02 Jetta GLS - which oil pan?

[tsdiesel]

Unfortunately I crashed my Jetta last Friday... Sliding off the snow covered road hitting a few small trees and ran right over a 6" stump which completely destroyed the oilpan. Thanks to the outrageous airbag costs, the car was totaled and I bought it back from the insurance company as a salvage with plans to get it back on the road as my daily driver.

I was hoping to buy a steel oil pan as replacement, but it says it does not work with models that had an oil sensor. Anyone know if an 02 had the oil sensor in the oil pan? And/or any reccommendations for a good replacement at a decent price?

Thanks for any help!

TS

 

[paramedick]

Steel oilpan from earlier cars won't work. There is a hybrid aluminum/steel oilpan that will work, but requires some grinding to get it to fit perfectly.

My suggestion? Get the aluminum oilpan and a dieselgeek skid plate to protect the oil pan.

 

[stevneil]

Been there, done that!

On the cars of your vintage, all the factory pans have the place for the oil sensor, very few have the option installed.

If your pan is not completely destroyed, you can look for the sensor. The sensor area is a recessed U-shaped area about 3" wide on the bottom of the pan. The sensor mounts inside this recess. If you don't see wires, there is no sensor.

Another way to find out is to give the VW dealer parts man your VIN # when asking for an oil pan.

Inspect and clean the area above the oil pan well before replacing it. Snow doesn't sound as bad as dirt but there could be broken oil pan pieces in there.

I used the PermaTex high temp safe-for-sensors RTV silicone, got it from WalMart. Don't know if the sensor part is a concern. I believe it is important to hand snug the bolts and let the gasket maker set up for a while before fully tightening the bolts.

On the air bags, I did my own; bought the steering wheel and passenger dash bags off at car-part.com, bought the control module from a VW dealer; programmed it with my VAG-COM. Cost me $600 for the parts.

Your seat belt(s) should be blown also.

Good luck!!