The "What did you do to your B4 today" thread...

All of the slider pins moved perfectly... I pulled the pins and the grease inside wasn’t gummy.

Even if they did get hung up, I’d think the wear would be consistent across the pad and rotor face...?

I’m contemplating whether to get these rotors cut.... $20 for the pair. I’d have another 11” brake kit for the sedan, although I’d need to run the thinner Hawk pads, that I have on the shelf.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

All of the slider pins moved perfectly... I pulled the pins and the grease inside wasn’t gummy.

Even if they did get hung up, I’d think the wear would be consistent across the pad and rotor face...?

I’m contemplating whether to get these rotors cut.... $20 for the pair. I’d have another 11” brake kit for the sedan, although I’d need to run the thinner Hawk pads, that I have on the shelf.

-Todd

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If all you have to pay is $10 per rotor to have them cut I would do that. Around here it costs $15 minimum to have rotors cut and most places have gotten rid of their lathes. I got charged $20 per rotor once (Mk3 4cyl vented) at O'reilly Auto, which after the fact they claimed was a mistake, but still it was an argument with the clerk that should not have happened.

At any rate, my Mk3 brakes were similarly worn (pads and rotors) from sticking caliper pins. Initially the one pad rides hard against the rotor eating it up, every press of the brake pedal puts more pressure on that side and then when the pad surface is gone the rotor corrodes on that side because the stuck caliper won't move to take up the slack.

I'd check the track where the pads slide to be sure that everything is moving freely. I'd had to hit that with a file sometimes to be sure everything moves the way it should.

Steve

I’ve always wire wheeled the carrier to pad contact points, and give a light coat of high temp grease. The pads always moved/dropped in smoothly.

I’ll just need to keep an eye on the new set.

I drove the sedan to work today and upon the first stop, the stock brakes were underwhelming. Perfectly adequate, but definitely different.

-Todd

Today I cleaned my engine compartment to try to find a leak, changed the oil, washed the car, and attempted to troubleshoot my ac/fan issue. I also started troubleshooting my p1619 glow plug relay code and while attempting to remove the glow plug wiring harnesses I discovered it was super brittle, full of cracks and disintegrated at the softest touch. As a plus all the exposed wire made it super easy to test if I was getting power to the harness. So I guess the relay is working.

TDIL3dad said:

Removed front bumper, headlights, grille etc only to find out that the radiator is corroded and leaking around plastic end caps and that the two top mounts are also worn out and should be replaced. Radiator parts appear to be still available. Anything else I should look for to replace or upgrade while I have both radiator and A/C condenser out of the way?
Also, any suggested upgrades or mods that I should consider while doing both radiator and A/C condenser?

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Fortunately, my black B4 sedan is back on the road as daily driver, because I'm still hunting parts for replacing the radiator on the blue B4 wagon. I have a Nissens radiator in hand and I also bought OEM lower brackets 3A0 121 367B from e-bay seller, mounting bolts N906 46401 from VW local dealership, but I'm still looking for 2 bushings 3A0 121 385.

One of those weeks. Minor tree incident that broke the sunroof in my B4V & did some damage to the roof rails. Unfortunately, insurance claim time.

It is a shame & frustrating as bad weather was forecast, I had a project going in my garage so I was unable to move it inside. About 4 hours earlier I looked at the B4V & truck where they were parked & thought to myself: They are in about the safest place on the property as other areas had some suspect tree branches. Well, the nearby, healthy looking tree uprooted from all the recent rains & 40 MPH wind gusts. I can't confirm, but suspect a small tornado might have touched down about 200 yds away at a neighbors.

Very fortunately, I do not think it is anywhere close to being a CTL.

Anyway, a bit frustrating as I had about decided to thin out the herd & was going to start with my low milage, 150K, rust free, clean carfax B4V. Well, at least it will be in better condition now.

Any leads on sun roof glass, sun shade cover, roof rail parts (especially the front parts), & perhaps the rubber inserts would be greatly appreciated.

Bob, Sorry to hear about your B4V.

Bob, I will check, but I think I have a set of B4V roof rails you can have. Don't ask me why I have them...

Bob S. said:

One of those weeks. Minor tree incident that broke the sunroof in my B4V & did some damage to the roof rails. Unfortunately, insurance claim time.

It is a shame & frustrating as bad weather was forecast, I had a project going in my garage so I was unable to move it inside. About 4 hours earlier I looked at the B4V & truck where they were parked & thought to myself: They are in about the safest place on the property as other areas had some suspect tree branches. Well, the nearby, healthy looking tree uprooted from all the recent rains & 40 MPH wind gusts. I can't confirm, but suspect a small tornado might have touched down about 200 yds away at a neighbors.

Very fortunately, I do not think it is anywhere close to being a CTL.

