Making a Project out of my Jetta

This might be awesome, or I might end up regretting it. Or maybe a little of both? In any case, I decided to give the Jetta some more upgrades, in addition to standard maintenance.

I also decided to try my hand at the YouTube thing. I doubt I'll be the next Rob Dahm. But maybe the videos will help some people, or at least entertain them.

For starters, here's a quick overview of the car:

I decided to start with the suspension. The bushings were worn out, and the handling was getting pretty sloppy. To address the body roll, I installed urethane sway bar bushings in front, and urethane axle beam bushings in back.

Sway Bar Bushing install video:

Axle Beam Bushing install video:

The rear axle beam acts like a sway bar, so installing stiffer bushings has a similar effect to stiffer sway bar bushings. Installing urethane bushings front and back should preserve the understeer / oversteer balance.

The end result? The car feels flatter in the turns. It also seems to track straighter on the highway. With the old worn-out bushings, the car felt "weeble-wobbly" in the turns. And it wandered a bit on the highway.

I paid less than $100 for these bushings, and they made a noticeable difference. IMO, it was worth the money. The only downside is that the rear end has more road noise. But it's not obnoxious. IMO, it makes the rear end feel "more connected".

If urethane rear axle bushings are too stiff for your tastes, the Cupra-R bushings might work for you. They're stiffer than stock, but not as much as urethane.

These upgrades are a good start, but the suspension needs some more love. The control arm bushings and upper strut mounts have already been replaced (Audi TT parts). But the struts are shot. The bump-stops are beat to hell. And the springs are a bit mushy for my tastes. I'm still considering options.

Some photos:

The Jetta



New Endlink Bushings



New Sway Bar Bushings



The old Axle Beam Bushings... in pieces



New Axle Beam Bushings Installed

I have a 2000 Mk IV. It has been sitting for 6 years. I am starting with exhaust and then going to fuel system. The body and interior will be last. I am really looking forward to this.

The only thing that scares me is the fuel system.

BTW, if anyone has suggestions for springs and dampers, that would be cool. I don't want to alter the ride height, if I can avoid it. But I do want to firm up the suspension a little.

The top shelf Billsteins are keeping me quite happy in my Jetta. My son has Koni SRT, and they are not so bad either. Both have Cupra R in the rear, his TT, PowerFlex. Both have track density upper strut mounts.
cheers,
Douglas

A few years ago, I installed a light bar for fog lights (made by forum member Millennium Falcon). The first set of fog lights that I installed were kinda weak, so I replaced them with better ones. Now the new ones are so bright, they're blinding other drivers at night. Instead of swapping out the fog lights again, I decided to install a brightness control. LEDs don't respond very well to voltage modulation, so I decided to use a PWM unit (pulsewidth modulation). It basically strobes the light, really fast. You can change the apparent brightness of the lights by changing the length of the on and off pulses.


Here's a video of the install: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByqKfzGHIZo


PHOTOS

Nice. Looks really clean to start with.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk

Might just save someone from getting pulled over! Thank You!

ItAintRodKnock said:

Nice. Looks really clean to start with.

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Thanks for the compliment. But as the saying goes, looks aren't everything. The car has reached that age where things are starting to break down. Sometimes I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole trying to fix all the issues that crop up. Every time I think I'm ahead of the game, the car throws me another curveball.

I figure if I'm gonna be fixing all this stuff, I might as well share the experience. Maybe someone can use the info.

Speaking of curveballs, I had to fix a sudden coolant leak. It took awhile to find it, because the faulty hose was hidden behind other stuff. The offending part was a short section of hose that connects between the cylinder head and a T-fitting, underneath the vacuum pump.








Oil leaking from the vacuum pump must have softened the rubber. I replaced the seal for the vacuum pump when I replaced the timing belt a few months ago. So this shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Blacktree said:

Speaking of curveballs, I had to fix a sudden coolant leak. It took awhile to find it, because the faulty hose was hidden behind other stuff. The offending part was a short section of hose that connects between the cylinder head and a T-fitting, underneath the vacuum pump.

Oil leaking from the vacuum pump must have softened the rubber. I replaced the seal for the vacuum pump when I replaced the timing belt a few months ago. So this shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Click to expand...

Kerma sells a complete kit to replace all hoses. Replace em now, or as the rubber wears out. Thats what i was going to do to mine, but maybe ill replace my car, who knows..

Excited to watch this thing come along.

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ItAintRodKnock said:

Kerma sells a complete kit to replace all hoses.

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That's good to know! Some of the other hoses are starting to deteriorate also.

Interesting thread. I have a 2003 Jetta ALH that is my project car. Of course, the suspension is shot, which I'd only expect on a $300 car. So I picked up Bilstein B8 (front) and B6 (rear) for my 2004 Golf, and the B4s on that car go on my 2003 Jetta.

I thought about doing the polyurethane bushings for my front LCA, but someone suggested I'd have less noise and future maintenance if I just put on Audi TT LCA with the bushings already installed. It is tempting to do poly bushings for the front swaybar, though.

I did order a rear swaybar for my 2004 Golf, so I'm eager to see how that feels when I install it next week.

pkhoury said:

...someone suggested I'd have less noise and future maintenance if I just put on Audi TT LCA with the bushings already installed.

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I tend to agree with this. Urethane LCA bushings will have lots of road noise. Plus the rear LCA bushings experience a lot of twisting / flexing stress, which will wreck urethane in short order.

I replaced the LCA bushings with Audi TT bushings awhile back, but didn't take any photos or video. It did make an improvement, but is still civilized enough for daily driving.

