Hello All,
This is a long post so please be patient. I'm in a dilemma as I’m not sure which way to go here with my 2006 Jetta currently at 222k miles and 11.5 years old. A timeline of what has occurred this year:
January
Replaced headliner (most of it was sagging) and windshield (a crack that started at the passenger A-pillar 5 years ago finally advanced into the driver’s side) for about $700.
Mid-March
Bring car into shop at 221k miles after a month of the engine increasingly running rougher and sluggish, plus belching black exhaust when accelerating. Issue turns out that it’s a worn camshaft and lifters. As part of this repair is to remove the timing belt, I authorized shop M (specializes in foreign car repair especially VWs and also on my typical work commute route) to replace the belt and water pump instead of waiting until 240k miles. Shop M also notices a lot of metal shavings and recommends that the oil pan be cleaned as well which I approve. Cost of repair and maintenance work $3500. A day after getting car back (engine running smooth and peppy), the low coolant light comes on. Checked the reservoir and it’s empty. Shop M stated that air pockets in coolant system are being burped and provides me with half gallon of coolant to top off in reservoir as needed.
April
After a couple of weeks the low coolant light is still coming on every time. What’s different this time is that the reservoir is full but now the coolant looks oily. Check dipstick and oil level is good. Shop M asks that I bring the car in but I can’t as I will be on a multi-week business trip (car is parked at airport).
Mid-May
Bring car into shop M and initial guess is bad head gasket ($1200 estimate). However my previous experience with blown head gaskets is that coolant gets into the oil, not vice versa. Intend to bring car to shop S (also a foreign car shop but high-end towards BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, etc.) for second opinion but they have customer unfriendly hours (closes at 6 daily, not open on Saturdays). In the meantime I notice that my coolant temp is lower than usual and that it’s losing oil per the dipstick. I top off the oil which is the first time I’ve had to do since getting the Jetta. Then oil spots are showing up where my car has parked. Finally on my commute home my temp gauge goes into the red which is fortunately just before I pass Shop M and I drop off the car there.
The next day shop M does a pressure check to see if the head gasket is an issue with only 2 cylinders are losing pressure but not into the cooling system. They believe source of oil into the coolant is now probably the engine oil cooler. They also find a leak on a heater hose which is the source of the oil spots. They replace the oil cooler and heater hoses and flush the system three times and add stop leak on the coolant fill. They take it out for a test drive and oil level has dropped and there’s oil in the coolant again. Cost for this work is $1500.
Now shop M suggests either replacing the head gasket or the engine. The engine replacement suggestion is because they’re not sure how long the DMF will last (I had it “repaired” under warranty at 49950 miles). A week ago I asked for quotes for both options THAT I’M STILL WAITING ON. The Jetta is still at shop M.
Questions
Is there something else the shop should look at? If no, what route should I go – replace the head gasket, engine, or car?
Note that the car is in pretty good shape for its age and mileage (excepting this issue). My plan was to keep the car until the body rusted out (400k?) unless repair/maintenance costs get too excessive.
Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.
This is a long post so please be patient. I'm in a dilemma as I’m not sure which way to go here with my 2006 Jetta currently at 222k miles and 11.5 years old. A timeline of what has occurred this year:
January
Replaced headliner (most of it was sagging) and windshield (a crack that started at the passenger A-pillar 5 years ago finally advanced into the driver’s side) for about $700.
Mid-March
Bring car into shop at 221k miles after a month of the engine increasingly running rougher and sluggish, plus belching black exhaust when accelerating. Issue turns out that it’s a worn camshaft and lifters. As part of this repair is to remove the timing belt, I authorized shop M (specializes in foreign car repair especially VWs and also on my typical work commute route) to replace the belt and water pump instead of waiting until 240k miles. Shop M also notices a lot of metal shavings and recommends that the oil pan be cleaned as well which I approve. Cost of repair and maintenance work $3500. A day after getting car back (engine running smooth and peppy), the low coolant light comes on. Checked the reservoir and it’s empty. Shop M stated that air pockets in coolant system are being burped and provides me with half gallon of coolant to top off in reservoir as needed.
April
After a couple of weeks the low coolant light is still coming on every time. What’s different this time is that the reservoir is full but now the coolant looks oily. Check dipstick and oil level is good. Shop M asks that I bring the car in but I can’t as I will be on a multi-week business trip (car is parked at airport).
Mid-May
Bring car into shop M and initial guess is bad head gasket ($1200 estimate). However my previous experience with blown head gaskets is that coolant gets into the oil, not vice versa. Intend to bring car to shop S (also a foreign car shop but high-end towards BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, etc.) for second opinion but they have customer unfriendly hours (closes at 6 daily, not open on Saturdays). In the meantime I notice that my coolant temp is lower than usual and that it’s losing oil per the dipstick. I top off the oil which is the first time I’ve had to do since getting the Jetta. Then oil spots are showing up where my car has parked. Finally on my commute home my temp gauge goes into the red which is fortunately just before I pass Shop M and I drop off the car there.
The next day shop M does a pressure check to see if the head gasket is an issue with only 2 cylinders are losing pressure but not into the cooling system. They believe source of oil into the coolant is now probably the engine oil cooler. They also find a leak on a heater hose which is the source of the oil spots. They replace the oil cooler and heater hoses and flush the system three times and add stop leak on the coolant fill. They take it out for a test drive and oil level has dropped and there’s oil in the coolant again. Cost for this work is $1500.
Now shop M suggests either replacing the head gasket or the engine. The engine replacement suggestion is because they’re not sure how long the DMF will last (I had it “repaired” under warranty at 49950 miles). A week ago I asked for quotes for both options THAT I’M STILL WAITING ON. The Jetta is still at shop M.
Questions
Is there something else the shop should look at? If no, what route should I go – replace the head gasket, engine, or car?
Note that the car is in pretty good shape for its age and mileage (excepting this issue). My plan was to keep the car until the body rusted out (400k?) unless repair/maintenance costs get too excessive.
Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated.
Jetta Dilemma
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