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

Thanks for the offer, Steve. Honestly, I've been to the JYs twice, prior to yesterday and I kept forgetting about the latch. There was no way I was paying $30 for a new one.

After looking at my seat, the back is also worn out. It's be easier to just install an entire seat. The JYs are filled with A4, and B5 stuff with very nice seats. I just don't want to go through the work to make one fit.

-Todd

I wish you were closer Todd,I have a full set of dark gray A3 seats that I bought off shortysclimbin years ago that are in nice shape and just sitting in garage rafters.....

Bob, I appreciate it, but if those seats are nice, they're too nice for this car.

Anyhow, I reinstalled the CEL and AB bulb, cleared the codes and everything seems to be off. AB code I saw previously may have been a fluke.... I didn't do anything to correct it.

Drove it about 20 miles and it feels solid. Feels totally different than the B4s.

Next, I need to address the IP leak. I may just replace the head seal insitu. Never did it this way, before.

-Todd

I've done a bunch of head installs with them in the car, they're not bad at all. I have a writeup somewhere on the additions I use. Basically, I use two large thick (non-serrated) paperclips to help keep the new seal off the threaded bolt portions.



Before I install the head seal now I always use an abrasive long pipe cleaner to clean out the groove. On install I lube the o-ring with grease beforehand so it slides into place, I had one early on that didn't quite sit into the groove far enough and it shaved the smallest sliver of o-ring off that I didn't notice at the time. I think a combination of the groove not being clean enough and no grease on the o-ring caused the problem.




The most important thing is to make sure the IP is at max stroke before you release the head and then only release it to the point you absolutely need it, so the shim retains its place with pressure. The head will start to feel slightly wobbly but it's OK.

I'd done about a dozen of them this way before I did one off the car, which is easier. But, not if it's already in the car and the car isn't due for a timing belt.

Feel free to give me a shout with any questions if needed before or during the install, I think you have my number.

Thanks for the tips. I've done some light research and it seems pretty straightforward, but firsthand experience is always helpful.

Did you pull the QA to drain the pump? I was just going to pull the plug at the rear of the pump, or the advance piston cover to drain. I figured catching the fuel with a funnel with some tubing, directed to a container, would be easier.

As a benefit, I'd be able to see when the plunger is at max stroke.

Anyhow, the work never stops. Tonight was the first time that I drove the Rotbox, at night. I never noticed the lights in the boost gauge and climate control panel were out.

Boost gauge had wiring going somewhere, but both the power and ground were bad. Depinned terminals at the HL switch and twisted some wire there, and used Scotchloks at the gauge. Installed LEDs at both locations.

I decided to file the openings at the cluster top, to fit the Subaru bulb bases, a bit better. I was lazy and trimmed quite a bit from the bases, and they weren't grabbing with confidence. With very minor trimming of the base you can use LEDs or bulbs without issue... I'm using LEDs. In their newly filed holes, they'll stay put.

Tomorrow, I'll install the lower glovebox latch, that I sprayed this am. I thought the dash was tan, but the lower half is gray. Used some SEM Honda Black and it blends in, nicely.

-Todd

I do the head seal along with the QA seal, so it's natural to just do them in order. I vacuum the fuel out and dump it in the tank. This way it lets me inspect the inside of the pump as well.

I swapped the head seal today. Upon looking that the pump, there was no way I was getting a funnel under there. I ended up pulling the lid and QA. I noticed the QA was already scribed so someone was here before me.

Buttoned it up and started the car. RPMs steadily rose to 3k and I shut it off. Hammer modded until the RPMs were at about 950RPMs and the car still had a miss. Drove fine, but I knew I needed to set the QA.

Plugged it in and the car was reading less than "1". Hammer modded to 4.8 and VCDS lost communication. Couldn't get it to reconnect and the LED on the dongle won't light up. Tested the port and it tested good, but VCDS was saying the controller wasn't plugged into the car.

At this point, I'm not sure if the controller is bad or the OBD port is bad...

-Todd

That used to happen all the time with my Kii. Shutting everything down would reset it. It doesn't happen with my Hex-Can.

Took advantage of mild weather today and worked on 96 Blue B4V :
- changed engine oil, 4.5 qt Mobil 1 TDT 5w40, and oil filter, Mann
- replaced engine air filter, Genuine VW
- replaced "BK" engine ECU with newer "GQ" model
- installed the engine cover in preparation for colder weather.