Also, if you're worried about road noise with urethane rear axle bushings, then I'd suggest a rear sway bar instead. I explained that briefly in this video:

Amazon dropped off a package today.



I'm going to make some "faketory" (fake factory) wheels.

Also, I installed a catch can. The video for that will go live tomorrow.

Like mentioned above, I installed a catch can. I got a cheapie from Amazon. If you look for BMW catch cans, you get lots of results with 19mm hose fittings, which will save you the trouble of using adapter fittings.

The install was super simple. Just about anybody can do this. Here's a video of the install, if you're bored or something:
And a photo of the installed catch can:

Blacktree said:

Speaking of curveballs, I had to fix a sudden coolant leak. It took awhile to find it, because the faulty hose was hidden behind other stuff. The offending part was a short section of hose that connects between the cylinder head and a T-fitting, underneath the vacuum pump.

Oil leaking from the vacuum pump must have softened the rubber. I replaced the seal for the vacuum pump when I replaced the timing belt a few months ago. So this shouldn't be an issue anymore.

Click to expand...

Had the exact same problem with my coolant hose.

The "wheel makeover" is complete! I'm very happy with the results. Here's a sneak peek:



I'll have a video up tomorrow.

On these aftermarket wheels, the center caps are painted. But the rest of the wheel appears to be powdercoated. On the plus side, the powdercoat is holding up great. But the clearcoat on the center caps was peeling off. So I decided to refurbish the center caps. I also decided to add some VW badges for that "OEM Plus" look.


Here's a video of the work I put into it:



And a shot of the finished product.

Here's an update on the Jetta.

I had to revisit the catch can install, to fix some minor issues. Plus, the missing battery cover was bugging me. So I modified it to fit. Also, the engine cover was rubbing on the breather hoses, so I clearanced it. Also, I decided to put some filter media (metal Brillo pad) in the catch can, to make it more effective.

Here's a quick video about it:

It's been awhile since I posted anything Jetta related. That's because I've been chasing more cooling system issues. That split hose was just the beginning.

Blacktree said:

Here's an update on the Jetta.

I had to revisit the catch can install, to fix some minor issues. Plus, the missing battery cover was bugging me. So I modified it to fit. Also, the engine cover was rubbing on the breather hoses, so I clearanced it. Also, I decided to put some filter media (metal Brillo pad) in the catch can, to make it more effective.

Here's a quick video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNthOSkQmRs

Click to expand...

Interesting on the steel wool filter, that kind of makes sense. Is your catch can baffled and it was still getting through the baffled part? I may have to do this to mine as well

KrashDH said:

Interesting on the steel wool filter, that kind of makes sense. Is your catch can baffled and it was still getting through the baffled part? I may have to do this to mine as well

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How about stainless steel scouring pads packed in a bit tighter?

The catch can has a rudimentary baffle. But it's just a piece of perforated sheet metal. I think if it was made of screen or mesh, it would be more effective.

Also FYI those are stainless steel scouring pads. I wouldn't advise using steel wool.

Recently, the Jetta has been making "coffee grinder" noises on start-up. I wasn't sure what was causing it. But someone on Facebook suggested gunk buildup inside the starter. So I decided to take the starter apart and see.


Long story short: lots of clutch dust, and the grease was breaking down. After cleaning out all the crud and applying fresh grease, the starter works like new.

This time around, the Jetta's headlights get some love. I replaced the old Philips CrystalVision bulbs with Hella Optilux bulbs. I also replaced a lens that was turning yellow.



Edit to add: Here's a progress report on the Jetta project.

The exterior and lighting is basically finished. I never intended it to be a show car. But I do want it to be presentable. It gets compliments from passersby, so I think "presentableness" has been achieved.

There are still some mechanical issues. The shifter is getting sloppy, so I'll replace the bushings soon. Also, the front struts are toast. And a couple of the door locks are acting up.

And last but not least, the interior needs some love. The headliner is sagging. The cloth in the door cards is coming loose. And I want to remove the "soft touch" stuff.

So there's still plenty of work to do. And I'm sure the car will throw me some curveballs along the way. It likes to do that.

I recently bought a "distressed" BMW 3-series for a project car. So the Jetta hasn't gotten much attention lately. But the timing belt was due for replacement. Plus the water pump was starting to weep coolant. And the thermostat was sticking open. I decided to tackle all that stuff in one shot.

I bought a "high mileage" timing belt kit, which also includes a water pump and all the idler pulleys for the timing belt. The special tools required to do the job would have been expensive. And I only plan to use them once. So I decided to rent them instead. Below is a shot of all the parts, and the special tools.



I bought the parts from RockAuto, and rented the tool kit from TuneMyEuro.com. I also bought new harmonic balancer bolts from Metalnerd.

I've done timing belt replacement on other cars. But this was on a completely different level. I would not recommend this to a novice.

Glad to see you're still pecking at it! On another note, want to work on my neighbors 3 series for me? They keep bugging me about flushing the trans

What brand of tensioner came in the Rock Auto kit?? I personally (and many others from experience) won't use anything other than Littens for the tensioner. It's sort of the weak link in the sysytem and only the best should be used as well as the rollers/idlers.

This may sound like sacrilege, but IMO the BMW is easier to work on... at least in the engine bay. (the VW engine bay is like a game of Tetris) The BMW transmission would be the exception to that rule, since it's buried in the center of the car.

jettawreck said:

What brand of tensioner came in the Rock Auto kit??

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The kit I bought was Gates part number TCKWP321M. It comes with the PowerGrip belt, and the water pump has a metal impeller. I don't know who made the tensioner.

Gates products have treated me well, for many years. So I'm not gonna sweat it.