MN Chat Thread

A4/alh vnt-15 vnt15

Anyone local have a functional used VNT15 they'd sell? Or better yet a 17/22?

I just blew up my second turbo in a little over a year, clearly I need to lighten up with my right foot until I take care of a boost control issue . . .

The blown turbo is a stock A4/ALH unit clocked to fit onto a B4/AHU application . . .

Depending on how soon you need it, I will sell mine once i get a charge pipe to mount my gt1739. May be a while.

Thanks, Joey. Hopefully I can find something pretty quick. I'm even thinking about a new 17/22, just to get it done, and mimize the chances of failing a third turbo . . .

Anyone local have a vnt15 charge pipe (Hose from turbo to pancake pipe)???

Farmboy said:

Thanks, Joey. Hopefully I can find something pretty quick. I'm even thinking about a new 17/22, just to get it done, and mimize the chances of failing a third turbo . . .

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I'd probably only sell mine for temporary use anyway
as it is an evil bay turbo.

yeah nobody wants to use that Runaway inducing turbo Joey

Farmboy, whats up with your boost control?

*sigh*

That will be isolated and corrected once I get it running again.

Found a turbo

Thanks for responses.

Turbo bought out of GA.

Price was right . . .

joey944 said:

Anyone local have a vnt15 charge pipe (Hose from turbo to pancake pipe)???

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Got one in hudson

Farmboy said:

*sigh*

That will be isolated and corrected once I get it running again.

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I thought we were going to connect to figure that out.

I'll shoot you a PM when I get a chance, Nick, thanks.

I'm selling some 17" 5x100 Exor rims. I thought I'd post them here before moving on to Craigslist. Perhaps someone here can make use of them?

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4321572

Welcome! A very curvy road in the neighborhood of where you were is WI 95 between Fountain City and Arcadia. But almost every east-west road on the Wisconsin side in that area is curvy. North-south isn't bad and is the way I go even if it is a bit further.

PacketHauler said:

I know I'm a newbie to the TDI world, but I had to share the fun drive I had last weekend, and to introduce myself to the MN crowd.

I took the TDI out to WI highway 35 along the river, went through Prescott to get there. Took it down to Nelson, WI and then across to Wabasha. I picked up MN highway 60 to get back up the bluffs and back towards home.

I've never had so much fun driving in my life. There wasn't much traffic on the MN side of the drive. There are some fantastic curvy roads on those 2 routes. I was punching into the corners pretty hard, I'm sure it would've performed even better if I had IRS instead of the beam axle, but it still did very well.

Best part, is I wound up averaging about 45 MPG based on the MFD. Granted it's probably off a little but I think that's fantastic considering how many hills I encountered and how much turbo I really used.

Carry on.

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rsewill said:

Welcome! A very curvy road in the neighborhood of where you were is WI 95 between Fountain City and Arcadia. But almost every east-west road on the Wisconsin side in that area is curvy. North-south isn't bad and is the way I go even if it is a bit further.

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Good to know, thanks! I just took a quick peek at that route on Google Street View, impressive. I will put that on my list of routes to drive!

Thanks

Thanks to Farmboy & Greengeeker for tools & knowledge on recent TB change on alh & vag com use. It's rare to get such help from complete strangers, [maybe not here]. Sorry if this is not the right place to post.

only in iowa

I would love a jake brake on my TDI. I think I researched it one time, and there wasn't enough energy through engine braking to make much noise. Not that I would want to make too much noise. lol

I dont like using my trunk either. Oh wait, yes I do.

Question. As some of you know, I've been having some handling problems, and going down the list trying to isolate the problem. Some of the stuff I've done didn't solve the immediate problem, but needed to be done at some point if I am going to keep this Golf running for another 300k miles.

My question is this: when do you decide that your springs should be replaced?

TornadoRed said:

Question. As some of you know, I've been having some handling problems, and going down the list trying to isolate the problem. Some of the stuff I've done didn't solve the immediate problem, but needed to be done at some point if I am going to keep this Golf running for another 300k miles.

