Hi all,

Pretty new member to the forum ( 5 minutes or so) ...

The wife was driving her 1997 Jetta home from work. It's new to her- has about 250 000 kms on it. Before we bought it- it received a tune up, oils and filter change, new plugs and cap, new clutch, new front end (ball joint/ rods), new engine seals, new exhaust, new tires and a few other things taboot ...

Anyhoo, she was driving tonight (weather: hot and dry), was about 5 minutes from home doing somewhere between 80 and 100 kms/ per hour on a rural, yet paved road.

She said she an alarm went off (not the security alarm), then the check engine, oil and battery lights went on. She then lost all power and pulled off to the side of the road.

Now it won't turn over ...

I've checked all plugs for a secure fit, there is just over a half tank of gas, the car has oil. We even tried to jump start it but there was no go ...

Car sounds like it wants to start but won't "catch" ... any help?

I've been reading that it may be a faulty ignition coil- could this be the problem?

 

these cars tend to have bad ignition coils yea. definitely could be it.

 

Sounds alot like the ignition coil.

 

Nope .. Timing Belt-

Repairs will cost about as much as I paid for the car ... Luckily, the guy that sold it to me, is a friend, he also owns a body shop, feels bad and is going to call in some favors so I'll only have to pay half of the repair cost.

It's nice to know there are honorable people left in the world!

 

did it broke???

 

yeah it broke ... and so am I!! Hahaha!

Wife was going 80 - 100 kms/ per hour when it broke- it caused all sorts of damage to the head.

I was hoping for something easily replaced or fixed but that was not the case. Final damage to me was about $550- which I feel very lucky that that's all it's going to cost me!

I was quoted $1500 by one and $1400 by another.

It helps having friends that can be there for you when you need them!

 

Sorry to hear. That happened to me once tho, but nothing really happened to the engine, which was good. But, that $550 price is not that bad. Are they going to just replace the whole head or rebuild??

 

550 - included new timing belt, labour ... lots of labour and some cylinders / pistons had to be machined ... I'm pretty happy with the final bill and they are towing the car back to me in a few days (almost a 2 hour drive)

,,,man, it's nice having friends in the right places!

 

Yeah, i wish i had people like that up here in Alaska. We have the place were they specialize on imports, but the labor is about $130 an hour. So just imagine how expensive it will be. lol
I took there my 98 Jetta for a transmission flush and fluid change. I ended up getting charged about $300. lol