Today I pulled my back up plan (BUP) B4 TDI sedan into the garage onto the Rhino Ramps to accomplish three tasks. First, I wanted to remove the 4 old and tired Runway RWT-1 snow tires on factory steel rims (that I mounted when my DD started leaking G12) and remount the excellent condition Kumho Solus KH16 tires mounted on OEM/Votex 7 spoke mag wheels. Next, while the front wheels were off, I wanted to mount front wheel splash guards (aka mud flaps) which I never got around to doing after the 2015 eBay sight unseen purchase. And, finally, while up in the air, I would remove the plastic belly pan and investigate the source of an engine oil leak.
I bought the new OEM front splash guards, ZVW-166-305, from Quirk Parts on eBay. Here is what my driver's side looks after being mounted on my BUP:
Here is what my previous project car's front fender well looked like without the benefit of front splash guards for 18 years:
Coincidentally, with so much rust, I decided to donate that B4 TDI to the National Veterans Service Fund for a $500 credit on my 2016 Federal Taxes, although, in hindsight, the street legal rolling ride was worth more than that. Life is short however, and I'm not getting any younger pushing 67 years old.
I have an extra set of new, unopened OEM front splash guards and a set of used front splash guards, minus packaging and hardware, shown here. PM if interested.
As far as I'm concerned, the rear splash guards are pure Bling. They look cool and nicely flaunt the VW logo, but offer little protection and are hard to come by these days. The two sets that I've purchased for my DD and BUP were bought on eBay UK. The P/N is: 3A5-075-101. Vanity is expensive. I paid $68.00 for a set of rear mud flaps in 2013. Shown here:
My most important improvement to both my DD and my BUP was the addition of LED lights for both B4's. I went to this web site:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/veh...hicle-led-lights?make=79&model=1252&year=1997
I ordered: LED tail light bulbs, LED back up light bulbs, LED brake (STOP) light bulbs, and LED license plate light bulbs for both rides. I avoided flashing bulbs, e.g. turn signals, etc. for the moment. I wanted to see what level of difference I was going to visually achieve. So far, so good; I have much greater visibility, and hopefully I reduce the risk of getting hit.
When installing the upgraded LED license plate bulbs, I found that some bulb sockets simply fell apart. I ordered some used from eBay and new from Jim Ellis VW in Atlanta, shown here:
Also, a couple of the license plate light lenses were opaque, and basically toast, so I found new items available from Jim Ellis VW, shown here:
So now I can more easily be seen from the rear with bright LED lights, but it looks like I need to replace the O ring on my oil cooler if I want to slow down my oil leak.
Doing my part to keep IDParts and the global economy running. Jeff