My question is this: when do you decide that your springs should be replaced?

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What are handling issues are you experiencing? when to replace springs? if they are rusted partially and paint starting to chip off then I would suggest replacing, also if they have over 200k on them then I would say they are do for replacement already. Some might argue about springs wear rate and when should one replace, but we all know there is nothing that last forever in this world.

Losha, it's a complicated timeline. A couple months ago I started to sense that the front end was moving around, a little loose -- I wasn't even sure it was the car, I though maybe I was having a bit of a dizzy spell, which was worrisome. So I was actually relieved when I confirmed that it was the car and not me.

Okay, timeline..
August 7th installed new shocks and struts plus left wheel bearing.
September 6th, had to R&R transmission to replace 5th gear and flush out metal chips.
September 19th, steering, suspension, and motor mounts inspected
(not sure of date, but I had tires rotated and alignment checked)
September 21st, those Chinese axles were replaced by my original axles, newly rebuilt by Eric Merker
October 4th, timing belt installed and underside of vehicle inspected, steering rack (original) was leaking in two places and replacement was recommended.
October 10th, steering rack replaced along with tie rod ends and sway bar bushings

Then had alignment corrected again, this time by an expert; the first shop that did that, really screwed up the toe-in as there noticeable wear on the front tires after less than four weeks of driving.

Generally speaking, I don't sense any problems except when accelerating or decelerating; if I accelerate slightly at 50-60 mph, front end kind of surges to the left, but when I back off it moves back to the right. Everything seems fine when I'm using cruise control. Worst is during right-hand curves, left-hand curves are mostly fine, straight ahead is not as bad as it was a few weeks ago.

The brakes are okay -- about 85k miles on the front pads and rotors, about 75k miles on the rears. I thought it might be a motor mount, but that's been checked off. Clearly not the steering system, and most of the suspension parts are new or at least recent. I wondered about the transmission, in particular the differential, because of how it moved when I accelerated or decelerated, but experts tell me this isn't really possible.

I am getting ready to mount a set of winter tires; even though two different shops have done an alignment and one of them rotated the tires, I guess I still can't eliminate a tire problem since I don't know if I trust any of them.

I've spent quite a lot of money in the last couple months, but mostly it has been worth it for long-term reliability. If I could track down the source of this one problem, my Golf would basically be 100% mechanically. It's not as if I've thrown money away on suspension and steering parts, even it it's merely a tire problem.

But the springs are original, so if they need replacement then I will. (probably should have been done when the shocks and struts were done, though) But that raises an additional question -- the shocks and struts are Koni Reds, and I asked that they be set full-soft, but I was not able to watch the installation. What if the settings are not the same, left and right?

Lots to think about, I know, but I'd like to hear your thoughts.

TR have you looked at your Lower Control Arm Bushings?

SpamJ said:

TR have you looked at your Lower Control Arm Bushings?

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Oh yes. Done in February 2013 and still okay.

TornadoRed said:

Oh yes. Done in February 2013 and still okay.

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I was just thinking about them (control arm bushings), but SpamJ was first one to reply.

Sounds like you have completely overhauled your front end suspension by now. Just couple questions for you, when you had struts replaced did you replaced strut mounts with new ones or reused old ones? i know its some what silly question to ask you but believe me i see this on daily basis cars come one with struts been replaced and mounts weren't replaced thus causing loose front end. Also have you had replaced your rear axle bushing? if not that can/will cause a car to wonder from side to side while driving highway speeds. You said you had alignment done couple times at different shops, do you have a print out of alignment specs that were before and after? if so would help if you post them or email me. Also what kind tires are you running right now?
Based on explanation of your problem it sounds/reminds me of torque steer pull under acceleration then when you let off throttle the vehicle returns back to original position as you were trying guide to. The thing is its hard to believe as that is the case for you, as mk4 TDI's don't really have much of torque steering problem as like gasser's do.

Losha, here is a link to the alignment report: http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/wheel_alignment_Oct_13.jpeg

The strut mounts were not replaced

The rear axle bushings were replaced in May 2012, about 85k miles ago.

