What did you do to your car today?

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
We had some debate about this. It's not clear what states care about this. I haven't had a problem so far, don't expect to.
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
As of 1 Jan 2009, in AZ it is illegal to obscure "ARIZONA":



"A person shall display all license plates as required by subsection A until their lawful use expires or is canceled or revoked. A person shall maintain each license plate so it is clearly legible and so that the name of this state at the top of the license plate is not obscured."


The fine is $135 PLUS "court fees".
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
I've been chasing a coolant leak for a good long time. I couldn't find the source of the leak and was pretty much resigned to replacing the heater core, mostly due to not finding the source and smelling coolant when running the heater last winter. But, knowing the PIA that tearing the dash apart completely is pushed me to go for the immediate payoff: procrastinate!!

The leak has been getting worse and finally I had to do something since I couldn't go 10 minutes without seeing the low coolant warning on the dash. Not good. I worked harder and decided it was the hard pipe junction into the block - you know, the secret engineering screw-the-pooch solution of simply pressing the pipe into the block behind the alternator with a crummy o-ring where you can't get to it without an hour of skinning your knuckles. And that is only if you already have practiced a lot.

To make a long story short, I re-did the joint once (did it once before, about 10 years ago) but the leak was just as bad, re-did it AGAIN, and the leak was just as bad. After careful examination and failing to find any evidence that it was that junction, and searching, I finally decided it was the coolant recovery tank lower hose to that hard pipe.

After 2 weeks and no coolant loss after the first run cycle, it think I can finally declare victory, and I didn't even have to replace the heater core. (And saved myself a meltdown if I went through all that and it wouldn't have worked!)

Yay!!!

This is all on my 4-dr, and now it is on to the a/c in my wife's NB.


Cheers,

PH
 

falk_ben

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 26, 2018
Location
Stanley, Falkland Islands
TDI
2007 GT 170 (+/- 300 hp)
Nighteye 160 watt h4 9006 fogs fitted

Fitted this evening. Smart, modern upgrade to the originals. 160 watt should brighten up the dark lanes.


H4 fitment in the GTI bumper. You need to trim with a stanley knife the plastic mounting flange, to allow clearance on the intigrated cooling pack at the rear of the bulb unit



 
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Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
The coolant leak is still doing fine. Yay!

So yesterday I repaired the downpipe on my wife's '03 1.8t Jetta (yeah, yeah, but the thread title is 'What did you do to your car today?' not what did you do to your tdi today). My welding job was just horrible, so no photos. It didn't help that I didn't have the correct wire and couldn't find it, so I used the flux core that I already had. And I also found out (at the end, unfortunately) that it really helps to use my reading glasses under the helmet.

Anyway, I'll be fighting mosquitoes and to re-install the pipe tomorrow as it is raining today.

More to come in the next couple of weeks while I scramble to get some stuff done before the cold makes it undesirable to spend any more time outside than is absolutely necessary. Maybe I'll have photos on one of my strange projects.

Cheers,

PH
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Well at 404,xxx miles I was starting to loose coolant, I thought it was the coolant bottle as it was leaking out the over flow.
Patted myself on the back , replaced the bowl and trucked on only to have the low coolant light illuminate 3 days later....... sure enough bowl was empty.
Refilled bowl and started to keep track.

It got to the point that I was adding 1 qt every other day with it blowing out the over flow.
Suspected blown head gasket, car doesn't over heat, all temps in normal parameters, I use scan gauge II to monitor my parameters.

Soooo I bite the bullet , get a used head from DAP, new head gasket, bolts , high mileage TB kit and the dreaded hard coolant pipe that is severely rusted, painted but still rusted.

I was surprised that when I pulled the head I still have the original cross hatch marks from when it was built.
I did have oil on top of #4 piston, I suspect this was giving me my smoke on first startup in the morning, wasn't burning oil per say.

The hard coolant pipe wasn't as bad as I feared , maybe because the head was off, but damn!!! That oring does not want to let go easily.

So,all back together no more smoke on start up, I now have 4 working glow plugs , as on the old head I snapped one over 12 years ago.
No more coolant lose and still runs like a raped ape. Malone stage 3 with sprint 520's��
 

dogdots

Vendor
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Location
Kansas City
TDI
None
I dug pieces of a Golf out of my Powerstroke...Neighbor 1/2 mile up the hill didn't set the E-brake and his Golf rolled in a perfectly straight line right into the back of my truck. Cop working the accident said in 16 years this was the first crash he worked that didn't involve any participants :)




 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Noticed that the front tires I put on this spring are worn to junk already :(.

