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

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I’d think just slip fuel hose over it and clamp it. Those lines don’t see too much pressure. Ideally, you should have some type of ferrule in the nylon to keep it from collapsing, when clamped.

Is this your issue?

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
May be easier to replace the entire line or splice in a good portion, under the car.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
It is now, on the wagon, inside the rail under the passenger footwell.

First the sub-12,000 mile out-of-warranty dead hybrid turbo, now this.

I just can't catch a break.
Mark
Not sure but you might be able to get it from a gas powered B4 wagon too. If I had one I would send it your way but I do not.

You might be able to patch in a section of hose but you would have to create a 'barb' on the nylon line so you can get a decent seal. I would heat a metal tool like a punch or something tapered, that might work to spread the nylon a little.

I've traced my coolant leak and it appears to be coming from the WP / thermostat area, specifically looks like it's from the thermostat housing o-ring seal or plastic thermostat flange.

I couldn't get a decent look at it and I didn't take off the lower belt cover but I don't think it's coming from the WP. If it is the WP it'll be too bad because it was a new Bocar VW water pump, in fact everything down there is new.

We're back into the mid-40's tomorrow so I'll get a better look and hopefully get it repaired. With luck it'll just be the flange or the thermostat o-ring.

Car needs a bath really bad too so that's the next stop after the coolant leak fix.

Steve
 

Stromaluski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
'67 Deluxe Bus, '80 Rabbit Truck, '92 Corrado, '10 Cup Edition
May be easier to replace the entire line or splice in a good portion, under the car.

-Todd
This. I've had to replace both the feed and return line on my Corrado. You'll almost have to pull the line out to get enough slack in it to do anything. At that point, it's almost easier to just pull it completely out and toss in a replacement. Is the wheel base on a B4 terribly different than a mk3? You may be able to use mk3 lines. I know I was able to on my Corrado (which was good because mk3s are much easier to find than Corrados). I'd almost bet you could use the rear half of your line and the back half of a line from any other car and splice them together.
 

Yblocker

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Location
Oakland, CA
TDI
1997 Passat
I've traced my coolant leak and it appears to be coming from the WP / thermostat area, specifically looks like it's from the thermostat housing o-ring seal or plastic thermostat flange..... With luck it'll just be the flange or the thermostat o-ring.Steve
I had this leak in cold weather too a couple of years ago. Turns out it was just the hose clamp not being tight enough. Do you have the original spring clamps or worm-screw clamps? Beore you bother with the thermostat, try re-setting/tightening that clamp.
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
I had this leak in cold weather too a couple of years ago. Turns out it was just the hose clamp not being tight enough. Do you have the original spring clamps or worm-screw clamps? Beore you bother with the thermostat, try re-setting/tightening that clamp.
Thanks for the suggestion, running all spring type clamps. Before I dig in and pull things apart I will take a look at the spring clamp situation.

I didn't get a real clear view to the problem because I didn't pull the outboard lower belt cover yet but I will today.

The leak is coming from the vicinity of the thermostat cover. When I look in at the underside of the water pump from the direction of the front motor mount I can see seepage at the thermo housing bolts and a trail back to the oil pan cover. It also looks like there's moisture at the joint between the thermo cover and WP housing.

I will admit though that the past few weeks have been bitter cold outside so that might contribute to the leak. Still need to investigate more before concluding that it's one specific thing.

Steve
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Got into the leaking coolant situation today, I can tell you for certain what it was not:

Not:
1. Water pump (at mounting or at shaft)
2. 90 degree adapter
3. O-ring for adapter at t-stat cover.

What I found however was not impressive, there was evidence of leaks with pink coolant on the bolts for the PS pump mounting bracket and at the bolt heads for the t-stat cover but otherwise everything was dry as a bone.

View of t-stat cover from the side. Yesterday this was more clearly wet. Today it looks moist but not as much as before. The mounting bolts did have pink coolant on them though.



Shot of the flange from below that also does not look leaky.



So because everything was out of the way and because I had parts on the shelf I pulled the existing flange and replaced it with a new one complete with new o-rings.

The existing flange looked fine, it wasn't cracked anywhere or warped too much and the o-ring for the 90 degree adapter was fine too. I will say though that the thermostat o-ring seemed to be less than stellar and I'm thinking that it just wasn't up to the task.

When I removed the old flange the thermostat was stuck to the o-ring which was stuck to the flange, which seemed odd to me. And they came out without any fighting at all, as though the o-ring was really insufficient in size to keep from leaking when under pressure.

So, it's all done and buttoned up and the cooling system has been refilled and driven up to temperature. Tomorrow I will top it off as necessary and then take it out and warm it up again. When I got home tonight from cycling club I noticed just a slight odor of coolant, nothing like before, which I attribute to residual coolant in the nooks and crannies of the engine from having drained it today to do the replacement.

I was happy to see the WP was not leaking anywhere, that would have been the second WP to go on this car in short order, the first being a Gates. I will say though that for some reason the PS (and WP) pump belt tensioner was loose and it should not have been.

Steve
 

Stromaluski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
'67 Deluxe Bus, '80 Rabbit Truck, '92 Corrado, '10 Cup Edition
Actually got up to almost 60 degrees yesterday after 2 weeks of being in the low 30s, so I took the opportunity to leave work a little bit early (shhhh, don't tell anybody) and tackle replacing the intercooler on my mk3.

