# 2000 beetle 1.8t



## Gdi (Feb 15, 2011)

my woman is looking into getting a beetle 

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/2683124670.html

went to check it out, timing belt is fresh 600k ago (no cracks, fraying)
new front brakes pads and rotors
nice leathery interior
no accidents
its out of province
coolant bubble is filled with orange coolant (rust)
looks to be a tiny oil coating on the passenger front end of the engine
fills it up with regular gas 
no funny knocks and nosies coming from the engine
no knocks insuspension 


is there any other parts i am missing to check? im going back tomorrow with all my tools to take a few things apart to take and check certain preventative parts


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## Rockerchick (May 10, 2005)

How often was the oil changed and with what kind? Are you sure there is rust in the coolant reservoir or is it just orange coolant? G12 should be pink but if the reservoir is old, it gets discolored and can make it look like orange coolant. 

When was the timing belt changed? You put down "600k" but do you mean 600km? 

Sounds like in general that the car wasn't really all that well maintained. Luckily the timing belt job was done. I'd make sure you look it over really, really well. The fact that it wasn't given premium gas is a bit of a worry...not sure how much it is up in Canada but here it is more, but not enough more to keep you from putting in what the car requires. Also makes me worry about the oil type and change interval. If it was done too infrequently or with conventional, you could end up having sludge issues.


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## Gdi (Feb 15, 2011)

Its like 1.40$ a litre. 
Yea the timing belt was changed 600 Kim ago not 600xxx haha 
I did not hear any thing coming from the engine. My biggest worry is the no premium gas. :/
He did say he just had the oil changed and he put synthetic in the car.


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## mullardel34 (Sep 26, 2011)

Agree with "Rockerchick"; the timing-belt mileage is worrisome. All of the VW 1.8L turbo-engines are "interference" designs, in which the valves and pistons alternately occupy the same space within the cylinders. The only thing maintaining the synchronized dance of these expensive-to-replace engine components is the timing-belt. Given the number of trashed engines resulting from following VW's original timing-belt change interval of 100K-miles, prudence leads most of us to change the timing-belt about every 75K-miles/7-years. 

"Rockerchick" is also spot-on about engine-oil and engine-oil change intervals. These engines should run an exclusive diet of synthetic engine-oil (one that meets the VW 502.00 engine-oil specifications; look on the can for adherence to the VW engine-oil specifications) in order to bypass the "sludging" that "Rockerchick" referenced. You also want to see engine-oil change intervals of less than 7500 miles; the heat-stress of a turbo-charged engine rapidly degrades engine-oil performance.

And, once again, "Rockerchick" is absolutely correct about the requirement for premium gasoline (at least 91-octane unleaded gasoline, no ethanol). If you run anything less capable, you'll see gas mileage drop dramatically and you'll put additional heat-stress on the engine due to the engine's ECU having to retard the ignition timing in order to prevent pre-detonation (pinging).


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## Gdi (Feb 15, 2011)

I had it running to warm it up to operating temp and the thing started smoking smelt oily tar.


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## JimmyD (Apr 30, 2001)

Be sure to check the condition of the vacuum lines. There's a lot of vacuum lines on the 1.8t and the 2000 model year engine has the older style lines which tend to get brittle with age.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

Gdi said:


> I had it running to warm it up to operating temp and the thing started smoking smelt oily tar.


I would check the Valve Cover gasket and the Half Moon Cam Chain gasket and flat seal. The 1.8 is prone to leak oil from that area. Also pull the spark plugs and take a look at them. Note if there is any oil build up in the spark plug tubes then you definitely need a new valve cover gasket. Not hard to replace and the part from Blauparts is only $21 bucks and some change and includes the Valve cover gasket, the spark plug tube gasket, the half moon gasket and the flat seal. It also includes 2 Cam Seal gaskets but since you just had the timing belt done those should have been replaced at that time and you don't have to worry about replacing them. 

Running regular gas isn't recommended in the 1.8T Motor, however the ECU automatically retards timing if it gets any indications from the knock sensors. So performance may be compromised but it shouldn't have hurt the engine itself. More importantly is the Oil that was put in the engine from the beginning until now. Our engines are prone to sludge and only Synthetic oils that conform to the VW 502 and 505 requirements should be used. A good oil to use is the 0W40 Mobil One or the Castrol Syntec 0W30 European formula or if you can find it Castrol Edge 5W40. All of those oils do meet or exceed VW, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche recommended oils and comply with the additives needed to be VW 502 and 505 certified. Also since our engines run hotter with that Turbo change intervals are also important. Whereas other vehicles may be okay to be changed between 7500 - 8000 miles, the 1.8T should be changed every 4000-5000 Miles or between 7500KM-8000km.

I have a 2000 Beetle 1.8 with 160+k Miles on it (250,000 km) and it still runs and drives like new. 
Those cars can be a challenge because of brittle vaccum lines and hoses, etc. but as long as you know a bit about the engine and can do a bit of work yourself you can avoid very expensive dealer charges.


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## IndyTTom (Oct 23, 2007)

JimmyD said:


> Be sure to check the condition of the vacuum lines. There's a lot of vacuum lines on the 1.8t and the 2000 model year engine has the older style lines which tend to get brittle with age.


X2. Totally agree! I replaced all my vacuum lines with silicone lines. They should last way longer than the car


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