Balance Shaft Upgrade Shops

boxbeam30

Member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI
bsm/upgrade/delete/tensioner

Just got a 2005 B5 TDI BHW in SE Michigan. Is there any register of the VINs that have had BSM gear upgrade or delete (oilhammer, mogolf, whitbread, lug_nut, or others)? Previous owner(s) unknown and/or don't have track of this. Dealers may not know (not done the work) or have interest. I will try to track owners through secretary of state register but might not get much. Mine is WVWCE63B75E090448. Will try the dipstick method to check. Would rather not drop the pan just to find out if easier way extant. 170k miles but not noisy beyond diesel clatter. Have read through the pertinent threads but may have missed an item or two.
Had b5 1.8t atw prior with 350k and intimate with belts, control arms, etc.
 

boxbeam30

Member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI
Is there enough visibility of the chain and tensioner 'status' by just removing the crank seal cover to check? Is/was there any thought to reinforcement of the chain tensioner bracket where the break occurs (fixed position side)? Is there real estate within the seal cover to do that (small piece of steel angle for instance)? My read of the main point of failure appears to be the tensioner bracket deformation/breakage with cascading tensioner wear and/or self destruction, chain wrap failure, associated sprocket wear, balance shaft sync and acceration/decel control problems, related oil pump drive failure. It may be that the chain and related drive is also not robust to the driven inertias re vehicle/engine life but root cause like the tensioner design.
 

johnboy00

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2000
Location
Bridgewater,Ma.,USA
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon, 2004 Jetta, 2003 Jetta wagon
Independant of chain tensioner, the hex shaft will eventually round itself and the hole it goes into, stopping the oil pump from working. Besides, the delete kit is only $500 or so and the extra work compared to a timing belt kit, is not difficult.

IIRC you can't see the tensioner without removing the oil pan.
 

boxbeam30

Member
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI
Thanks for the clarification. Maybe moot but was there a hardness/tougher material grade change from A to D suffix of the oil pump shaft or unknown (for the geared version)? I have a delete kit enroute now anyway. Thanks for all the informative posts. Certainly saves reinventing the wheel.
 

elyasguy

Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Location
Kernersville NC
TDI
2005 passat tdi gls
VWZTIPS did my bsd and manual conversion. I have driven it every day for about a month now and have had 0 problems. I can't tell any difference as far as vibration between balance shafts and no balance shafts other than it idles smoother. When I picked my car up, there was nothing that that would even give you the slightest hint that it didn't come from the factory like that except for the new shift boot and knob. I have noticed around a 3 mpg increase at 75-80 and even more on my 15 mile combined city and highway commute to work. If anyone has any questions about my bsd don't hesitate to pm me.
 

dferdy

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 16, 2014
Location
Marietta GA
TDI
4x 2006 Jetta TDI 3DSG & 1 5 Spd2005 passat SW TDI, 2004 Passat TDI, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Golf, 2002 Jetta 1991 GMC Topkick 6.6 Catipillar
Balance Shaft delete service.

Hi Oilhammer,

I have a VW shop and would be happy to do BSD jobs for anyone who is willing to bring there TDI to Marietta GA. Just set up an appointment with me and I will have your car in and out in a hurry. No more sewing machines here! PM me to set a date.

Doug Ferdinand
 

dferdy

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 16, 2014
Location
Marietta GA
TDI
4x 2006 Jetta TDI 3DSG & 1 5 Spd2005 passat SW TDI, 2004 Passat TDI, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Golf, 2002 Jetta 1991 GMC Topkick 6.6 Catipillar
Balance shaft Shop In Atlanta

I will gladly do balance shaft up grade for anyone who is willing to bring their car to Marietta GA


Thanks, Oilhammer. I logged on right now specifically to see if someone could make a list of people who do the balance shaft upgrade. Looks like there isn't anyone too terribly close to Atlanta.