If anyone is looking for a "BK" engine ECU feel free to send me PM.
Have 2 "BK" available having replaced the ECU on both cars.

Abacus said:

That used to happen all the time with my Kii. Shutting everything down would reset it. It doesn't happen with my Hex-Can.

Click to expand...

That's good to hear; I've probably used this thing less than 20 times. I plugged just the dongle back in a couples hours later and still no LED. I'll try plugging it into one of the B4s tomorrow....

BTW, when you mentioned the head would get wobbly, you weren't kidding! One thing I'd do differently is to place the head screws at the upper right and lower left, looking at the rear of the IP. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't lift the seal off the lower, right screw. I guess that's why you use the paper clips.

Anyhow, I checked out the IP after a 40 mile drive. I saw a tiny amount of seepage discoloration. Sprayed the head down with brake clean and let it run a few minutes.

It looks like the lower left delivery valve is seeping a tiny bit. I'll try snugging it up tomorrow. If I need to change the copper crush washer, I'm doing them all, the 2 seals in the rear plug and the outer piston cover.

Other than the main shaft, rear piston cover and an unused bolt in the rear, most of the IP is easily resealed on the car. I still prefer doing it off the car, but it's definitely doable.

-Todd

I haven't worked on my cars in some time, so today I felt well enough to try some easy stuff. I've been battling Anaplasmosis from a tick bite for the last week and to say I've been under the weather would be an understatement.

I changed the oil with T6 (my winter oil), change the tranny fluid with a 2:1 blend of Amzoil MTG and Syncromesh, changed the boost control tubing from cloth to silicone, and changed the cabin air filter.




I also changed the badges.




Tomorrow I need to pressure test the intercooler pipe and change the glow plugs. Then it's on to the wagon. For that I need to replace the rear struts and springs, fix the gaping rust hole above the fuel filler, change the rear rotors and bearings, and do a timing belt.

After sitting on ramps for about 3 wks, I_Red got a starter. I had the same lower bolt struggle that many do. Without searching the old posts, I'd still be under it.
Unfortunately, right after the starter install, I'm not getting full disengaging of the clutch. Coincidence or did I mess something up?

I'm thinking you may have some air in there and having it up on ramps moved the air bubble. But remove the slave and check to make sure the ball is still on the end. I've seen some that don't take much to crack off with age. It's only 2 bolts.

The mount/starter and clutch hydraulics are completely separate.

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Today I pressure tested the intercooler and piping, it tested fine to 18 psi and held with no problem, but when I went to 25 psi the end cap blew off so I couldn't check to see if it held pressure. I'm guessing it did. I've been all over it and have not noticed any wet areas or anything out of the ordinary.



I also changed the glow plugs, which didn't look that bad but were pretty old, so I changed them anyway since I had spares on the shelf. None of them looked weird or were covered in soot. The glow plug holes were vacuumed out, new plugs got the Never-Seize treatment and were torqued to 11 ft-lbs.





I reinstalled the Evo plate and went for a test drive. I kept running out of road checking to see if the boost held above 15 psi, but I think it did. I'll know more tomorrow and whether or not it solved my smoking issue. I hope it did.

I cranked on the leaking delivery valve, on the Rotbox. Sprayed it with brake clean and let it run for a few minutes. Still saw seepage, but I began to think it was the rear plug o-ring that was leaking.

Pulled it, used a spare rear plug and did a quick swap, so I didn’t need to reprime the pump. Swapped the washers on the valves. I think I got it...

Still couldn’t get VCDS to connect, updated the firmware and tried again on 3 cars. Still nothing. I called Ross Tech and they think the dongle is bad, since VCDS is seeing the ports, but not lighting the LED. I can trade this in and upgrade, but it’s still going to cost me a minimum of $150, plus shipping both ways...

And I’m seeing foam on the dash and floors...

-Todd

One thing i dislike about working on my A4 is shown pretty well in abacus' picture there...

Do you see how he can actually set things on the upper radiator support and elsewhere in the bay and they dont fall down as soon as you look away? yeah, that's not how the A4's front clip works... ive dropped more tools on the ground this week than in years of wrenching on the red death.

i didnt think the blend door was tooo bad of a job... certainly cleaner than working on anything under the hood. lol. i didnt pull the dash out just loosened it enough to wrestle my way in there to put foil tape on the doors.

