wonder how often he changed the oil. Reminds me of a corrado owner who pulled in at a gas station I worked at 20 years ago. 27k.no oil on dipstick. I put in 3 liters. He never changed or checked it. He figured his warranty would cover potential damage. What a goof. Undeserving of that vr6 sweet rocket.
 

CrustyOreo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Hanover, Mass
TDI
2011 Golf 2 Door 6MT
Previous owner furnished a rear brake job.
Just like most parts he gave me (timing belt kit), some components were in a ziploc bag.
He also managed to order two right rear calipers so that was fun.

Doing the job, I noticed the rear axle bushings are just completely shot.
 

G60ING

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 5, 2001
Location
MD
TDI
No TDIs Currently, I have an R36 Corrado. I've had an ALH Corrado swap, AHU Corrado swap and 2003 TDI Jetta
Looks like a fun project if you got it for the right price and enjoy wrenching.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I had to remove a bunch of image tags because the pics were enormous. :eek:

Congrats on the car. How old was the timing belt on it?
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
That chrome grill looks pretty sharp. I don't think I've seen that before.
 

CrustyOreo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Hanover, Mass
TDI
2011 Golf 2 Door 6MT
Thanks mate!

Didn't treat my last tank of fuel and lost 3pmg. C'est la vie

Changed the oil today and did the cabin filter and fed a can of diesel purge right through the pump. Runs nice
 

CrustyOreo

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2011
Location
Hanover, Mass
TDI
2011 Golf 2 Door 6MT
Been a long 4 months. Since I posted last the car has deteriorated in typical VW fashion.
The following items were replaced this past weekend:
Door lock module (when I hit the lock button, the car would sound the alarm five minutes later)
Ebrake cables replaced (PO gave me 'late A4' calipers which required new cables)
Fan control module (car got a lil warm in traffic last week)
ABS sensors and harness (AAROD premade hubs with ABS rings are garbage btw)

Next is to mount the trailer hitch and wiring :thumbsup
 
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