1990 Jetta I just bought.

[TankII]

I just picked up (about a month ago, actually) a 1990 Jetta GLI 2.0L 16V Wolfsburgh. For $1.00.
It hadn't run in over a year.
Stored under pine trees in Massachusets.
184,000 miles.
Leaked coolant like a sieve.
Drove it home with Duct tape and Hose clamps around the leaking hose - a 20 mile trip! Oh, and as I was driving it, I found it had almost no brakes.
So, I proceded to replace the brakes. Rears were normal, but had to replace everything but the calipers. I still have one rear tire that locks up prematurely, but only under moderately hard braking.
Fronts were ABS disks and pads but the car does not have ABS brakes. Someone had put the right pads but wrong rotors on. They were too small and wore down to metal - but since the rotor was too small, there was a 5mm strip of pad that NEVER wore and actually touched when you hit the brakes! It's MUCH better now!
Hoses - Around $250 at the dealer. Ugh! 6 hours to replace.
Belts - I used Gates Timing and WP/AC/PS/ALT. About 4 hours to replace them.
Windows didn't roll down - had to disassemble every switch and clean the carbon off the contacts. The driver's window also required the motor's commutator to be cleaned.
A/C - Recharge and it's ice cold!
Ball joints - I replaced as I did the brakes. Front sway bar links are worn so far that I can move the bar almost 3 mm on each side. I'm probably going to replace them once I get a good price. It makes the car a bit touchy at speeds above 55...
Just finished maintenancing the extremely sloppy shifter assembly. The kit misses two nylon sleeves on the pivot bracket on the tranny. I also needed the rod guide bushing. At $33, I decided to "sleeve" the rod instead. I used clear box packing tape after cleaning the shaft with Brake-Kleen. Had to add about 3mm dia to the shaft before the slop was gone. Now, it is very precise!
Fuel pump box leaked - all day event to replace it, the nuts was so rusty!

I've done a few other things to the car, like clean it!
It's temporary primary transportation until I get my 194,000 mile '91+ SHO a new tranny (Quaiffe equipped) and replace the leaking Koni. Oh, and I have a stronger engine for the SHO as well. :-)

I also plan on teaching my wife how to drive stick with it too. MUCH easier to learn on than the SHO.


TankII