My boost issue is not solved. Time to break out the Vag-Com and run some data logs.

I replaced the vacuum line that goes to the wastegate. It is really hard to get that clamp off of the old line. Took me about 20 minutes, but in the end I got it with a wire cutter. Maybe I should have gone in from the bottom. I am hoping to get the IQ set right soon, and start using the car more.

Got under the Rotbox and seam sealed the sheet metal patches, that I installed. They were sealed from the inside months ago, but I guess a bit of overkill won’t hurt anything.

I was thinking of filling the gaping holes in the rockers with some waterproof, expanding foam. Didn’t do anything more than think about it.

I realized the horns didn’t work a couple days ago, and it turned out to be a blown fuse. Not sure why it blew, but those horns are pretty wimpy...

Pulled the lower intercooler hose and was surprised nothing came out... not even a drop.

Bought a new banjo remote case. Original one was deteriorated. Range is absolutely horrible, but I’m too lazy to drop the alarm box. I’m thinking about installing the remote starter, that I bought. Just the basics- remote start, door locks, and horn output.

Spent $12 on a Bluetooth FM transmitter... it’s not terrible and always instantly connects. It’s cheaper than a Bluetooth head unit. Only thing I’d do differently, is to get one with an aux out jack, to improve sound quality.

Also, found out it has a dash button to lock the doors... that was unexpected.

-Todd

A friend of mine bought 3 mk4 tdis and combined them all into one nice car. Ended up with an extra 11mm pump that he couldn't get to hold pressure. He didn't particularly want to get into it, so he simply gave it to me. I wasn't going to complain.

I've been slowly collecting parts to put a bigger turbo on my Jetta and am almost there. After seeing Matt-98AHUs post here, I decided to just toss the 11mm head into my stock AHU pump. Finally committed to it this morning and dove in feet first.

Removed the QA, then vacuumed out as much of the diesel as I could.


Pump heads looked the same to me, but the ALH pump was most definitely an 11mm pump, as least going by the part number.


Pump without the head. My advice is to jack up the driver side of the car while you do this to help hold all the rollers in place.



Mostly reassembled.


I had a bit of a brain fart afterward and spent about a half hour trying to get it started only to realize I didn't think to adjust the IQ. Tapped the QA toward the driver side just a bit and it fired right up and began to run away. Oops. Must have adjusted too far. Tapped it back just a bit and got the IQ set to about 5.5.

I was very surprised that I had to readjust my pump timing afterward. It was WAY off after swapping the head. Enough that the check engine light was on. I'm assuming that it's simply because I had to remove the support bracket off of the driver side of the pump, but not really sure...

Wasn't a HUGE improvement, going off of my ultra-accurate butt dyno; but certainly won't complain since it literally cost me $0 to do. I even had the pump head seal sitting around from the leftovers of a pump seal kit that I got from DieselGeek a few years back. Starts a bit easier, as well.

ToddA1 said:

Got under the Rotbox and seam sealed the sheet metal patches, that I installed. They were sealed from the inside months ago, but I guess a bit of overkill won’t hurt anything.

I was thinking of filling the gaping holes in the rockers with some waterproof, expanding foam. Didn’t do anything more than think about it.

I realized the horns didn’t work a couple days ago, and it turned out to be a blown fuse. Not sure why it blew, but those horns are pretty wimpy...

Pulled the lower intercooler hose and was surprised nothing came out... not even a drop.

Bought a new banjo remote case. Original one was deteriorated. Range is absolutely horrible, but I’m too lazy to drop the alarm box. I’m thinking about installing the remote starter, that I bought. Just the basics- remote start, door locks, and horn output.

Spent $12 on a Bluetooth FM transmitter... it’s not terrible and always instantly connects. It’s cheaper than a Bluetooth head unit. Only thing I’d do differently, is to get one with an aux out jack, to improve sound quality.

Also, found out it has a dash button to lock the doors... that was unexpected.

-Todd

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're getting close to having it buttoned up for a winter beater.

I'm curious, what's the production date of your car? What's the last six digits of your VIN? And finally, is your engine 1Z or AHU and did it have a smooth bodied IP or the waffle IP?

Steve

Impressive, Andrew.

Today I decided to work on the wagon (finally). I removed the blown rear struts and assembled the new Bidstein HD's with HD springs from England.








