MN Chat Thread

i'm going to be down at my parents for ~12 days. gonna do some work on the car, including trying out my new motive brake bleeder. i'll be in long lake starting this saturday.... got ramps, 4 jack stands and various tools

Thanks burpod. I'm currently trying to work something out with FarmBoy but if that doesn't pan out, then I'll be heading out to Long Lake.

no problem - let me know - if you don't need to borrow mine, maybe i'd come up and meet you guys anyhow. all i need to do is feed the cats and make sure the chickens are in at night while my parents are away. my todo list, which i've been procrastinating on is pd134 oil cooler install, oil change (506.01 time), bleed brakes and rotate tires - something i'd like to do all at once while i have my car up on stands. i also want to remove my alientech put door panel back together and wire up a harness for my hitch...

well i'm down at my parents in long lake now. started doing some work - got my car up on jack stands, front wheels off, skidplate off, drained all the oil (via pela and drained from pan). next comes pd134 oil cooler install (going to buy a T-valve at napa for $1.50 so i can patch together 2 pieces of heater hose together to make the bend i need, i think), switch to 506.01, brake bleeding, diesel purge, and rotate the tires - a bunch of salty cruddy buildup around the hubs on my alloys. also need to make a couple more cuts to my lower valence plastic piece so i don't have to take that off to get at the front skidplate bolts. if anyone wants to meet up i'll be here for 12-14 days. i'd like to vag-com my car and get some logs, i still haven't gotten a dual-boot windows/linux laptop yet so no vag-com (i have the cable tho)

Burpod - I have a P3 notebook w/software you can use (cable, too, but you say you've got one, a spare never hurts, though) . . . I'm heading out of town mid-morning Tuesday, but may not be in a good position to get to Long Lake to drop off before then due to a backlog of tasks.

If you have spare wheels, depending on factors, you are welcome to come by my work(bloomington) or home(shakopee) to get the notebook.

PM me to trade info, if you wish.

I'm on my way back from Kansas City, and the tailwind is giving me an exceptional tank - I'll post numbers when I get home. Right now, I am at the rest area at exit 159 on I-35 in Iowa.

(8:49pm CDT) I got home about 7:00 tonight after getting 56 mpg.

greengeeker said:

Thanks burpod. I'm currently trying to work something out with FarmBoy but if that doesn't pan out, then I'll be heading out to Long Lake.

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Greengeeker-
There is a gentleman who lives down the road from me that used to work as a mechanic for Countryside VW for years, now works out of his polebuilding at home. I don't have his card with me at work, but if you want his number, I can get it for you.
Less than 10 minutes west of Cambridge, about 1/2 way to Harris.

You might want to contact him.

CADtechTDi said:

Less than 10 minutes west of Cambridge, about 1/2 way to Harris.

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I think that would make it east of Camb. Thanks but I have a hard time paying someone else to work on my car...so I'll have to pass on having someone else do it (I'm assuming if he works out of his polebarn he's not of the tdiclub mentality that lets people just use their tools). I'll take his contact info if you have it - just in case.

Thanks again.

Sam how many miles on the Jetta?

I think 112K, I'm falling behind now that I have the truck. 122K on that, 13K are mine, in a year.

What do you have on the Passat?

53,000 plus change.

greengeeker said:

I think that would make it east of Camb. Thanks but I have a hard time paying someone else to work on my car...so I'll have to pass on having someone else do it (I'm assuming if he works out of his polebarn he's not of the tdiclub mentality that lets people just use their tools). I'll take his contact info if you have it - just in case.

Thanks again.

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Douh - east of Cambridge is correct - sorry 'bout the typo.

I hear you about trusting/paying others. I haven't contacted him about any paying work either. If I do, I'd definately ask him to let me be there for the work - to assist if he'd let me, or at least watch to monitor work.
Obviously, he likes VWs alot to keep on wrenching on them, even after retirement. Or perhaps it's simply an addiction...

Sam are you going to Montreal for the Fest?

CADtechTDi said:

Or perhaps it's simply an addiction...

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Or perhaps poor financial planning... j/k. I know I'll be wrenching on cars when I'm retired - what else am I going to do?

With my new Job DB, I don't get to take off Labor Day weekend.

800 mile club!

my wife and i just went on a long road trip, and i was hoping to enter the 700 mile club...i was pleasantly surprised on a stretch from NJ to IL to see my trip odometer to rise above 700 with plenty of fuel left. hit 802 miles on 15.58 gallons, for a nice 51 mpg!

is there an 'official' 800 mile club, i.e. a thread for this? having trouble finding it.

1) http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=28054

2) http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=131509

Here are two that I found - they are at the top of the list for replies (#1 having the most). Take your pick, either way...nice work!

