TheSamba.com :: View topic - Information needed on 2.0 engine and/or '95 jetta's

Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:05 pm

So, I've read about aircooled VWs for the past 5 years or so, but it just so happens my first VW is a 1995 Jetta. It was my brother's car and he left for the military and kind of sprung it on my mom, so i'm taking over payments. Unfortunately for me, The CV joints are in desperate need of replacing, the sunroof wouldn't slide back, so i tilted it up, now it won't shut, there MAY be a nocking in the engine, or it could just be the bad CVs. The Speedometer doesn't light up so i'm guessing my speed at night and the driver's heated seat doesn't work.

What I'm wondering.... How many miles does a 2.0 generally go before it keels out?

Anybody familiar with that sunroof problem and how much money that'd be to fix it?

And how much money for CV joints?

Any help would be appreciated!

P.S. I'm getting a VW tat this friday.

Sat Mar 26, 2005 3:49 pm

the 2.0 engine is a very long lasting engine as long as you treat it right. the only thing i can say for the other things it to go to a dealership

Thu Jun 02, 2005 11:22 pm

cv joints are cheap $70. Just replace the whole halfshaft instead of just the joint.
Sunroof probaly needs minor adjustment.

vw's in line 4 is a good engine. I believe you have a 2.0 8valve by the year.

Probaly just need bulb in instrument cluster.
As for seat heat maybe worn out,elements, blown fuse, cut wire, bad relay

Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:10 pm

My name is Rhonda and I own a '97 jetta. My boyfriend Joe better known as Type 5 Joe has replaced my cv joints 3 times since I have owned it for 4 years. My sunroof also has a problem laying down flat. The sunroof is a very expensive problem! The cv joints are not very expensive but "a bitch" to replace. The labor and knowledge to replace them is priceless. If it weren't for my Joe, I would have sold my Jetta a long time ago..

Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:44 pm

There is no reason the cv's should go bad so quickly unless you tear the boots. There must be something else wrong. I know I once got an complete rebuilt halfshaft(axle) that was the wrong length. It didn't take long to break. Make him aware of that!!!!!! I first thought my clutch had gone out since the broken free axle was spinning in the broken cv and car would not go.

Thu Jun 16, 2005 6:47 am

What I'm wondering.... How many miles does a 2.0 generally go before it keels out?

You have a 2.0 8valve, engine code ABA... A very tough engine. You should have no problem with it, and it will last longer than the rest of the car :) Just make sure to replace the timing belt every 60 000 miles and you will be fine.

Anybody familiar with that sunroof problem and how much money that'd be to fix it?

This happens fairly often and is cause by a lack of lubrication in the rails... I don't know how to fix it though. It happened on my friend's GTI and he ended up picking up a whole sunroof at a junkyard and swapping it in.

Hope that helps a bit :)

Mon Jul 18, 2005 8:54 am

This car should go 250K miles. I would lube up the sunroof rails. Don't waste your money if that doesn't work , unless you can't get it closed. Sunroofs will be expensive if your paying a tech to work on it. Two front CV's should be about $400 installed by a professional. Your instrument cluster comes out very easy. Use a Flathead screwdriver to pry off surronding plastic covers around the cluster. Remove several Phillips screws. Pull out the plastic surround peice. Hinge the top of cluster towards you. Reach around and unplug the cluster. Replace the top left bulb in the circuit board. Bulb can be obtained at VW dealership. :D

Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:06 am

one thing you really need to watch out for is your clutch cable. you have a self adjusting clutch cable on that car and sadly, unless you do a tranny swap from an 85-92 golf or jetta, you are stuck with it. if you didnt know, the self adjusting clutch cable has more than a tendency to bind, this puts a constant 100+ lbs of pressure on the pressure plate and pushes on the crank, which tears out the thrust washers from the block and blammo, you no longer can even rebuild your block. trust me, just happened to me. what really sucks is that the good 2.0l blocks are getting very hard to find cuz jerks like me are taking them, along with every 93-95 crank we find that is good (forged gold!!!!) and putting a 1.8l cis or digifant head on it and getting more power than any crappy old 16v motor out of our A2 cars. so keep your eyes on that clutch cable. itll put you in a world of hurt. ($200 for good rebuildable block, $500 for new crank, 200-800 for pistons)

Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:37 pm

A manual-adjust clutch cable is available for the A3, it just wasn't installed on US-market vehicles, and VW dealers don't carry them.
http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volkswagen/Golf/Clutch/39/10

The A2 clutch cable is not interchangeable with the A3 version. If swapping an A2 transmission into an A3, you will need to use a trans from a 16-valve car for it to be a 'direct swap.' To install an 8-valve transmission, you will need to use the clutch disc from an 8-valve A2 to make it work; the input shaft on an A2 8v transmission is smaller than that of a 16v A2 and the 2.0L A3 transmissions.

Sat Sep 10, 2005 4:40 pm

vwmuscle,..hit send only once.
if there is a delay it's prolly your computer.

Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:00 am

sorry about that fox, its my mouse, the pc is fast, but the mouse is way to sensitive and half the time i press the left button, it will automaticaly click twice. i need to find a new one, cuz its not a setting or anything with the comp.

Thu Nov 17, 2005 9:26 am

after talking to the dealer I got online and found a couple sunroofs in the portland are complete for less than what the dealer would charge me to even give me an estimate......so..that's the route i went.

Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:35 am

Close to the front of the sunroof you should be able to pop off the cover and manually crank the sun roof, it is possible the motor is bad and you can mannually close it.

As for the VW you have, it is a VERY VERY VERY solid motor, forged crank, oil squirters ETC! It should last forever if treated well and maintained. I have pulled VW motors and opened them up with over 200k on them and all things are still in factory spec!

The only downside to the year of your car is the Electric issues, it seems that the 3rd generation cars have many electric issues that drive the owners crazy!

my 2 cents on the CV is go ahead and replace them and make sure your motor mounts are good as well, if the motor sits lower than it should than the CV will be at a greater bind and fail earlier than it should.

Good luck, with a lil TLC, you should have a great car!

Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:54 am

As for the sunroof, my '97 Jetta occassionally sticks in an open position. I remove the manual crank handle, start to turn it while holding the power button for the sunroof, and "presto" - it works again. Stupid electrical gremlins.

As for how long the engine will last, I just turned over to 195000. I am still getting 34 mpg highway. I bought the car with 34.000 and have replaced the timing belt once at 141,000. I KNOW I PUSHED IT, but luckily it did not break. I also had a valve job done at the time. Both totaled $400.

Just keep the fluids changed regularly and have a VW guy - find a good, independant shop, not a stealership, do regular inspections on the car. I have yet to replace my CV joints in the car.

A friend from college bought my 1978 orange Rabbit from me in 1985. I saw him 2 months ago and he still has the car (I saw it as he dove it that day). It is his daily driver and it had 555.000 miles at that time. And his is a design engineer for Chrysler! Strange the Oddometer still works. He has had the 1.6L and the tranny rebuilt once. The car has minimal rust - looks like an orange that is on it first day of going bad.

I have a bet with a fellow Vduber - "See you at a million" At the rate I drive, that will be in 2029! He just sold his Passat and bought a VULVA! We'll see who makes it with minimal cost.