wife's VW is a POS

[Z-man]

Originally posted by RobertsStole2nd
Z - what about the comments from Moses and masraum

"I think it's an oil/water emulsion that will go back into solution when the car is fully hot. "


"It could also be condensation from the cold weather. Many 911 guys get this same thing this time of year, Drive the car until it's good and hot and then see if the stuff is still there or if it's boiled off."

could this cause the milk-shakey oil?

The fact that you're loosing 1/2 quart of oil every 1000 miles leads me to believe your problem is more than just condensation.

Re: pressure testing the coolant system - good idea, but again, if the head is cracked, the pressure will be fine, 'cause the engine has to be very hot for the crack to open up.

Start with dropping the oil - see what it looks like. If it's milkshake - then check the seals around the oil cooler, and if those are fine, then pull the head - replace head gasket, check head for cracks.

BTW: Do you know if the motor has over-heated any time during it's lifetime?

- Z.

[RobertsStole2nd]

Z - engine has never overheated.

if i pull the head and replace the gasket (assuming the head isn't cracked), do i take the head to a shop to be machined, or is the gasket just a drop-in replacement?

Again - thanks to you and everyone else. The willingness of everyone here to help, with a non-Porsche no less, is amazing.

Todd

[NICKG]

looks normal for a 2.0 vw...I have a 96 golf, that is condensation. You accumulate more of that on the cap than you would care to imagine, especially short tripping and idling, change the oil with the engine dead cold and if it has coolant in it, you will see it come out first. remember that you should be using 5w30 in it , and that oil gets worked .I think that 1/2 qt is in the owners manual and is well with limits on the car. Having worked at a VW dealer, these motors are truly bulletproof, check the oil pan for cracks because that is the biggest single complaint of excessive oil use.

[RobertsStole2nd]

Nick - i'll get under it, drain the oil, check the pan for cracks, though i haven't seen any drips on the garage floor. i have been running 5w-30 shell dino oil. think i'll be swithcing to synthetic. since you have experience - what's the repair bill on a blown head gasket, if that is the problem?

[NICKG]

about $600, i don't think it will need it. check the coolant, it is red(at least it should be) and make sure it is not low, that is gonna be pretty normal condition i think. typical blown headgastets on vw's are really leaky, oil wise or the go big in terms of using oil. 1 thing to look into is that if you bought it new, it may be a warrantable condition if the gasket is bad....also be aware that vw had a recall on some cars with 2.0 motors for having the piston rings installed upside down! depending on it, they may replace the engine if yours was affected, or rering it. also make sure that the car has a clean air filter(that effects the amount of condensation beleive it or not)

[RobertsStole2nd]

Unfortunately my wife bought it used, so I don't think we could pursue a warranty claim on the gasket. i'll have to find out about the ring recall. upside down rings??? wow.

Nick - great info - thanks.

Todd

[NICKG]

if you bought it as a certifed used vw(and from a vw dealer), the warranty is even better than new!!!!!! call any dealer or vw customer service about running the vin for recalls, you will be suprised. there are recalls for mass air senser, window regulaters(they will do these free for 150k miles), o2 sensers(wa recall) and sevaral others. the ring deal is a remote possibility...but i think that the engines just use more of certain brands of oil as most do, I had a Grand National that leaked so bad with Mobil 1 it was like dumping it out on the ground instead of in the engine, yet the same engine with Shell rotella synthetic never leaked a drop..try different brand oils to find which it likes the dealers tend to use Agip or Quaker state. the other big deal on the car is that it is NORMAL for the rear brakes to be shot about now on that car(35-40k)....cheap fix, 200 max if you do it yourself. dealer rotors are the way to go there(and cheap too) and you are gonna be due for a tune up(late actually...30k or 40k intervals) again cheap.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Do the heads on the 2.0 warp like they sometimes did on the 1.8T? That's another possibility if it really is burning coolant. Hopefully Nick is right, and you'll be just fine. Time to play Jiffy Lube. Also, with that new of a car I wouldn't think synthetic will pose a problem with leaks.

[NICKG]

nope..even the 1.8t's aren't that prone to any real failure (other than coils) but if the coolant was mixed that will do a real job on the car. it must be bright flourescent red/pink...NOT BROWN!!!!! Brown is a mixed coolant and it kills the pump, headgasket and just does not do anything good at all in a real hurrry. don't add ANY coolant unless it comes from the VW dealer or is the correct pentosin stuff.... most VW motors are darn stout pieces save the watterboxer...(old joke, what is in a vanagon tune up kit? a cap, rotor, wires and a headgasket set....)

