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I am going to become a Volkswagen VR6 guy
Back to Arizona this weekend to pick up my Sister in law’s 2001 Gti VR6. It started leaking coolant and a trip to the import shop left her with a $2000 estimate. They do quality work but they are a retail shop and she can no longer afford that. She lost her husband a couple years ago and she is moving in with her daughter’s family. Leave early Sunday back on Wednesday= quick trip with the car trailer.
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Already, knew it but you are a fine man,Andy.
I believe that's a turbo, no? 2K for a coolant leak? Must be in one hell of a place or be a complete pain in the arse to access. or just BS |
Probably a combination of what derf said, plus a shop trying to take advantage of a female. Have a safe trip, Andy. God Bless.
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No turbo but it is 2.8 liters in a 15 degree v-6 with one cylinder head. Timing chains run up the back of the engine behind the flywheel. After researching the cooling system I am pretty sure it has a cracked plastic suction pipe that runs next to the block from the thermostat housing to the water pump. They call it a crack pipe, I am not sure why other than it cracks plus it looks like a crack pipe. They built this engine to put more cylinders in a 4 cylinder chassis. Needless to say everything is pretty compact and difficult to access. I am going to replace the loaded backing plates on my car trailer and buy new trailer tires before the trip on Sunday. Uhaul wanted 200 for a tow dolly from Prescott, AZ to here so I will just spend that money on my own trailer. I need to return the car and trailer more stuff from AZ back home on the next trip also.
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Back home tonight, after looking at the repair records all the cooling stuff was replaced three years ago. It looks like my sister in law has spent about 10k for repairs in the last 10 years on this car. The shop offers 2 year, 24k mile warranty on repairs which is fair. Unfortunately they keep using factory plastic parts. Job security! There are aftermarket aluminum parts available for just a little more money. I will get it off the trailer this weekend and check it out. I am tired of this 2250 mile round trip.
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Yikes. That's kinda far.
What? Aftermarket redesign to address OEM inadequacies? Who knew? |
Gruven is a performance vW place that makes replacement parts in the proper material. The cooling system on the VR6 engine is similar to the Ecotec design with the remote thermostat and coolant tube running the full length of the engine. Of course GM used steel for the tube and aluminum for the thermostat housing. Gruven has indentified the problem areas with these engines and manufactured the improved pieces. Their prices are only a slight premium over factory parts but they will last. Looking forward to fixing and driving this little rocket car.
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That VW V-6 will definitely haul ass! I've had a multitude of them pass me in the past few years. NONE were doing under 90 mph.
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I do look every day but I am in the middle of the Vdub. First parts have shown up, so tomorrow will be water pump and belt install day. I got the ball joints and two new tires. The silicone hose kit looks like nice stuff. All the pretty aluminum parts show up next Tuesday. I will post some picts. We have no winter here so I turned on the outside faucets. Now we’ll see what happens . LOL |
Must be nice to have no winter lol, it’s all I’ve had since Thanksgiving... wanna trade lol? |
My wife really loves Winter, maybe because we only get snow every other year. A good freeze really helps the garden. We have 1/2 the normal snow pack in the mountains so it looks like dry summer conditions again. |
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Well, stop posting pics and get those parts installed. Then you might have to drive the car for a week or so, just to make sure it's all okay! LOL
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All those pretty aluminum parts are installed. It is sad that once the engine has all the covers installed none of it will be visible. Also the silicone hose kit only replaces the main hoses, it skips many. I need to pick up some 1/8” rubber vacuum hose today at Napa. The pressure tank and hood strut showed up yesterday. The vacuum hoses run down the front of the engine, there are two solenoids that control the air injection and the intake manifold. The only access is with the nose loose on the car. The radiator stays with the nose and is pulled out three inches for service access. I also need to solder the new temp sensor connector wires, the retaining clip was broken on the factory connector. Next weekend it is supposed to snow so we will see if there is any progress in my outdoor shop. Hope you have a good week. |
What's the sis-in-law driving while you're repairing her VW, Andy? Just curious.
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She has a 2002 F250 extra cab long bed 7.3 2wd pickup. They bought it new to tow their horse trailer and at 175k miles has been an excellent truck. I helped her sell the hard tonneau cover between Christmas and the January trip. Now it can haul stuff in the bed more than fishing poles. We actually hauled some rolls of fence in January! My sister in law is 4’11” and really had trouble opening the hard tonneau. |
Yeah, I have a friend that retired from nursing and moved to Sun City West, AZ that's about the same height. But she's only 4'10". Feisty as hell, though and tough as nails.
