1997 Vw Passat Help Needed Before Purchase

[BSJ]

Me old school, do things the way my father and Grandfather did..

So get a long thin stick, I use a length of dowel... put one end on steering box the other in your ear, get someone to turn wheel to FULL lock if the cluck is in you ear then expect it is steering box.........

Stick works well have done this many times on each cylinder of a car engine can hear if there is play or slap inside, walked away from a few cars over the years

As for Ball joints = cardan joints, correct? NO, Cardan Joint is the Universal joint on a drive shaft..

Ball joints are steering joints

Ball Joint.jpg

My grand pappy taught me to us a long screwdriver which has the shaft go through the handle with a striking knob on the top. Did that for 30 years till my some gave me a mechanics stethoscope! Then after a year I went back to the screwdriver!

[ricklev]

I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist. He has a few different phone numbers that he uses. The cars are never in his name so he must be working as an agent or something. The ads are always in the same style.

Not sure, but I think he first advertised the Passat as having a transmission problem wherein it took a little while to go into reverse. A sure sign of the end of a transmission. He was claiming that you could get a used transmission installed for 7K or something like that. Then I saw the same ad again without the information about the transmission. That might have been for a different Passat he was selling, so don't panic if you already bought it.

My guess would be that he met you with the car somewhere other than his home.

However, maybe he is just a guy with several phones and several cars and I've unjustly painted the wrong picture!

Please let us know how it worked out!

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3860844530.html

Edited June 10, 2013 by ricklev

[ricklev]

And here is a very similar ad for a Passat.....

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3796056759.html

[WarpSpeed]

It is a nicer looking car but under powered IMO. Too big for the engine and most have been beaten because of that.

On the buyers market, it's buyer beware only a little over a year out of a massive, nationwide flooding has added a glut of cars to the second hand market, thus price drops and still longer time to sell, those cars are still coming out of the pipeline and for years to come.

No problem with the standard 2.3 liter engine on the Passat.

What do you mean 'most have been beaten'? A race?

If you know much about cars, can you tell me what causes small clunk noises from the front wheeels when steering strong?

Is that a big problem or will some grease and a new cardan covers resolve it?

I mean beaten, the hi line model is normally not a 2.3L it's a 1.8 or 2.0L. I don't mean raced, just high mileage and because the engine is so small it works doubly hard..

Noise sounds to me like a CV joint or joints based on your description. And it should be replaced, I wouldn't trust a Thai mechanic to rebuild them, if you could even find one to do it, not worth the savings IMO.

[WarpSpeed]

No problem with the standard 2.3 liter engine on the Passat.

Very much more expensive to buy than the 1.8 Highline.

Yes hi-lines are generally not 2.3 but 1.8...

[WarpSpeed]

can you tell me what causes small clunk noises from the front wheeels when steering strong?

I am NOT a mechanic just a DIY..

1st thing I would do is jack up the wheel, catch hold of each side and see it there is any play then hold top and bottom of wheel and do same,, if clonk or play = ball joints, easy fix, possibility could be play in the steering rake, depends what car ? could be expensive.. [little bit of play in my Audi A6 replacement 70,000 baht !!] Check power steering if you have, leak or low on fluid.

As I say I just fiddle about myself and not a mechanic

As you say but don't think the rake or the rack.

If it's a front wheel drive car if it's not loose wheels or bearings it's usually the drive shafts.

Yes, more likely CV joints..

[WarpSpeed]

Me old school, do things the way my father and Grandfather did..

So get a long thin stick, I use a length of dowel... put one end on steering box the other in your ear, get someone to turn wheel to FULL lock if the cluck is in you ear then expect it is steering box.........

Stick works well have done this many times on each cylinder of a car engine can hear if there is play or slap inside, walked away from a few cars over the years

As for Ball joints = cardan joints, correct? NO, Cardan Joint is the Universal joint on a drive shaft..

Ball joints are steering joints

Ball Joint.jpg

Thanks for the explanation, I'm neither a mechanic nor a DIY!

Great help.

Kwasaki, indeed front wheel drive.

It's a common thing with a front wheel driven vehicles in a moving hard steer lock, not a big worry much but will get progressively worse until renewed.

Is a fairly big concern once they being to make noise they are dry or almost dry possibly even broken boots letting in water and wearing, probably burnt CV bearings at this point should be addressed shortly or he'll find himself road side with a broken axle, probably at the most inconvenient time if his luck is anything like mine .

