TheSamba.com :: View topic

Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:29 pm

Hey all, wanted to finally introduce the new van which I picked up about a month ago. Will also be using this thread to track the many improvements to come!

The basics:
2003 Weekender, 290k, service history, original engine, trans swapped 12 years/70k miles ago. Picked it up from the second owner for $5000.

The good:
- Strong motor. Good compression, no trouble codes, no noises (chains already done). Ran well for the 2000 mile trip home without using a drop of oil
- Trans shifts well with no stutters or signs of slipping
- Interior cleaned up really nicely, most everything works as it should

- Floors, frame rails, and undercarriage are pretty clean

- Plenty of recent service receipts, including brakes, tires and most of the A/C system

The less good:
- Windshield rust sprouting after a crappy glass replacement at some point. This is priority one, will be pulling the glass to address this asap.

- Rockers and passenger's wheel arch are showing rust in the typical spots. Winter project will be cutting that cancer out and welding in new metal

- Since getting it home, the trans has developed a slow ATF leak from...somewhere. Pan gasket, sensor O-rings, trans cooler and fill tube have all been fixed, yet it's still dripping enough to need a little fluid now and then. I'm beginning to suspect the torque converter seal.

So how'd I do? Any recommendations once the obvious issues are taken care of? I think it should be a fun project, and give us a good few seasons if we can keep the rust at bay. It's already been a blast diving back into Eurovans and driving this thing around.

Mon Nov 17, 2025 11:46 am

Better fix that windscreen mounting area. If not, then expect some other issues like the TCU to go south. I have a feeling that windscreen issue with be 10X worse than what you see right now.

Mon Nov 17, 2025 12:00 pm

jjvincent wrote: Better fix that windscreen mounting area. If not, then expect some other issues like the TCU to go south. I have a feeling that windscreen issue with be 10X worse than what you see right now.
Yeah, it’s my biggest area of concern and I’m digging into it asap, while there’s still no leaks. Poking and prodding has shown solid metal all around, but the mating surface and channels will probably be a mess.

Worst part is, I have pics from the previous owner and this was not an issue a couple years ago. Some safelite guy had a heavy hand with the silicone and created a lot of problems.

Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:12 am

That's a pretty darn good price! The steering angle sensor alone sells for $1000 these crazy days. Do the mod to protect that at least.

About "pulling the windshield" -isn't it glued in? Can you actually remove it without destroying it? I've got a crack in my '02 and wondering how hard it would be to replace.

Tue Nov 18, 2025 1:19 am

I had my windshield replaced in my driveway by a local guy. I think he did it for 250 all in in about 2 hours. The specialized tools he had were easily 1000 bucks (he and I conversed the whole time). The rubber surround and the glue would probably cost you 75 bucks if you find it on sale. I highly recommend you find the local auto glass guy. I got his name from the chip repair guy on the corner who said my long cracks were too far gone to fix by him.
The only thing I don't like is that he couldn't find any glass without the top 3-4 inches tinted blue

Griffins auto glass if you're anywhere near Boise Idaho highly recommended

I'll be following the process for rust mitigation since I'll probably have to do that eventually...

Tue Nov 18, 2025 1:51 am

She’s been loved and cared for. Interior looks new.

I would say an excellent score and worthy of rust abatement.

Tue Nov 18, 2025 9:24 pm

Endopotential wrote: That's a pretty darn good price! The steering angle sensor alone sells for $1000 these crazy days. Do the mod to protect that at least.
My thoughts exactly. Even if it didn't run, there's a few grand here in parts alone. I'll be cutting up some plastic to protect the sensor shortly.

Endopotential wrote: About "pulling the windshield" -isn't it glued in? Can you actually remove it without destroying it? I've got a crack in my '02 and wondering how hard it would be to replace.
I guess it doesn't show in these pics, but the windshield is cracked all to hell and needs replacement anyways. I was going to have the glass taken off by a shop or mobile guy, deal with the rust on my own, then have a new one mounted (and done cleanly this time, not the gooey mess that's on the van now).

qval wrote: I had my windshield replaced in my driveway by a local guy. I think he did it for 250 all in in about 2 hours. The specialized tools he had were easily 1000 bucks (he and I conversed the whole time). The rubber surround and the glue would probably cost you 75 bucks if you find it on sale. I highly recommend you find the local auto glass guy. I got his name from the chip repair guy on the corner who said my long cracks were too far gone to fix by him.

The only thing I don't like is that he couldn't find any glass without the top 3-4 inches tinted blue

Griffins auto glass if you're anywhere near Boise Idaho highly recommended
Thanks! 250 is less than I expected for a windshield on one of these. I thought the glass alone might cost that much.

qval wrote: I'll be following the process for rust mitigation since I'll probably have to do that eventually...
As I dig into the rust and other problems, I'll contain updates to this thread to avoid clogging up the site. I suspect the jjvincent is right and it will be a handful. Hence the rush to take care of it before it grows any more. Down the street from me, there's another Weekender that has almost no metal left in the lower A-pillars and upper cowl. :shock: . I'm sure it started off just like mine.

Abscate wrote: She’s been loved and cared for. Interior looks new.

I would say an excellent score and worthy of rust abatement.
Thanks, I concur. The original owners held onto her for almost 20 years and 270k of those miles. They were clearly attached to the van and probably spent the MSRP over again in repairs and service.

When I went to go see it, some bits like the windscreen rust almost scared me off, but there's so much good here also. For the price, it was hard to turn down. And if something huge blindsides me in a couple years, I can always find a clean tintop and do some surgery :wink:

Either way, I've been having a blast wrenching and driving it to work the past few weeks. It's been a hard couple years and it's just nice to have an EV again!

Wed Nov 19, 2025 10:28 am

Trust me, the previous owners know what's going with the windscreen and thus why it went cheap. Now it's your project. They will downplay the rust issue as that's required when you sell something. You act dumb.

Wed Nov 19, 2025 10:35 am

Could be an exceptional deal. One problem I see is that it *looks* like they painted over some of the rust. What more hides under that pretty red paint?

The windscreen on our 2002 EVC started bubbling about 2 years after we bought it. When the window was pulled to fix the rust the shop found a whole bunch of hidden rust.

Wed Nov 19, 2025 12:30 pm

OB Bus wrote: Could be an exceptional deal. One problem I see is that it *looks* like they painted over some of the rust. What more hides under that pretty red paint?

The windscreen on our 2002 EVC started bubbling about 2 years after we bought it. When the window was pulled to fix the rust the shop found a whole bunch of hidden rust.

Thing is, this is not just a VW thing. Others run into the same issue. It's like owning a MK4 VW. When you see the first bubble of rust on the front fenders, there's a ton of rust behind it. Best example was back in the day for 914's. When you seen a bubble on the B pillar, it was a disaster what was going on underneath. This is why you had to make sure the doors were shut and the top on it then put the hoist in the right spot as you didn't want it to break in half once you lifted it.

I see that EV as this. Find a bodyshop right away. Have them get the windscreen pulled and then hopefully they have an old timer that most likely smokes a bunch and drinks around a case a beer a day to work on it. Give them a month and it'll be fixed. Once that's done, then worry about the rest.

Thu Nov 20, 2025 11:20 am

Great deal on that. If you like the color, mechanics and the interior is good.

Rust isn't a big issue, we used get that all the time "back in the day". If doing myself I would probably pull the screen (if the rust was compromising the seal), hammer and grind or sand out the rusted areas. Use an inhibitor on the solid metal, tack-in new metal if required, and use fiberglass then bodyfiller(s). Prime/paint and drop back in the windshield.

Not sure what shops would do these days tho.