It's not rusty, unless you can't even tell if it's an Allen or Hex head, because the edges have rusted away. Lol. I'm in Michigan. I definitely know about this
My late wife had a 2002 Jetta GLX wagon VR6 5-speed that she bought new literally off the showroom floor (the guys at the dealership called it the 'soccer mom rocket'). She put 170K+ on it and finally traded it in on a 2013 Jetta GLI 6-speed. Pretty good car/engine. I did have to take the entire front end off the car to replace the radiator. I also did a few brake jobs on it over the years. And it ate coil packs every 40K miles or so. A timing chain guide failed at some point (150K?) and we had it repaired by the local Euro car guru (that job was above my pay grade). The GLI lasted until she had trouble with her legs and couldnt drive a manual any more.
Techs doing warranty work know how to twist the radiator through the grill opening or out the bottom. Things that happen in dealerships is unbelievable and scary.
@@riccocool never have I seen that in the years I worked at vw it always came out with the condenser after taking covers off of the top of the radiator…
I have a 2008 Audi TT, 3.2 VR6, 166k miles, runs great, never uses a drop of oil. (Also have a 2003 E350van,7.3 PSD, 339k miles, runs great,and a 2004 E350 w/5.4 2valve, Tacoma 2009 w/4.0L, 281k. Only the Toyota had massive problems, warped heads due to previous owner ran it low on coolant, replaced w/used engine....)
I can't stress enough how much I love your editing. You know exactly what the viewer wants to see. It's amazing and the type of stuff I want to see. Thank you for your time and effort. Keep up the great work!!!
@@Tdidylan Yes there was a VR4 but it's not what you think, more of a Mitsubishi sport trim. The one you might be thinking about was the VR5. But the VR6 was the one that started it all
@@engineer_alv The idea of the VR6 wasn't even all that new at the time, Lancia had made a series of narrow angle V engines in both V4 and even V8 form from the 1920s all the way until the 1970s. All of the them having the familiar VR6 traits of a V angle less than 20° and a single cylinder head. VW certainly won't admit it but they definetely took inspiration from them.
Eric, little tip here for those internally wrenching Allen heads, triple squares etc that strip out and you’re struggling. Lay some copper wire over the fastener as you hammer your tool in for extra grip. Saved the day a few weeks back on a 737 fuel valve actuator.
99-02 GTI/Jetta AFP 12v. And it’s far from VW’s crazy ideas. VR6 is a tried and true vw engine starting from 92 all the way up till today…for the most part. 03 they chanted it to 24v and in 04 they offered a 3.2L in the R32, Audi TT and in Europe the Audi A3. The late 2ks they bumped it a 3.6L that came in the Vw CC, Passat and Touareg. They ran the 3.6L after discontinuing the Touareg for the Atlas in 2017. Iirc the 2023 Atlas was the last to the VR6. They swapped it out for a 2.0L Europe and Asias version of the Atlas got a new 3.0L turbo vr6. So to sum up. They do make alot of them. The MK4 12v is the most common engine to get. All VR6 versions are pretty easy to get. I’m barely half way thru and I can tell you that’s a good engine. The only thing that really goes are the timing chain guides. You can mount the engine on the stand from the back on the pulley side. The 4 holes. And you needed a cam locking tool so you don’t back the valve down on a piston when you take the chains off FYI, I’ve been working on these engines since they came out. Volkswagen tech and retired shop owner that specialized in VR6. Nearly 35 yrs in the game.
@@rmp5s he probably didn’t want you to buy it so he could grab it… 😂 I had a mk1 scirocco and it was fun as hell to drive, great on gas, and easy to work on… god I miss that car 😢
I know as I watch this I’m jealous he’s cutting things and pretty much treating it like it’s destined for the dump… I want to find a good 12v candidate for tear down and build up to swap into one of my mk4s
Eric, Ì heard you were in Florida helping out after the storm . Good on you! Even if you were just helping out Ray and his family. I know they appreciated it.
When I got out of school, my first landlord (in his 80s) was considering trading his VW camper van in for one. Impressive looking in the big color brochures they used to make.
I own a 2015 VW CC 3.6L VR6 4-MOTION and I agree with you, this is one of the best sounding engine ever made in the Auto industry. Iron block built to last. Greetings from Canada.
These were one of the most interesting and unique piston engine designs with that staggered-v configuration. Man, this teardown rates up there with the Audi V10 video! Thanks Eric for the time, effort, and coin to get this produced!
Had a 2001 vr6 jetta, wife loved it but it was finicky. Engine was built tough but holy cow it required so much maintenance. Had to change out the entire coolant system hoses/ thermostat housing/ radiator.... ignition coil would keep arcing. Wife busted the oil pan on a curb and i accidently ran it when the coolant drained out, changed out some parts and she was good to go. I haven't bought a vw since...
This is literally one of the best tere downs you have ever done!! I for some reason feel satisfied!! Quarky yes.. but always like many others wanted to see inside of this engine!! Thankyou n God bless!! It is impressive of the actual shape in this motor. Great job
I had a red 92 Corrado with a VR6. Blew a hole through the bell housing and the side of the transmission trying to do a burnout with brand new tires. I was a teenager and dumb. Interestingly enough a friend at my highschool also had one. However he had stripped his 3rd gear synchros. So I bought his transmission and Frankensteined them together using his case and differential And my gearset. Sold it shortly after but it was a really fun car to drive.
My 1996 Jetta VR6 ate coil packs (Bosch)- every 30,000 miles. Very smooth engine though as it is bacically a straight 6. The offset crank grinding allowed the engine to be shorter and still allowed for just one head shared on the narrow V. Brilliant idea. The W12 in the Bentley is basically two of these melded together. Keep up the entertainment for us.
