I own a 1998 Jetta TDI which recently experienced a pretty horrible engine
failure. The lifter broke while I was on the highway, which caused the head
to crack amongst other things.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a Boston-area shop who could rebuild
this engine? I have taken very good care of this car and would at least
like to get an estimate on how much this would cost before throwing in the
towel.

Thanks --

"Ian Goodsell" <iangoodsell (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

did it grenade and if so, did the turbo get damaged? Any speculation on why
the component failed? Perhaps the timing belt failed causing the lifter to
be damaged?
IMHO, I would go for a used unit from a reputable wrecker ( I like ones that
do compression checks) or if the car is in exceptional condition, a new
crate motor. I am not a big fan of rebuilt engines, very hard to make an
engine work as well as the factory did, doing it correctly is a huge parts
expense and there are very few shops I would consider.
I remember seeing new engine assemblies for somewhere around $3K and they
included pump, turbo and injectors, something to consider if your components
have high miles and/or the turbo is damaged.

--TW Just my opinion.

Would your car not be covered by the 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain
warranty? You might want to contact VW and see what they say.

- Peter

"Tundra Wookie" <tundra_wookie (AT) hhoottmmaaiill (DOT) com> wrote

"Peter Cressman" <cressmanp (AT) sympatico (DOT) ca> wrote

North Slope in a '98 Jetta TDI with 68K mi on it, every other '98 Jetta TDI
I have seen has exceeded 100K already. My warranty ended sometime in year 3.
Can't believe I have had it for over 5 years now and it still makes me smile
when the turbo spools up, I've never owned and driven a car for that long of
a contiguous period.

--TW

A little more information (thanks for all of the responses):

I really loved driving this car prior to the engine failing. It's only 5
years old and I have taken very good care of it, and up until this point I
really didn't have any major problems with it. The car has 122,000 miles on
it. I just had it in for the 120,000 mile service, which included the
timing belt.

The mechanic who has the car now (not the dealer who performed the service)
said that it appeared that the timing belt was tensioned properly.

The only reason I haven't bought a new car yet is because I just bought a
2003 Passat wagon for my wife about a week prior to this happening and I
really don't want another car payment at this point.

VW customer service has told me on a couple of occasions that there is
nothing that they can do for me (one of the folks I talked to was pretty
rude about this, too). I'm not sure what I was expecting them to do about
this since the car was out of warantee. If they had been a little more
sympathetic or tried to help me in some way, I would probably have dropped
another $17K on a new Golf to replace this already. Although I really like
the brand, I am not leaning towards buying another VW due to the way I was
treated on the phone.

If I'm going to keep this car, I am either going to have to get the engine
rebuilt or buy a new engine. I would appreciate any recommendations on
either of these.

Thanks!

Check out this link, but take it with a grain of salt. The list was
originally compiled by the folks at BBN many years ago.
http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Garage/intro.html

Stay away from Metric Systems in Cambridge.

Ian Goodsell wrote:

In article <bepgbh$6ln$1 (AT) bob (DOT) news.rcn.net>,
"Ian Goodsell" <iangoodsell (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

You might try Shine Racing <www.srsvw.com> I think they are in the
Northeast somewhere...I had the impression it was Boston but maybe not.
In any event, however, I suspect a used engine would be the way to go.
Or perhaps just a rebuilt or new cylinder head. Have you checked the
TDI club forums on the web? They may be able to advise on a good Boston
area mechanic/garage.

Bill maslin (AT) cvm (DOT) msstate.edu
78 Rabbit...10/77 - 4/02 82 Convertibles(s)...since 93
95 Golf GL...since 11/99 02 Passat 1.8T Tip GLS...since 4/02
(Remove the CAT to email me)

Thanks for the info; I had called Metric Systems and was seriously
considering bringing the car there. Sounde like you had really bad luck
with them.

I've posted the same question on http://www.tdiclub.com and have gotten a
few responses. Do you know any others?

Thanks for the tip about Shine Racine, I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Ian Goodsell wrote:
Went to Metric Systems based on the list's recommendation. They were ok
for a couple of years. For the last three jobs, they:

- Screwed up one job and asked me to pay for the parts and time.
- Could not complete another job on promised time.
- Kept suggesting more repairs needed, including replacing a timing belt
they replaced six months earlier. They are still in the stone ages
without a computer to keep records.
- When questioned about the above, the owner was condescending and
defensive.

Won't see me there any more.