The current set of tires are Michelin Defender all-season tires, with about 57k miles on them. There's still some tread left, but they are not going to make 90k miles which is what Michelin warrantees them. Winter tires will go on Friday so I'll see if new tires make a difference.

TornadoRed said:

Losha, here is a link to the alignment report: http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/wheel_alignment_Oct_13.jpeg
The strut mounts were not replaced
The rear axle bushings were replaced in May 2012, about 85k miles ago.
The current set of tires are Michelin Defender all-season tires, with about 57k miles on them. There's still some tread left, but they are not going to make 90k miles which is what Michelin warrantees them. Winter tires will go on Friday so I'll see if new tires make a difference.

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Hmm, interesting alignment report, wonder what kind equipment they are using, must be some old machine. Either way no biggie, according that report my concern is with front toe setting, after adjustment final reading were 0.00 (which are very interesting results, usually the final setting are never true 0.00). I'm no expert in wheels alignment field, but have plenty of experience of having vehicles wheels aligned and final toe settings are always set bit positive anywhere between 0.0-0.40 and that's the ideal setting you want to have slightly positive toe.
When you have negative toe means -0.50+ the wheels are pointing away from each other thus causing vehicle to pull to each direction wheels pointed at and driver experience what you are currently experiencing where car tends to pull under acceleration left/right.
I would suggest have them set your toe inward slightly about 0.35 total toe in and I bet you the issue with torgue steer you are having will go away.

This is another concern that will causing your front end to be fairly loose under braking and acceleration as well cornering, strut mounts to compress about good 1/2inch from new to 100k condition and this will cause struts to have significant play at strut tower. I don't understand why people don't replace them when doing struts they are like $40 for set of 2 and come with bearings (That do wear out and make noise when turning). Either way you should have them replaced ASAP, with proper strut compressor tool they can be replaced on vehicle without removing whole strut, just compress strut far down enough that you can slip off old mount and slip in new one, takes only like 1hr to do both sides.

The upper strut bearings were replaced last year; would that be another term for the strut mounts?

I'll ask about the toe setting, but I would think that 0.00° would not be causing the current problem.

Throw your winters on to see if your tires are the problem

TornadoRed said:

The upper strut bearings were replaced last year; would that be another term for the strut mounts?

I'll ask about the toe setting, but I would think that 0.00° would not be causing the current problem.

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Here is the link to strut mount with bearing/bushing (small item is bearing). Its possible they could have replaced just bearing and not mount as bearings you can buy separately from mount. http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=36_66&products_id=371

I can't confirm this (my theory) easily since I don't have alignment rack at my shop. But with toe been set at 0.00 the wheels are set too straight ahead and under any road imperfection each wheel will want to follow either direction as road incline, bump, hole or amount of tire wear will guide to thus at end cause vehicle swirl from side to side. Different tires behave differently in exact same scenarios due to difference in thread dept, pattern setup, rubber stiffness & etc. I don't remember where and details but I remember reading technical explanation on setting proper toe and it mentioned that final (total) toe should be always set slightly positive. Also with yrs of experience working on cars replacing suspension/steering components then getting realigned, I can tell you that improper set of alignment most cases was toe will cause such of weird strange behavior of vehicle that you wouldn't even dream of.

Couple years ago I remember we replaced control arm and tie rod assembly on 06 passat and I set toe just roughly close enough straight just to get me to alignment shop. Well when I started driving to alignment place on city streets car seemed to be driving ok with usual signs of incorrect alignment set. But when I got on interstate at 65-80mph the car wanted wonder all over road, it was literately ripping my hands of steering wheel each time I would hit bump or road imperfection, it had loud tire noise sounded like bad wheel bearing. For moment I thought might have to do wheel bearings and replace other suspension components cuz it was unbearable to drive as is. After we got it aligned properly drove car back to my shop it ran night & day different, was smooth quiet, handled great, no more noises, so all that was due to bad alignment.