I had a 01 Jetta GLX about 4 years ago. Sold it and just bought another 01 GLX. Same options manual VR6 sunroof, monsoon audio. I was going to ask for a VR6 but was certain you wouldn't get your hands on one. Thanks Eric.
Thank you so much for getting your hands on one of these! I owned a 2001 gti vr6 and commented over a year about seeing this on the channel. I since rebuilt the engine put in cams and sold it for some profit but I really wanna buy another in nicer shape cuz I have NEVER heard an engine sound that good with just a resonator delete. THANK YOU AGAIN ❤
Excellent video as always. I keep coming back for more of your antics it's such good therapy and the knowledge that you share is so interesting. I look forward to seeing the next one. Thank you Eric
I love this engine. I have 280,000km on mine (bought the car 12 years ago with 90,000km on the clock) and it stills runs great without oil consumption between changes. Did the chains & clutch at 140,000km.
@@solderbuff Not sure about these 12 valves but its not uncommon for the chains to have worn or developed a faulty tensioner by 140,00km on the 24 valves. Its also likely that they just needed a clutch and well its not much more effort to do the chains at that point and you'd be really unhappy if the chains went not long after doing the clutch
I knew the chains were a trouble spot on all VR6s. The 12 valve engines were slightly worse than the 24 valve ones in terms of longevity. My 12 valve developed a bit of a rattle at certain rpm that sounded like chain slap. Once I tore it down it was clear the upper timing guide was coming apart in almost the same way as the one in the video (broken plastic from eyelet and crack running perpendicular to chain direction in the middle of the guide).
@@solderbuff 2010, so the 3.6 FSI I assume? Those also had chain issues. I did one for a customer about a year ago and the upper guide rail was about 70% missing. Ended up dropping the oil pan to find the pick up tube jammed full of broken guide material. Lucky we caught it in time before it spun bearings due to lack of oil flow. Mileage was 210,000km
never seen one of these before ... and without you I would never have .. so THANK YOU for spending the time finding these strange and wonderful motors and such .. LOVE YA BROTHER.
About 8-9yrs ago I had a VW Jetta with this engine. Was in my early 20s and broke, great times. This engine was a ton of fun until it developed a very very bad misfire[check engine light would flash on acceleration], then one day on my way to work I went to give it gas and it didn't seem to want to go so I floored it and yeah the engine took off and made a bang and it was done.
I did kind of the same thing to a Chevy 4.3 vortec. It wasn't misfiring, but it was way down on power for a few days. I floored it one day, and when I stopped at a red light a couple miles later, the engine became its own knock knock joke.
@GregoryGlessnerViolin Yeah mine was bad bad, it had been missing like that for a good six months or so and i just kept driving it. It was way way down on power by the end of it. When it blew up it wouldn't start anymore, just made awful banging sounds if you tried to crank it. Way too expensive of a car to own when you're that young and don't have much money and at the time I also didn't know much about cars.
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting engine. All of my 40+ years of experience has been exclusively domestic & Japanese. This one really kept me glued to the video.
Second owner of a 2001 VR6 GTI here. I look forward to this vid. Had mine since 2004 and just rebuilt engine after rod bearing issue. Rarest of them. Mojave beige with tan leather! I cannot wait to watch!
very cool to see the innards of a VR6. I never owned a Vr6, just I4 VWs (last one being a 1989 Jetta), but for some reason I thought the VR6 had a 'bent' head surface, I did not realize they had a flat head gasket, and used sloped pistons to 'fake' it.
fly cutters are unable to handle acute angles. they would be able to do a block, but not a head. with a narrow v like these the head gasket would blow at the valley. I'm actually surprised no manufacturer has made a vr3. it should be more reliable than the siamesed inline 3s we have that blow the head gasket between the cylinders.
This engine seemed to have more or less flat topped pistons that simply did not reach the top of the bores except at one point, though I may be wrong as it wasn't obvious. The later engines that I am more familiar with use pistons with the crown at an angle that matches the V angle so they do go all the way all round, with a bowl in the piston. Obviously this limits the swapping of pistons between the various versions of the engine with different angles. The 2.8 and 2.9 are at I think 12.5degrees, the 3.2 and 3.6 at 10.5 degrees, and the 3.6 has a different offset between the cylinders, presumably to cater for the enlarged bore, though interestingly the engines are identical in outwards shape and size so a 3.6 can usually be a direct drop in to a car that came with a 3.2 like all the R32 Golfs. Dropping in a 3.6 can make quite a difference, going from 250 to 296 HP stock.
As the owner of a 2002 Golf Vr5 in the UK, I can tell you the "WOOKIE" noise never gets old. People mainly criticise the lack of factory HP from these engines compared to other similar 4/6 cylinders from that era but on the other side, there wasn't an engine that sounded as good.
Had an 02 jetta VR6 auto, bought in 04 28k miles, loved that car! Loved it so much I went past the dealer about a year or so later and saw an 03 6 speed bought that too, back when cars were more reasonably priced.
Good one, Eric. Back in the day I owned a ‘98 GTI with the VR6. What a sweet engine… I really enjoyed driving that car. You can only imagine what it would be like to tear down a W16. 😬
Got a neighbor down the street who has a turbo corrado VR6, built up. He claims 800hp. Supposedly made some car mag cover too. Never looked into it. If I remember correctly. A buddy was trying to sell me on a mk2 GTI I think it was w/ a VR6 swap. Took it for a test drive. Quick little car.
They called that vr6 the egg box engine. Was developed to get into a small engine bay. Iconic sound. Often wondered why they didn't turbo charge it. Worked on them in a vw dealer at 1998 at 22 years old.
A very long time ago I lusted after a B3 Passat Estate with that engine. Could never find one. Then, years later found a good one when I had no reason to own one! I learned a lot from the teardown.