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I am watching the twin 150s, got a little more done on the vw today. Replaced the vacuum hoses and installed the pressure tank for the cooling system. Sunday I will solder and shrink the new temp sensor plug to the factory harness. Then I will make final assembly and drive the car! It is supposed to snow Sunday and Monday so we will see. I won't risk driving this car if the roads are crappy. I drive my crewcab if there is anything white on the road. I still need to run the L 200 through the alignment shop since it becomes a skate when the roads are slick. I think the rear is toed out by the tire wear on the previous set of tires. I support Keven Harvick by the way. I have a Snap-On box from his first cup year. He is from Bakersfield and raced at the same track I crew chiefed at back in the 70s. |
The $375 box of the remaining coolant hoses arrived this week. This replaces all the remaining hoses and only leaves the radiators and the heater core. Yes the silly car has two radiators and two water pumps. This is what happens when the manufacturer wants to put their big engine in their smallest platform. I had to remove the oil filter adaptor to access the oil cooler hoses. One hose connects the the “crack pipe” and the other connects to a nipple that comes out of a freeze plug. Quite inventive way to tap into the cooling system without having to recast the block. Almost done with this project then delivery to Arizona. |
You are tenacious like a bulldog, Andy. I sure hope your sis in law appreciates all of your efforts.
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It lives! Drove it to the alignment shop for an inspection, needs inner tierod ends and a toe set. That will be repaired in Arizona, I will drive it this week and load it up and deliver it. It sure is a fun little car I see why my Sister -in law loves this car. How about that Harvick- two in a row, next is Phoenix. |
Congratulations and have fun driving that sucker. Are you going to replace the tie rods ends once you get there or just let her take it and get it done? Just curious, since you've done all of the hard stuff already.
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I’ll let her take it to the alignment shop and get it fixed in AZ. The car drives fine, we drove it 120 miles today. I will drive it a few days this week, we leave Saturday morning for AZ. |
Gotcha. Have a safe trip, Andy.
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Fallon, Nevada tonight half way there. Another 635 miles tomorrow. Tows great at 80 mph the posted limit on this part of I-80. |
Down and back, about 2500 miles with no problems. My sister in law is so happy to have “Stella” back home. I didn’t know the car had a name. LOL It snowed like crazy on the last pass before we got home today, luckily the Lincoln has all speed automatic 4wd and traction control. If they they are in any kind of traction control times towing makes you run chains on the tow rig and drag chains on the trailer. No requirements today! Timed it right. |
Happy to hear that you're back home and Stella is where she belongs. Now, get yourself back to work, slacker! LOL
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Moving on back to work! Craigslist find, small backhoe attachment for my 18 hp Massey! $1400 needs a little work like some new hoses. Most of the aftermarket hoe attachments are too big for my tractor. This is a Grizzly it was built back in the 90s and is just the right size. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sat...014ac2267.jpeg |
Next on the agenda is a shop. Waiting on the quote from the metal building people. My slab is 19.5 ft by 28 ft. Standard size building is 20 x 31, really 30 but the tin hangs over. They bend the trusses in house so the 19.5 ft width is no problem. With 12 ft walls the roof will clear the hoist with room to spare. 12 ft high 10 ft wide overhead door on the end and a walk in door on the side. Very excited 3 to 6 weeks out, should get the price first of the week. $5-6000 range |
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Nice job, Andy. I trust it's all working as it's supposed to now.
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I am going to get the two cars with the ecotec 4 cylinders that I gifted to my oldest daughter’s family back. My grandson has wrecked both cars in the last 6 months. My daughter has purchased her daughter a car to take to college. I told her I would come get both cars and figure out what to do with them. I just went through the L engine so I want that car back. The Olds Alero needs a nose job, my grandson rear ended someone at school. The Olds may just be parts for future L or Ions in my future. |
Sounds like you need to give your grandson some driving lessons, Andy. I sure hope he's not one of those kids that drives with his phone in one hand, like so many do nowadays.
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His parents revoked his driving privileges. He will practice with his father and will revisit the privilege when he is older. |
That's a great plan!
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