MK III GTi Vr6 Questions

**speedydragon** · 08-11-2008 03:46 PM

Hey guys, I'm thinking of picking up a MKIII GTi Vr6 as a daily driver. What are some problems I should be looking for when I go look at the car? THe one I'm looking at has about 87k miles. Are the problems similar to the B5 platform (i.e Timing belt + goodies, control arms..)? Also, what are some good/know vw forums that I can search around on?

Thanks in advance!!!

**tdn** · 08-11-2008 03:58 PM

www.vwvortex.com probably the best and biggest vw forum.

i've got a 95 mkIII 2.0, timing belt went out prematurely at around 60k, so I'd say yes.. they have timing belt issues aswell. control arms need to be replaced, aswell as suspension, a wheel bearing and maf. its at 85k now. was bought new and has been pretty reliable so far.

**le91688** · 08-11-2008 04:06 PM

vwvortex is full of kids deciding on vinyls to put on their car and roofracks and purple wheels. Audizine > anyday.

**speedydragon** · 08-11-2008 07:03 PM

Thanks! Bump for more info.

**tdn** · 08-12-2008 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by le91688

vwvortex is full of kids deciding on vinyls to put on their car and roofracks and purple wheels. Audizine > anyday.

didn't realize audizine was a vw forum. is it also a bmw forum?

**ThirdStrike** · 08-12-2008 12:12 PM

from a former owner of 2 vr6's (one s/c'd);
vr's arent all that bad on maint. they have no timing belts. all chains. 87k miles is low mileage for a well taken care of engine.
common issues; coolant hoses, coolant intake pipe aka "crack-pipe", thermostat housing, maf(random as hell on any vw), timing chain guides (go out usually ~100k miles), ...and thats about all i can think of.
overall the vr is a great choice for DD

couple of shots of my old vrsex

**ThirdStrike** · 08-12-2008 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by le91688

vwvortex is full of kids deciding on vinyls to put on their car and roofracks and purple wheels. Audizine > anyday.

youre mistaken. you need to take a look at the engine / techincal forums, tons of useful info in tehre. just like on vortex there are tons of "kids deciding on vinyls" here on the zine too..dont believe me? look in b7a4 forum.

**speedydragon** · 08-12-2008 11:13 PM

ahh thanks for all the info thirdstrike! Do you think you can give me a price estimate on how much a timing chain + all the hardware would cost? and how much it'd cost all together for a shop to do it? Thanks!

**ThirdStrike** · 08-13-2008 07:14 PM

Originally Posted by speedydragon

ahh thanks for all the info thirdstrike! Do you think you can give me a price estimate on how much a timing chain + all the hardware would cost? and how much it'd cost all together for a shop to do it? Thanks!

depends on the labor/hours. i think its a 7 hour job. i can get you the parts on the cheap. pm me if you need me to order the kit.