JonnyObnoxious
Well-known member
I've been a long time lurker on this forum, since first researching the b5 Passat TDI as a car I was interested in purchasing. I'd like to begin by thanking everyone for your contributions to this database of information. I'm not sure what to do with this car now, so I'm gonna give you all my detailed story and get some help with this.
I purchased my 2005 Passat TDI in the beginning of 2014 and had vwztips do the balance shaft delete immediately. Luckily I lived in Greenville at the time. He sent pics of the oil pump's chain gear and it had fallen to pieces when he removed it. Now, Jeff told me that the torque converter was aftermarket and looked worn, but I sadly couldn't afford to purchase a new one to replace it. Not sure that it is related, but I've been without a fully functioning reverse since about mid 2015. The delete was at about 195,000 miles, and I'm up over 245,000 miles today. In 2016 I drove my Passat from Greenville through the southwest and up through California and moved here to Oregon.
I'm having a personal dilemma regarding this car. First, the car had a few issues with water in the floorboards when I lived in SC and it was driven less than regularly. The keyfob didn't always work and the alarm went off occasionally; I figured it was just from age. After moving to the much rainier northern Pacific coast I began having serious issues with water ingress. I finally came back to the forums and read about the sunroof drains and battery cowling drains; it was the cowling drains. Right after I get the drains cleaned out and solve the problem, my interior lights and windows stop functioning. I pull off the interior trim, pull up the carpet, and find my CCM with water still standing in the box and major corrosion around the plugs. I order a used one off eBay, swap some pinned leads and splice them in, and I got windows and lights, but no keyfob and my locks only work manually. Then I start getting the "STOP BRAKE FAULT" error. I knew I had broken wires on the brake assembly on my drivers side which I repaired before, so I figured it was time to replace the pads and check those wires. As I'm replacing the front brake pads and splicing those wires again, I compress the caliper and it won't fit back on with the new pads. I try to push the cylinder back out and find it seized up upon compression (pretty sure they were original). I didn't have new calipers, so I left the caliper off and moved it out of the garage while I waited 2 weeks for the new calipers to arrive. Now, as I'm sure all of you well-versed VW hobbyist know, letting all the brake fluid run out of the reservoir is a bad idea, as it can cause air to enter the master cylinder, which then requires a connection to the ECU to bleed the master cylinder out. SO, I can either pay a local tech shop $147.50 to perform this, OR I can buy a VAG-COM for $199 and do it myself. And program the replacement CCM. And then maybe do 2 other cars. And maybe get the upgrade and do 7 more. And another upgrade because I guess now I'm in business because no one else offers these services for about 50 miles. And that doesn't even START to fix the transmission problem. Although I can live without reverse with a little forethought, the car has been sluggish going into drive, much like reverse was before it went out entirely. AND NOW I'M 3000 MILES AWAY FROM THE BEST TRANSMISSION SWAPPER! Honestly, from my research, I'm confident I can handle the 5-speed FHN swap (or DVZ is the v6?), but I have no idea how anyone does it without a lift. I'm not so interested if I'm doing it on jack stands on my back. I also have a serious lack of resources, so some things, like a transmission swap, are a tax return away.
tl;DR
The car needs a trans swap, VCDS programming, minor body and paint work. Do I become a dedicated enthusiast or sell the car?
Will post pics on request. Thanks for reading!
EDIT: I completely forgot to mention that I have the brakes rigged with a short bungee cord to achieve full return.
I purchased my 2005 Passat TDI in the beginning of 2014 and had vwztips do the balance shaft delete immediately. Luckily I lived in Greenville at the time. He sent pics of the oil pump's chain gear and it had fallen to pieces when he removed it. Now, Jeff told me that the torque converter was aftermarket and looked worn, but I sadly couldn't afford to purchase a new one to replace it. Not sure that it is related, but I've been without a fully functioning reverse since about mid 2015. The delete was at about 195,000 miles, and I'm up over 245,000 miles today. In 2016 I drove my Passat from Greenville through the southwest and up through California and moved here to Oregon.
I'm having a personal dilemma regarding this car. First, the car had a few issues with water in the floorboards when I lived in SC and it was driven less than regularly. The keyfob didn't always work and the alarm went off occasionally; I figured it was just from age. After moving to the much rainier northern Pacific coast I began having serious issues with water ingress. I finally came back to the forums and read about the sunroof drains and battery cowling drains; it was the cowling drains. Right after I get the drains cleaned out and solve the problem, my interior lights and windows stop functioning. I pull off the interior trim, pull up the carpet, and find my CCM with water still standing in the box and major corrosion around the plugs. I order a used one off eBay, swap some pinned leads and splice them in, and I got windows and lights, but no keyfob and my locks only work manually. Then I start getting the "STOP BRAKE FAULT" error. I knew I had broken wires on the brake assembly on my drivers side which I repaired before, so I figured it was time to replace the pads and check those wires. As I'm replacing the front brake pads and splicing those wires again, I compress the caliper and it won't fit back on with the new pads. I try to push the cylinder back out and find it seized up upon compression (pretty sure they were original). I didn't have new calipers, so I left the caliper off and moved it out of the garage while I waited 2 weeks for the new calipers to arrive. Now, as I'm sure all of you well-versed VW hobbyist know, letting all the brake fluid run out of the reservoir is a bad idea, as it can cause air to enter the master cylinder, which then requires a connection to the ECU to bleed the master cylinder out. SO, I can either pay a local tech shop $147.50 to perform this, OR I can buy a VAG-COM for $199 and do it myself. And program the replacement CCM. And then maybe do 2 other cars. And maybe get the upgrade and do 7 more. And another upgrade because I guess now I'm in business because no one else offers these services for about 50 miles. And that doesn't even START to fix the transmission problem. Although I can live without reverse with a little forethought, the car has been sluggish going into drive, much like reverse was before it went out entirely. AND NOW I'M 3000 MILES AWAY FROM THE BEST TRANSMISSION SWAPPER! Honestly, from my research, I'm confident I can handle the 5-speed FHN swap (or DVZ is the v6?), but I have no idea how anyone does it without a lift. I'm not so interested if I'm doing it on jack stands on my back. I also have a serious lack of resources, so some things, like a transmission swap, are a tax return away.
tl;DR
The car needs a trans swap, VCDS programming, minor body and paint work. Do I become a dedicated enthusiast or sell the car?
Will post pics on request. Thanks for reading!
EDIT: I completely forgot to mention that I have the brakes rigged with a short bungee cord to achieve full return.
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