Decided to check toe with a tape measure - was more than a bit surprised to find that it was over 1" off (toe out).

Called the alignment guy, and he was willing to do it right away on Saturday afternoon. Only thing we could figure was that it was a combination of hitting something over the winter and when I put wheel bearings in a month or so ago, I must not have gotten the ball joints back in the same spot throwing the toe off.

Will run these tires until I put the winters on and then get a new set for the front in the spring. That's a $350 mistake (between the tires and alignment).

I was surprised, the wheel was straight, didn't pull one way or the other, etc - only thing I noticed was that it would push in corners more than it used to and was worse when it was wet, but otherwise drove fine.

 

oldpoopie

Vendor
Joined
May 14, 2001
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2001 golf gl, 2006 jetta, 1981 ALH swapped rabbit pickup, 1998 beetle
Today in my '04 jetta I've been fixing up

....was driving to work and couldn't get 3rd gear.....
tried 4th, good
tried 5th, got it but difficult
went back to 3rd, no go
slowed down and tried 2nd.... good
down to 1st, got it but difficult
back up to 3rd.... no go...
growing frustrated I tried forcing it repeatedly... just wouldn't go.....

Then I looked down and an apple I had on the console had rolled down between the shifter and the edge of the boot... I was smashing the apple..... Removed and shifts just fine. LOL
 

romad

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ
TDI
2005 Jetta GLS Wagon "Cranberry"
Today in my '04 jetta I've been fixing up

....was driving to work and couldn't get 3rd gear.....
tried 4th, good
tried 5th, got it but difficult
went back to 3rd, no go
slowed down and tried 2nd.... good
down to 1st, got it but difficult
back up to 3rd.... no go...
growing frustrated I tried forcing it repeatedly... just wouldn't go.....

Then I looked down and an apple I had on the console had rolled down between the shifter and the edge of the boot... I was smashing the apple..... Removed and shifts just fine. LOL

So an apple a day keeps the shifts awry!
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Went to install my R32 MAF (Finally!) and opened the hood to find my hood liner had fallen.



Found some nice thin nylon washers at the local hardware store that the clips fit through...




It took some "encouragement" to get them in because of their thickness, but they worked great!





MAF install was a bust because I couldn't find a 3.25" hose anywhere locally :(
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
I threw away my hood liner(s) quite some time ago since the local mouse population thinks it makes outstanding nesting material when they're looking for something to fluff out the environs as they create a party spot and winter outhouse (yes, that kind of outhouse) on top of the cabin air filter. They do the same thing with battery blankets and anything else they find that is fluffy. Darnned things will even peel off the snow screen pad on the underside of the air filters.

So now, in the fall I leave green party food for them. 1/2 block in the air filter box, and the other half to the side of the cabin air filter. In the spring I find the blocks chewed on, but no dead bodies (they go do their last dance elsewhere for some reason - OK by me) and the nests are non-existent. Yay!

Cheers,

PH
 

nokivasara

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Location
Sweden @ Lat 61N
TDI
Tiguan 4-motion, Golf mk7
After a long while of doing nothing to our cars I suddenly sprung into life and gave both cars a pre-winter once over!

Golf:
*Replaced battery (to one I had lying around), the OEM battery lasted 11 years :eek:
*washed and waxed it
*Checked antifreeze
*picked up 2 new studded winter tires (bought 2 last year). I've restored the wheels a few months ago, I hope black wheels will fit the black car.

Skoda:
*aimed headlights, dipped and main is adjusted separately on the Octy :)
*charged the battery
*changed to winter tyres, I need to get a new set asap.
*found rust on the sills (rockers?), pretty bad actually. Needs welding.

Next step is oil and filters on both cars and then we'll be ready for winter.
 

Hyde7278

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2012
Location
Central Mich
TDI
2001 Golf GL
Dropped the rear axle beam and brakes out of a euro import GTI I have sitting around. Will be replaceing the bushings to Cupra bushings and swapping it into my TDI.

And also started to remove the frt brakes out of the same car to swap into the TDI.

