turbo care

[bruntteoctober]

hi, i am very new into the vb scene and need some pointers. i just bought a 2000, new beetle 1.8l turbo, and have no idea on how to take care of it. someone was just telling me the other day that turbo's require constant monitoring and he also said something about letting the exhaust cool down before you can turn the car off. i don't have the slightest idea of what he is talking about, but i know that i want to take really good care of this car. i have wanted one for years and finally got exactly, down to the color, what i have always wanted. any tips and help would be apprecated. thanks.

[JackDaniels386]

he probably meant let the car sit for a while before turning it off to let the turbo cool off. but there really isnt a need for that, if you want to keep ur car up, make sure u get the oil changed regularly at 5,000 mile intervals to keep gunk out. gunk is a pretty big problem on the 1.8T's when people dont get regular service. also, make sure u get a timing belt at around 100,000 miles if ur car hasnt had one yet, they break at around 105,000 and when they break its pretty costy to fix.

[veedubmechanic]

I would never trust a vw timing belt to 100k miles. 80k MAX, and make sure the tensioners, rollers, and water pump are replaced also.

I reccomend oil changes every 3k miles, but thats me. VW says 5k but thats for synthetic oil not regular oil.