POS Jetta update: plates!

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
05/14/2019 at 08:35 • Filed to: None

I even parked them by each other!

I got plates! It wasn’t even hard!

A few weeks back I got temp tags for it. Ohio does 45 day ones now, so I was clear til June 2nd. Since it’s “roadworthy” now, yesterday I drove to the BMV and had an out of state VIN inspection done. Sidebar, is it normal for a car to go from 80k to 273k in one year? Who cares! Then, I drove to the title bureau (I didn’t realize the BMV I went to wasn’t one) and handed them my Indiana title (no notary required in that state), VIN inspection, my license, and some cash, and bam, Ohio title. Then I went across the hall and got plates and registration good until August 2020. Easy!

Now, I’ve gotta make it less sketchy. I threw a new fuel pump in and it drives now, but the spare pump I had has an intermittent sender. Not a huge deal, but I’d like my gas gauge to work. I also need to fix the wipers. Obviously I need to blades, but the motors are sketchy as well. And the stalk is different than my Golf- there’s the normal middle “off” position in middle, a bump up gets you a wipe, and a down click should get intermittents. Maybe it has auto wipers? Either way, they don’t work unless you hold the stalk up.

After I sort that, I think I need a new idle control valve. It idles around 600 for a while, lugging itself, then goes up to 800ish where the Golf idles. Not a huge issue, but I’d like it to work. I’d also like a new steering wheel. The current one is old an d flakey and generally kind of gross. I’ll find a facelifted Cabrio one to match my Golf.

Up next is tires. The rears have good tread but were sitting for three years so might be a bit dry rotted. Fronts are bald.

Then, shifter bushings. As it sits, to get into 1st, I need to slam it into 2nd first to find the gate, then get 1st. Otherwise I risk grabbing reverse. You’re supposed to have to push the shifter down to get into the reverse gate, but it seem loose in the Jetta. I also get a ton of play in it, enough so that I have no clue what gear I’m starting in without throwing it around. I’ve had many 3rd gear starts.

It also probably needs end links. I get a major clunk when turning at low speeds, similar to as in the Golf, but to a much greater level. While I’m at it I’ll probably do wheel bearings, at least grease on them.

And now the most alarming problem. As I drove to the BMV, the oil chime went off on the highway. (Should I have been on the highway in this? In the rain? No!) I got off an exit early and stopped at a gas station. Dipstick read good level, so I popped the oil cap and... Milkshake. Welp. What could I do? I drove to the BMV, did inspection, got plates, and went home. I parked it and checked the cap again for giggles, and no milkshake. Is this normal? I don’t really want to do a head gasket.

Apart from those tiny things, I’d like to change all the fluids and belts, then do a major cleaning (I’m talking pull carpets). Then if I’m up to it, I may weld in new rockers and throw some sideskirts on to match the rest of the body kit.

DISCUSSION (13)

ttyymmnn > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 08:46

As a former Fox then Golf owner (I’d still have my Golf if some drunk hadn’t totaled it), I gotta ask: Are you a masochist?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > ttyymmnn
05/14/2019 at 09:29

Nah, see, your Golf was a Mk4, so it was unreliable, rusty, and hard to work on. Mine are Mk3s, so they’re unreliable, rusty, an d easy to work on.

Plus, two of the same car means my fleet is twice as reliable.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 09:45

Milkshake oil happened in my Jetta due to not driving it on long enough trips. You need to let that engine operate at temperature for a while. Especially in cold weather. It’ll “burn off” the water in the oil over time. I used to have to let my engine idle for 5-10 minutes before going to work in the winter since I’d only drive 5 or so miles to work and then 5 or so miles home. I had the exact same chain of events - lots of short trips, oil light, and then milkshake under the cap.

ttyymmnn > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 09:47

Plus, two of the same car means my fleet is twice as reliable

0+0=0

TrickJos > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 09:49

Hey! I used to live one street over on Chambers.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > ttyymmnn
05/14/2019 at 09:52

Math checks out!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
05/14/2019 at 09:54

Sounds right then. As far as I know, the only times it’s been turned one lately were idling ~30 minutes at the house I bought it from, maybe 5 for a road test, 15 driving it to my house, then my dad drove it for maybe 2 minutes around the block. Hopefully it won’t present itself again.

I don't really know what the triggers are for the oil warning. I figured it was just level, but there may be a moisture sensor?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > TrickJos
05/14/2019 at 09:55

Hey, go Flyers! I graduated on Sunday. Grad school now.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 10:16

I think it’s a combination of level + milkshake oil being less dense or more prone to be in a vapor state so when hot, it looks like you don’t have as much? I did add a splash of “good” oil once I realized what had happened and then started increasing the length of time I ran it.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 10:18

Oh, and this is a good enough excuse to post my old Mk3 here. Same as yours in that it was a 98, but mine was the GL and not GT.

Kinja'd!!!

TrickJos > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
05/14/2019 at 10:27

Congrats! I graduated in 2012.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
05/14/2019 at 11:44

Sounds right. I'm gonna throw some heavier stuff in there anyways because it's pretty high miles, so that will likely help.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
05/14/2019 at 11:45

Ooh.

Also, I found out that it's actually a 97, not a 98. I misread the VIN when I got it. It currently has a bunch of bicycle stickers on it.