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

97B4TDi said:

Thanks Steve

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Sorry to say the only thing he has left is a front bumper cover, and he said that's not much to look at, he said otherwise there might be something there but he doesn't know about it. It's an old school gymnasium taken over by a parts / car hoarder so I would guess you know what that means...lol.

At any rate I'm going to guess from your fuelly photo that your car is black?

Holmes Auto Recycling in Oshkosh says they have one. $30
Hayward Auto Salvage in Hayward says they have a green one. $30
Auto and Scrap Recyclers in Milwaukee say they have a burgundy one. $call

Whether these guys are selling the complete front or just the grille insert I cannot say, and whether they have the whole thing or anything at this point I cannot say, but they are listed on car-parts.com for midwest search on grille 96 Passat. There are also some places in Michigan that have stuff too and MN as well. The ones that actually list a color I'm guessing are selling the complete trim with grille insert. In any event you will want to ask so you don't end up surprised.

When you say that the metal can be bent back do you mean the actual upper radiator support? Those are not all that tough to replace if you wanted to replace that as well.

Anyway, those are some options that I found, if you check car-part.com you can search as well and see what's available. There are some MN options too that would be easier / closer than getting something out of Michigan maybe too, you will have to look and see.

Hope this helps!

Steve

Rotbox got some attention.

It has 2 leaking snow tires. Pulled the wheels and inspected them for obvious stuff like nails, cuts, dry rot, etc.. Nothing seen, so they were sprayed down with soapy water and still nothing seen. Probably corrosion at the bead... the worse wheel loses about 15psi in 3 days. I may add some Slime. Never used it before, but it gets decent reviews.

Power steering was suddenly very jerky. Checked the belt, and tension seemed ok, but the belt definitely needs to be changed. Added a bit more tension and it fixed the issue, at least for now....

Since I had the car in the air, I slipped some cardboard in, between the rad and condenser.

Investigated the sudden loss of power at the lighter sockets. I remember running an additional socket and line, but didn’t remember how I ran it. Pulled the center console and green wire changed color, so I’d never have remember that. Turned out to be a bad connection at a Scotchlok tap. Easily fixed, but it was behind the HVAC controls.

I find it odd that the rear interior lights don’t come on with the dome light. VW really cheaped out on this car... I may run some wire and diodes, to change that.

-Todd

Back to the Rotbox. Bought 24oz of Slime for $10. Bottle recommends 20oz for a car tire, but since I didn’t have a puncture I dumped in 6oz., in the worst tire. I then found the leak at the valve stem base, not at the core where I applied a dollop of spit.

Decided to check the other leaking tire and same deal.




I had the wheel off the car, so I flipped the wheel from face down to face up a few times to ensure the stem seat was coated. Bolted the wheel on the car and idled around the neighborhood in first gear. I didn’t want centrifugal force keeping the Slime slung to the outside tread. Let goop and drip all over.... it seemed to have worked... no more bubbles at the stem base!

I have slight shimmy at 50+ mph. Tried to vacuum the left over Slime out, but I probably got less than a tablespoon out. I read one review that mentioned the same, but they said after a few minutes, the shimmy disappeared. I guess I’ll see what happens.

I’ll wait and see if the leak is actually fixed, before doing the other wheel.

Found a used PS belt in the shed. Not great, but better than what was on the Rotbox, so it was swapped.

More paint was flaking off the passenger door, so I did some “rust repair”. Acetone and a nylon brush, followed up with Rustoleum gloss black. Warm it with a torch, then apply another coat. Decided to do the rear area, too. Good as new!








May as well do the driver side. No prep was needed...










Rear door molding was falling off, so I ran another self tapping screw to hold it on. The bit slipped and I scratched the paint with the drill.... show car, no more.

When I bought this car, I never planned on a restoration....

Wired the rear map lights to the front dome light. Depinned the grounds at the rear lights and now they turn on when any of the doors are opened. One light wouldn’t stay in the “on position, so the light was disassembled and the contact was CAed closed.

The rears don’t have the delayed off feature, nor can they be turned on as map lights, but it’s better than it was.

-Todd

Car turned 260K two days ago. Did an oil change and swapped out air filters too. Replaced a splitting intercooler coupler, but I still have a boost leak I need to track down. New fuel map, setup opposite of how everyone talks about doing, is better than a hammer mod.

