This last weekend I went to pop the trunk of my Jetta and was saddened to find that nothing happened.  I could hear the latch apparatus doing something so at least the electronics part seemed to be working but yeah, no dice.  =(

Being that my Jetta is very important to me and I really like being able to use the trunk I decided that I would attempt to identify and fix the problem myself.  So tonight, armed with a backpacking headlamp, a screwdriver and a bowl to hold the screws, I shimmied through a folded down seat in the back row of the Jetta and into the trunk to begin removing the carpeted interior.

Although it was a bit cramped in there, it didn't take too long to remove the 13 screws and get a closer look at what was going on.

This is an up close of the broken latch assembly. When working properly the arm to the left of the white locking mechanism pushes the black lever to lift the latch and unlock the trunk.

Unfortunately the black lever is made of plastic (lame!) and finally cracked after 9 years of service. With the latch lever hanging on by a thread it was only a matter of time before it fell off completely. Boo... =(

After getting an up close and personal look at how the locking mechanism works it appears I should be able to unlock the trunk by turning the key clockwise (counter clockwise just engages the electronic lock). I'll have to replace some parts to give that a try.

I was hoping I could jury rig something to get the locking mechanism working again but it was not to be, well at least not without additional resources (like crazy glue perhaps).  I also tried to remove the metal mounting from the trunk so I could see about replacing the whole thing however I would have needed deeper sockets to get around the screws.  My brother has the right tools so I’m going to see if he can let me borrow them tomorrow to finish this up.

With no other options for fixing the trunk I guess it’s over and out from Jettagirl for now.  I’ll write more when I have an update on the status of my car.  =)

So my Jetta is apparently having an issue with keeping its cool.  That is to say it’s overheated twice in two weeks.  =P

I let my dad know what was going on and being the awesome dad he is, he offered to come and check it out with me. Because I have the manual we thought that even though it would probably be challenging, we’d at least have the information we needed to do the troubleshooting/repair.  Yeah, that wasn’t even close to being the case.

The first step was to remove the thermostat and see if it operated properly at temperature.  Ok, that sounds reasonable.  To get any access to the area in question we removed the bumper and jacked up the car.  Then we checked out what the manual had to say.

Dad and me consulting the manual

Hmm, it says to drain the coolant and then remove the thermostat (figure 25).  Well let’s see, we found the plug to drain the coolant but before doing that, we wanted to know where this cap to the thermostat housing was.  First my dad gave it a try.

Dad checking out underside of Jetta

Then we both gave it a try…

Trying to trace the cap that holds the thermostat in place

Hmm, this isn’t working, ah, I’ve got an idea!

Who would have thought a knitting needle would come in handy for working on a car?

Yes, it’s the lighted knitting needles Mandy gave me for Christmas.  I haven’t had a chance to use them yet but they are the perfect tools for providing light into the nooks and crannies (Mmm, makes me hungry for an English muffin) of my tightly packed Jetta hood.  Ok, now properly armed with the right tools my dad and I once again tried to trace the tubing to the thermostat cap.

Teamwork

Finally with me using one lighted knitting needle from the top and my dad using the other from the underside we were able to pinpoint the most likely location of the thermostat cap and…. it’s totally inaccessible without completely taking apart a bunch of other components.  My dad still gave it a shot by disconnecting what I think was the air filter housing and removing the top plastic covering of the engine but still no luck.  =(

Well even though checking the thermostat was a no go we were still able to make some improvements to the Jetta.  Since we had the car on stands we decided to take off the front tires and replace the plastic wheel wells that were destroyed a couple years ago when the front bumper got ripped off after driving over a concrete parking block.  I’ve had the replacement parts for about a year but didn’t have a jack low enough to get under the car so it’s had to wait.  Thanks to my dad bringing out his floor jack we were finally able to install the new wheel wells.  Sweet!  =)

After we got that taken care of we put everything back together and first thing Monday morning I’ll be making an appt. w/ the Dublin Volkswagen service department.  Even though we weren’t able to fix the problem, I had a lot of fun working on the car with my dad and we only lost one screw so I call that a success.  Hey, at least we tried. 

So normally quality time with my Jetta would include a Saturday morning drive with the windows down, heater (and heated seats) turned up, my 80’s music blasting and Sierra in the passenger seat smiling and sticking her muppet head out the window as we head down the backroads of Livermore…. sweet… =)

Unfortunately, that was not the manner of quality time to be had this evening. =( Instead, I had to figure out how to replace a blown headlamp bulb which was not nearly as easy to replace as the tail light that had to be replaced about two weeks ago. Fortunately, I bought the $90 manual way back in 2000 when my parents bought me the Jetta so at least I had pictures to walk me through the process minimizing the chances of me breaking something or throwing a screwdriver through the windshield in frustration.

Ok, so let’s get to it. First of all, the manual. Here are the steps (more than I would have imagined) in all their black and white glory.

Ok, not too bad. I did run into a couple of problems including the fact that in order to take off the bumper, I had to unscrew two screws located under the wheel well and with the car lowered, there is very little clearance to work a hex head. The other problem was that in order to remove the hood latch assembly, I needed to try and pry this forky thing apart with two screwdrivers since for some reason, the pull tab that would have made that a lot easier was already missing.

So here are the steps. First of all I had to detach the hood latch assembly (challenging but did it). Then I removed the radiator grill. This was also pretty easy. No screws, just a couple of attachment clips that were easily removed with a small flathead screwdriver. After removing a bunch of screws that held the bumper in place I was able to gently lower it to the ground (ok so really it popped off after I pulled on it and kind of slumped to the floor).

Now the Jetta is looking pretty broken down. Actually it still looks hot. There must be something wrong with me.

So now there was just one thing left to do and that was to remove the 4 screws securing the headlamp in place and then replace the bulb. Finally, something easy! =)

Half-way done so it’s time for a “half-way done” celebratory drink.

Ok back to work. Let’s see, where was I? Oh yeah, back to replacing the bulb. So replacing the bulb was pretty easy. Well it was easy after I got past the hard stuff. Once I replaced the bulb and verified that it worked (learned the hard way), it took me considerably less time to put things back together. Before I knew it I was replacing the radiator grill and then it was time for a buddy picture with me and my newly repaired Jetta. =)

Oh and to prove I actually performed all the dirty work, here’s me greasy paws.

Ok, that was fun but let’s hope I don’t have to do that again any time soon. =) Ok, it’s nearly 10pm, I took Sierra for a long walk/run tonight so I’m going to head to bed now. Goodnight all….