What did you do to your MKIV today?

Replaced my cruise control/turn signal stalk because I thought it was faulty and the reason why my cruise (set) function did not work. It's been not working for about six months now but just got around to replacing it. After it first went out I tried the method of removing the back of the stalk to access the connectors to spray deoxit on it. That did not work. Tried checking for faulty brake switch and clutch switch with VCDS. That wasn't it, so I concluded that it must be the stalk.

Successfully replaced the stalk, took it for a drive to test it but still did not work. While I had everything off I remember seeing one end of a little red/yellow wire that had been cut clean. Didn't really give it much thought til after the new stalk did not fix it. Thinking that the previous owner must've done something with this set of wires because the wiring harness tape was all unraveled and not protecting it. So, tore everything apart again thinking that this little wire had to be the cruise (set) function. Got it spliced back together, everything put back in place and voila! Cruise works again!

Before


After

jmarvin said:

Replaced my cruise control/turn signal stalk because I thought it was faulty and the reason why my cruise (set) function did not work. It's been not working for about six months now but just got around to replacing it. After it first went out I tried the method of removing the back of the stalk to access the connectors to spray deoxit on it. That did not work. Tried checking for faulty brake switch and clutch switch with VCDS. That wasn't it, so I concluded that it must be the stalk.

Successfully replaced the stalk, took it for a drive to test it but still did not work. While I had everything off I remember seeing one end of a little red/yellow wire that had been cut clean. Didn't really give it much thought til after the new stalk did not fix it. Thinking that the previous owner must've done something with this set of wires because the wiring harness tape was all unraveled and not protecting it. So, tore everything apart again thinking that this little wire had to be the cruise (set) function. Got it spliced back together, everything put back in place and voila! Cruise works again!

Before

After

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This is good to know. I had a problem with cruise on the Golf last year after replacing brakes and suspension components. My issue was something else, but still useful in case it stops. I'd die without cruise control, with the driving I do.

Was this harness under the dash, or after removing the steering column shroud?

pkhoury said:

This is good to know. I had a problem with cruise on the Golf last year after replacing brakes and suspension components. My issue was something else, but still useful in case it stops. I'd die without cruise control, with the driving I do.

Was this harness under the dash, or after removing the steering column shroud?

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It was after removing the steering column shroud, which meant that I had to take off the steering wheel again, which isn't difficult, but not ideal.

I changed my polo euro rear wiper blade. I took a trip to Rhode island to see Mom, and came across this mk4 wagon driven by middle age young lady.


bajan

red16vdub said:

I changed my polo euro rear wiper blade. I took a trip to Rhode island to see Mom, and came across this mk4 wagon driven by middle age young lady.


bajan

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Too funny! That is my wagon. My wife borrowed it today. She told me whenever you stepped on it, your car blew out a bunch of smoke. I told her I was jealous.

BTW - she wasn't happy you called her middle aged... which of course she is.

Hybridiia said:

Too funny! That is my wagon. My wife borrowed it today. She told me whenever you stepped on it, it blew out a bunch of smoke. I told her I was jealous.

BTW - she wasn't happy you called her middle aged... which of course she is.

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Haha! This was a great reply!

I installed new E-brake cables on my Golf today. I was busy working on my Mk5 Jetta, so the Golf was put on hold for a couple days. Moving on to the front brakes tomorrow. I bought new left and right dust tins and sprayed them with rocker-guard in an effort to toughen them up a bit. I have to drill a busted rotor screw out of the front hub.

I'm hoping to give the wrenches a rest soon so I can move on to cleaning and waxing.

Today I swapped out the old "ricer" rear bumper lip for an OEM GLI rear bumper lip. The car came with the aftermarket rear lip and side skirts but with an OEM GLI front lip. The rear lip has always bothered me for various reasons - mainly because it reminded me a bad Honda body kit. I like the side skirts and absolutely love the front GLI lip so I wanted to grab an OEM GLI rear lip and swap it out. I purchased the GLI lip from a part-out on here that, thankfully, was super local to me so I drove down and picked it up but it was a dark grey color. Thankfully my brother-in-law manages a very nice body shop in our area so he hooked me up by having one of his locations spray the lip Campanella white to match my car. So here are the pics in order:

Lip on the car that I did not like:





Lip removed:





And new GLI lip put on.





Now the next step is installing Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs this Tuesday so my car doesn't look like it's ready to go car crushing at Monster Jam.

IMO, the GLI lip looks much better. I think it "flows" with the side skirts better, too.

Hybridiia said:

Too funny! That is my wagon. My wife borrowed it today. She told me whenever you stepped on it, your car blew out a bunch of smoke. I told her I was jealous.

BTW - she wasn't happy you called her middle aged... which of course she is.

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First off my apologies to your wife, and happy Mother's Day as well. My wagon only smokes initially on tip in until it comes on boost, then it's game on lol. At first from a distance, I thought it was Peter with IBW but as i got closer I said hmmm I haven't seen this wagon before. Always glad to see clean Mk4 wagons on the move .


Bajan

Rembrant said:

Haha! This was a great reply!
I installed new E-brake cables on my Golf today. I was busy working on my Mk5 Jetta, so the Golf was put on hold for a couple days. Moving on to the front brakes tomorrow. I bought new left and right dust tins and sprayed them with rocker-guard in an effort to toughen them up a bit. I have to drill a busted rotor screw out of the front hub.
I'm hoping to give the wrenches a rest soon so I can move on to cleaning and waxing.

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I assume you know those screws aren't essential. Just handy to align the rotor.

I did a Ventectomy all by myself! aren't you proud of me??



