JettaD build thread

[TDIzzle]

Hey ALH TDI Friend!
First, ditch the K&N. A quick googleing will give you all sorts of horror stories. Short answer is it ruins the MAF.

Most of the work the mechanic is doing is normally thrown on top of changing the timing belt and cleaning the intake with a new2you higher miliage car. When you get it open you might find you also need a new cam seal(easy) and/or crank seal(more difficult).

Most people who buy these cars used change the timing belt so they know the true zero and that it was done right with good parts.

Not saying your mechanic isn't good, but be very careful. If you are mechanically inclined it is to your advantage to get the few special tools and do your own work.

VAG-COM is required. Read all you can about timing for full requested range. If you want it bumped, use the variation and mechanically time again and test to get full requested range.

A scanguage or other will help train you. It also helps with codes and monitoring things. It had been stated here and on other sites, make sure your thermostat is working properly. You can't even time one of these engines without it at full operating temp. A stuck open stat will never get there and your 50+mpg will be 35 easy as that.

I have done vac lines in OEM braid and in silicone. Get silicone. Easier, better and looks trick. With known good lines it makes troubleshooting easy.

Search for the door lock microswitch repair threads. Man are the overly complicated door mechanisms fiddly. Better to yank some from a wrecker and have them ready for when they malfunction.

Someone might have mistreated your gearbox. The manuals aren't known to make metal. Change the fluid and hope for the best.

Most effort with any worthy older car is removing the idiot tracks left all over it by the previous owner. The alh is worthy!

If you havent seen, you can lose a lot of the exhaust system. Check online.

I would do the ventectomy(easy) and cut out the snow screen and get the cold weather paper element. Google is your friend!

On big road trips with the family, I have to stop for every reason but getting fuel...

Good luck!

[CappAttack]

IThanks for the amazing and detailed responses! I was actually considering a mufflerectomy and ventectomy. Also plan to get a skid plate for under the engine bay Evolution Import: Atlas Skid Plate Kit With Oil Drain Hole & Cover For MK4 Volkswagen New Beetle, Golf & Jetta (TDI)
It will add about 26 pounds to vehicle weight.

Previous owner told me that the water pump and timing belt were services about 1k miles before I got it. Ultragague currently reads that I'm getting 20mpg D:

Along with my leaky injector pump I am currently getting a p0704 code P0704 Clutch Switch Input Circuit Malfunction
Which doesn't make a ton of sense to me since my car is an automatic. It is shifting smoothly, you can feel a very slight shudder when it shifts 3-4. I am driving for economy 90% of the time. Don't rev it or go unreasonably fast without good reason (being late doesn't count). I will probably just glue down the door handle/switch panel on the driver side, it has broken loose from the door panel. Headliner needs to be glued up so I can have my rear window back. Rear driver side window seems to just be hopping off track whenever I try to roll it up. It keeps going if you give it a push.

What exactly is VAG-COM? I am unsure, beyond some searches telling me that it's software to monitor all of the sensors in my vehicle.

Any suggestions for what to replace my k&n with? Stock OEM?

[TDIzzle]

I am not familiar with the ultragauge, but I assume it needs to be calibrated to be accurate. Check that first. and do some full tank averages for a real mpg.

The mpg numbers for your car indicate you have some real issues. I am sure you are aware.

First, Ross Tech is the source for the real deal vcds and vag-com. I can't post a link because I am a noob. Sorry. Google will get you to the ross tech store and the KII USB vag com you need.

I would start with all the basics. Alignment. Go through the brakes and wheel bearings. Check tires. Change air and fuel filters.

Photo and examine everything for leaks. Degrease and clean everything and drive around a bit and find out where you are leaking.

Moving on to older tdi stuff, yes, replace the k&n with the factory cold weather filter. Then cut out your snow screen. Easy to do when you have it up in the air doing your brakes.

Check online for how to reseal the pump while on the engine. TDIClub or vortex or both have the writeups. I have not done the job but I read that it is possible.