Unfortunately I have to drop the tank to repair this:



Which ordinarily would be a huge ordeal since the fuel tank straps don't like to budge after 21 years, but W386 and I replaced them with stainless straps last summer, so they'll come out easily.



But even the fuel tank cover didn't want to come off. I used some Kroil and let it sit, but what finally did it was the hand impact driver.




Did I mention how much I hate rust? And speaking of which, I have to repair the floorboards in the wagon (Windex's old one) because there are holes in the floorboards. I'm no stranger to repairing them having done 5 or 6 B4's now, but it's a pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And while I was working on the wagon, my younger brother arrived with his on a ramp truck. He said the rear end was locking up and driving 'funny', so he'd have to counter steer to compensate. Yep, rear axle beam bushings. Oh fun.



So I tore into it to see what was going on. Great, both rear springs are broken as well as a bad wheel bearing on one side and mostly non-working brakes on both sides.





And I just LOVE dealing with rusty bolts.



The bad news is that I took one of the rear Bilstein TC struts off and it started leaking when I removed the spring. It seems the spring was holding the rust in place and when I disturbed it, the strut started leaking oil.

I almost forgot, I also saw this when I jacked it up:



So I'll add it to the list of stuff that needs to be done. I'm always amazed at how quite these cars are with just the cat in place. I just hope the rear brake lines come off when I pull the axle beam to do the bushings.

While these are a pain in the rear at times (like now), they are still great cars and it's nice not having a payment. Still, they are requiring more and more time to keep going and eventually I'm not going to want to fight with them anymore. Until that time I guess I'll keep chugging along playing mechanic.

Stromaluski said:

Wasn't a HUGE improvement, going off of my ultra-accurate butt dyno; but certainly won't complain since it literally cost me $0 to do. I even had the pump head seal sitting around from the leftovers of a pump seal kit that I got from DieselGeek a few years back. Starts a bit easier, as well.

Click to expand...

I’m a bit disappointed to hear that. I’ve gathered a few 11mm pumps, but I haven’t mustered the motivation and bolt them on again.

Steve Addy said:

I'm curious, what's the production date of your car? What's the last six digits of your VIN? And finally, is your engine 1Z or AHU and did it have a smooth bodied IP or the waffle IP?

Click to expand...

Not sure if it’s a 1Z or AHU. I can’t see the marking on the block. Production date is 06/97. It’s a smooth body pump and the last 6 are 090393.

Something on your mind? My donor 97 B4 also has a smooth body pump. Maybe the Rotbox is a 1Z.

Honestly, the car runs great, it’s just stupid little stuff and the rust. I’m almost getting used to the worn out seat. The cruise doesn’t work, but if it’s like my other B4s, the switch just needs to be cleaned. No clue what’s going on with the door locks, but they work when they feel like it.

-Todd

New battery in my B4: the old one was still starting the car, but if it sat outside overnight it might not. It's much happier now.

And I pulled the new ceramic brake pads, cleaned up the backing plates and carrier, and put a little anti-seize on the backing plates where they contact the carrier. They were squeaking a bit when I released the pedal, but didn't seem to be dragging. All quiet now.

Oh, and filled it with fuel. Last fill was Feb. 24th of this year. Guess I should drive it more.

ToddA1 said:

Not sure if it’s a 1Z or AHU. I can’t see the marking on the block. Production date is 06/97. It’s a smooth body pump and the last 6 are 090393.

Something on your mind? My donor 97 B4 also has a smooth body pump. Maybe the Rotbox is a 1Z.

Click to expand...

My car is slightly earlier but IIRC it was built in 06/97 also. The last six of my vin is 078504. I haven't looked at the block marking but the timing cover decal on mine says 1Z and my pump body is smooth, which would be consistent with 1Z engines.

ToddA1 said:

Honestly, the car runs great, it’s just stupid little stuff and the rust. I’m almost getting used to the worn out seat. The cruise doesn’t work, but if it’s like my other B4s, the switch just needs to be cleaned. No clue what’s going on with the door locks, but they work when they feel like it.

-Todd

Click to expand...

My car is a great runner and been super reliable. The body isn't bad but it's spent a significant amount of time inside during the winter months. I need to get it out and wash it before winter gets here. I haven't really driven it since the wagon was put on the road in 2016.

