I Bought a $500 GTI with Broken Timing Chains, How BAD Is the Engine? 

I say fix it, then maybe compare it to the blue r32 to see the differences in terms of acceleration and handling

I think parting it out is the best option to recoop the money if the interior is worth saving. If the panels and doors are not rusted out their will be rebuilders looking for it. Engine will cost you at least 2k plus all the little parts and who knows what kind of engine that is. So.... are these worth like 8-10k for a flip? I know, in the late 90s we would be all jacked up for a GTI but they have lost their charm, to me at least.

Hmm…depends on how bad the rest of the car is. If it’s falling apart on the inside Then it’s not worth saving. Still cool to see it as part of a series regardless. Thanks for going through the painful process for our viewing pleasure. Man I miss wrenching on cars

Here is the obligatory "K-swap it" comment. 😛 But seriously, I would toss in some new bearings, slap on another head, and send it. It'll be fine.

EA888 Swap it! :)

Everybody hates on the MK4 but it's still the best car I ever owned and I still miss mine. Drove it up to 300K km before I sold it...

For real and they are abused by idiot kids for their whole life. Im so sick of seeing TDIs with hood stacks. Idiots

Agreed… I’d love to watch you and Charles team up @BMSmouthers…. @humblemechanic you hear that?

Really? I bought one road legal for £800 (like $1100) not long ago. They're pretty cheap in the UK, GTi is actually cheaper than the 1.9TDI

​@@SavedbyHimwho hates on the mk4

Nooooo!!!! ESCAPE WHILE YOU CAN, YOUNG ONE! 🥶🥶🥶

@@ch0wned ^^^ what he said. I a gti vr6 just like this one. And man is it a pain. Best thing about it is the sound of the engine, and the fact that you can put a mk3 steel oil pan on it instead of the mk4 aluminum one. Other than that it’s a pain

This video is partially why you may not in fact want one.

@@agenericaccount3935 I’m a mechanic.

@@JaredsGarage Most mechanics I know aren't into working on their own stuff after doing it as a paying gig all day all week all year. But you go on telling yourself whatever you need to.

Just the upper guide? Do the tensioners go bad as well?

@@rayludwig3893 when I replaced the timing chain and guides only the upper guide, opposing the upper tensioner guide, was bad. It was in pieces, but the engine was still in time. The engine sounded like marbles rattling in a can. I have the afp engine (2001). The lower timing chain and guides looked like they could go another 100k. The upper tensioner guide had little wear. VW should have redesigned the guide. Even a new one just does not feel strong. My plan on my overhauled engine is about 80-90k is to remove the upper intake and valve cover. Lock the cams with the tool and remove the upper timing cover. The guide can be removed by removing a bolt and pulling it out of the perch or bolt in the lower timing cover. The upper tensioner could be replaced and I think the other guides would be good until the next 80-90k. I bought the car new and changed the oil regularly so sludge was never a problem.

@@MrWoowootila I got a 2002 24v vr6 Jetta with 102,000 kms has some marble sound. Not really feeling like removing the transmission. Just ordered the upper guide and tensioner bolt. Hope that fixes it. Doing the crack pipe and thermostat housing while in I’m there as well.

