What happens to the motors when they brake? What is the typical repair when they brake on these cars. Is it a SOB to repair or is it better to go get another motor. I found one with the tiptronic that looks like it would be a decent car that would be a fun computer. The price is also quite nice (under $1000) but if it needs a grand in parts it becomes a not so good deal.
many engines are "interference" engines.. which means that when the timing belt breaks (not brakes, those are to slow you down) the pistons come up, meet the valves, and all sorts of metal gets munched, crunched, and spit out.
I also do not know about the engine compartment of the passat, but I know in my father's jetta that there is very little room to get your hands in and around the engine to do the belt
The 20V 1.8T motors are interferance and when the timing belt breaks you are looking at a good amount of work to repair it.
The short side is yes you are looking at a good amount to repair it. A new timing belt kit with all of the correct OEM quality parts is close to $250.
check out www.passatworld.com or www.vwvortex.com if you want more details. Here is a link to my photo album where I took a $600 passat and installed a new motor: http://corradoalleysprojects1.shutterfly.com/
They absolutely are valve benders. The good thing is that they're not known for breaking the valve heads off when they bend, so they usually only scuff the piston tops instead of beating holes in them. Figure worst case scenario, new head gasket, timing belt, tensioner, and all 20 valves. You probably won't need all 20, but there's no way of knowing until you pull the head.
What is the going rate for a used head?
I am thinking Q&D repair here. Get a good used head and slap it on with a belt kit. Or should I price out new valves and rebuild the head on my own provided the seats and the guides have not been damaged.
Depends on the head, early large port heads can fetch 500 in good condition with valves/springs/etc. The later heads go for a bit less, but still in the 300-400 range.
If the valves have bent it's quite likely that the center valves have damaged the seats or the head around the seats and it will need to be professionally machined.
Honestly if it was maintained (or not) in such a way that it lost a tbelt, it probably had regular oil and the whole crankcase and head are full of oil sludge as well.
Throw that auto on top of it and it doesn't seem like such a hot deal. I passed up a car much like this not long ago (98 Passat sedan) for $300. Just not worth the effort.
And remember used heads are not as common as they once were, core buyers are snapping them up and rebuilding them to sell as well.
Personally, $1000.00 for one running down the road with no major issues is fine, I bought my 2002 for $500.00 in need of a turbo and did a LOT of work to get it all okay then traded it for a Beetle and $700.00 cash which I repaired and sold for $4000.00.
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