I maintained a vr6 for nearly a quarter of a century--this brought back memories, thanks for posting! PS. a tip, if I may share, for corroded fastner heads, the hammering of the socket is a great idea, but also a nuisance when you want to take the socket off afterwards. Two tricks that usually work: hold the socket with the fastner in hand and hammer the backend. Momentum forces the fastner to move away. If this fails, thread the fastner/bolt back on and torque with impact. This typically helps even the most stuck on socket/hex break away easily...
As long as you remember VW wanted to have a 6 cylinder that would fit in place of a 4 cylinder, that's why there is some compromises. The old 12 valves don't flow as good as people think, they're actually kind of restricted. Forget about spending money on cams and stuff like that to make a naturally aspirated one fast, just go straight to the turbo. Love my AFP ive had since 2001. Shes got 143k on the clock, i had the engine out around 130k to deal with the timing chains. I dreaded that job ,but it wasnt bad at all. Definitely remove the pan to get all the chain guide pieces out.
Same deal for my '99 Jetta 5 speed. Got it for $1,300 from junk yard - no one wanted to deal with stretched chain. Had it towed to shop, figured cost still worth having since has Borbet wheels, etc. Has 143k, got sideswiped by BMW & settlement paid for chain job so back to $1,300! Have to wind it up at least 4 grand to get power, but great commuter...
I believe that the older 12V engines had some interesting ECU programming to deal with the differing inlet and exhaust lengths, including varying amounts of fuel per cylinder to even out the power per cylinder at different rev levels. The later 24V 3.2 and 3.6 I think have inlets designed to be of equal length with a variable flap for low/high speed. That is the "near" side inlets have an extension outside the head to match up the lengths, these are also Direct Injection engines so are a little easier to manage for this. The high performance 3.6 is a 221Kw (300 PS, 296 HP) but wasn't to my knowledge released in the USA which only had a 280HP version. Other markets had an "R36" version of the Passat (2006-2010) with the 296 HP and a range of special trim and other extras. The same engine went into Passats from 2011-2015 but without the trim and R36 badging. Brilliant "sleeper" especially as an Estate/Wagon, 0-100kmph in 5.8 seconds and pretty decent handling for what is reasonably large and heavy machine. Have one myself !
I used to own one of these - 2000 Jetta GLS 5-speed with the AFP 2.8 VR6. Lasted over 188K miles with no major issues whatsoever, aside from coil packs going bad and flaky MAF sensors (the gearbox was another story). Great engine, miss that VR6 GROWL
i love engines that look like that. everyone avoids them because of their looks, but 9 times out of 10 - its mint on the inside. and they are dirt cheap
I was just thinking that, I remember folk bolting on T30 or even T35 sized turbos with no other upgrades apart from a tune and it somehow working rather than turning into a flock of flying con-rods 👀😆 And for the 12v guys a set of cams were cheap, well compared to the 24v guys or people with mad quad cam V6 from other manufacturers from the time. A quick cam change turned it into a absolute animal, barking at you every time you looked at the throttle There’s a lot to be said for this big old cast engine blocks :)
@@mor4yWeak point is differential rivets. Engine itself for boosting is the factory intake popping from boost on the plastic one. But if one knows engines and VR, the bottom end is built like a diesel. Big head bolts, seven main caps, the oiling. Can see where a fuel manifold and pump would be driven.
@@russelljacob7955 years ago I remember people mixing up parts from a 1.8 golf engine, the 2.0gti and something out the 1.9 vw/audi engine that went in the audi 80 or 100, maybe some original sciroccos too? You made a home built stroker engine, and I think the crank you ended up using was a better unit than the original gti one that suffered from mass production issues I was working in a scrapyard at that time, anytime a scirocco or old audi came in all the golf guys decended on us to see what was under the bonnet! I scrapped a lot of alfa romeos back then, I had tons of sets of twin downdraft and sidedraft 40,45 and even 48 delorto Italian carbs, used to fit them onto anything we could sort of jam them onto then rally them around till the engine blew, good times lol 😆
@@ronnymb67 didn't even know w8 engines existed. the 15 degree V is rare enough, but then you put another bank next to that.... yeah, sounds like it's more optimized for much larger cylinder counts, rather then 2 banks of vr4s, though i know VR4's are a thing, especially in like motorcycles.
Really great to see this tear down. Favorite car of the five I've owned so far. My 2001 Passat drank oil like it was fuel additive. Given it averaged under 19mpg city, it probably was. Four water pumps in 12 years and needing its fifth at trade in, but it was a great handler on a Bilstein lowering kit. Loved everything about the car.... except owning it.
If I give you a 14 liter Detroit, would you want to see if uncle " Rodney " is bouncing around in the compression palace ? 😅 it has a very nice viewing port on the side of the block, just courious is all 😅😅😅😅
I'm not a big VW guy at all, but my favorite things to ever come out of VW is the VR6 power plant and the MK7/7.5 GTI. It's too bad they never came together from the factory.
I never had any dealings with the VR6 but the sound is enough to get into trouble.😊 The VR5 is kind of interesting but mechanically scary just the same.
Living in the snow belt, I am just used to spraying all fasteners with wd40 first before removal. Then they dont stick inside the socket. Lugs too. :) Great video sir!
try using old atf/acetone in a 50/50 mix next time for really bad stuff. Shake before use and if you apply overnight and let it seep in before removing em it will be loads easier than wd40. Just takes time and its awful for your health lol
When I first saw these in the shop I couldn't understand why they'd do something so unusual. But I knew if it was a valid reason and not a gimmick they'd be around for a long long time. They weren't. But still pretty cool.
Oil sludge was pretty common for VW/Audi in the late ‘90s-early 2000s. It was mostly the 1.8T and the 30 valve 2.8 V6 but others had it too. They only used standard 5w30 oil until 2004 when they switched to synthetic 5w40.
