TROUBLE while on Road Trip w BORROWED 2000 Jetta 1.9 TDI - need info!

[dieseldonato]

Better yet, don't expect 20 year old cars to complete a cross country trip, especially towing a trailer. My 2003 has been my 2nd or 3rd car for the last 10 years and I've kept it close to home. Thus I was able to catch failures before they happened and fix them in my own garage, limp it home a couple times when stuff was breaking, and the one time it had to be towed it was only 50 miles and $200.

Newest vehicle is an 08, oldest is a 73, I would and have taken them 3/4 across the country from Pennsylvania to Montana. All my vehicles are very well maintained, and nothing is even close to new. I've seen 5 year old vehicles in worse shape then then my 3, 70's pickups. All of which have in excess of 200k miles on them. In fact my 73, which my pop bought new, then handed off to my uncle, then me has documented to have spun the odometer over twice, and it has 89k on it last years inspection. Original engine, and drive line. That's 289k on a 360fe with 4.11 gears and a 4speed non over drive transmission. I'd drive that truck to Alaska tomorrow.(if I could afford the fuel bill) point being there's no reason a well maintained vehicle can't be trusted regardless of age or millage.

 

[dieseldonato]

To the op. Just a few thoughts. I think vcds was first mentioned on the 3rd page. I also recall mentioning you lacked the proper tools to complete the diagnostics. (No offense was meant.) What I do not recall, was you ever asking about getting vcds, or it's cost.
I realize hindsite is 50-50, and this thread has moved along pretty fast, however everything pretty much comes back to the lack of proper diagnostic tools, and not following any sort of standard troubleshooting practices. We're all partially to blame for letting this go so long, normally the conversation starts with my blah is doing blank.... then someone gives an idea and most of the time it's pointed out there is a test, or to data log and post it (all done with vcds.) I really hope in the end it doesn't get scrapped, you've described it as a fairly nice car.

 

[fatmobile]

I got my first Rabbit diesel for free.
It sat for years with no gas cap and a window down.
Knowing what I know now I wouldn't have even tried to drive it to AZ without changing the timing belt.

But the timing belt wasn't the problem.
In Albuquerque, the oil pump went out, disconnected from the vaccum pump,. they pushed themselves apart.
I got towed into town, by a guy with a strap, parked it by the NAPA and stayed in a cheap motel.
The oil pump they ordered was the wrong one, but they were real helpful and lent me a drill so I could take the vacuum pump apart and fix it.
Swapped the top thrust bearing for the bottom one and it shoved the gear back down far enough to engage with the pump.
But they were still worn in a way that pushed them apart.
Moved on toward AZ.
But now, every time I went 60mph, it would run away.
I made it to AZ and on my way back to IA the oil pump let out again,.. in Albuquerque.
I had to hop a bus across town and buy an oil pump, got the right one this time but now I was close to broke.
Had to drain/drop the pan and change the pump in a parking lot with the wheel up on a curb.
Made it home 55mph and a parade behind me,.. try to go 60 and smoked them all out with a runaway.

Talk about smoke, if you have ever seen a true runaway where they have turned the key off and are slamming on the brake to stop it,
you will know what smoke is.

People pulled over thinking I blew my engine,.. I just waved the parade on by.

I kinda dread checking this thread because of the stress I know you are going through.
I know what it feels like to be stranded for days, time and money wasting away and no one there to help you.
I should have mentioned early on that people on here will rent you a VCDS,.. but I didn't think of it.
Even if they did you would need a laptop to use the cheap/early, USB ones that work with your car.
But even an old XP system will work.

I did take an old Rabbit to Cali, AZ, Texas and home a few years back and didn't get stranded.
But I brought a box of tools and know how to fix them.

Still hoping for a happy ending.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Good example, glad you were able to limp it home.

I'm on a bunch of e-mail lists and forums involving old BMW motorcycles, camping vans, etc. and almost every day I cringe as the story plays out of someone who spent thousands on an old vehicle in questionable mechanical condition, took it on their dream trip anyways, and now they're broke down in the middle of nowhere in need of repairs that will cost more than their vehicle is worth. The worst of these are on a Facebook group of women living in vans, typically they can't afford rent so they buy a worn out van and travel the country in search of free campsites. From their posts I can see they're having problems just figuring out how to build the interior of their van, so a transmission rebuild in the middle of nowhere is definitely not in their skill set and they're homeless again. For those of us with more DIY skills and a good stock of tools and parts long trips in old cars aren't as risky and I've made my share of on the road minor repairs no problem. But the rusted out lower control arm on my A4 Golf that broke with no warning required jacking the whole front end up pretty high and a bunch of big hammers and pry bars to replace and several days wait for the new parts. Because it broke 50 miles away I could afford to have that car towed home, 500 miles away I would have been forced to scrap it as towing cost would exceed the cars value. So because I kept that then 18 year old car close to home I still have it and it's sitting in my driveway ready to go... But not far.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

RTIII Jmodge was a bit harsh, I agree... I know what it is like to be out of town and break down, no bueno.
I will say after the multiple references to VCDS, you might have been a bit more proactive in checking price and availability.
There are a bunch of old-timers here, including myself and we sometimes when we forget what it was like 10-20-30 years ago when we got our first TDI.
I will say if it wasn't for the old-timers here, I was convinced to give a try to swapping and replacing parts; sure I had a few obstacles and fixed what I did wrong, and now short of of pulling out the engine and transmission, I dive right in.
So please don't feel personally insulted, I will guess you are a somewhat young man compared to the rest of; so if multiple posters tell you something to do please find out what they are referring to just for piece of mind. They really are trying to help.