[Vwdiesel] Great cars, using a little oil

[Shawn Wright]

On 20 Jun 2003 at 13:50, Doyt W. Echelberger <Doyt at NWOnline.Net> wrote:

> My 85 Jetta TD engine is using some oil this year, and I am glad to read
> that such a condition is not unusual. I was starting to worry a little bit. I
> use Rotella 15W-40, and it is cheap enough that I can almost ignore the cost of
> little oil consumption. It turned out to be an incredible car. I bought it back
> in March of 1988, with 30,000 miles on the clock. Cost me $6,000. And, I could
> probably sell it pretty quick today for at least $1,500.  15 years, $4,500
> depreciation, $300 a year depreciation. VERY good. I probably never did so well
> on any other car in my entire life. And I still like driving it. I respect so
> many things about that car, and the fine engineering that went into it.

Good deal! I paid $4000 CDN for my '85 Jetta D (NA) in 1990, with 180k kms on the
clock. It finally succumbed to rust this year at 485k kms...

> I spent two years looking for one after they came out with the new body
> style for 1985. They were rare. Most dealers were allotted one Jetta TD as
> a demo. And used ones were almost impossible to find. Many of the dealers
> liked them, and gave them to family members when it was time to replace
> them as demos. The odo stopped at 125,000, so I have no idea how many miles are
> on it now, but probably more than a few hundred thousand. I put on a new head
> gasket about 5 years ago, and a clutch 10 years ago, and a few alternators. Had
> to get a used tranny about 1994, and the usual run of brakes and CV joints and
> shocks and tie rod ends every 4-5 years.

I'm curious about the tie rod ends - I've never had to replace them on a VW. I had a
wheel alignment done at about 450k kms and got them to check for play, because I
was amazed they still seemed ok. They were fine. How long do they normally last?

--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
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