Is that car still structurally safe?

lisab4 said:

Is that car still structurally safe?

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Lol, I’m guessing that’s directed at me.

The rot appears to be attacking the outer portion of the rockers, small portions of the floors, and the lower portions of the doors. I could probably rip the outer rockers off, with my bare hands.

The parts I’m concerned about are the inner rockers. In my mind, they’re still structurally functioning as angle iron would.

The other unibody parts such as the inner fenders, A, B, C pillars, suspension points and roof are fine. I think the only salvageable body panels are the grill, hood and trunk.

Until I start to feel or hear strange noises, see body gaps changing, or doors opening and closing with difficulty, I’m keeping it on the road.

This year, I think I think I started driving it, to test the heated seats, a few weeks ago. It’ll be taken off the road in March or when the snow ends. I still drive the B4s, when there’s no snow on the ground.

I thought about shooting some Fluid Film in the rockers, but this car is too far gone. Maybe I will...who knows. It’s a shame this car’s cancer is so bad... it runs and drives perfectly.

In other news, it seems like the steering wheel shimmy, due to the Slime, is practically gone. I can’t really tell if what’s still there is wheel imbalance or vibration, due to the snow tire tread.

-Todd

That rust isnt bad at all.... I grew up in Mn and cars there lose 50% of structure to rust and keep going....

Within the last week I've done pass side lower ball joint, wheel bearing, inner and outer tie rod, Timing belt, N75, CCV breather tube, coolant flange, and the air filter. All that's left is the oil cooler O-ring, cabin air filter and check the IP timing on the VCDS.

White B4 has a leaking valve cover. Even with new seals all around. I'll pull the spare to see if it fixes it, but I just finished fuel, oil, and air filter changeout at ~370 K miles. Going to do some overdue brake fluid flushing on mine after I wake up, with Typ 200 going in next week and I might have time to do the same on the white one too, maybe. Need to track down a boost leak on mine first.

Replaced thermostat and cooling hoses.... On test drive to get all air out of system, all of a sudden a loud ticking/clanking noise.. Sounds like lifter on right side of engine...Thermo was stuck open, car never reached operating temp... im sure it had been that way for many 1000's of miles...

Could this new noise be related to reaching operating temp??? I will have to get a knowledgeable ear to listen..... Just when I thought I had it ready for some cruisin.....

I also just replaced ip head oring recently, could it be related to that?? I have a vag, would it throw a code????

Could be a stuck hydraulic lifter. Get the car up to operating temp and give it a couple WOT jaunts, if that’s the cause. The increased oil pressure can clear them out. I’ve had it happen once, but identifying the locality and type of sound (metal on metal?) helps diagnostics.

ToddA1 said:

In other news, it seems like the steering wheel shimmy, due to the Slime, is practically gone. I can’t really tell if what’s still there is wheel imbalance or vibration, due to the snow tire tread.

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The Rotbox just completed a 400 mile round trip, and the shimmy is gone. I was pacing traffic on the NJ TP, which eludes to 65+mph speeds.

Returning home, I lost the brakes 30 miles from home. Pedal went straight to the floor, but came back with 1 pump. Brakes felt normal for the rest of the trip.

As I got closer to home, I started testing at traffic lights. Pedal would hold great pressure, then drop after a few seconds.... it did this repeatedly. When I got to my driveway, I really laid into the pedal. Pedal dropped to the floor and never recovered. I looked under the car and saw a large puddle. I also saw a trail, of brake fluid coming down the street. Brake line ruptured, going to the left rear. Parked it for the night.

Seems there’s heavy rust at every body clip, under the car. Clips were pulling the floor away, as I was trying to free the line. Galvanic corrosion at both rear wheels, required some heavy persuasion, with a 4lb dead blow hammer. Wire wheeled the wheel center bores and drum mating surfaces, then smeared on some antiseize.

Ended up adding a union at a clean, vertical section of line, near the DP. Flared a new length of line and ran it to the prop valve. Power bled the system and all is better... pedal feels less spongy, although it wasn’t terrible, prior to. The old fluid was pretty dark and filled with debris.

Wire brushed and inspected the right line, at the body clips and everything looked ok, for now. Shot some Fluid Film, on the clip areas.

