Tag Archives: VW

A new Volkswagen Golf MkIII starter

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Nicholas Weaver

When it rains it pours or so it seems. My 1995 Volkswagen Golf GL has had a bit of an overhaul these last few months. I replaced the sparks plugs and wires, both outer tie-rods, my driver side CV Joint, and then last night my starter when out.

Being the frugal, cheap, penny pincher that I am, and not wanting to pay the $50 towing fee to get my car home, I tried the standard hammer to the starter trick to no avail. I then had a friend give me a push and tried dropping the clutch to get the car started. We couldn’t build up enough speed for the car to turn completely over. I then decided to have my dad get his car and push me with it so I could get enough speed to successfully drop the clutch and get the car running. Sure enough it worked and I was able to drive my car home, get it jacked up in the garage, and removed the old starter.

Removing the starter from the car wasn’t hard at all, but there was a massive problem removing the positive power cables from the starter. For whatever reason, the nut was cross threaded onto the copper terminal bolt and it took me over an hour to get the nut off to free the cables from the starter. Had this not happened I probably could have replaced the starter in just over an hour. Instead it took me over three hours.

I picked up a new Volkswagen Golf MkIII Starter remanufactured from O’Reily’s Auto Parts store for only $86.99. Below are some pics I took as things came apart and were put back together. I hope you all had a great weekend, I’m sure at least your Sunday was better then mine!

: Out with the old and in with the new

: Inside the transmission case

: A better look at the flywheel and starter bushing.

: A look at the installed starter from below

: The new starter completely installed and cables attached.

Posted in See my life | Tagged 1995, 2.0L, Auto Parts Store, Copper Terminal Bolt, GL, Golf, Mk3, MKIII, O'Reily's, Repair, Replacement, Volkswagen, VW | Leave a comment

Umber’s Car Repair

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Nicholas Weaver

So this past weekend was spent in the Smokey Mountains with a group of good friends. The ole muffler on the VW decided to start sagging a little. So today I stopped at a little repair shop off Parnell Street to get her pipes repaired.

: The old muffler clamp was a bit rusted. After a little heat we got it sorted out.

If you are ever in need of a really cheap and quick fix, give the guys a Umbers Car Repair a jingle.

Posted in See my life | Tagged car repair, Exhaust, Fort Wayne, Golf, MKIII, mom n pop shop, Muffler, Parnell Street, Volkswagen, VW | Leave a comment

Oil Pump Revived

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Nicholas Weaver

Sometimes old things just break. As I was driving my car last night, the oil light came on and I heard the annoyingly loud sound of my lifters just slapping away inside the block. I decided to play it safe and pull over at the nearest station and grab some oil. Since the first quart of oil didn’t silence the sound of the lifters, every mile between there and home I stopped and threw some oil over the block. Since the oil pump seemed to be broken the Volkswagen had no way to cool off and lubricate the engine. Luckily, I made it home and it looks as if no harm was done. With a new pump arriving in the morning, the ole Volkswagen will be back to its old self. Its my first time replacing the oil pump and I admit it was easier then I thought. Fingers crossed once I get it back together the oil pressure returns back to normal. For now she sits and awaits further surgery.

After approximately 5 hours of surgery, my car is finally back to its healthy and vibrant self. Turns out the pump was bad and after some handy tips from a few close Volkswagen pros, she is alive and well. While I had the car apart I went ahead and finished the transformation of the front end of my car. I previously had HID headlamps in the car, one of them cracked in a fender bender about a month ago. As you can see below I removed the VW badge and now have a fresh clean badge-less grill and nice dual lamp headlights with 4300K white bulbs. I can’t lie, I really enjoy being able to spot a dear a couple miles away with those things. All in all, I learned a few things and feel grateful that my car is still kicking after all these years.