Also finished installing the main crank bearings and got her back on the road!

Put the old girl up for sale.

not today but within the last 2 months. new fender, front bumper, core support, tail lights, trunk lid and woodgrain dash trim. i have also installed a GLX rear sunshade, and indash cd player. i have also installed a 2.0 MAF as i was getting a MAF code CEL. not only is the CEL gone but i dont have the hesitation at 3k like i did before. i also have a spare diesel MAF to play with if the 2.0 one goes south.

aja8888 said:

Put the old girl up for sale.

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my condolences. how come?

benIV said:

my condolences. how come?

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Wife's health reasons brings us down to needing only one major car and it has to be something easy for her to get in and out of and carry a wheelchair (our Hyundai Santa Fe). I still have the '71 Beetle as a local run around car for me. I fully retired this year and will be sticking close to home to help the wife. Really don't need three cars.

If I could keep the 2003 Jetta in the family I would, but, the kids don't care to drive a manual transmission (and already have newer cars) and there is no one else to pass it along to (granddaughters are too young).

I'm sorry to hear. I wish you well in your retirement and I'll keep you and your wife in my prayers. I hope you have good luck with the sale and your 03 finds a good home!

ps. i'm taking in my mother's 74 super beetle convertible.. don't be shy with tips and hints and what not in your 71 resto. lol

aja8888 said:

Wife's health reasons brings us down to needing only one major car and it has to be something easy for her to get in and out of and carry a wheelchair (our Hyundai Santa Fe). I still have the '71 Beetle as a local run around car for me. I fully retired this year and will be sticking close to home to help the wife. Really don't need three cars.

If I could keep the 2003 Jetta in the family I would, but, the kids don't care to drive a manual transmission (and already have newer cars) and there is no one else to pass it along to (granddaughters are too young).

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benIV said:

I'm sorry to hear. I wish you well in your retirement and I'll keep you and your wife in my prayers. I hope you have good luck with the sale and your 03 finds a good home!
ps. i'm taking in my mother's 74 super beetle convertible.. don't be shy with tips and hints and what not in your 71 resto. lol

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Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. On the Super, join The Samba website (if you already haven't) as it is a wealth of information for early VW's. I'll continue my 71 thread here too.

My first car was a '74 Beetle with the 1600cc engine.

Remember last summer, when I installed the computer fans onto the intercooler? I noticed (thanks to my ScanGauge II) that the intercooler was heat-soaking in slow traffic. The IAC readings would sometimes reach 70*C. Readings of 60*C+ were very common. I had some 90mm computer fans laying around, so I stuck 'em on the intercooler with a thermal switch. It was a temporary arrangement, just to see what would happen.



The results were noticeable. With the fans on the intercooler, IAC readings never exceeded 55*C. And when the temperature did get that warm, the fans would bring it back down pretty quickly. Needless to say, having active cooling on the intercooler is a noticeable benefit.

So I decided to do the intercooler fan mod "for real" this time. I used a 7" oil cooler fan, and built a shroud out of sheet aluminum. This time, I mounted the fan on the backside of the intercooler, which allowed me to re-install the air duct. I also installed a vented fender liner, so the hot air has somewhere to go.

Here are a couple shots of the new fan setup. As you can see, the back of the fan is right up against the fender liner. If the fender liner wasn't vented, it would block airflow from the fan.

Love seeing this kind of thing. More time means better and more reliable info. I definitely want to see how the larger fan works compared the 4 little ones. Please keep us updated.

Rrusse11 said:

I'd love it if this would also disable the rear hatch lock as well. Having
to press the fob button or hitting the switch on the driver's door everytime you want to get in the back I find annoying.

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I think that's doable. It may be driver side door + hatch or all doors + hatch. I dont recall atm, but i remember somebody telling me to do that when i was considering a wagon.

Rrusse11 said:

...
I'd love it if this would also disable the rear hatch lock as well. Having
to press the fob button or hitting the switch on the driver's door everytime you want to get in the back I find annoying.

Cheers,
R*2

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I haven't tried any of the solutions in this thread, but the results sound great

My turbo was forever going into over boost so I pulled the TIP and reached in through the top to reset the actuator start and settings. I did not realize how simple this job could be when done through the top; I had been adjusting the turbo from the bottom with the car up on ramps. The actuator arm was hitting the stop around 14" of vacuum--no wonder it was going into over boost! I did not check the lift setting as I am more concerned when the arm hits the stop. The arm now stops at 19-19.5" of vacuum and hasn't gone into over boost since yesterday before the actuator was reset.

Passed state inspection. First year that I didn't have to have the car plugged in to show emissions readiness, so I didn't need to swap out the Euro ECU before inspection. Nice.

Diesel Purge!

Just cause I could.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Passed state inspection. First year that I didn't have to have the car plugged in to show emissions readiness, so I didn't need to swap out the Euro ECU before inspection. Nice.

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It's the opposite for me. Last inspection I had on my white car, they had to plug it in. Guy came out apologizing because they said its only $10 safety and no emissions. Apparently the regulations changed and they had to plug the car in. The extra $10 a year won't make me go broke, but the principle of the matter makes me furious tbh.

Didn't do anything yet...but ordered:

-Mahle VNT-15 Turbocharge
-Oil feed/return lines
-Front/Rear shocks & springs
-All new shock bumps/covers/mounts

Can't wait to get the wagon back into good running condition.

Stocked up on Stanadyne Lubricity Formula for my June trip.

romad said:

Stocked up on Stanadyne Lubricity Formula for my June trip.

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Not a fan of simple 2stroke mix?

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I use Propel DieselHPR fuel not DinoDiesel.