How well do you know/trust the person who said the timing belt was changed 1000 miles ago?

Specific to the alh, you need to run the variable turbo vanes through their range of motion. With the engine warm and out on the highway onramp, gun it from put put speed all the way to really speeding. You want to get full rpm range under load. Italian tuneup! If your turbo sticks because of this and spits a code, know it had to be fixed anyway and was probably going to do that to you on a road trip somewhere and some time not of your choosing. The alh was made to be revved occasionaly, and must be. I do it a couple times a week. If you never do it you will have problems.

You might want to do this at night for 2 reasons. First, if you and the PO have been babying the car it is going to blow smoke. If running sort of correctly, it will clear up with only one or two blasts. Second and more scary, your intercooler might be filled with oil which will lead to a temporary runaway as it inhales the oil. On the highway, easy and drive through it. In your driveway in park... well, you dont want that.

Read what I typed, google my words and understand what you are doing. You could get a band clamp tool and take your intercooler off to drain it, or install a drain screw, but what is the fun in that?

Blasting through the revs also gives you the chance to log with vcds and check on the real health of things.

But for that car to get 20mpg it has to be dripping fuel and more.

So, I am a betting man and my money is on a clogged snow screen, clogged intake manifold, fuel leaks, poor alignment, dragging brakes and pressure side intake leaks thrown in for a bonus. Auto trans? Yeah...

And if you are modding for efficiency, just remember these cars just need to be running correctly. It is almost impossible to get the mods to pay for themselves unless they are cheap(cloroplast/tape/delete aeromods) or changes when parts need replacing(injectors or trans swap).

[CappAttack]

I got the ultragague calibrated. You were right to have me look for that. It now reads 41mpg hwy. About 35 around town. I have replaced the fuel filter, changed the oil/filter, gotten an alignment (had to replace cv joints/axels before they could do it) and had tires balanced. Also replaced egr valve, thermostat, and coolant.

As to my trust of the PO when he says the timing belt was serviced. He probably took it to a shop and they told him it had to be done. Guy seemed to know nothing at all about cars. I only ever met him once when I bought the vehicle from him.

[CappAttack]

Ventectomy is done, got the snow screen removed, and I got a paper filter to replace the k&n.

She threw a new trouble code on the way home from work today: P0740 Torque Converter Clutch Malfunction OBDII Engine Light Trouble Code | Engine-Codes.com
I checked the transmission fluid once I got home, it was low. Added about half a bottle (12 oz) of Lucas oil stop slip to top it off. Hopefully the code will clear up in the next few drive cycles and I won't have to do anything major...if I wind up having to add more that the second half of this second bottle of the stop slip I'm thinking of just using new vw atf. Any thoughts or ideas on that scenario? On a similar note: I am opening a savings account that will get about $75/month toward what I feel like is an inevitable transmission replacement about 2 years from now.

I plan on making an upper grill block and belly pan out of coroplast after this first tank runs out and I can get a baseline number for FE. I found a local shop that will sell me 4'x8' sheets for $24. The belly pan will run from the rear edge of the skid plate (once I get it) all the way to the rear bumper. I'm thinking of using sheet metal and pop rivets to work near the tail pipe.

Also got the head liner glued up! It doesn't look super bad now, just a little bad.

P.s. the p0704 code cleared before this one popped up.

[MJamson]

Originally Posted by CappAttack

As to my trust of the PO when he says the timing belt was serviced. He probably took it to a shop and they told him it had to be done. Guy seemed to know nothing at all about cars. I only ever met him once when I bought the vehicle from him.

Didn't you get any reciepts ?

If not have a look around the timing cover, often a kind mechanic will write the milage and date of the change.

I would be a little suspicious of no reciept especially if it was recently done.

I unfortunately have been conned a few times so I don't trust people.

[TDIzzle]

MJamson has the same fears I do... People selling used cars lie. The timing belt, rollers and tensioner are impossible to age accuratly. When they fail... Well, you don't want that.