Added 6oz. of Slime to the other leaking wheel. Valve stem is still leaking, so it may need some time to coat everything. Should have stored the bottle indoors to make it thinner.

-Todd

These b4’s are already becoming tedious, dealing with all the issues of excessive rust would drive me nuts.

Replaced upper and lower O-rings in the vacuum pump on the black B4 sedan

TDIL3dad said:

Replaced upper and lower O-rings in the vacuum pump on the black B4 sedan

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Did you also replace the one on the mating slot inside?

I started having to pump my brakes once to get sufficient stopping pressure this morning, and they seem to leak down slowly at a standstill as well. Already ordered a new Master Cylinder, I guess the seals just aren't going to last another winter.

Also finally got around to changing the oil cooler O-ring a couple weeks back and now I'm not leaving a puddle everywhere I go. It was surprisingly easy, but the internal pipe wrench is a must. Glad I bought a set of them on sale at Amazon several months ago!

Internal pipe wrenches help, but aren’t a must. I pull the cooler portion down a bit, and lightly grab the unthreaded portion of the filter stud with a set of locking pliers. Never had an issue with this method.

-Todd

Abacus said:

Did you also replace the one on the mating slot inside?

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Thanks for the tip Mark -- didn't know about that one. A quick search shows VW part number as 068 145 117B. Is this correct?

ToddA1 said:

Internal pipe wrenches help, but aren’t a must. I pull the cooler portion down a bit, and lightly grab the unthreaded portion of the filter stud with a set of locking pliers. Never had an issue with this method.

-Todd

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That's how I do it too, that way you don't have to fuss with the cooler hoses.

Steve

I use the internal pipe wrench after buggering up an over tightened shaft with the pliers. The cooler hoses aren't in the way and are easily long enough to move without disconnecting. Using the internal pipe wrench is easier I think because then the oil cooler doesn't have to be moved down as much.

TDIL3dad said:

Thanks for the tip Mark -- didn't know about that one. A quick search shows VW part number as 068 145 117B. Is this correct?

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Yes. It's internal but an important seal to keep the pressure up so the vacuum pump/oil pump socket doesn't get worn like this:






Because this is what they should look like:

ToddA1 said:

Internal pipe wrenches help, but aren’t a must. I pull the cooler portion down a bit, and lightly grab the unthreaded portion of the filter stud with a set of locking pliers. Never had an issue with this method.

-Todd

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Hmm... never would have thought of that myself, but it does seem easier to me personally with the internal wrench. At first I thought I would be able to drop the cooler off the pipe without removing either the pipe or the hoses, but didn't happen.

Maybe by a little bit, but I can’t imagine much. The pliers are just breaking it loose, then it’s hand tight.

The Rotbox got a flat in the rear. The tire has 2 bubbles on the inside, so I’m curious if I caused the tire damage with the dead blow, a couple weeks ago. I really needed to lay into, it to get the wheel off, and I’ll admit that I missed the edge of the actual wheel a couple times.

If I didn’t cause it, I’d have been stranded, since I would never have been able to get the wheel off, due to the corrosion, to install the spare...

Anyhow, I’m now shopping for at least 2 snow tires.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

Maybe by a little bit, but I can’t imagine much. The pliers are just breaking it loose, then it’s hand tight.

The Rotbox got a flat in the rear. The tire has 2 bubbles on the inside, so I’m curious if I caused the tire damage with the dead blow, a couple weeks ago. I really needed to lay into, it to get the wheel off, and I’ll admit that I missed the edge of the actual wheel a couple times.

If I didn’t cause it, I’d have been stranded, since I would never have been able to get the wheel off, due to the corrosion, to install the spare...

Anyhow, I’m now shopping for at least 2 snow tires.

-Todd

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I doubt it, I've missed several times on my Dakota with a very stuck back wheel and didn't bulge the tire a bit.

Steve

Well, I suppose that makes me feel a little better.

I remembered that I have a set of snow tires on Rondos, so I need to look at them, before I spend any money.

-Todd

The winter tires on the Rondos were subjective. 2 Blizzaks, were reaching the end of their treadlife. The Kellys had great tread left, but I was seeing cracking at the sidewalks. The tread blocks reminded me of old Army Jeep tires. These came with the B4V, so they’re at least 10 years old.

