Upgrades to a '00 1.8Q TT with 80K miles??
05-04-2004, 01:53 PM
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Upgrades to a '00 1.8Q TT with 80K miles??
I have 80,000+ miles on my 2000 1.8Q and I have been considering adding a Borla exhaust. Does anyone think that because of the number of miles on the car that a aftermarket exhaust shouldn't be added because the car won't last long enough. I would like to keep it for at least another 2 years.
If so, does anyone have any suggestions on a quality/inexpensive service center where I could take the car to get the exhaust installed, I live in a western suburb of Chicago.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
If so, does anyone have any suggestions on a quality/inexpensive service center where I could take the car to get the exhaust installed, I live in a western suburb of Chicago.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.
05-04-2004, 01:57 PM
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Before anything else, I would HIGHLY recomend getting the timing belt/water pump
replaced, if you haven't already. A lot of people have had them break at 60k miles and up.
05-04-2004, 02:02 PM
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Yeah, not a bad idea, as for the Borla - hell no! You should easily double that mileage or more
with decent maintenance,as others have said. The Borla, with its 1M mile warranty, should complement the TT nicely as time goes by! It works nicely, in all seriousness, and is a good value.
05-04-2004, 02:07 PM
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Re: Before anything else, I would HIGHLY recomend getting the timing belt/water pump
Thanks for the suggestion.
Would you take it to the dealership and have them install it or would you install the pump and belt yourself?
Would you take it to the dealership and have them install it or would you install the pump and belt yourself?
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05-04-2004, 02:23 PM
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I have the Bentley and it explains how to do it but...
I don't think it's a project for the unexperienced. It requires removal of a lot of stuff and you have to be pretty meticulous when putting the belt on. That said, I think I may try it myself when the time comes (next summer). The parts are only like 200 bucks but to have it done is like $700, so there is definitely incentive to try.
Here is a post someone made on VWVortex about their experience changing the belt...
<i>So I'm approaching 60M on my '01 GTI and figuring, cool, I have an excuse to spend money on my car to change the timing belt. I shopped ECS's site and jotted down their prices before going to my local stealer, figuring I'd rather buy locally. BUT, I nearly choked when I found out what the dealer was asking for the parts... AT LEAST double what ECS was asking, so I said screw it, if I'm going to get gouged I'm not going to support my local dealer.
This was my first experience buying from ECS and I can say I am 100% pleased. Excellent pricing, fast delivery and this was like the only mail order company I've ever done business with that didn't screw things up and send me wrong parts or an incomplete order. I bought:
Timing belt kit ($189.95), which includes the t-belt, tensioner, tensioner roller and idler roller.
Water pump ($49.95)
Antifreeze ($18.95)
Serpentine belt ($22.95)
By the way, the parts are all OEM except for the water pump (more below)
ECS is now offering the passenger side engine mount bolt kit for $13.95. They didn't offer it a few weeks ago when I bought my parts and I ended up paying over $70 for these bolts at the stealer. The old bolts shouldn't be reused because they are torqued to yield as specified in the Bentley. (If you reuse them they will loosen over time, or better yet may break when you try to torque them to spec.) I didn't purchase the serpentine tensioner because it was $70 and looks easy enough to replace if it goes out within the next 60M. But I have a feeling it will last. It's been discussed a few times on the forum already, but ECS's water pump uses a metal impeller. I think it's cast iron... either way, it's not the same brand as the stock pump but looks to be of equal or better quality.
Now, the act of replacing the belt is actually pretty easy. There's lots more room than what I'm used to (Honda) and if you pop off the passenger-front wheel you'll have easy access to the crank pulley. The sparkplugs should be removed to ease hand-turning the engine. BTW, the crank damper on the 1.8T is removed by unscrewing four small Allen-headed bolts... no fighting with that big 180 ft-lb crank bolt, for those of you who were wondering. Just remember to make the sparkplugs tighter than they were when you removed them, otherwise a little combustion pressure will leak by next time you drive and pop off the coil pack(s). Stock spec is 22 ft-lbs; I have Iridiums in my car so instead of laying out another $60 for new plugs I torqued them to 25 ft-lbs. No problems.
One minor hangup I did encounter was removing and reinstalling the passenger side engine mount. This is the spot with minimal tool clearance, and the bolts won't slide out of the mount. But that's ok because once the bolt is threaded out of the block you can leave it in the mount. There is a clearance issue when pulling the mount out of the engine bay, but the key here is to remember that the engine is mounted on rubber and can easily be shifted around to make clearance. That and jacking the engine up higher than usual.
