Thursday, September 12, 2013

14 Years and 200k miles

Well she finally did it. We turned over 200,000 miles on the odometer. Just change the oil every 4k miles. Currently using Peak oil 10/40 with a big Microguard filter. I use to use 5 30 when the car was young. I also use to be very particular about type of oil. I mainly stuck with Castrol for the first 100k. Then I started buying whatever brand was on sale. I have mostly used Fram oil filters. But sometimes I buy whatever was on special.I read something online about Microguard being a better filter than the Fram and it is cheaper.   I have also switched between 2 different sizes of filter. There is the 2870 and then there is the 3569 filter. One filter  is bigger than the other.   Hence more filter area and fits just fine. They say the 1.8 liter turbo engine should use synthetic, but I have stuck to the old fashion oil and my car still runs just fine. I mainly stuck to the old oil to prove a point . At first i did not want to switch because Synthetic was so much more expensive. But now synthetic has really come down in price. But since I am already 200k into this experiment I figure I will stick it out to the end and keep using Dinosaur oil till the car dies. It does burn at least a quart of oil between every change. I think it burns less oil now that I switched to 10/40 but it is hard to tell. Also over the years i have had some oil leaks mainly from the oil cooler. Usually happens in winter time once that gasket gets cold and brittle then it starts leaking. So that messes up my measuring the amount of oil the car burns. hard to say how much is burned off and how much is leaked out. On all other maintenance I try to follow recommended intervals. Two things I highly recommend is changing out your radiator fluid and your brake fluid on a consistent basis.  Most people do not understand that those fluids do brake down and need to be changed.  I ended up selling this car in October 2017.  It had 225k miles on it and still running strong. 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Upper Control Arms Part#3

Finally got her done. It took me almost a whole week to do this and the half shaft. I just do it in my spare time and had to run around for tools. Not sure how many true mechanic hours I worked..Part 3 thanks for watching.

Upper Control Arms Part #2

I fought the suspension parts and they won. Well I did get it done but it was hard and my body was sore. Surely there is an easier way. I just did not know it. I bought the parts at WWW.ECSTuning.com for $177.

DIY Upper Control Arms Part #1

Install new upper control arms purchased from ECS Tuning for $177. A pretty hard project, glad to be done with it. Car rides better and no more loud noises from my front suspension. This is part #1 of a 3 part series. I ended up taking out the half shaft and replacing the CV boot. It was torn and figured I might as well do it.

How To Fix Blinking ABS Brake Lights On Dash

DIY fix the blinking ABS/brake light on dashboard of VW Passat b5.

Transmission Service

Servicing the Tiptronic transmission on 1999 VW Passat B5 1.8 liter turbo. Fairly Easy project. I wish I would have done this sooner. The car has over 190k miles on it. 165k on this transmission fluid and filter. I bought the kit through BlauParts $104.95. Highly recommend them!

Half Shaft

Repairing torn boot on half shaft on 1999 VW Passat B5. Bought the kit at Napa for $17. Kit had incorrect size e-clip/snap ring. I had to re-use the old one. For ease and convenience I would prefer to use a kit that you can glue on with out removing the CV joint. A couple years ago I did the other half shaft with a glue kit and it took me approx 1 hr. It was a pain in the neck to do and I would not do this repair again.

Valve Cover Gaskets Replaced

Replace leaking Valve cover gaskets. Purchase at O'Reilly's for $28. They looked like they had been used before, but i decided to go ahead and install them. So far no leaks. Easy project, would recommend doing this if you are leaking oil at the valve covers.