I just purchased a 2005 Passat TDI, and the gas mileage is great. Unfortunately, I'm almost afraid to drive it. It has 108,000 miles and I'm afraid that if the timing belt doesn't break, maybe the balance shaft chain will! I gotta get it to either you or Pete down in South Florida. (I'm about midway between the two of you.)

Anyway, thanks for the list, and I hope the list grows longer. Anybody know of someone in Atlanta skilled at this?
 

dferdy

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 16, 2014
Location
Marietta GA
TDI
4x 2006 Jetta TDI 3DSG & 1 5 Spd2005 passat SW TDI, 2004 Passat TDI, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Golf, 2002 Jetta 1991 GMC Topkick 6.6 Catipillar
Balance shaft delete

You can add My shop to the list.
We are in Marietta GA
Just give me a ring at 770-560-1436 to set up an appointment.
Doug





Posting this for anyone who is looking for someone in their area to do the balance shaft gear drive upgrade to their 2004/2005 BHW Passat TDI. I get a lot of calls, emails, PMs, etc. from all over, and while I love to have visitors from all over and welcome everyone, I know it is not always easy nor realistic for someone to visit Missouri from far away. Also, these folks would be good sources for normal PM, as many of the 'gurus' here for whatever reason seem to be frightened to death of B5s. I have no idea why, but...

I will update this list in this first post, please PM me if you would like to be added to the list with any contact info you want posted.

Midwest:

Car-Doc Automotive, Inc. (St. Louis, MO)
www.cardocautomotive.com

CoolAirVW (Kansas City, MO)
www.kansascityTDI.com
coolairvw@aol.com

Anuthee Huffstetter
Golden, CO
www.dieselland.net

Marty:
www.martinbergelllc.com




East/Northeast:

JA Autowerks LLC
193 Newman Springs Rd.
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702
(732) 691-2335
http://www.jaautowerks.com/



hevster1 (New Jersey)
hevster1@yahoo.com

TDIJetta99 (Port Jervis, NY)
tdijetta99@gmail.com

k harley
KMH Motors (North Chelmsford, MA)
Keith Harley
ph: 978.766.9151
www.kmhmotors.com

Mair's Continental Motors
1455 Friedensburg Rd
Reading PA 19606
610-779-3555 Contact Jeff Baird or Rolf Mair
website www.mairscontinentalmotors.com

Mike McCann
Aka 94x
Westhampton MA
413-455-5602
TdiMike@comcast.net



Northwest:

fixumrich (Portland, OR)
Fix um haus
www.fixumhaus.com

Southeast:

VWSHPFRMN (Coconut Creek, FL)
www.gunthervw.net
ph: 954.590.3806

German Performance Auto
1227 Lebanon Pike
Nashville, TN 37210
gpotuning@gmail.com
615-248-9466

Jeff Spitzer (vwztips)
Greenville, SC
864-609-9246
jaspitzer@charter.net

Southwest/SoCal:

Harvieux (Whittier, CA)
Wild Rose Motors, Ltd.
www.vwtdionly.com

Autowerkstat in San Jose CA.
463 Blossom Hill Road, Unit G, San Jose, CA 95123
(408)224-1952
Fax (408)224-1056
email chris@autowerkstat.com
http://www.autowerkstat.com

South:

runonbeer (Austin, TX)
Robby Plenge
www.runonbeer.com

mtbr297 (Fort Worth, TX)
Steve Glover
ph: 817.915.4063

Digi Sport Performance
110a Rose Lane
Suite 104
Frisco, TX 75034
214-257-8221


Canada:

VDUBTECH (Toronto)
Brandon Pilkey
DCB Auto Repairs

Ability Auto
Pickering, ON, Canada
1016 Brock Rd Unit #2
416-520-4870
 

11Jetta

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Location
WV
TDI
2011 Jetta, 2005 Passat wagon
BSM delete done - Mark Talbot in Berryville, VA