Nice video again, but please as a European I am offended by the title; a VR6 is certainly not a crazy idea. By the way, the marvelous Lancia engineers introduced the narrow angle V4 in....1922 ! So this crazy idea survived a century.
Awesome teardown!! I haven't seen one of these disassembled since I was a technician. If you ever come across a Cessna or radial aircraft engine, that would be fun to see, or even a Detroit 6V71 (2 stroke) diesel. So many people have no idea that the 2-strokes once ruled the highways in the trucking industry, or how susceptible they are to "Run Away"... I've watched most of your videos, and I'm always excited to see what's next!! The Viper and Audi V-10 tear downs were super cool!! In all my years as a tech and a drag racer I've never seen that much carnage. Being a retired Ford/Chrysler tech, I still enjoy watching videos that involve Rapid Automated Engine Self Disassembly! LOL
An interesting engine design which goes all the way back to 1922 when Lancia produced their first narrow angle V4 they continued to turn them out until 1976, angles ranged from 10 degrees through 11, 13 and 20 degrees.
Awesome vid Eric and Thank You for fighting it all the way to let us all see the insides. I too was intrigued by these in the Golf here in Australia... They drank fuel like nothing else from memory too.
For anyone wondering what it's like being a mechanic in the north east, this is every single car right here.
Was gunna say it looks pretty clean
PennDoT salted roads
yea its not as bad as some 90s GM shit I've seen up here
@@davyhill23One word: Vermont.
It's not rusty, unless you can't even tell if it's an Allen or Hex head, because the edges have rusted away. Lol.
I'm in Michigan. I definitely know about this
My late wife had a 2002 Jetta GLX wagon VR6 5-speed that she bought new literally off the showroom floor (the guys at the dealership called it the 'soccer mom rocket'). She put 170K+ on it and finally traded it in on a 2013 Jetta GLI 6-speed.
Pretty good car/engine. I did have to take the entire front end off the car to replace the radiator. I also did a few brake jobs on it over the years. And it ate coil packs every 40K miles or so. A timing chain guide failed at some point (150K?) and we had it repaired by the local Euro car guru (that job was above my pay grade). The GLI lasted until she had trouble with her legs and couldnt drive a manual any more.
Techs doing warranty work know how to twist the radiator through the grill opening or out the bottom. Things that happen in dealerships is unbelievable and scary.
My condolences on your late wife.
@@riccocool never have I seen that in the years I worked at vw it always came out with the condenser after taking covers off of the top of the radiator…
@@geeniusatwrok same, she had a good taste in cars imo
she never change timing regularly and its fail
No damage, them cut the hose. God I love this channel
He saved the one and only f.ed up chain guide. All the perfect ones over the years went flyin'
"I shouldn't have touched/why did I touch that?"
Proceeds to touch stuff 🤣
1995. 18yrs old. Brand new red gti vr6. Those were the days...
And of course it had the correct number of pedals.
Survival of the lucky 😂
Same age, same vibe, magical times.
I have a 2008 Audi TT, 3.2 VR6, 166k miles, runs great, never uses a drop of oil. (Also have a 2003 E350van,7.3 PSD, 339k miles, runs great,and a 2004 E350 w/5.4 2valve, Tacoma 2009 w/4.0L, 281k. Only the Toyota had massive problems, warped heads due to previous owner ran it low on coolant, replaced w/used engine....)
where is others?
Me too! (mine was a metallic wine red)
I can't stress enough how much I love your editing. You know exactly what the viewer wants to see. It's amazing and the type of stuff I want to see. Thank you for your time and effort. Keep up the great work!!!
the other engine disassembly guy is better and funny this guy has kind of annoying Eeyore personality
Without the VR6, there would be no Bugatti Veyron.
Respect to the VR6 🫡
and the 2 x vr6 - w12 which powers a lot of big lux cars
Not truh there is also a vr4
@@Tdidylan Yes there was a VR4 but it's not what you think, more of a Mitsubishi sport trim. The one you might be thinking about was the VR5. But the VR6 was the one that started it all
@@engineer_alv The idea of the VR6 wasn't even all that new at the time, Lancia had made a series of narrow angle V engines in both V4 and even V8 form from the 1920s all the way until the 1970s. All of the them having the familiar VR6 traits of a V angle less than 20° and a single cylinder head. VW certainly won't admit it but they definetely took inspiration from them.
@ I thought VW stole their idea
Eric, little tip here for those internally wrenching Allen heads, triple squares etc that strip out and you’re struggling. Lay some copper wire over the fastener as you hammer your tool in for extra grip. Saved the day a few weeks back on a 737 fuel valve actuator.
Was that a JT 8 or a LEAP engine?
Hmmm... should we be concerned that you were (apparently) hacking & banging on a stripped bolt... on a 737 fuel valve actuator?
Seems right with the quality of 737s haha
@@gapratt4955 CFM-56...
@@fcbrants No, aircraft engines are just like any other engines. Bolts get stripped and rounded on lots of things.
99-02 GTI/Jetta AFP 12v. And it’s far from VW’s crazy ideas. VR6 is a tried and true vw engine starting from 92 all the way up till today…for the most part. 03 they chanted it to 24v and in 04 they offered a 3.2L in the R32, Audi TT and in Europe the Audi A3. The late 2ks they bumped it a 3.6L that came in the Vw CC, Passat and Touareg. They ran the 3.6L after discontinuing the Touareg for the Atlas in 2017. Iirc the 2023 Atlas was the last to the VR6. They swapped it out for a 2.0L Europe and Asias version of the Atlas got a new 3.0L turbo vr6. So to sum up. They do make alot of them. The MK4 12v is the most common engine to get. All VR6 versions are pretty easy to get.
I’m barely half way thru and I can tell you that’s a good engine. The only thing that really goes are the timing chain guides.
