First 5 modifications? 2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed.

Hello. I have purchased a 2004 Jetta TDI 1.9 BEW with a 5 speed. It has 144k miles, and overall well maintained. The timing was done at 70k miles. It already has upgraded Audi TT suspension and a metal skid plate. I would like to hear opinions on which upgrades / maintenance should come first? Factory clutch, factory turbo..

Thanks in advance!!

Everybody's first mod should be a ventectomy. Then maybe snow screen-ectomy.
After that do a brake service and fluid change.
For performance a tune really wakes up the BEW. Last place, mufflerectomy?

If everything is currently working the first things I would do is a complete maintenance service. All fluids/filters, brakes, tires, wipers and such. Before doing anything else get it in great shape first. I personally would save the tune money. That money is better spent on fuel or repairs than tuning, IMHO. After a month or so you won't notice it most of the time. If you are actually using the power it gives, you will pay in fuel economy anyway. when the older cars only had 90hp it was worth it. But they already have more than that now and are pretty peppy on their own as is. A tune won't make it a race car burner anyway.

Jeffpetry said:

Hello. I have purchased a 2004 Jetta TDI 1.9 BEW with a 5 speed. It has 144k miles, and overall well maintained. The timing was done at 70k miles. It already has upgraded Audi TT suspension and a metal skid plate. I would like to hear opinions on which upgrades / maintenance should come first? Factory clutch, factory turbo..
Thanks in advance!!

Click to expand...

Well
you are about due if not PAST due for a timing belt job. The service life on it is 80K miles or 5 years of service regardless or where it was parked or how it was or was not driven. So i highly suspect its at or past 5 years of life. even if its not, get ready to do the job.
I dont care who it was, your mother, or osama next door. Change all the fluids, PERIOD. Trans, Engine and filter, Brake fluid full flush (ATE 200 is my choice), Power Steering, Coolant. All of these fluids life is no more than 5 years on some and some even at 1 to 2 years at best.

Hawks HPS Pads or Bindex are amazing.
Get some really good summer tires, 350 UTQG or no more than 400 if you daily and shop around for some bridgestone winter tires and cheep wheels.

Keep your stock air intake box and filter, NO not use anything othe than OEM style filters, MANN is a high quality and Fram oil filters are JUNK, mobile one filters are really good. More pleats.

Rainx wiper fluid FTW also.

Any mods past a basic tune will require a clutch upgrade, once you go that path, a good set of nozzles and a good turbo will go a long way.

Fluids and maintenance to start. I know, boring, but if you want to give it every chance to live a long life, stay on top of it.
Remember to use the right oil.

As for the tire point... I know some parts of WA almost never go over 80*F and are wet a lot of the year. Pick tires accordingly. True summer tires may not suit your needs, but even if they don't, don't skimp on tires.. I've always liked the Michelin Guardian/Defender series of all-seasons, they treated me very well in Colorado.

I would echo using a quality OE-style air filter. The good ones may be a few extra $ but I'd like to think your engine is worth it.

Once all the not-so-exciting stuff is brought up to snuff, you could look at an entry-level tune if you want to keep the factory clutch for now. I am not sure if Malone does it (they very well may) but I know kermatdi will give you updated tunes to match your new parts if you get the parts from them. Say you get a Stage 1 or similar now, then a year down the road you buy a clutch from them, they will most likely be willing to bump up the tune to go with the beefier clutch.

Just some thoughts.

to note how tire3s work, anything over 45*F is considered a "summer tire" Ideally over 50 but winter tires do not work well past 45*F
Anything over 350UTQG is more of an all purpose summer tire (a tire that is Not a winter or a all season.
The only real reason for this is that where OP lives, Snow is a big deal and winter tires are a must imo hence why all seasonal are pointless. Its not hard to change tires, takes 20 minutes. and the benefits are HUGE. you dont need epic brakes if you have really good tires.

Agree with all the points raised about making sure that all regular maintenance is up to date, and the car is in good running condition.


Fresh fluids and filters are at the top of the list.


Then get out there and just drive it! There is nothing like some time behind the wheel to identify smaller issues that may require attention.


As for performance mods, my experience with the Malone Stage 1.5 tune is that it really wakes up the performance of the car, and you don't pay a fuel economy penalty unless you are heavily on the throttle all the time.


Having the stage 1.5 tune will stress your stock clutch to the limit. If the clutch isn't 100% be prepared for some slippage in high torgue situations, or be prepared to install a beefier clutch.


Any urge to upgrade should be weighed against the expected lifespan and value of the car. Spending $500 - $1000+ on performance mods on a 15 year old car is not the right decision for most folks... especially if you just want a cheap reliable daily driver.

It's all relative, I never had snow tires, lived in the mountains, and drove FWD cars after my old 4wd Tercel died. I made it fine through 9/10 snow storms with the Michelins. Again, personal preferences and needs.
That is not an argument against snows mind you- they can be pretty dang nice to have, I just never found myself needing them. The 1/10 wouldn't have been passable even with snows.

Jeffpetry said:

Hello. I have purchased a 2004 Jetta TDI 1.9 BEW with a 5 speed. It has 144k miles, and overall well maintained. The timing was done at 70k miles. It already has upgraded Audi TT suspension and a metal skid plate. I would like to hear opinions on which upgrades / maintenance should come first? Factory clutch, factory turbo..

Thanks in advance!!

