Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! August 30, 2021, 03:43:09 PM Hi,I’ve rejoined the forum after having been an (inactive, sorry ) member of the old board. It’s good to see some familiar names though.My 1990 Jetta TX has been one of the family for 30 years now. My late father bought it ex-VAG from our local VW specialist in 1991 to replace a 412 Varient (remember those?). I first spotted the ad in the local paper and then accompanied him on the test drive. I took care of the car from day one, keeping it coated in used engine oil and waxoyl in all the right places. It’s paid off over the years. The following year I bought a 1989 Jetta TX myself to replace my 411LE (spot the pattern), subsequently putting 130k on it and passing it to an enthusiast 17 years later. Still miss it!Anyway, when we lost Dad 21 years ago, I took ‘Harry’ under my wing. The first 5 years were spent doing largely fair weather pleasure trips , sometimes to get Mum out (part nostalgia) but then a long period of dry storage commenced until I had Harry recovered in 2015 to the specialist Dad originally bought him from all those years earlier for recommissioning. His first trip in a decade was then 120 miles to where I live now. No problems except for a weeping coolant flange which became the first new part I needed to track down in many years.....Harry is fully original, never having paint or welding. As far as originality is concerned I plan to keep things that way. I have the full service history in detail and all documents and receipts for the past three decades. He still has his VW mats and seat covers, and bizarrely a VW optional steel sump guard which Dad bought presumably in case he ever fancied rallying!For various reasons Harry has been stored again for the past couple of years, but emerged last month for a light service and MOT which I’m pleased to say he passed without advisories. It will be a genteel life ahead of being pampered and trips to local shows......Have to say that I am totally in awe of the skills many of you guys have. Other than routine servicing and easy jobs, I tend to need to rely on garages for anything more significant. Not ideal, but keeping the mileage down and the wear / salt off should help. So, what’s next? Well, the clutch has been heavy and a bit stiff for a while (but doesn’t slip) so I think it’s time to order one of those. Also the cam belt / tensioner/ and water pump are now due due (6 years) so both will probably get done together. I am perplexed though as my cam belt cover is in two parts, but I can’t work out whether there should be a third. It’s a 1.6 litre EZ engine. The top cover slots into a lower one but the rear half of it looks as though it should slot into a further piece. I don’t ever recall there being one, but if not then why mould it in a way that looks like it should? The joys of old cars eh, but if anyone is able to confirm whether the cam belt cover should be in two or three pieces it might save me an internet search!Looking forward to following what you folks and your steeds are up to in the months and years ahead.Best wishesJettaman and Harry 1 Likes
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #1 – August 30, 2021, 04:25:10 PM Welcome back Thats quite a history.scs
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #2 – August 31, 2021, 11:04:38 AM Water pump is a metal (lifetime) item and dosen't need to be replaced with the Cam Belt unlike modern vehicles, where they are made cheaply out of plastic and intended to be disposable. They also run off the Aux belt and not the cam belt anyway so totally separate.That said, the water pump will most likely be original, and I have replaced the water pump on two of mine in the past but only when the Thermostat need changing. I found on the first occasion that the bolts for the thermostat housing sheered and it was easier and not that expensive to just fit a new pump than spend the next few hours messing about drilling out old bolts etc. So when the Thermostat needed doing on the next Golf I just bought a pump ready and guess what, the bolts sheered so just as well I did.
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #3 – August 31, 2021, 02:59:03 PM Welcome, get some pics up of Harry!Also, get some pics of the cover and I'm sure we can help
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #4 – August 31, 2021, 07:53:39 PM Very many thanks scs, Eddypeck and Monkey for the warm welcome and advice. It’s appreciated.I can’t get any decent pics tonight as it’s too dark in the garage. I’ll let Harry see some daylight at the weekend and try again then.......Meanwhile thanks for the advice re the water pump. My daily is an Octavia TDI so I’ve got into the habit of the water pump being done at every cam belt change! The pump was actually changed on Harry in December 1999 and he’s only done 9k mikes since so it’s knocking on a bit but at the same time hasn’t done much work. Sounds as though it’s safe to leave for now though as there are no cooling issues (touch wood). At the first sign of thermostat problems though I’ll know what to do......I’ll be back with some pics in a few days.Thanks again, and cheers,Jettaman 1 Likes
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #5 – August 31, 2021, 10:29:40 PM Hello and welcome back. Not as busy on here as it used to be but a few of us about, we do like pictures though
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #6 – September 01, 2021, 08:50:05 AM To be honest, the water pump isn't something you'd change after x amount of time, rather on mileage/when they fail. I think 60k was an interval.
Re: Jettaman and ‘Harry’ saying hello! Reply #7 – September 12, 2021, 04:49:14 PM Thanks all for the advice so far. When I got some decent light on the job I could see the issue with the cambelt covers, and all is now fine I'd be happy to post-up a pic or two but having had a couple of unsuccessful attempts it's not looking promising I'm afraid ...... J
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