[NICKG]

oh...the other thing is that if you are burning coolant, the check engine light will be on for a cat inefficiency code....or bank 1 sensor 2 in-op..sometimes both bank 1 sensors (these are the o2 sensor names BTW...bank 1 sensor 1 is before(upstream) cat, bank 1 sensor 2 is after(downstream) cat...which is the system nanny so to speak...it monitors upstream and overall efficiency of the feul and ignition system

[RobertsStole2nd]

Nick, you are right on the mark! very impressive. we just did the rear brakes - $180, they were grinding like a mofo. not sure if it was bought certified, i'll ask my wife about that.

i'm gonna drain the oil, see what it looks like, drop in some synthetic and go from there.

thanks all for your insight, i will keep you posted.

[NICKG]

if you did the brakes yourself, make sure that the calipers have the pistons screwed out enough to make the caliper a bit hard to get over the new pads...otherwise you may not have a hand brake that works well

[SLO-BOB]

My wife's bug was the biggest pos we've ever owned. It had the 2.0 too which, I've been told, is a terrible motor and has been discontinued. I'll vouch for terrible in that ours blew and had to be replaced after 13k careful miles. The 2nd motor leaked oil like a sieve, burned oil like a stunt plane, and had that yellow foamy crap on it for at least 3 years. The good news for you is it never led to anything major. Some sort of H20 is getting in there. It's not worth the hassle to find out where from. 1/2 quart is very low consumption for that motor. I was up around a quart plus per 1k-which is within VW spec.

When we turned it in (a lease) the agent went over it with a fine tooth comb. She said that VWs are crap (vs other cars that have been turned in) and that almost everyone of them comes back with the engine light on and needing mucho repair. She was amazed at how nice ours was. What she didn't know was that we avoided driving it for the last two years of the lease as to avoid repair costs. The engine light did go on all the time, but, to VW's credit, they also fixed the problem under warranty even though it had expired.

Unlikely I'll buy a VW again. Too bad as the 4 I had before that one were pretty great.

Sell it and buy a Honda.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Burned oil like a stunt plane, that's great! Was the 2.0 replaced with the 2.5 5 cylinder?

[masraum]

If you had more than was in the picture, lots more, and the car is used for 40mile commutes, then I'd say that it's not a condensation issue like I had previously proposed, but is more likely one of the more costly, pain in the butt issues, like a head gasket or cracked head. Sorry to say that. a 40 mile commute in a water cooled car even in cold weather should get the oil hot enough to clear up any condensation, and if you have it gooped on there thick then that's likely not the answer anyway. Pull the radiator cap and the cap to the overflow reservoir. Is there oil in either one of those? Is the coolant level decreasing or increasing or just the oil. It sounds like a more serious problem.

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Burned oil like a stunt plane, that's great! Was the 2.0 replaced with the 2.5 5 cylinder?

Nope-just tossed another 2.0 in that they prolly pulled out of some used pos on the next lot.

[ken_xman]

My wifes 95 vw cabrio did the same thing.....its normal. condensation... GUARNTEED!
I almost pulled her motor apart too. Change the oil, and drive on a few long drives. Check the dipstick.... not the cap. If the dipstick is milky... only then go for a head gasket.

[NICKG]

Originally posted by Sebring77
Nope-just tossed another 2.0 in that they prolly pulled out of some used pos on the next lot.

what year bug? 98-01? those were the ones with bad rings...
masraum: in a place that has extreme changes in temp, hot and cold like the north east, this is a normal condition. you guys in texas and the south don't get real cold weather, this is because of riunning the car in cold...then the hot engine cools and get the condensation. nothing else, like was said before by ken, if the stick isn'y like that, it isn't the head gasket. anyone else a non beleiver? go take the cap off your daily driver 944(mine are )...bet more than one of you sees this same thing, because that is a normal thing with the kind of block venting that the Vw and porsches have (and most euro cars as well) 40 miles in mass is a short trip in cold weather...20 miles each way...you will also need and exhaust soon i bet. I have had lots of vw's and the 2.0 aba style(crossflow) motor is by far the best motor the ever made.

[SLO-BOB]

You got it-2001 bug.

[NICKG]

you got the full monte on that one...windows, switchs, maf, fuse box, wiring, rings and o2 recalls....if you had that many problems, your dealer really sucked, sorry to hear about it. I would love to get a bug with a bad motor...I have a few that were taken out in warranty for the rings