Always the wagon mojo. I'm thrilled just to get 600 out of the slushbox.

I'm hoping the Viking Rob got into the 800 mile club coming back from MO.

Minnesota newbie with oil change questions

My wife bought a '06 Jetta TDI a month ago. It has 15,000 miles on it and I want to change the oil. The owner's manuals are not helpful at all and downright discourage you from changing your own oil.


I am a car buff (I do all the own work on my '80 Corvette resto-mod), but these TDIs are new to me.


My first question is about oil. I am going to change the oil in my father-in-law's '93 Dodge Cummins pickup using Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel oil (11 quarts and a filter the size of a coffee can).

Can you buy 505.01 oil anywhere around the Twin Cities, especially the norther suburbs? (We live in Columbus, SW of Forest Lake.)
If not, should I use the same Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel oil?
What oil do you use in your PD?
What does the dealer put in? (Schmelz's Countryside)

Also, I read about draining the oil from the oil heat exchanger. Does anybody have pictures and tips for oil changes? I haven't had her car on the lift yet, so I don't even know where the filter is yet. Of course, the owner's manuals don't dare show any pictures because then owners might be tempted to DIY.


Are there any shop manuals available for '06 Jettas?

was the oil changed at 5k and 10k with 505.01 certified oil? no need for a 15k oil change if that's the case. the rest of the oil changes are at 10k intervals. you can get castrol TXT 505.01 for ~$7/l iirc at the dealer (luther westside), or you can order 3 5L jugs from tdiparts.com for a good price and free shipping of elf 505.01 (or get the good stuff the 506.01 but it's about twice as expensive but should allow for extended oil change intervals).

do not use anything other than vw rated 505.01 oil (or 506.01/507)!!

there's a number of TDI'ers in the metro area - i'm in long lake. there are others closer to you, but i've got a pela oil extractor - it's the easiest way to change the oil - suck it out the dipstick tube. it will get as much or more oil out than by draining alone. you can do both if you really want to. the oil filter is right in front of the engine up on top (no need to crawl underneath to get at it ). there is no need to drain the oil from the cooler. you can suck out almost all the oil out of the oil filter housing and cooler using the pela, after that barely any is left.

check out the videos on the top of the page "support the tdiclub get a timing belt video" - it shows how to do the pela oil change.

Thanks for the reply Burpod.
The previous owner had the oil changed at the dealer (Countryside) at 10,000. 10,000 miles between oil changes seems like a lot to me, but if the TDI veterans say that's good enough for them, it's good enough for me. The Pela vacuum oil pump looks like a handy tool.

I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.

try and get reciepts for which oil was used. if it's not 505.01 i would change your own right away...

also, remember the "veteran" status really doesn't mean anything. once someone has made 100 posts (how this forum is setup), they become a "veteran". join date is a better reading, but even then, you need to take everything with a grain of salt. i'm by no means a veteran - but i've learned alot thru this forum. you just need to read all the points of view and make your own choices. however, the OCI's and certified oil is pretty much not up for dispute, at least as far as warranty is concerned.

i just recently learned the other day the pela 6500 doesn't require two hands to pump - however, it won't fit into the trunk of a jetta (it's too tall). there are other good extractors out there as well.

I can back up what BP is saying, the more you read on the site you will know too.

Welcome to the MN group!

columbus i live in linwood if you want to see how the top side works i have one, top side is the best way to go i did my first top side change then i pulled the plug only a small amout draind out.

Pm me if you need a hand, welcome

Spamjohnson said:

I'm hoping the Viking Rob got into the 800 mile club coming back from MO.

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Filled up on the way home and got 56 mpg - wanted to see what the actual numbers were. I filled up in the KC area, the needle did not get off full until Des Moines.

jmarv said:

columbus i live in linwood if you want to see how the top side works i have one, top side is the best way to go i did my first top side change then i pulled the plug only a small amout draind out.

Pm me if you need a hand, welcome

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Hey! We're almost neighbors. Where do you get you VW serviced? My wife had a 2000 Passat 4-motion and always went to Countryside. Any place closer?

I see you have a Cummins diesel truck too. I don't own one, but I have my father-in-law's '93 with 50K miles on it.

The wifes bug is still under warranty i do al the service work on mine
she has had some problems with countryside.(just minor window they took three trips to fix.
My 96 ram has 50k

If you need help I do have 5 Quarts of the Castrol 505.01 that I can sell you. $6.00 per quart.

I am new to this forum. I have been reading this for a few months and I have learned alot about TDIs. I have a 04 Jetta with 80500 miles on it. I have a question about rims, I put some new ones on there that are pretty heavy compared to the factory ones and I am wondering if that has anything to do with gas milage or is it bad for the engine? Sorry if this is a dumb question.