# Dent in transmission & other issues



## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

I took my 06 jetta 2.5 in to get the timing belt and water pump replaced as well as nys inspection. I'm at 93,000miles. The heater blower motor has been whining for the past 30,000 miles so i asked to have that replaced ($179). Service desk said theres actually no timing belt so im saving 500 on having that and water pump replaced. Should I still have the chain and external water pump replaced? 
Also, they said that when they got the car up on the lift they noticed a "huge dent" in the transmission pan and shes "very concerned". It'll cost $500 to have the pan, gasket, fluid and filter replaced. Should a huge dent in the tranny pan be a concern to me?
I'm still running my factory front brakes at 93,000m! They said they should run fine into the summer. Rear pads and rotors were replaced at 72,000m and they were still good to pass this inspection.


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## markfif (Oct 25, 2007)

i dented my tranny pan too about 20k miles ago or so. no problems really to report of.


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*Re: (markfif)*

I told them to go ahead and do it. I've been asking them to do it for over a year and they keep replying with the lifetime & sealed crap!







After reading on here what everyone says about the lifetime tranny I didn't want to take any chances. Should I be concerned with them "cracking the seal"? I'm betting they'll call me tomorrow and tell me something inside it was damaged and itll cost me 2000 to fix/replace that.
Has anyone had their factory brakes last over 90,000m? They were shocked to find out they were still factory pads on the front asking if i even use them.


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## Tubaplaya (Mar 29, 2008)

*Re: (burndtjammer)*

I have 33k on my brakes, I am going to be replacing the rears here very soon. I'd say my front brakes still have around 60% pad life left. They should last me up to 60k no problem


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## kaptinkangaru (Aug 17, 2006)

my fronts are at 60k and still have about half a pad left.


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## BuddyWh (Nov 11, 2006)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (burndtjammer)*


_Quote, originally posted by *burndtjammer* »_ 
... Also, they said that when they got the car up on the lift they noticed a "huge dent" in the transmission pan and shes "very concerned". It'll cost $500 to have the pan, gasket, fluid and filter replaced. Should a huge dent in the tranny pan be a concern to me?
...

If 'HUGE' enough the dent could reduce fluid capacity at the 'full' line or raise the level of fluid at capacity enough to interfere with performance. Only other thing I can think of is if the pan was pushed up enough to interfere with something internally, but if it's performing OK (which I assume it is since you didn't seem to notice it) that shouldn't be the case.
Otherwise, if it's not leaking why would there be a problem? Sounds more like the service department manufacturing alarm just to generate some revenue.


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## Unilateral Phase Detractor (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (burndtjammer)*

Maybe somebody else can answer this but I don't think the 2.5L has the old water pump design that is prone to failure. Regardless, it's very difficult to replace. You have to partially remove the engine!








I'd really like to see a picture of said "huge dent". Hard to say if it's a big deal or not.
That's pretty good that you're getting so many miles out of the brakes. What kind of driving do you do? (city/hwy %)


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## dogsanddubs (Jul 6, 2008)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (classicjetta)*

interested in knowing the end cost on the waterpump when completed.
question though; you mentioned you are taking your car in for a 'timing' belt replacement. Is it your timing chain they are replacing, or are they changing the serpentine belt?


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (dogsanddubs)*

I didn't end up doing anything with the timing chain and water pump. Service dept said "lifetime" and bore a sh*t eating grin. I'm just going to take it to an independent mechanic for the water pump and check to make sure the guides on the chain are still in good condition. They said the water pump is external on these 2.5s so probably not in the engine like you say. I would expect it to fail before 130,000 and replace it as preventive maintenance.
I did get a new serpentine belt ($175), heater blower motor (179), rear sunshade (100 plus labor), coolant flush, brake flush, and the transmission. They just called and said there was no damage to the inside of the trans. I'm glad they finally did the fluid change though, they've been nearly refusing for the past year+.


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (burndtjammer)*

i'll see if they still have the old pan so that i can post some images.