You can mount the engine on the stand from the back on the pulley side. The 4 holes.
And you needed a cam locking tool so you don’t back the valve down on a piston when you take the chains off
FYI, I’ve been working on these engines since they came out. Volkswagen tech and retired shop owner that specialized in VR6. Nearly 35 yrs in the game.
I had a very good import mechanic notice me eyeballing a Scirocco that was in his shop...he was like, "no. Don't." 🤣
That your experience as well?
@@rmp5s I would’ve grabbed it. They’re getting hard to find especially if it’s an early one.
@@CruzanRastamon Everything good from that era are endangered species these days.
@@rmp5s he probably didn’t want you to buy it so he could grab it… 😂
I had a mk1 scirocco and it was fun as hell to drive, great on gas, and easy to work on… god I miss that car 😢
I know as I watch this I’m jealous he’s cutting things and pretty much treating it like it’s destined for the dump… I want to find a good 12v candidate for tear down and build up to swap into one of my mk4s
Eric, Ì heard you were in Florida helping out after the storm . Good on you! Even if you were just helping out Ray and his family. I know they appreciated it.
I know you get a comment like this on almost every video you release, but thank you for all you do! I learn a lot from your videos!
The Corrado was one of the coolest cars VW ever made.
A very sexy car for sure !
Damn str8
they used to advertise it as a Porsche killer
When I got out of school, my first landlord (in his 80s) was considering trading his VW camper van in for one. Impressive looking in the big color brochures they used to make.
I don’t like vw, and I’d own a corrado vr6
One of the coolest engine designs. Wish VW still made them.
Only dropped for the 2024 model year in North America. Could be had in the Atlas until then. VR6 still made for VW China models.
The replacement for the 3.6 apparently will be a turboed version.
yup. i5 sound even better tho
I own a 2015 VW CC 3.6L VR6 4-MOTION and I agree with you, this is one of the best sounding engine ever made in the Auto industry. Iron block built to last. Greetings from Canada.
These were one of the most interesting and unique piston engine designs with that staggered-v configuration. Man, this teardown rates up there with the Audi V10 video! Thanks Eric for the time, effort, and coin to get this produced!
Man VR6 is some of the best sounding engine.
Firing order is 1 5 3 6 2 4. So the whole back bank fires then the whole front bank. Makes a one-two, blurp blurp. Like rocking front to back.
Had a 2001 vr6 jetta, wife loved it but it was finicky. Engine was built tough but holy cow it required so much maintenance. Had to change out the entire coolant system hoses/ thermostat housing/ radiator.... ignition coil would keep arcing. Wife busted the oil pan on a curb and i accidently ran it when the coolant drained out, changed out some parts and she was good to go. I haven't bought a vw since...
This is literally one of the best tere downs you have ever done!! I for some reason feel satisfied!! Quarky yes.. but always like many others wanted to see inside of this engine!! Thankyou n God bless!! It is impressive of the actual shape in this motor. Great job
I got a 2018 vw passat gt with the 3.6 vr6 and it just hit 192k still running strong
Bought my son a 2003 GTI VR6 and I enjoyed driving that car a lot. it was fun. he had the car but every chance I had, I loved to drive it.
I had a red 92 Corrado with a VR6. Blew a hole through the bell housing and the side of the transmission trying to do a burnout with brand new tires. I was a teenager and dumb.
Interestingly enough a friend at my highschool also had one. However he had stripped his 3rd gear synchros. So I bought his transmission and Frankensteined them together using his case and differential And my gearset. Sold it shortly after but it was a really fun car to drive.
"Look at that. Perfect. No damage." snip-snip!
That is why I love this channel.
My 1996 Jetta VR6 ate coil packs (Bosch)- every 30,000 miles. Very smooth engine though as it is bacically a straight 6. The offset crank grinding allowed the engine to be shorter and still allowed for just one head shared on the narrow V. Brilliant idea. The W12 in the Bentley is basically two of these melded together. Keep up the entertainment for us.
Needs/needed that Phenix engineering phenolic isolator plate, mine got a new coil back around 2007 and it's working fine with that plate.
The heads are set up like the GM 348/409. The piston is the combustion chamber. Neat.
Its amazing how well this engine is built. Just solid. This was VW's golden age.
Had a 2004 R32. Finest car I've ever owned. Regret selling it to this day! Loved the car and the group around it.
I had a 01 Jetta GLX about 4 years ago. Sold it and just bought another 01 GLX. Same options manual VR6 sunroof, monsoon audio. I was going to ask for a VR6 but was certain you wouldn't get your hands on one. Thanks Eric.
Thank you so much for getting your hands on one of these! I owned a 2001 gti vr6 and commented over a year about seeing this on the channel. I since rebuilt the engine put in cams and sold it for some profit but I really wanna buy another in nicer shape cuz I have NEVER heard an engine sound that good with just a resonator delete. THANK YOU AGAIN ❤
Excellent video as always. I keep coming back for more of your antics it's such good therapy and the knowledge that you share is so interesting. I look forward to seeing the next one. Thank you Eric
I love this engine. I have 280,000km on mine (bought the car 12 years ago with 90,000km on the clock) and it stills runs great without oil consumption between changes. Did the chains & clutch at 140,000km.
why did you change the chains?
@@solderbuff Not sure about these 12 valves but its not uncommon for the chains to have worn or developed a faulty tensioner by 140,00km on the 24 valves. Its also likely that they just needed a clutch and well its not much more effort to do the chains at that point and you'd be really unhappy if the chains went not long after doing the clutch
I knew the chains were a trouble spot on all VR6s. The 12 valve engines were slightly worse than the 24 valve ones in terms of longevity.
