NAC..'00 VW Passat 4Motion...$7200 in repairs!!!

[Dan Cordon]

<snip>

>The car is a V6, 3.0 I believe, but maybe still the
>2.8, and I live in Iowa, but the car was a southern
>car until December when I bought it. 
>  
>
I believe the 4 motion only was available with the 2.8L V6 in 2000, so 
this makes sense.

>The check engine light came on about 2000 miles into
>my ownership, the emission workshop light about the
>same time. Then about 1500 miles later I got loud
>vibration when taking off from a stop. It got worse,
>and starting makeing a noise on deceleration as well,
>not rumbling, a rattling. So, I figured it was time to
>take it in.
>  
>
Vibration as you describe could sure be the driveshaft, or one of the 
joints in it. IIRC, VW only sells the whole unit, which is expensive. 
Other shops may have fixes for just the U joints or center bearing (if 
equipped). Check with some of the big VW tuner shops to see if they have 
better options. Could also be one of the front CV joints too. Those are 
easy for a shop to inspect.

>I live in Iowa <snip>
>  
>
>I hadn't noticed any oil leaking, but the dealer told
>me it was all in the plastic tray covering the bottom
>of the engine. It was a the valve gasket and the belt
>tensioner cover gaskets or something like that, I
>don't have the paper in front of me.
>  
>
For comparison, you can get the factory valve cover and timing gasket 
sets from http://www.autohausaz.com for VERY cheap. Part number 078 198 
025 is the valve set. Your car requires two. They're $30 each. Part 
number 058 198 217 is the timing chain gasket set. Your car also 
requires two. They're $4 each. Another lister mentioned that the job is 
pretty easy. If you're not comfortable with the job yourself, possible 
many mechanics could do it for you if you provide them the parts.

>As far as performance, I had noticed a slight miss at
>idle, and my gas milage has never broken 22 on the
>highway. 20 in the city. Not terrible, but I think a
>little low, and I do get a heavy foot at times.
>
>I only bought this car to drive for a couple of months
>then sell, but it's tough to sell a car that makes
>noises. In the meantime I'm driving my $200 4kq 50
>miles a day!
>  
>
Yes, it's hard to sell a car that has problems. But you should be able 
to remedy the problems for a lot less than $7k though. Worst case:

Two new cats (bolt in from Catco) $700
Two new O2 sensors (Bosch units) $250
New gaskets $75
New Driveshaft from VW $1400

Instal costs will be minimal for the exhaust parts (maybe $150)
Gaskets should not cost much either (Another $150?)
Driveshaft (on the Audi's anyway) come in and out easily too (less than 
$100)

I would recommend having a driveline shop check your driveshaft. They 
should be able to tell you if it's a problem or not.

Then, I would have the two rear O2 sensors checked out. VW factory 
manual should have a test protocol to see if they're good or bad. If 
they are indeed bad, replace them and see if the problem goes away. 
Unless you've been running VERY rich, or burning a lot of oil, the 
converters should still be adequate.

>Thanks for everyone's help so far, and keep the
>suggestions coming!
>
>slm
>

Good luck. And keep us posted-

-- 
--
Dan Cordon
Mechanical Engineer - Engine Research Facility
University of Idaho