Next I'll start on swapping the interior out of it to. Already swapped out the driver side recaro seat just haven't swapped out the rest yet.
 

nokivasara

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Location
Sweden @ Lat 61N
TDI
Tiguan 4-motion, Golf mk7
My Skoda seemed to hesitate a bit when I turned the key in the morning, it started quickly but the battery seemed weak even though I charged it recently. Took my DMM and found that I had 13.2V at the battery with the engine idling.
I pulled the voltage regulator and noticed that the brushes were gone, one of the slip rings is pretty badly worn too.
Went to the only car parts store that was open on a sunday but the young lad at the desk had no clue about what I was looking for. He could offer me a new alternator and after some searching even a voltage regulator (needed to order them) but not the brushes alone.
I went back home and found an alternator from an old Ford that I took the brushes from and put in my car, they fit just fine after some filing. They weren't much better than what I already had so I'll need to replace them again soon, if I manage to find a parts shop that actually sells parts and not just assembled units :)
 

Diesl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
'78 Golf Diesel (long gone); 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI w/ DSG
[...]. They weren't much better than what I already had so I'll need to replace them again soon, if I manage to find a parts shop that actually sells parts and not just assembled units :)
Don't they have Amazon in your neck of the woods? https://www.amazon.com/Alternator-Voltage-Regulator-Beetle-Volkswagen/dp/B00K4WRFYI (and I'll be damned, the regulator and the brushes are on the same part :rolleyes: ).

I had my 2012 JSW TDI detailed for the first (and possibly also last...) time in its life. It was completely covered in porch sealer overspray, but claybaring took it all off. The car looks amazing.
 

nokivasara

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Location
Sweden @ Lat 61N
TDI
Tiguan 4-motion, Golf mk7

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
https://www.aspwholesale.com/index.php


This vendor has lots of various small bits, including rebuild parts that are not normally bought separately.


There used to be a good vendor on eBay out of Ireland called Gold Lion Auto Electrics, but it looks like they shutdown recently as they have a few nasty reviews at the end, and no items in their listings presently.
 

CalvinM

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Location
North Vancouver, BC
TDI
2003 Golf
Installed my cheap oem looking replacement head unit from aliexpress. Getting the old double din out turned out to be a chore as the po had damaged the removal clips. So I had to remove the whole radio cage. But once I had it out, the new one was an easy install.

Now I have working bluetooth.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Location
Gloucester, MA USA
TDI
'13 JSW Tdi, '06 A3 3.2Q
Dsg service via my homemade bottom fill set up and vcds for the temperature reading.
Oil change too. And fuel filter.

Last oil change was done at colonial vw in medford.. how hard is it for a dealership to put ALL the belly pan screws back? 3 rear screws missing and the rear of the belly pan had sagged. And 1 of the engine cover snappy things was missing. Not very professional. Now i dont know if they even used decent oil.
Ugh...
 

Diesl

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2012
Location
Chicago
TDI
'78 Golf Diesel (long gone); 2012 Jetta Sportwagen TDI w/ DSG
VW 'technicians'

It's amazing how they are not trained to deal with the snap-on cover. I mean, apparently they are the kind of people that would need training for this kind of thing, which is amazing in its own right, and then they just don't have the training, and either fail to snap it on, or worse, they destroy the inserts in the process. As a bonus, they also cracked the cover when doing the emissions fix on my TDI.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta, 03 TT TDI
Fixed a random hissing sound from under the hood which correlated with marginal to non existent brake assist (it's really fun when it changes mid application of the brakes :)).

This dang stainless braided hose is some tough stuff!

I put on a small duct tape patch that just covered the hole and then covered that with JB Weld to patch the hole. The tape was so the JB Weld didn't run inside the brake booster. Then I put some braided nylon sleeve over the stainless braided hose. I put a piece of vinyl tube over another place that it was rubbing about a year ago and that looks fine so I'm hoping the nylon sleeve will keep it from rubbing another hole in the brake booster.

The hose itself looks brand new!

 

dremd

Veteran Member
Joined
May 31, 2007
Location
South Louisiana
TDI
06 sprinter. 03 jetta wagon premium with 6 speed ALH swap, 14 JSW
Found a split EGR pipe on the hot side of my EGR cooler.
I ended up removing to EGR system since I didn’t have a spare and I need to drive it for the next week until I pick up my Model S next week.
 

crashtested

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2010
Location
Nelson, BC
TDI
2016 Q5 TDI Technik, 2014 GSW CL 6MT (RIP), 2004 Jetta GLS 5MT (sold), 2010 GSW HL 6MT (buy back)
Installed my Evolution Import Skid Plate bought from @TDINoah on our '14 GSW. Should keep me fairly safe for another season to & from the ski hill!
 
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