My 12 valve developed a bit of a rattle at certain rpm that sounded like chain slap. Once I tore it down it was clear the upper timing guide was coming apart in almost the same way as the one in the video (broken plastic from eyelet and crack running perpendicular to chain direction in the middle of the guide).
@@Eurosport.Automotive , ouch, I currently have a rattle in my 2010 car at certain RPMs during acceleration... I guess, time to get rid of the car.
@@solderbuff 2010, so the 3.6 FSI I assume? Those also had chain issues. I did one for a customer about a year ago and the upper guide rail was about 70% missing. Ended up dropping the oil pan to find the pick up tube jammed full of broken guide material. Lucky we caught it in time before it spun bearings due to lack of oil flow. Mileage was 210,000km
This is one of the main reasons why I moved South! Very rarely have to deal with rust/corrosion at this level anymore lol
Great video and tear down!!!
never seen one of these before ... and without you I would never have .. so THANK YOU for spending the time finding these strange and wonderful motors and such .. LOVE YA BROTHER.
The vr6 is actually a very cool little engine
It's a huge engine by European standards! The basic engine in a Golf is a 1.0L nowadays.
I had a mk4 gti with a rusty vr6 too! 24v valve but I loved that thing. Still had plenty get up for a pretty heavy car. Loved that sound too!
It was so nice they provided those two bolt removal holes on the pan.
My parents just bought a 3.6 vr6 passat. The thing is dope. Cool engine, and this one is in good shape. Car is no slouch to be sure.
Yea the 280 hp one, i got one too, 2015 love leather and Alcantara seats with wood trim and a dash analog clock, i feel luxurious haha
@ZacDynastynno no kidding the interior is fantastic!
About 8-9yrs ago I had a VW Jetta with this engine. Was in my early 20s and broke, great times. This engine was a ton of fun until it developed a very very bad misfire[check engine light would flash on acceleration], then one day on my way to work I went to give it gas and it didn't seem to want to go so I floored it and yeah the engine took off and made a bang and it was done.
I did kind of the same thing to a Chevy 4.3 vortec. It wasn't misfiring, but it was way down on power for a few days. I floored it one day, and when I stopped at a red light a couple miles later, the engine became its own knock knock joke.
@GregoryGlessnerViolin Yeah mine was bad bad, it had been missing like that for a good six months or so and i just kept driving it. It was way way down on power by the end of it. When it blew up it wouldn't start anymore, just made awful banging sounds if you tried to crank it. Way too expensive of a car to own when you're that young and don't have much money and at the time I also didn't know much about cars.
You wanted to give an Italian tune to a sick motor, sorry it died
@@nicholaskasolosungweashikk4053 no lol, I knew it was on its last leg and ready to let go at any moment lol
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting engine. All of my 40+ years of experience has been exclusively domestic & Japanese. This one really kept me glued to the video.
Very cool engine. Never seen one with head off. Tks!
Second owner of a 2001 VR6 GTI here. I look forward to this vid. Had mine since 2004 and just rebuilt engine after rod bearing issue. Rarest of them. Mojave beige with tan leather! I cannot wait to watch!
just wanted to say i hope you are feeling better mate, hopefully whatever you have is at the end.
This was the engine that made me fall in love with VW! Can't wait to drop one in my MK6
very cool to see the innards of a VR6. I never owned a Vr6, just I4 VWs (last one being a 1989 Jetta), but for some reason I thought the VR6 had a 'bent' head surface, I did not realize they had a flat head gasket, and used sloped pistons to 'fake' it.
fly cutters are unable to handle acute angles. they would be able to do a block, but not a head. with a narrow v like these the head gasket would blow at the valley. I'm actually surprised no manufacturer has made a vr3. it should be more reliable than the siamesed inline 3s we have that blow the head gasket between the cylinders.
With the flat head surface, it's got more in common with their diesels.
This engine seemed to have more or less flat topped pistons that simply did not reach the top of the bores except at one point, though I may be wrong as it wasn't obvious. The later engines that I am more familiar with use pistons with the crown at an angle that matches the V angle so they do go all the way all round, with a bowl in the piston. Obviously this limits the swapping of pistons between the various versions of the engine with different angles. The 2.8 and 2.9 are at I think 12.5degrees, the 3.2 and 3.6 at 10.5 degrees, and the 3.6 has a different offset between the cylinders, presumably to cater for the enlarged bore, though interestingly the engines are identical in outwards shape and size so a 3.6 can usually be a direct drop in to a car that came with a 3.2 like all the R32 Golfs. Dropping in a 3.6 can make quite a difference, going from 250 to 296 HP stock.
I still laugh when you go to remove the hose clamp EVEN THOUGH I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO CUT ✂ THE HOSE!😂
He cut a different hose than the one he took the clamp off of which made it even more infuriating
As the owner of a 2002 Golf Vr5 in the UK, I can tell you the "WOOKIE" noise never gets old. People mainly criticise the lack of factory HP from these engines compared to other similar 4/6 cylinders from that era but on the other side, there wasn't an engine that sounded as good.
Was there a vr5 in the US?
No, the US got a 2.5 straight 5 not a 2.3 vr5. The 4 cylinder 1.8 20v turbo was more popular, mainly due to its tuning potential. @@keenandolan8420
Had an 02 jetta VR6 auto, bought in 04 28k miles, loved that car! Loved it so much I went past the dealer about a year or so later and saw an 03 6 speed bought that too, back when cars were more reasonably priced.
Good one, Eric. Back in the day I owned a ‘98 GTI with the VR6. What a sweet engine… I really enjoyed driving that car. You can only imagine what it would be like to tear down a W16. 😬
Those valves may be the cleanest valves I've seen on your channel so far, extremely clean.
Got a neighbor down the street who has a turbo corrado VR6, built up. He claims 800hp. Supposedly made some car mag cover too. Never looked into it. If I remember correctly.
