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Yeah, when your oil looks like a stripper's body-butter, it's time for a rebuild, at the very least. I always take mine (same year and model) to the dealer for oil change. It's more expensive, but they have the tools and the manuals, and most important of all, the liability insurance.

It had water and some greasy-looking schmutz on it. I cleaned it and reinstalled it, but it didn't work. So I got a new one. I've checked the new one recently, just to see if it was something else that was causing the problem. There was nothing on it.

I just had this problem. Replaced the MAP sensor, works just fine, now.

!!! I had no idea that was what that S was Just tried it. Didn't work. I only went a few miles, though.

I see you're in (or around) STL. I'm on the other side of the state, but if you know about these TDIs, I may bring you my business. Are you able to make these Passats with the adblue warnings behave themselves? Mine should still be under warranty, but I'll have to see what the dealership says...

Does the tdi SEL have a sport mode? If mine does, I haven't found it.

I apologize in advance if you already know all this, but I don't know your current level of knowledge in vehicle mechanics or piston engine theory. It is normal for timing to advance at higher RPM. This allows the burn to get going before the piston reaches the top, so you get the most...

Or he's an aircraft mechanic who has too much time on his hands on a weekend. When a typical engine can cost $60,000, people tend to learn what kinds of damage can be repaired, and what cannot. And in aircraft, you cannot afford to be wrong. We learn what metal flakes in the oil mean. And we...

My wife sometimes complains that I am a bit robotic when I talk. I only posted all that because I saw that the OP had an engine with internal damage and likely considered it a lost cause. Depending on the damage, it may not be. I hate to see these old engines condemned needlessly.

Well, it wasn't a long sentence. I don't touch-type, but I also don't hunt and peck. I's a skilled mechanik.

Everybody on the internet is a bot. Haven't you heard?

Wow. 215K on a timing belt? That car has a guardian angel. The one I took apart had 250K on it. The other one I have has about 250K on it, and looks really clean. (I didn't take it off. Just looked with a borescope.)

I wouldn't worry too much about old fuel. If the tank was sealed, it should still burn just fine in that old an engine. I got a 98 Jetta that sat in a field for 10 years or so, and when I got it home and cranked it, it started. That was on the 10-year-old fuel it already had in it. (The injector...

That's one of the worse intakes I've seen. Not the worst, but pretty bad. I took one out of an AHU recently, and it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty crusty. Soaking in mineral spirits and scrubbing a little with a brush cleaned it up nicely. No torching or barbecuing required.

If you're going to do a complete tear-down, I would recommend cleaning out all the oil passages and checking all of the journals for dimensions and roundness. If you have access to a hot-tank, it might be worth it to use it. It will clean out EVERYTHING. Also, having clean surfaces allows for...

If you have an in-tank fuel pump, you might have a leak in a fuel line. It would allow air into the line, which could make it take a while to start as the pump pushes out the air, then it would leak and give a fuel smell. Could also be a leaky line on the engine. Either way, if you're smelling...

Metal shavings in the oil filter can be from a lot of things. In a rebuild, it is common to see them as the parts wear in. Later, it often comes from bearings. As long as there is no scoring or indication of oil starvation on any of the shafts or journals, a bearing replacement should resolve...

As a previous response said, contact a lemon-law attorney in your state. After a certain number of attempts to repair, many states require that the dealer must buy back the car. If you can document the damage that the dealer did, your case gets even stronger.

I have found that advancing the timing makes it run better in cold weather. It doesn't get to -30C here, but it did get down around -15 - -20 this year. Even at freezing, I don't seem to need glow plugs to get it started. (Mine have to be activated manually.) My code reader says it was 13...

When you change a timing belt, you have to rotate the engine through a whole cycle (2 revolutions) to ensure that there is no internal contact. These engines have close tolerances, and if you're off by a tooth on the belt, you will feel it bind. You're not likely to damage anything if you turn...