The belt tensioner doesn't give you a lot of fudge room and getting the new belt in will seem impossible. The way I ended up doing it was getting the belt situated the belt BEFORE putting in the new tensioner. When the belt was in I used a punch to line up the boltholes in the tensioner and on the block. BINGO. Turn the engine clockwise at least two complete revolutions to set the belt tension and verify correct cam timing and you're in business.
BTW, pulling the water pump dumps a ton of antifreeze so now's a good time to replace the thermostat. Given that a gallon of G-12 costs 19 bucks you won't want to drain the cooling system again in the future!
One last thing... I realize the Bentley suggests timing belt replacement at 105M, but then I also realize that VW states that the car's fuel filter and antifreeze last the life of the vehicle. YEAH, RIGHT. I'll pay my money for maintenance sooner rather than later, thank you very much.
</i>
Here is a post someone made on VWVortex about their experience changing the belt...
<i>So I'm approaching 60M on my '01 GTI and figuring, cool, I have an excuse to spend money on my car to change the timing belt. I shopped ECS's site and jotted down their prices before going to my local stealer, figuring I'd rather buy locally. BUT, I nearly choked when I found out what the dealer was asking for the parts... AT LEAST double what ECS was asking, so I said screw it, if I'm going to get gouged I'm not going to support my local dealer.
This was my first experience buying from ECS and I can say I am 100% pleased. Excellent pricing, fast delivery and this was like the only mail order company I've ever done business with that didn't screw things up and send me wrong parts or an incomplete order. I bought:
Timing belt kit ($189.95), which includes the t-belt, tensioner, tensioner roller and idler roller.
Water pump ($49.95)
Antifreeze ($18.95)
Serpentine belt ($22.95)
By the way, the parts are all OEM except for the water pump (more below)
ECS is now offering the passenger side engine mount bolt kit for $13.95. They didn't offer it a few weeks ago when I bought my parts and I ended up paying over $70 for these bolts at the stealer. The old bolts shouldn't be reused because they are torqued to yield as specified in the Bentley. (If you reuse them they will loosen over time, or better yet may break when you try to torque them to spec.) I didn't purchase the serpentine tensioner because it was $70 and looks easy enough to replace if it goes out within the next 60M. But I have a feeling it will last. It's been discussed a few times on the forum already, but ECS's water pump uses a metal impeller. I think it's cast iron... either way, it's not the same brand as the stock pump but looks to be of equal or better quality.
Now, the act of replacing the belt is actually pretty easy. There's lots more room than what I'm used to (Honda) and if you pop off the passenger-front wheel you'll have easy access to the crank pulley. The sparkplugs should be removed to ease hand-turning the engine. BTW, the crank damper on the 1.8T is removed by unscrewing four small Allen-headed bolts... no fighting with that big 180 ft-lb crank bolt, for those of you who were wondering. Just remember to make the sparkplugs tighter than they were when you removed them, otherwise a little combustion pressure will leak by next time you drive and pop off the coil pack(s). Stock spec is 22 ft-lbs; I have Iridiums in my car so instead of laying out another $60 for new plugs I torqued them to 25 ft-lbs. No problems.
One minor hangup I did encounter was removing and reinstalling the passenger side engine mount. This is the spot with minimal tool clearance, and the bolts won't slide out of the mount. But that's ok because once the bolt is threaded out of the block you can leave it in the mount. There is a clearance issue when pulling the mount out of the engine bay, but the key here is to remember that the engine is mounted on rubber and can easily be shifted around to make clearance. That and jacking the engine up higher than usual.
The belt tensioner doesn't give you a lot of fudge room and getting the new belt in will seem impossible. The way I ended up doing it was getting the belt situated the belt BEFORE putting in the new tensioner. When the belt was in I used a punch to line up the boltholes in the tensioner and on the block. BINGO. Turn the engine clockwise at least two complete revolutions to set the belt tension and verify correct cam timing and you're in business.
BTW, pulling the water pump dumps a ton of antifreeze so now's a good time to replace the thermostat. Given that a gallon of G-12 costs 19 bucks you won't want to drain the cooling system again in the future!
One last thing... I realize the Bentley suggests timing belt replacement at 105M, but then I also realize that VW states that the car's fuel filter and antifreeze last the life of the vehicle. YEAH, RIGHT. I'll pay my money for maintenance sooner rather than later, thank you very much.
</i>
05-04-2004, 02:50 PM
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hear ye hear ye do the tbelt!
if you are comfortable with that stuff, it's not too difficult, i've been promising a write up for weeks now 
I actually may finish it on the train tomorrow.
I actually may finish it on the train tomorrow.