Quick fun is to check your coolant color. If it is not fancy and correct, I would suspect that nothing had been done correctly. Cheap coolant, incorrect oil, mark and pray timing belt swaps...

As for the codes, TDIclub is the place for that knowledge.

So... even though wrecking yards have gotten expensive, you can still find good ones and some have alh tdis or vws of the correct years. Find some you like and start with small stuff. I would get some door lock modules. I would pay $20 to 40 for one I pulled that looked great. Less if they don't know. If they have 10 or more of the cars up on rim stacks parting out, odds are they are cheap. High volume big yards don't have time to price small assemblies. Get a price before you pull.

These little parts let you see if the yard is reasonable and if they deal. If not, find another.

Most wrecking yards don't know how expensive vw/porsche/audi relays are. Get some sets of them while you are hunting.

You can do it and do it reasonably, you just can't if you are waiting for things to break and paying a mechanic.

idparts, dieselgeek and boraparts all get my gold star award. Every few months autozone will put rotella t6 on sale by the gallon. LRR and battery from costco.

Get ahead of the maintenence and get it on a schedule.

[CappAttack]

Mpg I got for half a tank fill up is 40.3 mpg. I fabricated a missing piece of my air intake so that it routes to the upper grill properly. Also blocked the remainder of the upper grill, it did heat up a bit faster, about 1.5-2 miles instead of 3 miles to reach 190* F. I also fabricated some ductwork to help funnel air into my smic and cut a vent in the wheel well.

I got a new set of headlight lenses yesterday as the ones it came with were extremely foggy. The driver side lenses adjusted properly, the passenger one......it casts a spot about 8ft in front of my bumper. The adjustment screws are broke...I spent all night last night swearing at it and hoping to somehow reseat the adjusting point as others have said they can do online to no avail...alas, I may have to return them to Amazon.

I will look into a timing belt kit. I have my eye in the high mileage kit from kermaTDI.

Also interested in a skid plate, belly pan to connect said skid plate with the rear bumper, and (once everything works properly) some bi-xenon hid projectors.

I'm going to look at re calibrating the speedo, according to my phone GPS it's about 4mph slow. Maybe replace the gear oil while I'm down there?

I've read that vw prefers and encourages people to use castrol oils and Mann filters. Is this true? Does anyone know why?

[CappAttack]

I'm scared of the transmission cooler and the trouble code for the torque converter clutch. My trans fluid appears so old and laden with metal particles that I fear it will reveal a clutch problem if I change it. Also fear that the trans cooler has a plugged coolant circuit as that's a problem I've read about lots of people finding.

No, I don't have any receipts or written maintenance before of any kind previous to my purchase of the car.

I will post pictures, when I get home, of all my various fabrications. Any requests for other pictures?

[MJamson]

Originally Posted by CappAttack

I got a new set of headlight lenses yesterday as the ones it came with were extremely foggy. The driver side lenses adjusted properly, the passenger one......it casts a spot about 8ft in front of my bumper. The adjustment screws are broke...I spent all night last night swearing at it and hoping to somehow reseat the adjusting point as others have said they can do online to no avail...alas, I may have to return them to Amazon.

depending on how bad the fogging is they can be polished. Cheap bulbs help fogging in the long run, so it is IMO better to spend the extra on the good low UV Bulbs

Originally Posted by CappAttack

I will look into a timing belt kit. I have my eye in the high mileage kit from kermaTDI.

You would be wise to do so, unless you are 100% certain take is as it hasn't been done

Originally Posted by CappAttack

I'm going to look at re calibrating the speedo, according to my phone GPS it's about 4mph slow. Maybe replace the gear oil while I'm down there?

Most speedos are bult to a tolerance and for a difference of 4 mph any re-calibration isn't worthwhile.

Originally Posted by CappAttack

I've read that vw prefers and encourages people to use castrol oils and Mann filters. Is this true? Does anyone know why?

Possibly it is down to money, as manufacturers are building a vehicle they will often get discounts to recommend certain brands.