@@rayludwig3893 I would buy the aftermarket aluminum thermostat housing and crack pipe. My original plastic housing starting seeping shortly after buying the car new and replaced it the aftermarket housing. At 100k the plastic housing was brittle and worn at the mating surface. The 24v has some redesigned guides and suppose to last longer, but I have no experience. I know the 24v guide that bolts down with two bolts instead of one. I think you can still replace it without removing the lower timing cover and transmission. The 24v also has a guide between the cam sprockets that the 12v does not. Note on the 12v the rattle you could be hearing is the changeover valve. I am not sure the 24v has it. If it was me I would take off the intake manifold, valve cover, lock the cams with special tool and remove the upper timing chain cover. If that guide is broken you found the rattle otherwise it is the changeover valve in the intake manifold if the BDF engine you have has one. If the chain is not too beat up just replace the upper guides. If the guide is in pieces, pull the oil pan remove the pieces in the oil pan and oil pump pickup screen. Also look down into the lower timing cover for pieces. From my experience and from what I have read in forums the lower guides and chains last a long time. Mine had little to no wear at 100k. A broken upper guide piece could do damage, but mine did not. You will have to seal the timing cover and oil pan. The VW sealant sets like in 15-20 minutes. My experience was too fast, especially with all the bolts. I used Permatex optimum black on the timing cover and oil pan. It cures in about 24 hours and I have never had a leak with the stuff. It gives you more time than the VW sealant. I removed the engine to do all the chains and guides. The vr6 is so tightly packed in the engine compartment you do not have a lot of room to remove the transmission. The mechanical coolant pump needs to have the engine raised or lowered to make space to remove it. I just pulled the engine and did everything. Water pump, front and rear seals, coolant hoses, thermostat, housing and crack pipe. I also replaced the clutch, flywheel, slave cylinder, throw out bearing and starter. The clutch components could of easily made it to 100k, but I rather spend over $200 now than try to work in a tight engine compartment in the near future. Good luck.

@@MrWoowootila thanks dude, I hope the parts come in soon from ecs tuning and it’s just the upper guide. Will update on what it turns out to be.

AGREE!! Belts rule.Screw those expensive and special tool (more money) chain engines. That's how they ruined the 4.2.

different with the vanos units on the e46 they can adapt the cam timing enough not to cause to much catastrophic damage to an extent and throw codes for timing etc same as the r56 mini / peugeot engines witll come up with vanos adaptation stop kinda codes etc,

Pause at 12:53 and have a closer look. Gap between the bumper and fender indicate possible collision repair. Aftermarket tow attachment indicative of the car possibly having a history of being tracked. Uneven line between the passenger door and lower frame of the car indicate potentially other collision damage. Worst of all; purple tint. When I see that, I stereotype the prior owner as someone who generally threw the cheapest parts possible at a car to barely keep it running, then drove the car like they stole it, until the day it had to be towed to a salvage yard. Speculating the owner did not spend extra money on more expensive G12 coolant. If so, imagine that nightmare. Imagine the condition of the clutch. Shift linkage bushings under the stick are most likely close to destroyed if not destroyed. If the owner operated the car on a budget, they probably used 85 octane in a car that calls for 91 octane. How does that impact fuel injectors. We haven't seen the suspension and interior. Maybe for good reason. No telling the condition of the electrical system. The car looks like a rapidly depreciating money pit. On the bright side, the VW emblem and mirror caps look nice.

Boy, then do I have a deal for you! It’s about this bridge…

It's a parts car.

@@RedondoBeach2 just becaused it's washed doesn't mean its kept in good condition. Just the mere fact that the retard who owned it didn't know of timing chain failures and kept cranking it a hundred times in the hopes that it would suddenly come back alive - tells you a lot. That is the reason probably why charles didn't even want to spend the money on parts to get it working again. Plus all the broken connectors, loose battery. The bodywork is in good nick, it could just be well looked after until the past owner had it and caused all that neglect and damage in their short period of ownership.

Good candidate for a 2.0T swap.

It's more interesting to just put the engine together as it is and use it, just replace the valves

You should provide him with replacement parts 👀

You can put any engine in any car that it fits in. You’ll need to do a TON of rewiring, all new electronics, and in most cases you’ll need a new transmission to mate up to the new engine though.

I’ve done that!! I did a mk3 VR6t a few years back. Tons of videos!!!

White Wookie

I don't think we ever got the ASV engine here in the US. We have the ALH instead.

@@michaelblacktree is pretty much the same 🙂

I think Charles has some ALH videos. You can also try Thomas EXOVCDS. And I have some ALH videos too.