Anyway, a bit frustrating as I had about decided to thin out the herd & was going to start with my low milage, 150K, rust free, clean carfax B4V. Well, at least it will be in better condition now.

Any leads on sun roof glass, sun shade cover, roof rail parts (especially the front parts), & perhaps the rubber inserts would be greatly appreciated.

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That's a nasty thing that storm did, never fails something like this swoops in the ruins that party.

When you're shopping for a roof glass remember that it will be marked B4 (or B3 too will fit) at the bottom center. That's in case you have to deal with someone selling parts and they might claim that it's something it's not.

Good luck finding the stuff you need!

Steve

Guys, thanks for the offers.

Yesterday, I extracted the car. The good news is that the damage to the actual roof & sheet metal is very, very minimal. Slight distortion at passenger side roof rail mount fwd end.

It looks like the sun roof glass & assembly took the brunt of it. That maybe good, but perhaps not.

My understanding is that the sun roof assembly of the B4(3) & B4(3)V are the same/interchangeable. Is that correct?

Yesterday, I began considering deleting the sunroof & turning it into a no sunroof car. I am one that almost never uses a sunroof & try to avoid purchasing cars with one.

Does anyone have first hand experience with a sunroof delete in one of these? & what are the thoughts of it's effect on value, desirability, resale, etc.?

Bob S. said:

...

My understanding is that the sun roof assembly of the B4(3) & B4(3)V are the same/interchangeable. Is that correct?

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The glass is the same for all B3/B4 cars. The mechanism (sans glass) is the same between Mk3, B3 & /B4. Motors will vary depending on the year but should be the same for Mk3 & B4.

Bob S. said:

Yesterday, I began considering deleting the sunroof & turning it into a no sunroof car. I am one that almost never uses a sunroof & try to avoid purchasing cars with one.

Does anyone have first hand experience with a sunroof delete in one of these? & what are the thoughts of it's effect on value, desirability, resale, etc.?

Click to expand...

Personally, as much as I don't use the ones I have, a car with a sunroof attracts more attention than one that doesn't have it, regardless of whether it ever gets used. It may not count for much in the valuation guides now given the age but if you go to sell it the sunroof counts for something.

I don't think you want to get involved in the expense of removing the sunroof, finding a non-sunroof headliner to replace it might be a bit of a chore. Then there's the difficulty in blending a repair like that across a large flat surface, it has to be perfect not to be seen. It's the same reason body shops don't like to repair hoods, the repair is easy to spot.

As for leaks the sunroof always gets blamed for most of them when in fact it's rarely the culprit. It is however the default response when someone says they have water in the car, but again the evidence suggests that the blame should be placed elsewhere.

I might have ordered the car without the sunroof, $855 option back in 96, but I'm not very excited about trying to get rid of it.

Steve

Steve, Thanks for the comments. I suspect you are spot on.

I took the rotors from the wagon, to get cut. The shop said they wouldn’t be able to cut the pitting out. They said they see this quite often. They asked if the car sits a lot. Realistically speaking, I kinda guess it does... I only log about 3K per year, on each car.

Rather than start the tie rod and boot swap, I decided to get the rear plastics back in, from the shock swap. I decided to reapply the peeling felt, and added more felt to any area that had plastic to plastic, plastic to metal, plastic to glass, etc contact. Cleaning plastic, searching for better plastic in the shed, replacing broken/missing clips, applied felt, reassembled, then wiped down with 303.

I only did from the C pillars back... this ended up taking all day. What I ended up with was the quietest ride this car has given, since I bought it. I always had annoying rattles coming from the rear. Amazing difference.... I’m still getting a slight creaking from the B pillar plastic, but that’s being saved for another day.

Prior to putting the driver side together, I dusted the rear quarter glass with baby powder and shot air around the inside perimeter with the blow gun. No powder movement, so I’m guessing that Steve is correct about the roof rail being the culprit for the water ingress. That’ll be saved for another day, also.

-Todd

Finished the day off by modding an interior mirror trim. It had one broken clip and would somewhat stay on, but it always eventually fell off. It’s been in a map pocket for almost 2 years...

Cut a piece of ABS and CAed it on. CAed a plate with some neodymium magnets on.... it’s from a name plate or something. Used a vacuum cap to beef up the top post. After a few trial and errors for the magnet placement, it fit perfectly. The foam wind block got trimmed and spray glued on.

Slammed the door a few times (my doors never get slammed) and it’s not going anywhere. Maybe 30 min invested.

I thought I was going to have to paint it with SEM, because I got some accelerator on the face, but 303 evened it out. I’m happy!








Hosed off the floor mat’s floor mat and packed it in for the night.

-Todd

Bob S. said:

Guys, thanks for the offers.

Yesterday, I extracted the car. The good news is that the damage to the actual roof & sheet metal is very, very minimal. Slight distortion at passenger side roof rail mount fwd end.

