This list is all the things I could come up with regarding my Jetta. What it needs, what it needs doing, etc.

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Oil change
This will be the first oil change since I bought the car about 3 months ago. I think Herb will help me get what I need done. Here's what I've gathered so far:

• I need Rotella-T oil from Shell, about 5 quarts. I'll go to Wallyworld and see if they sell it by the quart.
• I need a new VW oil filter and it needs to be torqued down.

One question, I know that if water is introduced into the fuel system it's bad news. There's some sort of trap that collects moisture and keeps it from entering, but it needs to be drained periodically. Do I do it every oil change?

Dash lights
I have no interior instrument lights. All the fuses are good, Steven thinks the bulbs just need replacing. If we have a chance tomorrow Herb and I may attempt to disassemble the dash ourselves and take a look.

Small piece of trim on the front driver's side
It's missing a little piece of trim between the driver's door and the front wheel well. I'll probably call Steven to see if he's got a piece he can send me.

Glow plug light
I noticed at night sometimes my amber glow plug light will illuminate ever so slightly. I know it actually works because it comes on full glow when you turn the switch, but I only notice this at night. It's not bright enough to show up in the daylight. Is this cause for concern? Maybe just a short somewhere in the wiring?

Shift boot replacement
The leather (or fake leather, I can't tell) around my shifter is ripped. This is a cosmetic issue, but I'd like to get it replaced somehow. Where can I get one?

Emergency brake boot
Same thing around my e-brake. It's ripped. Cosmetic issue.

Clicking in the steering wheel
It used to do this, but not anymore. When I would turn the wheel to the extreme right or left, I would hear a clicking noise. Godfather and El Presidente seem to think it might be my CV joint. It's not really doing it now though, should I have it looked at?

Antenna
I replaced the head unit in the car, and discovered the antenna did not have a lead into the dash to connect to the back. I guess I need to just replace this antenna. Can I get a good aftermarket one, or should I try to go through the dealer for this?

Door handles
My door handles don't work, except for the driver's side. Herb and I are going to try and take these handles I got from Al Johnson back. The passenger's side front door has a chrome trim piece on it, which doesn't really match the rest of the car. The rest didn't come with any trim pieces at all, and the ones on my existing handles are faded badly. I hope I can get some new handles that a) work and b) match the car. Then I hope I can get Zen to re-key the locks so I only have to use one key.

Wiper switch/Turn signal switch
A while back my wiper switch broke off right at the steering column in my hand. Luckily it broke in the wiper "on" position, so now to turn on and off my wipers I just pull the wiper relay on the fuse block. As a side effect, my turn signal now no longer moves into the down position (to indicate a turn left). I guess I just need both switches replaced on the column now. They're expensive from the dealer though, can I get them cheaper somewhere or do I just have to eat it and buy them new?

Steering column cover
The bottom cover for my steering column is missing. There's a lot of wires and stuff exposed down there. I will maybe try to call Steven and see if he has an extra one.

Fog lights
There's places in my bumper cover I could cut out and install fog lights. I see them on eBay all the time, but I have no idea if they're worth anything or not. I'd like to get some Hellas, and there's plenty of blank buttons in the dash I could wire a switch to.

Spoiler
No, not a whale tail or anything like that, just a small spoiler on the back just for looks. Angel had a small one on her old '98 Jetta, and it was very attractive. I'd like to get one and paint it the same color as the car, and attach it to the back.

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Phew, well that's all I could think of. I appreciate any advice for this stuff!

As soon as you get a set of working door handles on it, I'll help you get to one key.  The doors are easy.  You should be able to just change out the lock cylinders.  I still have that copy of your door key, but I haven't gotten around to keying an ignition switch to it.

Thanks

The wiper switch is easy.  Pull off the steering wheel, remove three screws and unplug a few wires and it's off.  The turn signal switch and wiper switch are separate, but kind'a snap together . . . you can pull them together and separate them.  Aftermarket switches are availble.  I've got aftermaket switchs (both turn signal and wiper) in my 74 Super (they are actually 86 Golf parts).  They've been in there at least 3 years and I haven't had any problems from them.  Looking at CIP2.com's web site, there was a mid year change for both of these switches.  If your's was built between 8/88 and 12/88 it's the earlier one.  From 1/89 and up, it's the later ones.  They are both fairly cheap . . . unless you have cruise control or a trip computer . . . those two features make the price shoot up a bit.

I have cruise control, but it's never worked. And honestly, it wouldn't bother me if I did away with it - cruise control and VW just don't seem to go well together to me. So can I opt for the cheaper, earlier turn signal switch?

Just a side note . . . CIP offers free shipping on water cooled parts orders over $49.99 . . . but you get what you pay for.  For FREE, you get your parts strapped to the back of a turtle with a bad sense of direction.  He will eventually show up at your door with your parts, but it's going to take some time!    :lol:   It's supposed to take 10 - 14 business days . . . which translates to at least two, maybe three weeks.

Yeah, I know how vendors like that free shipping...I don't seem to mind that, or if it's nominal enough I might pay for expedited shipping.

By the way, they also have Hella and an aftermarket brand handle, but all of them are black.  I don't think you can get the handles with the trim in them new anywhere anymore.

Do you suggest the aftermarket handles? I'll take a look at them.

The urls I copied and pasted don't work correctly.  Go to CIP2.com and click on the Volkswagen parts link, then go to body parts for the door handles, and electrical then wipers OR turn signals for the the switches.  The cheap handles are $5.02 (ELLEN brand) and the Hella brand handles are $13.98.  With the reputation even the OEM handles had for these cars, I sure wouldn't buy the cheap ones!  The Hellas come without the lock cylinder.  I've used aftermarket wiper and turn signal switches and haven't had a problem with them.  I don't know if you could get away with buying the non-cruise control switch or not.  My guess would be that you could . . . but that's just a guess.

. . . maybe it'll be best to just keep the VW ones I got from the dealer and use my old faded trim pieces.

Are the trim pieces stainless or some other metal that can be polished back to its original luster?

Okay, I stopped in Ft. O Wal-mart tonight and picked up some Rotella-T. They had it by the quart, and so I picked up a gallon container and two extra quarts for good measure. I saved 69 cents by buying the gallon container rather than 4 quarts.

I also noticed my glow plug light doesn't come on anymore, not even when turning on the switch initially. Should I be worried?

Are we still starting OK ?  You will know this morning.

Well that's odd. This morning the glow plug light came on as usual. And even in this 16° weather, the car started up with no complaints.

I'm sure it didn't come on last night, though. Is it affected by the weather at all?