Love the diesel, but hate the interior lol

So before I start, this is my third VW, 2nd TDI. 1st TDI was a 2012 Jetta I bought new until VW bought it back for the emissions (Wish I hadnt done that now lol)
I got a 2002 Beetle TDI with the ALH last week for a whopping 500$. Has 256K miles on the odo.
So positives- Runs like a champ. great fuel economy, decent enough power for a bone stock ALH engine (still miss my 2012's 2.0 :-( )
Rides great
the AC ACTUALLY WORKS!!! (Big deal this time of year in Pensacola... My 99 tahoe I was driving doesnt have AC right now.... )

The irritating
1) FGDSFGDSFSADGFDFSGDFG VOLKSWAGEN PLASTIC PARTS!!!!! JEEEEESUS....
My 66 Plymouth barracuda's original plastic components were not NEARLY as brittle!!! You could sneeze at this plastic and it crack... Im definatly needing some interior plastic parts, every dang one is cracked or broken..
2) Wiring- Headlight (in the housing) and GP harness especially. My glow plug code on the ECU stays on constantly. The plastic insulation is dry rotted and falls apart from the wind. Anyone know a good upgrade??

So in the effort of making this car evening more comfortable (Mind you I spent the last week gutting and cleaning the interior.... The sunroof weatherstrip was shredded and the car had mildew EVERYWHERE...) I might need some help sourcing some replacement parts, namely the dash center section with the switch panel (cracked and falling apart)

Other than that Im loving the car. Does anyone else with an ALH and a manual notice that when you change gears when accelerating it feels like the clutch doesnt always fully engage for a second or two?

Thanks guys!!!

Never experienced the weird clutch behaviour you describe.

Make your own harness, it's easy and it works great ..just a couple bux

The door handles have a kit to reinforce it...other stuff...I'm planning on some fiberglass and paint...I'm not there yet

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Some good harness ideas here, see the comments too!
http://www.theartofdiesel.com/80-glow-plug-harness-not-on-my-tdi/
Sunroof seal part# 357877209A might be this one.
Here you'll find complete solutions for shifter slop- which might be
what you're describing, maybe:
https://www.dieselgeek.com/
Have fun! I never drove a beetle but always wanted one for the fleet.
EDIT: a comment on cracking plastics, sun will do that. Tint helps, as does a good
UV protectant such as:
https://www.detailersdomain.com/products/1z-einszett-cockpit-premium

I just picked up some plastic interior parts from a slightly newer beetle. The parts are out there, you just have to find them.

Michael, I changed out my headlights a few years ago to some nice projectors with LED's. It is a great improvement in night time driving visibility over the stock units. The down side is they might cost about as much as you paid for your car.

Removing the headlights can be a bit of a pain. The lever gets gummed up with crap and the locking tabs can break if you push them too hard.

Check your timing belt to make sure that it has been done. Don't want that fun little car to lose the belt and wreck that great little ALH.

As far as the clutch goes, it sounds like it could be close to the end of life. Sounds like it is slipping when you start up. Does it slip when you step on the accelerator to try and pass on the highway?

Michael.kikendall said:

1) FGDSFGDSFSADGFDFSGDFG VOLKSWAGEN PLASTIC PARTS!!!!! JEEEEESUS....

Click to expand...

Had a good chuckle at that
You're going to have to scavenger parts. They're definitely out there. You could try posting a WTB in private for sale/wanted. Might get lucky.

IRT the the clutch issue, it doesnt feel like slippage per say, when I roll into the throttle on the interstate (without changing gears) she picks up speed with no wierdness... Its just for a second or two when I let off the clutch and upshift, and roll into the throttle.. She feels like she moves, then all of a she really wants to move.. It could be slipping maybe, its like the clutch might not be fully engaging at first, then locks to the flywheel and goes like a scalded dog.

Anyone know a good place in the Pensacola area for doing timing belts?

I live over in Niceville and do my own...... The VW place in Ft. Walton Beach does it correctly, but as with any stealer job you're gonna pay for it.

I don't know anyone around here that I trust as a mechanic on these.. good thing I have a nice full toolbox

Genesis, you up for doing mine sometime lol.
I picked up a new coolant temp sensor with the ring and clip today. gonna replace that probably this afternoon. yay.

First rule of the navy- pisses me off when something ISNT broke lol.

So dumb question.. Lets say the previous owner, sometime many moons ago replaced the coolant temp sensor in the block.. but did not replace the clip, that is missing the tab to remove..... how would someone like myself remove said clip of demonic persuasion to replace the sensor and make my little blue kmart special temp light turn off?

Got a small pick? Should be able to get it in between the bracket and clip and "hook" it to get it out.

Michael, I'd wait until you do the belt for the temp sensor, maybe do the thermostat for good measure, no need to loose coolant twice.

Sounds like your standards are too high to enjoy a vw. I suggest you dont own one anymore and go buy a Lexus or Porsche or dont complain about your budget friendly econobox Mexican plastic with a German whatevers.

It's a $500 mk4. It's going to have some rattles. This isnt a plush interior type of car. Good quiet interiors are in the luxury sedan category. Think Audi, Bmw, Acura, Lexus etc. This is more of an econobox. Especially since the car is more than 15 years old and has mileage on it. With that said, it IS possible to find partouts online to get parts for the interior. Join all the vw and MK4 groups on facebook and check forums regularly.

Even for a cheaper car, VWs interiors are really crappy. I have a 99 7.3 with 344,000 miles. All the interior parts are original and everything is very tight, solid, no cracks anywhere. And it’s an XLT, not a fancy model


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Enjoy the beetle for what it is. If you want a quieter car then get a Jetta.

My Jetta exibits the "clutch" engagement behavior you describe. Mine only happens in AC season and so I theorized that it's the computer kicking off the AC clutch and the power going to the wheels instead of the AC which is then felt in the increased acceleration. Just a theory...