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (burndtjammer)*

for the kind of driving maybe 80-90% highway +/-, no tailgating and for a while i tried the hyper-miling but no fantastic results.
My wife realized what damaged the pan. Saturday when she was leaving for work we heard a loud clank as she was backing out the driveway. We didnt see any damage but we also didnt put it on a lift. no huge rocks in the driveway so a chunk of ice is the most likely culprit. Are these things made out of foil?










































































Also as I was leaving the dealership the hood-ajar light wouldnt turn off. Trunk did the same thing the past 2 winters. Mechanic lubed it up for me and the light went off but said the sensor may need to be replaced As long as the hood is flush with the fenders and you can't pull it up, no worries











_Modified by burndtjammer at 6:12 PM 1-28-2010_


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## rob454 (Sep 18, 2009)

Judging by the damage of the tranny pan that was a good idea to replace it. I can see that you kind of creased it towards the top too.


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## Zurique (Feb 15, 2008)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (burndtjammer)*


_Quote, originally posted by *burndtjammer* »_My wife realized what damaged the pan. Saturday when she was leaving for work we heard a loud clank as she was backing out the driveway. We didnt see any damage but we also didnt put it on a lift. no huge rocks in the driveway so a chunk of ice is the most likely culprit. Are these things made out of foil?


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## Zurique (Feb 15, 2008)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (Zurique)*

That was one solid piece of ice pal.


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## DOQ fastlane (Feb 25, 2009)

*Re: Dent in transmission & other issues (Zurique)*

Do you have any idea the amount of labor it is to replace the timing chain?
You can bet on paying anywhere between $2300-$2800, depending on where you go.
You should pray to god your chain doesn't need replacing...unless you have unlimited funds.


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## kungfoojesus (Jan 10, 2005)

yeah the labor for chain involves removing the cylinder head and dropping the tranny.
so unless you want to replace clutch, flywheel, and head gasket all along with the chain... well it ain't exactly worth it. amazing how you can add a clutch flywheel and new seals and STILL barely add more than the cost of parts on to the chain job.
chain is definitely expensive on this 2.5 to replace, labor wise.


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## burndtjammer (Feb 11, 2009)

*Re: (kungfoojesus)*

Hopefully I won't have any problems with the chain for another year and then move on to a new vehicle. Any idea if its easy to inspect or is it all that work to just be able to see it? Can the guides and tensioners be inspected without doing all of that labor?


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## Unilateral Phase Detractor (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: (burndtjammer)*


_Quote, originally posted by *burndtjammer* »_Hopefully I won't have any problems with the chain for another year and then move on to a new vehicle. Any idea if its easy to inspect or is it all that work to just be able to see it? Can the guides and tensioners be inspected without doing all of that labor?

Yes, inspection isn't quite as difficult.


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## tspielman (Jun 25, 2007)

ok i had the same thing in mind but heres what the dealer told me the timing chain wont break if anything it will stretch as long as you keep your car up to date with oil changes you should good only thing that would cause a replacement is the plastic guide rails or sometype like that would snap then you basically into it for the whole job i would guess your looking at $2-3,000 (least this is how he described it) they gotta take the engine apart ...of course he said something about dropping the tranny i dont know about that..... good sign of relieve was when he said it should last 200k (thank god because i got three three years left on this this damn loan haha)


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## mk1vw (Oct 17, 2007)

*Re: (kungfoojesus)*


_Quote, originally posted by *kungfoojesus* »_yeah the labor for chain involves removing the cylinder head and dropping the tranny.


Why would you need to remove the cylinder head to replace the chains?


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## Unilateral Phase Detractor (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: (mk1vw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mk1vw* »_
Why would you need to remove the cylinder head to replace the chains?

Probably relates to the intermediate sproket


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## mk1vw (Oct 17, 2007)

*Re: (classicjetta)*

i'm calling BS.
otherwise fire the engineers.


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## got_vdub (Jul 3, 2003)

*Re: (mk1vw)*

According to Elsa (the VW labor guide) you need to remove the engine


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