First time I'd taken the bumper off of the support bar. Previously, I'd just removed them in one piece. It only had 4 of the 8 bolts holding the cover on, haha. I'm pretty sure I have extras sitting around somewhere that I removed from cars in junkyards, but not entirely sure where.




Reason for the replacement... One of the POs of my car had left the headlight bulb out at some point, and it melted the headlight housing, as well as a spot on the intercooler. Replaced the headlight right after I got the car, but couldn't find a hole in the intercooler so I left it. Finally blew through that spot. I'm sure I could have fixed it with some epoxy, but didn't want to worry with it. Also, having a hole in the intercooler is a great way to clean your engine compartment. And by clean, I mean cover it in crap. :rolleyes:
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
In the interest of winter I will post this up again (since P-bucket photos are gone).

If you're a B4 driver and you are no longer sporting your belly pan cover then you should consider getting the lower belt cover that was fitted to the GLX/VR6 cars and install that on your car, it protects your lower belts from having crap from the tires being thrown on the lower components...well worth the time and your car probably already has the plastic mounting clips installed! My B3V already had the plastic clips installed.

Here's the obligatory picture of the lower belt cover installed. This is one of the best things you can do for winter weather or even for areas that have a lot of rain.

It takes only two screws and the front edge is slotted into the lower radiator support. It hangs under the protects the PS pump pulley/belt.

Steve

 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
^ this is a great idea - I can recall far too many times losing power steering and gaining a squeal after the RF wheel splashed through a puddle.

Are these still available to order or NLA?
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
^ this is a great idea - I can recall far too many times losing power steering and gaining a squeal after the RF wheel splashed through a puddle.

Are these still available to order or NLA?
Part number is 3A0825254A or ...254B or ...254 or 357825254A.

According to online VW parts it's NLA, so the only ones out there are going to be from the JY or people parting out cars.

It looks like any of the VR6 ones will work, from B3 or B4 cars. The online parts catalog lumps them all in together. Mine came from 96 VR6 car.

This is another one of those things that could get discarded if it's ever taken off by non-VW service techs. I know there are some guys out there who don't like these sorts of covers and tend to forget them when it's time to reinstall.

And yes, it's nice not to lose PS (or WP) if you go through a big puddle.

Steve
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
I still have a few underbelly pans kicking around. I managed to find some of the V6 covers which help when running the skid plate.
I know you don't like them but I so want a belly pan. You're just soooo far away. :-(

In other news picked up these goodies today at the JY. Couldn't resist going given that it was still warm out. Too bad this weather is going to be gone tomorrow.

Steve

 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
This was installed on the wagon when I bought it. It worked ok and is another option, right, Windex? :)
Yes, I recall installing that chloroplast one day after losing PS yet again through another puddle. I think it worked effectively through the transition to your ownership.
 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
A couple of days ago I met up with someone that had VCDS and he did the quantity adjustment. It was at 1.2-1.4 and is now 3.2-3.4. That solved the idle bounce I was experiencing. Also drove it for the first time since I replaced the n75 and some turbo vacuum lines, and that fixed the fluctuating power (or boost) I was experiencing. I am happy to have it running well so I can start driving the car more.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Ordered 2 climate control LED kits from eBay.de, 12/18. Just arrived yesterday....




Spent about $30 for about $5 in LEDs and resistors, lol. So much for easy and drop in.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I’m not even sure if what I received, can be called a kit... it’s a bag of LEDs and resistors.

I had someone at work translate the listing for me. She lived in Germany for a few years, while she was in the military. I was skeptical, but not really surprised when I opened the envelope.

If you want to overpay, here’s the link.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LETRONIX-L...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Take a look and see if there’s a website or downloadable pdf. I doubt I’ll do anything with them, other than toss them in the LED and resistor box, for future projects.

-Todd
 

TDIL3dad

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Location
N. VA
TDI
96 B4, 96 B4V project
Toothed V-belt broke on probably the coldest night of the year.
Tried to limp home and the car pretty much died on the spot after the battery ran down!
AAA took forever to show up and tow me back to my driveway.
Replaced it with a Made in the USA Dayco belt from AutoZone
 

lisab4

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2013
Location
Belgium
TDI
1996 Passat B4 1.9 TDI
Take a look and see if there’s a website or downloadable pdf.
Hi Todd,
Thanks for the link. The listing says you should get a link to a PDF with images and installation guide with your order. Maybe on a piece of paper, or in an e-mail?
 

Yblocker

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Location
Oakland, CA
TDI
1997 Passat
I think my Car Part.com inquiry for a used intercooler has attrcated the attention of a seller. I don't know how, but he sent me a PM on the forum.

He wanted $550 and when I said no thanks, he dropped to $360 shipped which still seems pretty high.

What do you guys think?
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
I think my Car Part.com inquiry for a used intercooler has attrcated the attention of a seller. I don't know how, but he sent me a PM on the forum.
He wanted $550 and when I said no thanks, he dropped to $360 shipped which still seems pretty high.
What do you guys think?
What is the issue with the existing IC?
 

Yblocker

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Location
Oakland, CA
TDI
1997 Passat
It holds boost, but it's leaking oil from someplace above the lower hose connection- likely at a seam. It's not a profuse leak; it leaves a drop on the ground every other day if the car is driven consistently.

So I've been looking from time to time for a replacement. ToddA1 re-sealed his, but it sounded like it was difficult to re-crimp the tanks back on.

But $360 is more than I'm willing to pay.
 
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