she is sold...

and fixie is sold,

I gonna miss her :(

car finally fixed

I finally got the missing part from germany and was able to fix the car at 107k miles.

replaced:

faulty third party speed sensor with oem speed sensor

done:

oil change, since it was parked for 4 weeks
recharged battery
I also got it smog tested today and it passed without any issues.

new pictures

current pictures of the car can be found here.

Now it turned out that the battery was drained by the alarm system...

http://itsaboutlight.net/p361007286

at 107k miles:

replaced speed sensor - 69$
replaced suction pump - 29$

needed replacement part

this one

installation seems simple enough, unplug. Loosen bolt, switch sensor, tighten bolt plugin.

Will be done once I'm back from germany.

oil change and now not starting

well after I fixed the skid plate vibrations with a bit of superglue and a couple of washers to raise it 2 - 3 mm I thought it's time for an oil change and so I went to the local store and said, please change my oil.

Afterwards the car didn't start at first and an hour later it started again. Today I drove to sac and it stopped working in midtown and had to be towed back to davis.

Let's see what it is this time...

But so far I guess AAMCO messed up during the oilchange and better fix it free of charge. Otherwise it should be only 200$, since the error code points only to the speed sensor, which cost 70$ and I could fix it my self once I got the part.

burning oil between changes

I like statistics and I like my car. Which means I know that the car burns oil, like every passat. But the more important question is how much oil does it burn?

After doing daily oil checks I could estimate a loss of 1 quart of oil on 3000 miles, which translates in nothing to worry about. Just fill it up when it's needed and be happy. After all passats are know to eat up to 4 quarts between oil changes without any malfunction.

At least that's what the volkswagen service says...

well we finally found the source of the weird vibrations in revers. Basically the oil pan shifted forward a bit and rubbed with the corner on the skid plate which transmitted the engine vibrations to the car.

Solution: time to cut a tiny hole into the skid plate were it rubs against the pan and the vibrations should be gone.

done today:

• new transmission oil
• new transmission gaskets
• new transmission plugs
• new transmission seals
• replace PCV valves and pipes

parts: 230$
labor: 120$

but fixie should be happy now and the weird clunking noises from the transmission are gone. It's now all nice and smooth again and I joy to drive it into the high rpms.

transmission oil change

the preparations are running and it looks like it's supposed to be done twice.

• first to drop the pan
• replace fluid and filter
• put back together

and after 1k-5k miles it needs a transmission service to get rid of the stuff which loosened up with the new oil.

Currently ordered

• 130$ transmission oil and filter and gasket
• labor roughly 300$
• special tool: 13$
  

the dreaded cat codes

well my one cat keeps complaining about something, but it passed the smogtest for now and I don't need to retest it for another year, so to get rid of this annoying light and to save money for future diagnostics (80$ eachtime)....

I bought a code reader, which should drive me crazy whenever my fixie throws a new code...

Add to cost of ownership: 144$

Basically the cat complains that the efficiency is below threshold and this seems to be a common software problem with the 2001 Passat's V6. So I just have to get it to a VW dealer and flash the ECU to a newer version. Which cost an hour of labor and so won't be done before needed.

leaking

ok now it's leaking again

• leaking engine oil => looking into the PCV system which should fix it
  
• leaking servo fluid => maybe related to me spilling stuff, we just monitor it for now and maybe some clamps are giving up
  
• leaking transmission fluid => time to buy a new gasket and also do a transmission fuel replacement, it starts to shift weird, which is an indicator for low transmission fluid
  

we are now at 102k miles...

powersterring flush

since these genuineness at Speedees filled up my car with the wrong power steering fluid, I need to flush it and replace it.

Tools 250$

• wrenches to take of the skid plate
• ramps to take of the skid plate
• pliers to take of the messed up nut
  

Liquid:

• 50$ for 2 liter of the special volkswagen liquid

I only did a simple flush in the hope to get enough stuff out and to get the liquid semi clean again, since I did not want to risk that the servo pump runs dry

Done around 101k miles

skid plate

After I did an oilchange I decided to replace the missing skid plate with an aftermarked product

• diselgeek skid plate 250$
• fender liners 100$
• labor 45$

result I'm now protected against roadkill and ice, but the drawback are vibrations while in reverse

Done around 101k miles

Timing belt and Valve Gaskets

Timing Belt and Valve Gaskets:

This was done at 101k miles, shortly after I bought the car

• valve gasket 100$
• timing belt kit 239$
• labor 260$

standard maintenance thing, the pre owner did not like this car...

my passat fixe and what I got it for...

A month back my dogde dakota died on me and so I bought a 2001 Passat GLX without really knowing what I got me into.

This blog is just there to maintain the list of fixes and updates and tools needed for this car.