[Vwdiesel] '02 Golf TDI 240,000

[Dave Cook]

That mileage milestone is approaching.  (current odo reading is 238001.)  I bought it in late January with 226,000 ish showing.  


I plan to do the timing belt and clean the intake manifold at that time along with an oil change.  When I bought the car in January the seller said that it was a fairly recent timing belt, but I don't know for sure how recent.  I chose that benchmark since it'll be somewhat easy to remember.  

 
What else should I consider doing at this point?  It didn't come with a lot of maintenance history, unfortunately.  However, there aren't any real issues that are totally apparent either other than a couple things to also check:  

*There is sometimes a bit of a pulsing in the braking sometimes.  I bought spacer rings for the aftermarket rims which helped this quite a bit but still there is some pulsing.  The brakes (pads and rotors) were new when I bought the car.  Sometimes when they get warm there is a squeaking.  I bet that they were probably less expensive brands.

*There is a chirping when at idle.  I suspect the serpentine belt tensioner.

*A puff of smoke at start up when it has been sitting awhile.  It was suggested that it could be oil leaking past valve seals, though I think it looks more black/fuel related rather than blue-ish.  I think I've added about 1 quart since changing the oil at 230,000.  

*Average mileage since keeping track with an app on my phone in May (Fuel Log) is 39.03, with a high of 43.5 and a low of 34.5.  This is a little lower than I'd like.

*No check engine lights since purchase. (Obviously this is not an issue, but a good thing!)

So, looking for suggestions of things to consider doing along with this good-sized maintanence package.  Especially things that would help with mileage/power!


Dave Cook