Another Jetta question

[BarillaGirl]

The first Jetta question having been rendered moot by the melting of snow and the arrival of spring, I have a new question.

Last night, the oil temp indicator went off about 5 miles into a 10 mile trip. That has never ever happened before. The car sat for about 90 minutes at the destination, but the same thing happened on the trip home. Same thing on the ride in to campus this morning.

Key facts:
- had oil changed less than 2 weeks ago. :thumbup:
- car got into a minor accident on Monday night, tagged by some high-strung idiot who is going to wind up in court with a BUNCH of tickets. There is a small hole chipped out of the driver's side taillight, and the side trim on the left rear quarter panel (in a house I would call it a chair-rail moulding) has been buckled. :mad:

Beth's theory:
The fender bender knocked out the oil-pan plug, loosened a seal, or summat so there is very little oil actually in the car right now. The accident happened at night, so probably no one would have noticed if there was an oil leak at the time. The oil-light warning did NOT go off Tuesday morning, though.

I'll call my car guy, but I wanted to collect some other theories. Thanks in advance.

[Insomniac]

You could check the oil theory pretty easy with the dip stick. If that's the case, unless you're using castrol syntec (according to commercials) you're in trouble. I think in any case, not having enough oil is trouble.

My guess is a faulty sensor, possibly exacerbated by the accident, or maybe just a coincidence.

[cameraman]

If you had any kind or serious leak you should have a puddle of oil under the car. It could just be that they underfilled it when they changed the oil, you might just be low. Check the oil level immediately. If it is low add oil and see if you generate a new puddle. If there's oil in it then you may have a bad sensor or a failing pump. But don't turn it on until you know that there is oil in it.

[chop456]

I don't think there's an oil temp warning light on a MKIV Jetta. It's either oil pressure or coolant temp. Assuming it's the one that looks like a little oil can, the same advice applies. Check the oil before you start the car.

It's impossible for the drain plug to have been knocked out. I'd bet anything that there's oil in the car and the sensor is bad.

[BarillaGirl]

It was really the coolant gauge. Put in a little water, no fix. Crawled to the repair shop. It's staying there through at least tomorrow to have the water pump replaced. $600 unless I also cracked the head.

They guesstimated that there was over $1000 damage from the hit and run on Monday night, but I'll need to take her to a body shop for that detailed estimate.

UGH. :cry:

[chop456]

If it really is the water pump, you should have them replace the timing belt, accessory drive belt and tensioner unless it's been done recently. They'll have to take it all off anyway. (All of these things should be changed at the same time. If you go back later to have the accessory belt or timing belt changed, you're essentially paying for the same things twice). The water pump should have been replaced the last time the timing belt was done, assuming it's been changed before. All parts should cost less than $200 - CLICK (http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=GH21100-C)

This would also be a great time to make sure you have a mechanic you trust because this is a potentially fatal procedure if they don't do it right. Taking it to a dealer is no guarantee of that, either. They destroyed the engine in the wife's cousin's Golf. :thumdown:

[BarillaGirl]

They explained that they'd do the whole timing kit, since they had to take everything out anyway. The tech who did it made a point to show me the ruined plastic fan piece. :eek: They charged $300 for labor, less than $300 for parts, no charge for 24 hours of a loaner, and he's letting me make payments. So I topped off the tank in the loaner before I took it back. And no, it's not the dealer. ;)

There are only about 37,000 miles on this car, so almost everything is still original.

And I promise to keep a close eye on the engine temp light.

[Methanolandbrats]

They explained that they'd do the whole timing kit, since they had to take everything out anyway. The tech who did it made a point to show me the ruined plastic fan piece. :eek: They charged $300 for labor, less than $300 for parts, no charge for 24 hours of a loaner, and he's letting me make payments. So I topped off the tank in the loaner before I took it back. And no, it's not the dealer. ;)

There are only about 37,000 miles on this car, so almost everything is still original.

And I promise to keep a close eye on the engine temp light.

When you say ruined plastic fan piece, do you mean a piece of the waterpump? Some cars were fitted with a waterpump that had a plastic impeller. They were prone to failure and then no coolant circulated. Make sure the waterpump that is installed has a metal impeller. Also make sure no Chinese Ebay parts are installed. There are knockoffs of everything floating around. Make sure that the motor mount bolts are replaced and properly torqued, they are stretch bolts and cannot be reused. I hope you did not warp the head when it overheated. Good luck.

[chop456]

Make sure that the motor mount bolts are replaced and properly torqued, they are stretch bolts and cannot be reused.

This is important advice, provided that you prefer the engine remain attached to the car. :D

[BarillaGirl]

When you say ruined plastic fan piece, do you mean a piece of the waterpump? Some cars were fitted with a waterpump that had a plastic impeller. They were prone to failure and then no coolant circulated. Make sure the waterpump that is installed has a metal impeller. Also make sure no Chinese Ebay parts are installed. There are knockoffs of everything floating around. Make sure that the motor mount bolts are replaced and properly torqued, they are stretch bolts and cannot be reused. I hope you did not warp the head when it overheated. Good luck.

It's a new water pump with a metal impeller. (Thanks for the terminology!)