the ongoing saga of the Jetta

Back in 2009 we replaced the oil rebreather hose on our 2001 Jetta. In the last week we've noticed an exhaust smell in the car again. Irritatingly enough another piece of hose has worn out, pouring oily residue into the engine compartment.

A few weeks ago we drove to wisconsin and back, averaging 32mpg with the ac running. Keep in mind our car has 184,000 miles on it though.

coil on plug

Apparently the VW 1.8T engine has a bit of a design flaw.

as we have been having problems with rough idles and stalling.  Having checked the engine over with diagnostic equipment and listening to the motor the coils on cylinders 1 and 3 were found to be the culprits. two coils replaced and everything is peachy.

cars are annoying.

a recap of recent happenings

So the last post was about replacing the oil breather hose on our 2001 VW jetta 1.8T.  The very next morning after fixing this hose I had the car in the shop for 1. oil change 2. tires.  My brother had been over seas studyign and having just returned home to the states I was going to take him out to lunch.  So we piled into the Jetta and I took him into the city.  

In the middle lane on Marion on a sunny day at 11:30am, an early 2000s silverado pickup heading the opposite direction cut in front of us to enter I94 East bound.  Thus clipping the corner of the jetta, and continuing onto the Highway.

So the police come by and we fill out a report, and we tried to match the plate I read to the truck that hit us.  Not so much luck.

So we took the car to Superior Collision in Eagan and they did a great job replacing the fender, the hood, bumper, and rehanging the passenger door. The paint is perfect.

And then AAA sent the check to the wrong address. dammit.

Memorial day weekend was a blast, as we went out to Maryland to see the new nephew and my sister's other kids (and obviously my sister and her husband), and some old friends that live outside Charlotte who drove all the way up so we could hang out. 

We went to Annapolis, we went into DC, we drank in a micro brewery.  We had an awesome time. pictures to follow.

Then this past Saturday we went to see Gogol Bordello at the Cabooze.  Which was awesome.  And then we played Settlers of Catan till 1am. And when we got home finally, I hopped onto Craigslist.  And some guy was listing his Surly Instigator for less than the cost of buying the frame. 

So, after sleeping on it, today I bought another bike.

Anyone want to buy a Murray three speed?

Which is why you never fix two things in a weekend

So my super awesome plan for the weekend was to fix the oil breather hose on the car.  Hoses are pretty low key as repairs go.

The car had been have some weird idle issues but no error code, so something was wrong someplace without a sensor.  But that hardly narrows the field.  But Chester found a hole in the oil breather hose last weekend.  

The dealerships wanted 73-88 dollars for the hose, Metric Auto Parts on Smith Ave in St Paul had the best price and with tax the hose ran 71.xx.  

Then this morning I had scheduled an oil change and to get two tires put on the car because the Sam's Club specials that it had were quickly balding (I didn't buy the tires). So the car has a new hose, fresh oil, and brand spankign new tires,

Heading North on Marion have just left Kellog in St Paul, were in the middle lane And this guy heading South on Marion wanting to enter I94 East cuts in front of us.

Busted the headlight, crimped the hood something awful, busted the bumper, and caved in the fender. The Passenger front door doesn't open now because the fender is pressing against it.

pictures to follow.

not quite enough for a century

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2583448

Today I got in my longest single day of riding of the year.  Jim and I left from HC and tried to make it to Carver.  It was my whimpy legs that made us turn around.  The trail got less and less plowed the further we went and my excuse is the single speed lacked the gear ratio necessary for the slipping.

So my legs cramped at mile thirty or so, and by mile 40 I was aching, by the time we got to Humboldt I needed to sit down.

A damn fine ride though.

Shannon got to be the knight in shining Jetta and save my sorry ass at Uncommon Grounds.

The things they left behind

So I hadn't thought to much of the stuff in the shoulder bag.  Dirty lunch carton, old newspaper, etc.

There was also this water bottle.

For all the rooting around, the person missed a pair of Grobet pliers I had in the bag that cost me a small fortune.  Also a 9 dollar three sided ruler.  But, I am glad to still have these things.

I imagine the person standing at the Jetta finding an Eagan police water bottle and leaving.  I imagine the person power walking away.  

I was helping a repeat customer the other day and her Cannondale had been stolen.  The suburban police had made an honest effort trying to track the ten year old bike down, but some things are hard to find.

Tomorrow I'm thinking I'll bike to the Depot in Hopkins, and I'll use the new chains to secure my ride home.

The golf club

So I've been having a recurring dream since Saturday.

It has me riding my bike south along the River road towards Lock and Dam #1, which is weird because I work in the southern suburbs, and I see the person bust out our window.  Suddenly I have a golf club in my hand and bellow "pedestrian polo!"  the phrase "now I'm gonna take $250 out of your body" creeps in as I break the hand that busted the window.

a disturbing dream made worse by putting it in text...

What irks me is that we had better plans for that money which is now going to replace our window.  The glass is on order, I expected to hear from the Volkswagen dealer that it came in today, but predicting shipping apparently sucks in more than one industry.

Schadenfruede

Because I am the angel of death when it comes to cars.

Saturday I biked most of the way home from work.  But I knew the better half was also out biking so I went through Minnehaha Park to see if I could catch up.  I was about t get onto Ford when I saw our Jetta parked at Lock and Damn 1.  And some people staring at it.

Well this actually:

The ass hole who busted out the window didn't have the courtesy to steal anything.  They pulled my messenger bag out of the trunk and rooted through it...

BUT EVERYTHING WAS STILL THERE!

So now we have to replace the window.  GAAAAAH!

Even Murdoch's minions cannot deny it

So a friend posted an article from the other New York paper.  

Seems basic accounting is coming in vogue again.  Buckets with holes in the bottom are bad vessels.  Having spent an unholy amount of money on cars this past year I strongly agree: cars are a drain on resources.

Honestly.  As durable goods go, cars suck.  In a year we've dealt with a transmission, bearings, brakes and head gaskets.  We had one car die and another have a heart attack.  

If only it were easier to get across the river.

In for an oil change

So we dropped the car off for an oil change.  With a turbo charger those are supposed to have that changed fairly regularly... more like clock work.  And it was due.

The Tow truck set it down in the parking lot, and we waited to hear what they had to say.

While they forgot to change the oil, in three days they were able to diagnose and repair the singular whump sound the car had made.

I don't like feeling vulnerable.  I do what I can to prevent the feeling and since we just bought the car, and since we had problems within a month of the van having the head gasket go, I'm feeling a bit vulnerable.  What is frustrating is that I like driving.  It's the rest of the costs and headache I hate.  I like riding my bike, and I like fixing it too.  Which makes me even more frustrated when I lack the wherewithal to fix the car.  

ARUGH.