Click to expand...

After all immediate routine maintenance, I would do the timing belt and clutch at the same time with a tune. Engine will be suspended already so it should be a little less labor cost for you if you have a fair shop doing the work. in theory the belt could wait, but it is a costly item and it's easier to do while there is money burning a hole in your pocket

The BEW is one of my favorite engines because it is so RELIABLE. Good maintenance is the key.

The first big mistake is thinking a timing belt lasts 100,000 miles. It actually can, but not many make the real reason for changing the belt... it's 100k OR 5 years; whichever comes first. So, based on time, your engine is due for it's third timing belt job. Forget the miles. 2 years ago, I changed an original timing belt on a 2003 Beetle with 27,000 miles. The belt would have blown off in 100 miles, if attempted. The cogs on the belt were cracked and falling off.

The cam is a known issue on these cars. We designed a true hydraulic cam profile, altered the cam bearings, cam and rocker shaft bolts, and much prefer to set up the best oil for improved cam longevity. Although we have a list of the 505.01 VW certified oils allowed for our cam, we have our preference, and that is Schaeffer's 9000 5-40. I think we have developed a cult following with that oil.

The cam, which can be as short-lived as 70,000 miles in the BRM, tends to last longer in the BEW, with 10 less hp. However, the aftermarket cams last a much shorter life expectancy than the OEM and our modified cam outlasts the OEM. So, we suggest a peek at the cam. Remove the EGR valve, the timing belt cover and the valve cover. Look for galling on the base circle and a sharp edge on the cam lobe. Either problem means excessive cam wear.

The other maintenance that is nearly completely avoided is brake fluid flush. That should be done every two years, but getting it done in 5 years, stresses some people.
It can be done with a helper pumping the brakes, while you shout,"UP... DOWN!", as you open and close the bleeder valves on the brake cylinders or a pressure bleeder attached to the reservoir makes the job quick and easy. Start at rear right, then left, front right and left, you are done with each brake cylinder when clean fluid comes out.

The injectors are incredibly long-lasting as long as they get good, clean #2 diesel. Occasionally, we might purge the injectors with LiquiMoly Diesel Purge, used straight. Clamp off the lines past the fuel filter and for the inlet, install a small in-line fuel filter going to the 'IN' side of the tandem pump and let the 'OUT' line go back into the can.

We use two cans, letting the engine completely cool down before using the second can. Run the engine at idle for 1/2 hr uses about the whole can. The idle balance numbers are always improved in VCDS by using a diesel purge.

Check the gear oil level in the transmission. Our contention is there are two ways to ruin a 02J transmission. 1. See how much torque you can put into it leaving the line.
2. Let the tranny run out of gear oil by not inspecting your output shaft seals. The leaking seals are the most common way to blow out the transmission synchros and bearings.

If you pull the 17mm allen plug and oil comes out on flat ground, it's full. if the oil is brown, muddy or has flecks of gold in it, change the gear oil.

The OEM gear oil is a GL-4. It's the right stuff, for sure. DON'T buy gear oils that say compatible for GL-4/ GL5. That is not possible. GL-5 is meant for steel syncros. The sulfur and phosphates are a much higher level in the GL-5. When the parts get hot, a black coating of the sulfur/ phosphate becomes a sacrificial element, that at the higher levels, peels the brass molecules off your synchronizer rings. The classic synchromesh gear oils or Redline MTL are good choices.

Rear shocks are worn, but this time. If you find the tires getting 'saw-tooth' tread, 'alligator back' and make noise at speed, it's not the tires, it's the shocks. Replace not only the shock but the shock tower with bushing to restore ride and lower road noise. Same with subframe mounts. They get hard and transfer a lot of road noise.

That's a very good start..

If you need any additional advice or information, feel free to call.

Typrus said:

It's all relative, I never had snow tires, lived in the mountains, and drove FWD cars after my old 4wd Tercel died. I made it fine through 9/10 snow storms with the Michelins. Again, personal preferences and needs.
That is not an argument against snows mind you- they can be pretty dang nice to have, I just never found myself needing them. The 1/10 wouldn't have been passable even with snows.

Click to expand...

you will change you tone when you actually have snow tires. HUGE difference. I drive a 4x4 ford escape in winter and even with 6 inches of snow, the michelin LTX tires( epic tires) suck compared to the brigstones i have for winter. its not even night and day, its summer and winter difference! LITERALLY. I lived in northern utah for 10 years and man do i miss being able to drive on studded tires.

I've driven with Blizzaks on other peoples rides, as well as other brands. Studded, unstudded, etc- for where I lived and the driving I did I never saw the need. 6 inches of snow on the roads going over Horsetooth wasn't enough to faze me.
I suppose at the end of the day it wasn't worth it to me to spend the extra money on an extra set of wheels and tires, lose storage space, listen to the wife complain about even less garage space, etc hahaha
I'm just stubborn I suppose. Probably a wee bit stupid too, heck I've been called worse.

Frank just gave you dead-on perfect advice.

A Malone tune is a wonderful thing on a stock BEW (excepting that you'll undoubtedly need to upgrade your clutch eventually.

Don't need any muffler work or injector upgrades.

What Frank said is the most important advice.

I, too, live in the Puget Sound region and have had difficulty finding tires I like. The Michelin MXV4 was pretty good and lasted me a 100K miles. I don't think they make them anymore.