A buddy was trying to sell me on a mk2 GTI I think it was w/ a VR6 swap. Took it for a test drive. Quick little car.
They called that vr6 the egg box engine.
Was developed to get into a small engine bay.
Iconic sound.
Often wondered why they didn't turbo charge it.
Worked on them in a vw dealer at 1998 at 22 years old.
Then they finally turbocharged it at the end of its production and gave it to china, smh.
Speaking of weird Volkswagen engines you should do a W12
It's just 2 VR6's having sex.
2 VR6s stuck together.
That would be a long video!
vr5 is also interesting
A very long time ago I lusted after a B3 Passat Estate with that engine. Could never find one. Then, years later found a good one when I had no reason to own one! I learned a lot from the teardown.
I loved my old VR6, that sounds was awesome❤
I maintained a vr6 for nearly a quarter of a century--this brought back memories, thanks for posting!
PS. a tip, if I may share, for corroded fastner heads, the hammering of the socket is a great idea, but also a nuisance when you want to take the socket off afterwards. Two tricks that usually work: hold the socket with the fastner in hand and hammer the backend. Momentum forces the fastner to move away. If this fails, thread the fastner/bolt back on and torque with impact. This typically helps even the most stuck on socket/hex break away easily...
I appreciate the VR6.
Thanks Eric!
My first engine rebuild was 1993 vr6 Passat. Was oil coller gasket that was original cause for oil leak, but I learned a lot and that's priceless.
Building a vr30 rn ( 3.2 with 2.8 crank) going in my b5 s4
Love a vr6
And yes they are v6's
15° v
Thumps up even before the intro. Thats an engine we all have been waiting for, and thanks that you listened to the crowd.
Been subscribed to you for ages, love it!
Nice to see well made engine. No plastic oil pan, timing cover, you name it. No rubberband driven oil pump in oil bath etc.
FINALLY! Eric, You're the man now dawg!
Got two corrado vr6s near me. I don't care for VW at all but they're cool as hell and make a magical noise
As long as you remember VW wanted to have a 6 cylinder that would fit in place of a 4 cylinder, that's why there is some compromises.
The old 12 valves don't flow as good as people think, they're actually kind of restricted. Forget about spending money on cams and stuff like that to make a naturally aspirated one fast, just go straight to the turbo.
Love my AFP ive had since 2001.
Shes got 143k on the clock, i had the engine out around 130k to deal with the timing chains.
I dreaded that job ,but it wasnt bad at all.
Definitely remove the pan to get all the chain guide pieces out.
Same deal for my '99 Jetta 5 speed. Got it for $1,300 from junk yard - no one wanted to deal with stretched chain. Had it towed to shop, figured cost still worth having since has Borbet wheels, etc. Has 143k, got sideswiped by BMW & settlement paid for chain job so back to $1,300! Have to wind it up at least 4 grand to get power, but great commuter...
I believe that the older 12V engines had some interesting ECU programming to deal with the differing inlet and exhaust lengths, including varying amounts of fuel per cylinder to even out the power per cylinder at different rev levels. The later 24V 3.2 and 3.6 I think have inlets designed to be of equal length with a variable flap for low/high speed. That is the "near" side inlets have an extension outside the head to match up the lengths, these are also Direct Injection engines so are a little easier to manage for this. The high performance 3.6 is a 221Kw (300 PS, 296 HP) but wasn't to my knowledge released in the USA which only had a 280HP version. Other markets had an "R36" version of the Passat (2006-2010) with the 296 HP and a range of special trim and other extras. The same engine went into Passats from 2011-2015 but without the trim and R36 badging. Brilliant "sleeper" especially as an Estate/Wagon, 0-100kmph in 5.8 seconds and pretty decent handling for what is reasonably large and heavy machine. Have one myself !
@EddySigfried Well would one easily replace the anemic VR6 in my Mk4 Jetta 5 speed?
I used to own one of these - 2000 Jetta GLS 5-speed with the AFP 2.8 VR6. Lasted over 188K miles with no major issues whatsoever, aside from coil packs going bad and flaky MAF sensors (the gearbox was another story). Great engine, miss that VR6 GROWL
Corrado VR6. My favorite car, and I've had a bunch. The engine is a marvel.
i love engines that look like that. everyone avoids them because of their looks, but 9 times out of 10 - its mint on the inside.
and they are dirt cheap
A legendary VW engine! It's even better with a giant turbo on it!
I was just thinking that, I remember folk bolting on T30 or even T35 sized turbos with no other upgrades apart from a tune and it somehow working rather than turning into a flock of flying con-rods 👀😆
And for the 12v guys a set of cams were cheap, well compared to the 24v guys or people with mad quad cam V6 from other manufacturers from the time. A quick cam change turned it into a absolute animal, barking at you every time you looked at the throttle
There’s a lot to be said for this big old cast engine blocks :)
@@mor4yWeak point is differential rivets. Engine itself for boosting is the factory intake popping from boost on the plastic one. But if one knows engines and VR, the bottom end is built like a diesel. Big head bolts, seven main caps, the oiling. Can see where a fuel manifold and pump would be driven.
@@russelljacob7955 years ago I remember people mixing up parts from a 1.8 golf engine, the 2.0gti and something out the 1.9 vw/audi engine that went in the audi 80 or 100, maybe some original sciroccos too?
You made a home built stroker engine, and I think the crank you ended up using was a better unit than the original gti one that suffered from mass production issues
I was working in a scrapyard at that time, anytime a scirocco or old audi came in all the golf guys decended on us to see what was under the bonnet!
I scrapped a lot of alfa romeos back then, I had tons of sets of twin downdraft and sidedraft 40,45 and even 48 delorto Italian carbs, used to fit them onto anything we could sort of jam them onto then rally them around till the engine blew, good times lol 😆
I always wanted to see how these were put together but never had a chance... Thanks Eric!