[WarpSpeed]

I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist. He has a few different phone numbers that he uses. The cars are never in his name so he must be working as an agent or something. The ads are always in the same style.

Not sure, but I think he first advertised the Passat as having a transmission problem wherein it took a little while to go into reverse. A sure sign of the end of a transmission. He was claiming that you could get a used transmission installed for 7K or something like that. Then I saw the same ad again without the information about the transmission. That might have been for a different Passat he was selling, so don't panic if you already bought it.

My guess would be that he met you with the car somewhere other than his home.

However, maybe he is just a guy with several phones and several cars and I've unjustly painted the wrong picture!

Please let us know how it worked out!

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3860844530.html

Sorry but that is not necessarily a sure sign of an impending tranny failure. It could be a simple solenoid issue or required service due to a dirty internal filter screen and old fluid a common problem there, just like not changing the brake fluids and such. VW tranny's are heavily electrically integrated with other operating components that can fail and are much less expensive to fix, they are also quite tough, that doesn't mean they don't fail but it is often a less serious issue, though I understand if one is not a mechanic it may be a scary thing to confront if that is a problem.

I'd see about having it checked out by a mechanic for more piece of mind, but he didn't mention anything about an issue in his OP when he test drove it. I wonder where the OP is now he hasn't been back in days?

[WarpSpeed]

And here is a very similar ad for a Passat.....

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3796056759.html

That's a price more in line with this model and year.

[ricklev]

I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist. He has a few different phone numbers that he uses. The cars are never in his name so he must be working as an agent or something. The ads are always in the same style.

Not sure, but I think he first advertised the Passat as having a transmission problem wherein it took a little while to go into reverse. A sure sign of the end of a transmission. He was claiming that you could get a used transmission installed for 7K or something like that. Then I saw the same ad again without the information about the transmission. That might have been for a different Passat he was selling, so don't panic if you already bought it.

My guess would be that he met you with the car somewhere other than his home.

However, maybe he is just a guy with several phones and several cars and I've unjustly painted the wrong picture!

Please let us know how it worked out!

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3860844530.html

Sorry but that is not necessarily a sure sign of an impending tranny failure. It could be a simple solenoid issue or required service due to a dirty internal filter screen and old fluid a common problem there, just like not changing the brake fluids and such. VW tranny's are heavily electrically integrated with other operating components that can fail and are much less expensive to fix, they are also quite tough, that doesn't mean they don't fail but it is often a less serious issue, though I understand if one is not a mechanic it may be a scary thing to confront if that is a problem.

I'd see about having it checked out by a mechanic for more piece of mind, but he didn't mention anything about an issue in his OP when he test drove it. I wonder where the OP is now he hasn't been back in days?

Fair enough, but I think you missed my main point there......Not that it matters.

Edited June 11, 2013 by ricklev

[BSJ]

"I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist." He's a backyard car dealer. Nothing wrong with that if he is selling cars with no issues.

If he's scamming people....well that's a different thing entirely!

And who knows if the tent guys have any sort of license....but they probably slinging tea money to the right people!

[stevenl]

"I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist." He's a backyard car dealer. Nothing wrong with that if he is selling cars with no issues.

If he's scamming people....well that's a different thing entirely!

And who knows if the tent guys have any sort of license....but they probably slinging tea money to the right people!

That would of course also explain why the car is not in his name. He is selling on other's behalf.

[wprime]

I believe that this is the same guy who oftens advertises cars on Thai Visa and Craigslist. He has a few different phone numbers that he uses. The cars are never in his name so he must be working as an agent or something. The ads are always in the same style.

Not sure, but I think he first advertised the Passat as having a transmission problem wherein it took a little while to go into reverse. A sure sign of the end of a transmission. He was claiming that you could get a used transmission installed for 7K or something like that. Then I saw the same ad again without the information about the transmission. That might have been for a different Passat he was selling, so don't panic if you already bought it.

My guess would be that he met you with the car somewhere other than his home.

However, maybe he is just a guy with several phones and several cars and I've unjustly painted the wrong picture!

Please let us know how it worked out!

http://bangkok.craigslist.co.th/cto/3860844530.html

That's normal for old Audi/VW transmissions - any replacement that costs just 7k will have the same issue. It will cost at least 20k to rebuild the transmission.

[ignis]

If the OP was willing to pay 107k a week ago and this advert is the same car now under 90 k the money for a rebuild of the transmission is almost covered... ??

Weak point on many European cars here appears to be electrics and switches..