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car problems....


smashweights

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ok so here's the deal from firestone's inspection:

needs:

front struts/mounting bearing

rear spring seat shocks, bumper bellows, and some kinda upper mtg kit

new front calipers/pads (left front was sticking, causing the pull)

new rotors...

brake flush

serpentine belt is cracked/dry rotted

dont wanna deal with the struts, as i just wanna make it safe to drive at this point and sell it. so the caliper/pad replacement seems easy enough in the haynes manual, so i'm gonna head to autozone tomorrow and see about picking up a set of them and a vacuum bleeder (been wanting one of those for a while anyway).

Edited by smashweights
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VW dealer screwed me over last time i took it in (Hatfield) and ended up charging me around $350 after a hefty "diagnosis" charge just to fix a wiring harness. Plus they even told me they rarely see this old of a jetta in there shop as it. never again.

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firestone cost for new calipers/pads/fluid flush = $425. Got it done today myself for $180 and repaired a sticking bearing in the drum brake in the back. i'm feelin manly today. hopefully this will fix the problem... we'll find out on the drive to dayton tonight.

BTW, how tough would it be to do the struts and serpentine belt myself? autozone has oem replacement struts at $100 for the front pair, $60 for the back. a hefty shot down from the $1000 firestone wanted.

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Serpentine belt = easy.

Struts = tough one.

really? i woulda thought it'd be the other way. struts just seems like it's clamp the spring, unbolt and replace the struts. but i havent looked over the haynes manual yet either. what's involved in the serpentine belt replacement? struts would probably be my winter unemployment project.

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hmm, we'll they definitely need to get done, and i'm sure as hell not paying hundreds for shop work if i can do it myself for $200. the serp belt i thought about just having a shop do til i saw they're under $20, i'll let you all know after i take a look around the manual. i actually found a guy who photo'd step by step my exact car strut replacement:

http://www.hembrook.com/automotive/vw/jetta/struts/index.html

what luck eh? doesnt seem too complex, other than putting all the parts back on right and making sure the spring is securely compressed. are those non-hydraulic spring compressors alright to use? autozone "sells" them for $50 but you get that back when you return it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

all done. had to buy a special Snap-On 22mm, external hex socket for the front struts (after spending 5 hours touring every hardware store i could find). all 4 struts were totally shot, absolutely no rebound after compression so basically riding on springs. since replacing the front brake calipers, no pull problems at all. also finally put a muffler on the car (fell off last spring) and replaced the serpentine belt. $2000 "worth" of repairs for about $600 after having to buy some new tools etc.

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Nice! I bet the car drives MUCH better, too!

the handling and ride are drastically improved. i used to hit bumps while turning on highway ramps and the car would wiggle/slide out after hitting them and now it's perfect. the ride height actually went up about 1-2" with the new struts and mounting hardware. The old serp. belt was pretty cracked and actually had a 1" section where the ribbing had torn off completely, so hopefully this new belt will also get rid of the occasional hot rubber smell i would get in the cabin (assuming that belt was slipping). And quieter with the muffler, lol.

Fun projects overall, glad i did it myself. Feel like I understand the car a lot better now. Only sad part is i dont know what to work on next now that it's all done.:violin:

Edited by smashweights
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oh i know. i've always done my own work on the bike and it always just makes me feel more confident just knowing a bit more about what's carrying me around. i wouldnt entirely say i know it's done right, just that it probably is given my lack of mechanical experience. LOL!

but thanks for all the feedback everyone.

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all done. had to buy a special Snap-On 22mm, external hex socket for the front struts (after spending 5 hours touring every hardware store i could find). all 4 struts were totally shot, absolutely no rebound after compression so basically riding on springs. since replacing the front brake calipers, no pull problems at all. also finally put a muffler on the car (fell off last spring) and replaced the serpentine belt. $2000 "worth" of repairs for about $600 after having to buy some new tools etc.

Sounds like your jetta was treating you as well as your treated it :/ no offense.

Glad you're back on the road!

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haha, sort of. Never knew anything was really wrong with it and the missing muffler wasn't essential at all. i think the struts had been bad all along, i just never knew any better until it got inspected.

no offense taken. for what it's worth, i do regularly change my fluids and seafoam the car.

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That is what I was thinking?

It sounds like this car might be passed the fix and sell point. Might be best to cut your losses and sell with out fixing it if there is that much wrong with it.

seems good to go now. just trying to keep it alive until i start med school and my weekly driving mileage drops enough that i can get a truck.

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They didn't do it right. As long as everything is ok, on a flat road the steering wheel should be straight. I have had to bring vehicles back in after test driving them after an alignment because of the wheel not being straight. As long as you're not expecting it to be perfect or anything, it should be reasonably straight.

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it's about a 15 degree shift to the left. clearly not near center. it's not like just a little off, it's blatantly off. about what it was before the alignment. only difference now is the car doesnt drift right when i let off the wheel, though the wheel is still turned.

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