Finally! Now you've got to get a hold of a W8!!
It's a very long shot but anything is possible
W12 might be more possible, considering how many of those are out there... You can ask Tavarish about that
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks
Humble Mechanic tore down a W8 sometime ago. I like Charles, but he just doesn't have Eric's flare while doing it lol
@@ronnymb67 didn't even know w8 engines existed. the 15 degree V is rare enough, but then you put another bank next to that.... yeah, sounds like it's more optimized for much larger cylinder counts, rather then 2 banks of vr4s, though i know VR4's are a thing, especially in like motorcycles.
@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks
I had one. 2003 Passat W8 with a 6 speed manual - 1 of 432 ever imported with the 6spd.
One of the very few engines vw made i actually like, very intelligent design and fascinating on how and why they did it this way.
That SC430 behind you needs to be saved!
Really great to see this tear down. Favorite car of the five I've owned so far. My 2001 Passat drank oil like it was fuel additive. Given it averaged under 19mpg city, it probably was. Four water pumps in 12 years and needing its fifth at trade in, but it was a great handler on a Bilstein lowering kit. Loved everything about the car.... except owning it.
Regards from Athens Greece..😊
O-pa!
owned two of these 12v, it stole my heart! thanks for the video!!!
If I give you a 14 liter Detroit, would you want to see if uncle " Rodney " is bouncing around in the compression palace ? 😅 it has a very nice viewing port on the side of the block, just courious is all 😅😅😅😅
Send it to him, I want to see him pull the packs
A magnificent engineering solution to a question nobody asked
I'm not a big VW guy at all, but my favorite things to ever come out of VW is the VR6 power plant and the MK7/7.5 GTI. It's too bad they never came together from the factory.
I'm not a big VW person, but the vr6 was just really cool. Glad to see a teardown of one
You found my boat anchor! I do need the waterpump back at least!
Been waiting 2 years for this one! One of the very few VW engines that's not a boxer 4 I would want to play with.
This is an engine that is definitely worth it, to save the water pump.
I never had any dealings with the VR6 but the sound is enough to get into trouble.😊
The VR5 is kind of interesting but mechanically scary just the same.
Took me a bit to get the joke on the shirt, that’s pretty clever… 😂 Now you need to find a W engine to tear down!
Totally missed it! Gonna have to watch again! LoL 🤣😆
Living in the snow belt, I am just used to spraying all fasteners with wd40 first before removal. Then they dont stick inside the socket. Lugs too. :)
Great video sir!
try using old atf/acetone in a 50/50 mix next time for really bad stuff. Shake before use and if you apply overnight and let it seep in before removing em it will be loads easier than wd40. Just takes time and its awful for your health lol
When I first saw these in the shop I couldn't understand why they'd do something so unusual. But I knew if it was a valid reason and not a gimmick they'd be around for a long long time. They weren't. But still pretty cool.
Vr6 still made to this day in brand new vw atlas. Thr vr6 never died. Just moved into new vehicles. No small chassis sports cars anymore.
Lancia started this sort of narrow angle vee engines with their V4, very compact motor, wonderful engine note!
@@richolishis94 The current Audi Q6, and VW Talagon use the VR6 24. Not bad for an engine that debuted in 1991 -> 2024
Most "V6" Volkswagens are actually vr6s though, that's just too much marketing for the average consumer
@@vumba1331 Lancia actually made several different narrow angle v4s and even v8s starting in 1922...Over a decade before VW even existed yet.
Oil sludge was pretty common for VW/Audi in the late ‘90s-early 2000s. It was mostly the 1.8T and the 30 valve 2.8 V6 but others had it too. They only used standard 5w30 oil until 2004 when they switched to synthetic 5w40.
Nice video again, but please as a European I am offended by the title; a VR6 is certainly not a crazy idea. By the way, the marvelous Lancia engineers introduced the narrow angle V4 in....1922 ! So this crazy idea survived a century.
Great video. Takes me back to my mk3 vr6 gti. I miss that car but I do not miss working on it.
I've owned 3 of them Fantastic motors. Bulletproof bottom end. And the best side benefit of all - absolutely glorious sound, rivaling supercar noises.
NOTHING beats that engine sound with an open filter
And a nice exhaust
Holy crap a vr6!!!!!
Neat. I almost bought a Jetta GLX VR6 way back. That looked brutal with all the corrosion!
Rusty Block is my stage name.
Awesome teardown!! I haven't seen one of these disassembled since I was a technician. If you ever come across a Cessna or radial aircraft engine, that would be fun to see, or even a Detroit 6V71 (2 stroke) diesel. So many people have no idea that the 2-strokes once ruled the highways in the trucking industry, or how susceptible they are to "Run Away"... I've watched most of your videos, and I'm always excited to see what's next!! The Viper and Audi V-10 tear downs were super cool!! In all my years as a tech and a drag racer I've never seen that much carnage. Being a retired Ford/Chrysler tech, I still enjoy watching videos that involve Rapid Automated Engine Self Disassembly! LOL
Was watching UFC, and thinking Abus Magomedov looked like your lost Dagestani twin.
Really cool to see this engine torn down. A neat idea for an engine. Thanks for making this video for everyone to enjoy.
An interesting engine design which goes all the way back to 1922 when Lancia produced their first narrow angle V4 they continued to turn them out until 1976, angles ranged from 10 degrees through 11, 13 and 20 degrees.
Watching this makes me want to go buy another gti. The good times. This video brought a boat load of memories back.
I had the 3.6 liter version in a 2007 Audi Q7. I must admit, that engine did have a fantastic sound.
Awesome vid Eric and Thank You for fighting it all the way to let us all see the insides.
I too was intrigued by these in the Golf here in Australia... They drank fuel like nothing else from memory too.