B4 suddenly running rough, weird injector balance

aja8888

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Windex said:
Given one of the cars Abacus is saddled with is my fault, I'm chiming in.
What I see in this thread is some legit concern over how one can can keep ageing vehicles on the road reliably.
However, I'm reminded of a good friend and former coworker who immigrated from Cuba.
For a long time, they had nothing, but nothing they could get parts for. Nothing got through the embargo.
They still kept everything on the road.
55 belair engine worn to the point it will not take a 6th rebuild with thrice-knurled pistons? no problem - we'll make a Lada engine from the 70's fit.
No more gasoline? no issues - we'll create a pre-heat box to melt lard and then atomize it in another hot-box before feeding into a modified carburetor.
These guys could keep anything on the road - they saw a broken part as a challenge, not a dead-end on an older vehicle.
They ran turn-of-century steam locomotives until recently because they kept making any of the parts which broke or wore out, and because the couldn't buy anything new.
C'mon - certainly we have the know how and the resources on this great continent to be able to come up with solutions to the challenges posed above re NLA parts and other ageing car related issues? :D
Click to expand...
I see this challenge as an opportunity for the Chinese businessman, just like they successfully made enough copies of German parts to totally build an air cooled Beetle from scratch. :cool:
 
B

Bob S.

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Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Location
Central MD.
TDI
A B4V, some ALHs & BRMs
Windex said:
Given one of the cars Abacus is saddled with is my fault, I'm chiming in.

What I see in this thread is some legit concern over how one can can keep ageing vehicles on the road reliably.

However, I'm reminded of a good friend and former coworker who immigrated from Cuba.

For a long time, they had nothing, but nothing they could get parts for. Nothing got through the embargo.

They still kept everything on the road.

55 belair engine worn to the point it will not take a 6th rebuild with thrice-knurled pistons? no problem - we'll make a Lada engine from the 70's fit.

No more gasoline? no issues - we'll create a pre-heat box to melt lard and then atomize it in another hot-box before feeding into a modified carburetor.

These guys could keep anything on the road - they saw a broken part as a challenge, not a dead-end on an older vehicle.

They ran turn-of-century steam locomotives until recently because they kept making any of the parts which broke or wore out, and because the couldn't buy anything new.

C'mon - certainly we have the know how and the resources on this great continent to be able to come up with solutions to the challenges posed above re NLA parts and other ageing car related issues? :D
Click to expand...
Excellent point. But, I will add 2 observations:
1. I wager the typical Cuban wife is much more appreciative of their husband's old car that has been kept running than their North American counterpart is.
2. In the winter, the Cuban work space is warmer than the North American counter part )or at least mine).
 
Steve Addy

Steve Addy

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Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
While there are things that are hard to find I'm not nearly as despondent as some here appear to be.

We all know that the Mk3 upper charge air hose is NLA, but wouldn't you know it, someone is selling new ones on Ebay for $26....ok. The rest of those hoses still appear to be available for Mk3. On the B4 the only one I know of that's NLA is the lower intercooler hose, otherwise they're all still available, so in reality yes, a few of the charge air hoses are NLA from VW, but I'm confident a little hunting will still put a hose in your hand.

The only item that I'm concerned about really is the lower radiator hose. I'm not excited about spending $200 for a set of silicone hoses but if necessary I could.

I'm not at all worried about being able to replace things that wear out. I've had three intermediate shaft bearings on the shelf for a decade and never have needed one.

It's not like the suspensions are complicated anyway, just imagine if you couldn't get replacement parts for the B5/B5.5 cars, now that would be a reason to be grumpy.

Steve
 
I

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I like your attitude. And I agree that you can probably can find, have repaired, or make just about anything for the B4. I think the point here is that it make some time and effort, and that can be a problem in a car someone needs to drive daily. Or doesn't want to do it himself, as most shops wouldn't bother.

I always wanted a diesel Dasher Wagon, but was warned off buying one because of the lack of parts availability. Things like control arm or rear axle bushings, that old car usually need, are not available. Recently I located what I think was the last set aftermarket of rear suspension arms for my '93 Mercedes, at least here in the US. That's fine, as I doubt I'll have to replace them again.
 
J

john.jackson9213

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Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Location
Miramar, Ca. (Think Top Gun)
TDI
1996 B4V
My B4V is back in the shop just a week after having all the CV joints replaced. It is making more clunking/ticking noises than it ever made with the old CV joints. We will see what the shop says.

Sure wish Matt was not 500 miles away!

So I am also looking for new transportation. Drove a 2014 BMW 535D Friday afternoon. What a great car. Asking price is $25K with 56000 miles. Need to drive a 328D this weekend.

The rental car I have this time is a Cruze. It seems to run OK. Just cheap transportation. Maybe that is not a bad thing. I simply need to get a car that doesn't need to be in the shop ever other month.
 
powerstrokeless

powerstrokeless

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Location
VA
TDI
B4V
I don't know...

My "trusted mechanic" several years ago informed me that he hates working on B4's. So, I had to go elsewhere for repairs. I love driving the B4, but if I had to keep working on it and other B4's, It might turn into hate.

We need "that helpful B4 guy"!

And there should be a thread "what the hell is this B4 doing to me"
 
Steve Addy

Steve Addy

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Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
All valid points, really, I understand that not everyone can or has the time to hunt down stuff, I'm naturally that way so it's just part of how I operate most the time.

At one point I thought we had a thread about NLA parts but where that went I don't know. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have one though and make it a sticky at the top with the other stuff.

Steve
 
Houpty GT

Houpty GT

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Location
South Carolina
TDI
Corrado TDI, 2000 Golf, 1996 B4 Variant
I hate to be a little late to the rescue but I went through this problem on my car and have it mostly resolved as of yesterday.
For group 13, my balance would either sit at a limit of the 2.99 or it would actually wander back and forth from -2.99 to 2.99 on 2 or 3 of the readings.



I thought the issue was signal related and said it was either a problem with the quantity adjuster, the rpm sensor, or maybe the pump was worn out. I decided to start with the quantity adjuster as the most likely cause.



I installed a quantity adjuster of unknown condition yesterday, which did not fix the issue. I then disassembled my old quantity adjuster to remove all the metal debris that collects on the magnets inside. After installing the cleaned QA, my idle balance is good again. My balance is now 1.15, 0.59, -0.14. I will be posting about a remaining voltage issue with my quantity adjuster in the thread posted below.

See this thread on how to clean and fix your quantity adjuster:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=327492
 
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