Hello from Washington State

[Caddylackn]

I have revived my old TDI Passat wagon now that gas is over $5 per gallon.

It has been parked for about 6 years. I was getting 42 mpg with it before. I just put on new tires, 195/60r14 in front and 185/60r14 in back. It does have some 0.205 nozzles and a tuned chip, hammer mod. It is a 5 speed stick, does have the 0.681 5th gear. First gear synchro is toast.

My last fill up (12 gallons) was 43 mpg. The previous fill up (10 gallons) was 44 mpg. My tank vent has been modded so I can get a full 26 gallons of diesel in it, but I don't run below 3/4 of a tank with the prices still rising for diesel, which is now $5.80 per gallon here. I usually run 8 oz of Diesel Klean additive per 26 gallon tank.

Going to be doing some mods to get it to 50 mpg. My commute is 50 miles round trip, about 2/3 freeway. I normally drive 70 mph, but will slow down to 60 mph if I can get 50 mpg.

Anybody that knows passats know they are complete P.O.S. as far as body, interior, and electrics. It is almost impossible to have 4 working doors, 4 external door handles, and 4 windows working at the same time.
My two rear doors won't open, but at least they don't fly open around corners anymore. I am not going to sink much if any money into this. Only the front two windows open, and the drivers will only go up all the way with help.

Future mods include:

Remove passenger mirror (the glass is gone anyway) and roof rack, remove roof antennas
Add a rear diffuser. There is a good spot right between the gas tank and the rear bumper beam. I will probably make this out of ABS plastic
Add a front spoiler/splitter. I have a good cheap spoiler of ABS made from a Crown Vic rear prisoner seat back.
Add wheel covers
Maybe add a roof extension/wing that deflects down.
Fix my A/C so I don't need my windows down on the freeway.
Fix my cruise control for mpg
Add a Scan Gauge II
Maybe new high flow muffler and 2" pipe. Probably keep the cat.
Replace any bad wheel bearings/ axles, rotors as needed.
I may remove the rear seats and gut the rear interior for weight.

[Drifter]

Welcome! I feel the same way about those VWs - I wish I could get a factory TDI in a Honda or Toyota chassis...

I don't know if you've seen it yet, but Scangauge now has a Scangauge III with a bigger, slightly less outdated, display with 9 gauges: https://www.scangauge.com/products/p...scangauge-iii/

[Caddylackn]

I ordered the Scan Gauge II on the link in the forum right above.

Yes, I wish (and I have thought about it) of swapping my TDI motor into a 90s or 2000s Honda accord or civic. When was the last time you heard of a Honda or Toyota that had inoperable doors or windows? I never have.

The offshore replacement parts for Passats are even sh.ttier than the stock parts or I would just fix these things. The guy I bought my car from in 2008 even told me that the only time everything worked in the car was right now on my test drive, when he fixed everything just to sell it.

Those German engineers: "why make a part in metal like every other car company when we can over Engineer it and make in plastic that will fall apart in 10 years?"

[redneck]

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Welcome aboard...

Don’t forget to pump those tires up. Maybe get a alignment since it probably been awhile. Have them set the toe straight up (0 toe). Proper alignment is critical (No tire scrub). Make a grill block. Do the easy things first.

Personally, I prefer a Ultragauge to Scangauge.

UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center

Cheaper too...




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[Caddylackn]

This weekend I filled up again after driving slower. This time 45.7 mpg. A new personal best. So this is my base mpg before mods.

So I stripped the roof rail off, and 4 out of 5 roof antenna bases. The car used to belong to an archeologist and they had some sort of GPS antenna system on the roof. I left the factree antenna until I get another. I patched all 10 holes with duct tape for now.

Filled tires to 41 psi. Changed the oil. I noticed my power steering and water pump belt was super loose. No wonder I had poor steering parking. New belt ordered.

[Caddylackn]

Oh, and I paid $5.99 per gallon for diesel

[larrybuck]

Welcome to the site. I totally track with you about Carnival of love/hate life with Volkswagens. I have had good and terrible times with three different Volkswagen Quantum diesel wagons. Being tall, I appreciated the legroom and inside Space utilization, but the Rarity of the body parts are almost impossible to find and even suspension parts. I now have a Diesel Rabbit pickup oh, and I am happy with that because parts are more readily available. Looks like you're serious about getting after those MPGs. Good job keep it up

[Caddylackn]

My grandpa used to drive around in those Diesel Dasher wagons in the 80s. He bragged he could get 60 mpg out of his. This was a non turbo 1.6 diesel. I rode with him once and it scared the h.ll out of me. He drove 10 mph under the speed limit with a line of cars behind him all the time.

He had a bumper sticker that said "Diesel Fumes make me Horny". You had to get used to people cussing at you and giving you the finger after being passed.

When we put him in a home in 1990, we were lucky to give his dasher wagons away. Wish I had one now.

[freebeard]

I recently sold my Dasher. The slumlord limits the number of vehicles (and which way they are parked ).

I liked it a lot. It is a 48hp freeway flyer (with a five-speed conversion); but sitting at a stop light the whole hood shakes from the vibration. I thought a TDI with the balance shaft would be the solution but DDG talks about balance shaft failure..

'Rifle bolt' shifter, pleated upholstery and a quartz clock --Quite a step up from my Superbeetle. It sure did look good driving away.