I probably could have gotten away with one more season, but I decided to get a new set. Winter Claw- Arctic Claw Winter XSi... some research said they were Coopers, made in China... marketed under many different names. I went to the store to look at them; they’re made in Europe, and bear the 3 peaked mountain with snowflake icon.

I decided to get a set. Going from 195/55/15 to 185/65/14 reduced the cost pretty dramatically. With instant rebates and discounts I ended up with a set for under $165 mounted and balanced. They’re still in the trunk of the Rotbox.

Trying to figure out what to do with the 3 Coopers, on the Sebrings. Tread still looks great, but Cooper discontinued the Weathermaster ST2, and after reading reviews I want a complete set again. Been searching for the past few nights to find a spare tire.

Interestingly enough, Cooper told me winter tires are made to order. The dealers place their orders in the spring, tires go into production, then they’re shipped out. No more winter tires are made, until the following year.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

The winter tires on the Rondos were subjective. 2 Blizzaks, were reaching the end of their treadlife. The Kellys had great tread left, but I was seeing cracking at the sidewalks. The tread blocks reminded me of old Army Jeep tires. These came with the B4V, so they’re at least 10 years old.
I probably could have gotten away with one more season, but I decided to get a new set. Winter Claw- Arctic Claw Winter XSi... some research said they were Coopers, made in China... marketed under many different names. I went to the store to look at them; they’re made in Europe, and bear the 3 peaked mountain with snowflake icon.
I decided to get a set. Going from 195/55/15 to 185/65/14 reduced the cost pretty dramatically. With instant rebates and discounts I ended up with a set for under $165 mounted and balanced. They’re still in the trunk of the Rotbox.
Trying to figure out what to do with the 3 Coopers, on the Sebrings. Tread still looks great, but Cooper discontinued the Weathermaster ST2, and after reading reviews I want a complete set again. Been searching for the past few nights to find a spare tire.
Interestingly enough, Cooper told me winter tires are made to order. The dealers place their orders in the spring, tires go into production, then they’re shipped out. No more winter tires are made, until the following year.
-Todd

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Even if the sidewalls have some cracking, if it's not too bad I would still run them for the short amount of time that they're needed. In addition I would check the date code to see exactly how old they are but even in that case I have had 10 yo tires that are still ok.

If the cracking is minor then I see no reason not to use them. I know there are some people out there who are not comfortable doing that but sometimes I think there's a degree of paranoia with regard to tires even though I accept the fact that tire quality seems to be sliding some, at least with the lower priced tires.

I wouldn't toss the Cooper tires even though you now only have three, perhaps you can replace two of them with new model new next season?

Steve

The Kellys are gone. I have tires behind the shed that I need to go through. Some are good and some are bad. Over the summer, I bought a set of tires for the wagon... I could have saved some money, if I’d thought to look. Long story short, I’m trying to clear some stuff out.

The new tires are still in the trunk, but I took a look at them this morning. These are made in the USA. The tire I was shown was the same brand and model, but a different size. Wasn’t expecting that.

No plans to get rid of the 3 Coopers, especially now. Last night, I was doing more searching. I don’t remember how I found it, but the Weathermaster appeared at Discount Tire Direct, as “call for inventory”. I tried searching this morning, before going to work, but I couldn’t find it again. It didn’t show on their site under brand, size, etc.

I called and they had 1 in stock. I got a 30% discount and ordered it. I probably have at least 4-5 hours into searching for this tire. I may have found the last one out there.

The Evolution replaced the Weathermaster, and it doesn’t come in 195/55/15. I originally thought I’d have to order a pair of another brand. The Blizzaks and Kellys worked fine, together. I was looking at Antares winter tires, before I chose the Artic Claws.

-Todd

Gave "the beast" a good wash and emulsified the salt on the under body.


I was recently educated that these car wash "salt buster" packages are simply soap and water.. the brine they use around our area sticks to the underside of our vehicles and soap and water won't touch it.. once the salt/brine gets warm and/or wet it is actually reactivated.

We do vehicle detailing along side graphics, etc and found a chemical which emulsifies the brine & salt.

While underneath the Passat this fall putting Fluid Film on my brake lines and other items I noticed the salt/brine took quite the toll under there.


Looking forward to seeing how this emulsifier works this spring.

vacuum hoses under the hood, oil change, wash.