Need Advice

[jgrabner]

Hello Everyone, I'm looking for advice on a possible Purchase of a 2004 Jetta TDI (manual) @ 230K miles

I test drove the rig last night and it ran well for the most part, Clutch did seem good and shifted smooth. low end power was not there but got up to speed just fine. It did have a battery that was dead and had to be jumped and with reving it up the turbo might of made a flutter but don't know the TDI sounds so this could just be me worried about the turbo needing to be replaced

It did have quite a bit of codes but from reading up on the codes could just be electrical and cleaning of the egr.
Codes below: If I buy I will get a Vag-com for proper diagnostic
p0245
p2102
p1027
p2426
p0670
p0684
p0128

Car is not modded in any way and the owner who has not had it for long doesn't know the last time the timing belt was changed.

I've owned diesels before (Not TDIs) and not against working on them but not looking for a Project as well. I'm hoping the Gurus on this forum could tell me that the codes shouldn't be to much of a worry and likely sensors/Relays would fix the issues at hand. Timing belt doesn't bother me having to replace or the glow plugs. Biggest worry is about replacing the turbo and camshaft/Lifters. Any advice would be great Thanks in Advance.

Looking to purchase for 15-1800 currently asking just over 2

 

[oilhammer]

"Not looking for a project"..... finds a project...



I would wager that car needs at least $3k worth of work. Maybe more.

 

[DivineChaos]

Hello Everyone, I'm looking for advice on a possible Purchase of a 2004 Jetta TDI (manual) @ 230K miles

I test drove the rig last night and it ran well for the most part, Clutch did seem good and shifted smooth. low end power was not there but got up to speed just fine. It did have a battery that was dead and had to be jumped and with reving it up the turbo might of made a flutter but don't know the TDI sounds so this could just be me worried about the turbo needing to be replaced

It did have quite a bit of codes but from reading up on the codes could just be electrical and cleaning of the egr.
Codes below: If I buy I will get a Vag-com for proper diagnostic
p0245
p2102
p1027
p2426
p0670
p0684
p0128

Car is not modded in any way and the owner who has not had it for long doesn't know the last time the timing belt was changed.

I've owned diesels before (Not TDIs) and not against working on them but not looking for a Project as well. I'm hoping the Gurus on this forum could tell me that the codes shouldn't be to much of a worry and likely sensors/Relays would fix the issues at hand. Timing belt doesn't bother me having to replace or the glow plugs. Biggest worry is about replacing the turbo and camshaft/Lifters. Any advice would be great Thanks in Advance.

Looking to purchase for 15-1800 currently asking just over 2

All of those codes are not vag specific.
That being said, most seem to point to a battery run dead.
There are some to look out for. EGR, Glowplug control. And it seems the thermostat has failed.

Check the timing cover or engine bay for a TB change sticker. With that kinda miles it was done around 160k and would be due at 240k. So it needs a TB kit done.
With it seeming low power, I would bet the camshaft is smoked. (Or intake is full of carbon) Can you peak in the valve cover?
Buy a cheap inspection camera to look at the cam.

So as oilhammer stated. 3k of work. Timing belt kit, and cam. Probably some other stuff.
I'd bet it's being sold because the prev owner didn't want to put that $ into it. You haven't even mentioned how the body looks..

So I'd say 1500 is the high end.
Breaks
Suspension
Timing belt kit
Possible cam
Glowplugs?
Aircon?
Thermostat
Intake cleaning
EGR?
Clutch?

 

[BobnOH]

No way to interweb guess on this. Clear codes, drive 1000 miles, re-check codes.
This does happen when battery dies, but how will you know?
Test drive is always important. If it drives great and it's cheap enough, go for it.
Many of the serious mechanical issues don't show up as codes anyway.

 

[jgrabner]

Thanks for the Reply everyone. On the Body the Body is Straight 1 minor dent on the rear quarter panel and a clear title. It's from Oregon so it is rust free as well.

Even though I don't want a project hopes that the majority of the issues are from the dead battery and EGR/Sensor/Wiring I'm going to jump on the damn thing.

 

[Rrusse11]

Straight and rust free is important. As Oilhammer points out, you'll be putting up to twice as much into it as it costs.
At the end of the day, yes, the car will be worth $5k and possibly go another 200k miles. If you can do some of the work,
I'd say you'd be well ahead. What else can you get for the $s that should go another 10+ years?

 

[Mongler98]

If this is the devil you know (I don't think it is for you)
Then fix it and put the $ In to the repairs.
Easily 3 grand if you do ot yourself mostly.
Imo sell it as is and walk away from an investment you are not up for and buy something else in better condition or just strait up learn it and put up the $.
Me personally it's always worth fixing because I know the beast.... and I've invested into specific tools like vcds and what not.

 

[jgrabner]

Well I purchased the Rig for 1500 and Replaced the Battery and tried to the clear the codes with a innova Code Reader. Didn't clear them all up and ones that did they all came back. I also pulled the EGR and it was clear to see that there is a ton of build up in the intake and egr. Cleaned the EGR up, but doubt that it is working correctly.

Bought Filter and oil Kit from ID parts for this weekend along with VCDS Software and Cable to do a Full Diagnosis this weekend to limit doing a shotgun approach on replacing all the possible sensors that could be causing the codes.

From Driving the rig past couple day's. Driving 70 miles a day to work, Highway and a small pass, no issues other then no real torque which I would expect from a Diesel when I mash the Pedal in any gear. I did pull the MAF and no Difference in power. It's Drivable though and I will continue to Daily

I'll update once I have the VCDS diagnostic this weekend.

 

[U4ick]

Happy Reading!!!!

 

[BobnOH]

When you get it all sorted, you'll find these little diesels have pretty good pull, especially up around 3-4k RPM.