I think both the engines I got from the 98 Jetta tdi's are AHU. The pumps were both waffle. I do remember that one of the 98's had a trunk decal that said 1Z with trans AMC, but we know that that particular trans was not correct so I question the decal info on that one.

Steve

Always fun to see broken springs. I remember when mine failed while doing 100MPH on the highway. Interesting times

ToddA1 said:

Stromaluski said:

Wasn't a HUGE improvement, going off of my ultra-accurate butt dyno; but certainly won't complain since it literally cost me $0 to do. I even had the pump head seal sitting around from the leftovers of a pump seal kit that I got from DieselGeek a few years back. Starts a bit easier, as well.

Click to expand...

I’m a bit disappointed to hear that. I’ve gathered a few 11mm pumps, but I haven’t mustered the motivation and bolt them on again.

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, there's a noticeable improvement and I would do it again in a minute. I just had it in my mind that it would make more difference than it did. I will say, though, that it was 35 degrees this morning, and it started up like it was 70 degrees outside. It was quite nice.

It didn't even take as long as I was expecting. Easily doable in a couple hours if you know what you're doing. I took the 11mm pump apart and reassembled a few times just to familiarize myself with the process since I'd never taken apart a pump before.

Abacus said:

Impressive, Andrew.

Click to expand...

Not nearly as impressive as all of your posts. After a few weeks of doing the amount of work you do on them, I'd be giving up and selling everything to buy a Camry.

Stromaluski said:

A friend of mine bought 3 mk4 tdis and combined them all into one nice car. Ended up with an extra 11mm pump that he couldn't get to hold pressure. He didn't particularly want to get into it, so he simply gave it to me. I wasn't going to complain.

I've been slowly collecting parts to put a bigger turbo on my Jetta and am almost there. After seeing Matt-98AHUs post here, I decided to just toss the 11mm head into my stock AHU pump. Finally committed to it this morning and dove in feet first.

I was very surprised that I had to readjust my pump timing afterward. It was WAY off after swapping the head. Enough that the check engine light was on. I'm assuming that it's simply because I had to remove the support bracket off of the driver side of the pump, but not really sure...

Wasn't a HUGE improvement, going off of my ultra-accurate butt dyno; but certainly won't complain since it literally cost me $0 to do. I even had the pump head seal sitting around from the leftovers of a pump seal kit that I got from DieselGeek a few years back. Starts a bit easier, as well.

Click to expand...

I had wondered whether there was a simpler way of adapting the 11mm function without all the adaptation at the bracket etc. This confirms my initial thoughts, that you could basically combine guts to get the bigger pump functionality.

Some of your limitation or disappointment might be due to injector restriction? Think of it as a hose nozzle, you put more pressure behind that but the opening at the end didn't change in size.

Glad to see you did this and succeeded. I have an 11mm pump that I can't decide what to do with. I have an extra AHU/1Z pump bracket I was going to have milled for the larger front but was never really excited about doing all this, I'm really happy not having anything but regular maintenance to do at this point. This makes the process of getting the 11mm pump much simpler.

Nice work!

Steve

Steve Addy said:

I had wondered whether there was a simpler way of adapting the 11mm function without all the adaptation at the bracket etc. This confirms my initial thoughts, that you could basically combine guts to get the bigger pump functionality.

Some of your limitation or disappointment might be due to injector restriction? Think of it as a hose nozzle, you put more pressure behind that but the opening at the end didn't change in size.

Glad to see you did this and succeeded. I have an 11mm pump that I can't decide what to do with. I have an extra AHU/1Z pump bracket I was going to have milled for the larger front but was never really excited about doing all this, I'm really happy not having anything but regular maintenance to do at this point. This makes the process of getting the 11mm pump much simpler.

Nice work!

Steve

Click to expand...

As I mentioned, all the credit should go to Matt-98AHU for his post earlier in this thread. I simply followed his footsteps.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=5234373&postcount=6267

My limitation is almost certainly due to my current setup. I am already on the verge of being over-fueled without the 11mm pump, as I currently have DLC1019s with a Malone Stage 3 and a stock turbo. So adding more fuel probably won't do a whole lot, except for create more smoke.

As posted above, I replaced the battery in my B4, formerly Jack (BRUSSELS BELGIUM here). I took the core to IDParts to return to the dealer. When I put it up on the dock I saw that Jack marked it when it was installed.


10+ years isn't too bad, especially since this car has sat a fair amount during that time. I'm going to miss Varta batteries.