LOL

I'd throw a tdi in it and be done with it.

It can. It can also give you timing faults.

Since youve kept up maintenance it could last a very long time. Guides will wear with age even with good oiling. I know on my car (im the 2nd owner) the chain was done at 200k before he sold it to me and it didn't give him issue. Id start saving your pennies for the repair and do it whenever you get the urge to do so, cuz i've seen them fail with less than 60k due to poor maintenance and seen em go 200k like in my car.

Ride sounds nice. There is no way to know if plastic chain guides die from heat or age. Only way to prevent the total engine destruction in this video is to have the timing chain components inspected and changed before death noises. In this case, you have to fix it before it beaks. You have to pay repairs, but worth it if you like your car. Timing chains are time bombs.

In my experience with a 2015 GTI that lost its timing chain tensioner and nearly locked up the engine, it gave me zero audible warning before chipping the guides and sputtering.

I should clarify that any inspection from a VW tech probably would’ve prevented the tensioner from ever getting that bad to begin with, but since I like turning wrenches, it never made it in for its yearly tech inspection like VW (and all manufacturers) recommends.

GREAT advice!!!

Most likely the vacuum box leaking causing a mooing sound on shutdown. Don't worry about it too much until it fails completely. Symptoms will be no boost when it fails

I did almost 300 videos of exactly that. They never did great, but it was worth it for helping the community. Then RU-vid started to punish my whole channel for low performing videos. Sad that you have to play the RU-vid game.

@@HumbleMechanic Cool! To bad that isnt better watch content. I guess in hinsight that is what Scotty Kilmer does, but across all brands. Anyways, love your current content, so i wasnt suggesting a change of content, just an expansion or potential side episodes. You friggin rawk!

@@danielbrydon3869 Vacuum Pump Housing Gasket on the drivers side of the valve cover[i think is what you are suggesting]. I'll keep that in mind and check it tonight; thank you!

Thanks dude. Glad you’re too busy for YT!!!

it was so bad!! LOL

Man I always feel like TDI stuff is a no win for me. If I do it by the book, the TDI people come for mE because "There is a better way". If I do it the better way, they come for me "Thats not by the book". That and what TDI content I have done, does poorly. I really hate that's the case. .

Thanks! These kind of videos are always fun.

Thank you so much!

RIGHT!!! crazy sad

HAHA Thanks!

It’s a myth

That’s an old timey thing.

MAYBE a little duct tape!

They may have a Eurovan in CLT. :)

Hahahha

It litterly needs everything that Charles was thinking it needed.....don't see how it needs extra work. I'd throw rolling in a set of main and rod bearings that's about it.

Haha it’s not too bad. It’s more than I planned for. Was hoping head slap and roll.

Other than the timing chain issue, they're practically bulletproof as long as you take care of them. This means using the proper oil and fuel and regular oil changes. I don't go past 5k on oil change intervals. Hands down the best daily driver I ever had is my 2001 GLX and I'll keep driving it for as long as I can.

Due to an update with my mk4 r32 that happened today, a part out is coming. :(

Yeah I think NAR is the only one that got VR6 GTI. But things are so different all over. LOL

@@HumbleMechanic its really something, yes :P

Very likely the chain wore and became very sloppy, breaking the guide which then broke the rest of the engine.

Lol I have plenty of other teardown videos They are super fun

LOVE IT

@@HumbleMechanic i think we might have a new build series for the channel! 🙏👀

Yes. But the car is so MEH that I’m not sure doing it is right. If I do all that work, I want a cool car I love to go with it

@@HumbleMechanic thanks for the reply!... Not sure if I didn't pay proper attention, but iirc we didn't see that much of the interior... Be it this car or another, a video with the premise of "here's an old and super cheap car with still usable anesthetics, lets bring it back to life with an electric conversion that leaves it with at least the nominal performance it used to have... And how much does it cost/is it worth it?" would be sooooooo cool