Just picked up a one owner ALH

[dkline87]

Hey yall,
Recently picked up a mint 2001 Golf TDI GLS, 4 door, 5 speed. It was a one owner car, with only 78,000 miles. This is my third diesel VW, the first was a 1980 rabbit (1.5 IDI), and then a 2005 Jetta PD.

The car has been maintained very well, but I'll be going through it and fixing some small cosmetics (window seals and hatch struts to name a couple).
Theres also a growing list of mods that I'll also be adding with time.

Probably another Rocketchip tune and nozzles to start.

Tips on anything to look out for as these cars age are welcome!

 

[oilhammer]

All the fluids, check tires for date codes, and of course the belt.

Nice find!

I would also recommend dropping the front fender liners, removing the foam blocks, and cleaning and rustproofing the whole area underneath there.

 

[UhOh]

Have you scanned it?

Nice find!

 

[maxmoo]

All the fluids, check tires for date codes, and of course the belt.

Nice find!

I would also recommend dropping the front fender liners, removing the foam blocks, and cleaning and rustproofing the whole area underneath there.

^ Excellent advice.....I'd also check the intake for build up, the turbo for proper function and be sure to check for oil accumilation in the lower intercooler hose.
I find these cars with low miles were usualy driven by people on short trips and have probably never seen a good italian tune-up.
I'd also get it undercoated by someone like "Krown rustproofing".
Nice find!

 

[dkline87]

All the fluids, check tires for date codes, and of course the belt.

Nice find!

I would also recommend dropping the front fender liners, removing the foam blocks, and cleaning and rustproofing the whole area underneath there.

Thanks! The price was right too! Good call on tires, I'm sure they at least 10 years old. This car was serviced by a reputable VW shop, so I have records of all the fluid/filter changes throughout the years. I may flush trans fluid just as an extra measure.

Have you scanned it?

Nice find!

Waiting to borrow a friends VAG COM. Not expecting anything crazy, the car drives nice and has plenty of power, but you never know.

^ Excellent advice.....I'd also check the intake for build up, the turbo for proper function and be sure to check for oil accumilation in the lower intercooler hose.
I find these cars with low miles were usualy driven by people on short trips and have probably never seen a good italian tune-up.
I'd also get it undercoated by someone like "Krown rustproofing".
Nice find!

Thanks! I have records of the EGR valve assembly being cleaned at about 70k miles, but I will definitely check the intercooler. I've read that these can trap plenty of blow-by.

 

[KLXD]

Since the important stuff has been mentioned all I can say is polish or replace the headlights!

They can make an otherwise beautiful car look like an old POS.

 

[UhOh]

Oh yeah, pop the lower IC hose and make sure there's not a pool of oil lurking.

If you've got good power then it's likely the intake isn't badly clogged.

Regarding fluid changes, don't forget to change the transmission fluid (Pennzoil Syncromesh is highly recommended).

I'd look to fudge the maintenance intervals so they fall on to a nice even 10k odometer boundary. It's a handy way to know when the next maintenance interval is. I do this with all my cars. My car's sitting at 168k miles; I know that next service is 170k miles (at least an oil change).

 

[Mongler98]

as stated before, other than normal fluids on all fluids* including brake fluid, timing belt. unless you have a mechanics repair order from the owner with the milage on it, replace the belt ASAP, its not the miles, its the years, its old enough and not a difficult job.

 

[FanofAllDiesels]

Wow, that really looks like a clean 2001. I notice that you are in MD. I'm up in Westminster, and have VCDS, if you are near by and would like a scan.

I have the same car, just a different color

Jeff

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Will you give us a hint as what you paid for it?

 

[UhOh]

Wow, that really looks like a clean 2001. I notice that you are in MD. I'm up in Westminster, and have VCDS, if you are near by and would like a scan.

I have the same car, just a different color

Jeff

Is that a GREEN Golf you have there? Green Golfs are the best! Never run across you before!

 

[ssaric1.9TDI]

Is that a GREEN Golf you have there? Green Golfs are the best! Never run across you before!

White Jetta's are better LOL

OP, that's a nice find you'll have a lot of happy happy miles ahead of you.

 

[UhOh]

White Jetta's are better LOL

OP, that's a nice find you'll have a lot of happy happy miles ahead of you.

Well, this one I sure suffered a bit of drooling over:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=483453

If it has been up in my neck of the woods I probably wouldn't have passed.

 

[narongc73]

Those are turds. Use to own one. Chip it.

 

[dkline87]

Wow, that really looks like a clean 2001. I notice that you are in MD. I'm up in Westminster, and have VCDS, if you are near by and would like a scan.

I have the same car, just a different color

Jeff

I may take you up on that, thanks!

Will you give us a hint as what you paid for it?

It cost about $3500

Those are turds. Use to own one. Chip it.

Definitely!

 

[FanofAllDiesels]

Is that a GREEN Golf you have there? Green Golfs are the best! Never run across you before!

Yes, that is a Green Golf with the black interior. I used to post a lot more and I've been to half a dozen TDIFests, but haven't been around too much lately.

I do recognize your username, but being that we are on opposite coasts, it isn't surprising that we haven't met.

Jeff

 

[dkline87]

Recently hit 100k miles, so I decided to give the old girl a wash/clay/polish. Wet sanded the headlights and polished those as well. Garage is a mess, still trying to get organized after the move.

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• dkline87
• Jan 5, 2021

Also picked up a nice set of BBS Montreal 2 wheels (new center caps inbound):

1228202024a_HDR.jpg

• dkline87
• Jan 5, 2021

While I had time off from work, I decided to tackle the HVAC blend door foam issue:

1229201706_HDR.jpg

• dkline87
• Jan 5, 2021

Then while I had that all apart, I got the bright idea to run all the wiring and add heated seats:

0101211239_HDR.jpg

• dkline87
• Jan 5, 2021

Completed interior pics to come, but the heated seats are a nice addition!

I need to replace the tie rods (on order) before getting an alignment. I've really been going back and forth if I want to add a cup kit and new control arm bushings before I get an alignment. Not sure if I should go down the slippery slope of modifying a 20 year old car...

 

[hskrdu]

Looks great!

Too much more and it will start look vortex...

 

[Rrusse11]

"Not sure if I should go down the slippery slope of modifying a 20 year old car... "

Perfect candidate if the body's good IMO. I assume it's running well?