It looks like the sun roof glass & assembly took the brunt of it. That maybe good, but perhaps not.

My understanding is that the sun roof assembly of the B4(3) & B4(3)V are the same/interchangeable. Is that correct?

Yesterday, I began considering deleting the sunroof & turning it into a no sunroof car. I am one that almost never uses a sunroof & try to avoid purchasing cars with one.

Does anyone have first hand experience with a sunroof delete in one of these? & what are the thoughts of it's effect on value, desirability, resale, etc.?

Click to expand...

I may have extra glass & carriers complete for you if you decide to stay with sunroof, but I would love to see what one looks like without the hole.

My sedan may sell Tuesday with or without the extra sunroof. I also for sure have extra glass as I have four sets for only 2 B4s (we took out of the B4V Vr6s we were going to race in the 24 Hours of Lemons)

quantum_tdi said:

I may have extra glass & carriers complete for you if you decide to stay with sunroof, but I would love to see what one looks like without the hole.
My sedan may sell Tuesday with or without the extra sunroof. I also for sure have extra glass as I have four sets for only 2 B4s (we took out of the B4V Vr6s we were going to race in the 24 Hours of Lemons)

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Thanks for the offer. I should know by Wednesday which way I am going to attempt to go.

Sunroof/moon roof

I have a b4 sunroof for sale all parts included if needed.
I also have a b3 moon roof all parts are also included if needed. Let me know! None of them leak! All have low miles and the vehicles they are on and were on were taken care of.
Let me know call or text me 406 223 0086

Vwtartsnstuff said:

I have a b4 sunroof for sale all parts included if needed.
I also have a b3 moon roof all parts are also included if needed. Let me know! None of them leak! All have low miles and the vehicles they are on and were on were taken care of.
Let me know call or text me 406 223 0086

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Thanks for the offer. I should know more by Wednesday when the appointment with the adjuster is scheduled.

I was able to get a tarp over the broken glass within 30 minutes of it happening so not much water got in side & was able to get a dehumidifier, fan & tea tree oil inside the next morning. All is dry (per my moisture meter left over from my boat inspection days).

I have printed the know sale prices & asking prices of similar comparable cars in an attempt to substantiate value & in hopes of it becoming a CTL. If any one has any good ones, please PM or email me. Thanks in advance for that.

On Monday & Tuesday, I will swing into a trusted body & headliner shop to get preliminary quotes & review options & anticipated costs. Wish me luck.

Welp someone decided to steal my rear bumper while I was at work! Say what?!!

Anyone have a white one sitting around in California ?

...

kooyajerms said:

Welp someone decided to steal my rear bumper while I was at work! Say what?!!

Anyone have a white one sitting around in California ?

...

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Holy crap! Any chance of security cameras around catching the theft.

kooyajerms said:

Welp someone decided to steal my rear bumper while I was at work! Say what?!!

Anyone have a white one sitting around in California ?

...

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...What? Who the heck steals a bumper? I can't imagine that there would be too many people looking for a rear bumper for a B4V. And it certainly isn't worth anything in scrap...

Being such a specific bumper, I truly hope they had a b4 wagon in white. They took it off in daylight on a Sunday, I really doubt I’ll see that bumper again.
Trying to find any replacement will be tough.

How bad does it look without a bumper? Drive it or park it for months?


(Still can’t get these pictures to be right side up)

kooyajerms said:

...(Still can’t get these pictures to be right side up)

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Looks fine to me.

kooyajerms said:

Welp someone decided to steal my rear bumper while I was at work! Say what?!!

Anyone have a white one sitting around in California ?

...

Click to expand...

That's very odd. You didn't make any enemies recently or antagonize someone unnecessarily?

A B4 is not a car I would expect someone to steal a bumper cover off of. I just can't believe someone spent time driving around trying to find a white B4 to steal the bumper. What are the chances?..unless the car is highly visible where you park it at work.

Very strange indeed.

Steve

I would attend the next few VW car meets in your area and look for a bumper on a B4V that resembles your "old" one.

Any distinctive marks on it?

Someone is going to VW hell...

Nice mod on the cover Todd!

kooyajerms said:

Being such a specific bumper, I truly hope they had a b4 wagon in white. They took it off in daylight on a Sunday

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Worst practical joke ever... I'd park it there next Sunday to see if they 1) put it back or 2) take the front one

Yeah. No thanks.

kooyajerms said:

Being such a specific bumper, I truly hope they had a b4 wagon in white. They took it off in daylight on a Sunday, I really doubt I’ll see that bumper again.
Trying to find any replacement will be tough.

How bad does it look without a bumper? Drive it or park it for months?


(Still can’t get these pictures to be right side up)

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This bumper?? 3A5 807 301 L GRU
https://www.volkswagen-classic-parts.de/en/stossfaenger-03b80b.html

Sure ... but that bumper to the US , and repainted will be close to $800.