NEHA

VW people

Is it normal for a '99 Jetta with a VR6 to crack oil pans very easily? My friend's daughter has cracked one and the local shop says this happens all the time. Does this sound right?

Judging by the oil puddle in the driveway, she got it home before it ran dry.

The oil pan is clearly the lowest projection on the car. Any guards, bars, or other structure to help a young/terrible driver during the VT winter?

Paul

I know this is the case with the 1.8t; unsure about VR6

Good replacement for 1.8t:
http://www.ecstuning.com/News/VW_MKIV_G ... ES2102397/

Quick internet search doesn't show much for VR6.

Being a 99, is that MK3 or MK4?

MK3 12 valve metal oil pan:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jet ... ES2535132/

Skid plate...

http://www.dieselgeek.com/MK4_Panzer_Sk ... dlxmk4.htm

Or, perhaps swerving around the obstacles in the road would work.

Yes, I was thinking...

1) Is this a big problem - meaning happens a lot, to everyone? I had not heard that it was. More likely if the car is lowered or driven on logging roads.

2) Steel oil pan may be available and a good solution if contact with hard things is rare.

3) Skid plate if it seems to be a frequent problem...Note that a standard skidplate isnt going to make the car invulnerable to abuse. I ran a 1/4" aluminum plate mounted on a steel frame during my GTI's rally days but the 2005 RNY was so riddled with massive protruding rocks it was pounded into the stock steel oil pan and the pan was pushed up about an inch.

I had to change my oil pan on my MK4 TDI 3 times from it hitting the ground on VT roads. The pan will hit the ground if the suspension is bottomed out. I bought a European stock skid plate and never broke another one and it had a cool side benefit of throwing sparks.

My Dad (at that point in his life a VERY cautious driver) scored a hit to the drain plug lump on the Jetta (Mk 1, IIRC) pan, from a crevasse which had opened on a town road. The town's Public Works director, who's driven nothing but pickups for decades, found this vastly amusing when confronted about the condition of the road. Dad fumed for WEEKS!