Mark Talbot over in Berryville, VA just did a BSM delete on my wife's 2005 TDI Passat wagon. He also did a timing belt change. Car has about 126,000 miles on it and he did a great job. I was very impressed with the work, car is running great. Wife says its not as loud as it used to be, you could hear the chain when in idle. Also the pickup and go is much better. Very satisfied with the work. I am going to be having more work done on my 2011 TDI Jetta with him. :D
 

dferdy

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 16, 2014
Location
Marietta GA
TDI
4x 2006 Jetta TDI 3DSG & 1 5 Spd2005 passat SW TDI, 2004 Passat TDI, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Golf, 2002 Jetta 1991 GMC Topkick 6.6 Catipillar
BS Delete

How much was the total bill with BS delete and Timing belt
 

wgd54

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Location
Tampa, FL& Albany, KY
TDI
2005 Passat BHW
I had a great experience with Chris & Amy at Fast Enough Performance in Lexington, KY. They did the BSD, glow plugs & harness, timing belt/waterpump, diagnosed my tandem pump vacuum leak and replaced same, plus master cylinder & booster and handled the Rocketchip ECU tune while it was in the shop. Very reasonable prices and far more intelligent conversation than speaking with a dealer.
Highly recommend their work as it runs better than new at 152K miles.
 

d0u8l3m

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Location
Connecticut
TDI
B5.5 Passat
Just had 413 Auto up in Westfield Mass do my balance shaft delete, timing belt, and an ATF change on the transmission. Mike was very nice and professional, had my car for a few days and took care of everything. I had an issue with the front bumper when he put it back on but it just ended up being some bracket that wasn't aligned/tightened all the way and was pushing it out a bit. Mike fixed it immediately.

Car is much quieter now and I honestly can't tell a difference in the vibration from before vs after. FYI though I've only owned the car for about a month and a half now so not sure if I would even be able to notice a difference by not having it that long. The transmission still shifts fine, it sketched me out one time where I thought it was slipping but that might just be me being paranoid about doing a transmission oil change on a car that has 121k on it, with no prior trans servicing. Mike showed me the old filter though and it was very clean, with no metal in it whatsoever. The previous owner was my buddy's grandmother so that might explain why the car is in such good shape.

Ill keep monitoring the car for leaks or transmission slippage, but either way if you need your BSM deleted (or any other work for that matter) I would definitely recommend 413 Auto
 

wgd54

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Location
Tampa, FL& Albany, KY
TDI
2005 Passat BHW
Balance shaft delete shop for TDI

I would like to put in a good word for Fast Enough Performance in Lexington, KY after having a BSD performed on my 2005 Passat TDI (154K miles). Chris runs a great shop and is very experienced in TDI issues. While in his shop, I also had my transmission torque converter replaced, glow plugs, dual pump, rocketchip tune, and even had my AC repaired after two (yes 2) different VW dealers in Cinci and Tampa could not fix it. The VW dealer PAID Fast Enough to fix the AC...
Its been three month since I've had the work performed and it runs like a top. I'm getting over 40mpg again and the performance is very perky. If you are within reasonable driving distance of Lexington, don't hesitate to look them up!
 

dferdy

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 16, 2014
Location
Marietta GA
TDI
4x 2006 Jetta TDI 3DSG & 1 5 Spd2005 passat SW TDI, 2004 Passat TDI, 2002 Jetta, 2005 Golf, 2002 Jetta 1991 GMC Topkick 6.6 Catipillar
Up grade Shops

Please add my shop to this list. Thanks:)

www.ferdinandautorepair.com

We are located in Marietta GA Just north of Atlanta


Douglas Ferdinand
770-560-1436
 

TTolentino

Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Greetings to all. I apologize if my question should be posted to a different thread but this thread seemed to me the most relevant. I purchased recently a BHW TDI engine with AT transmission from a 2004 Passat from our local Pull-a-Part, a rare find. Just eyeballing the shape and condition of the engine before pulling it satisfied me that it was worth salvaging for future transplant to my 2002 wagon, v-6 with AT. I am familiar with the balance shaft issues of this engine and the costs of replacing the OEM module. However, I am not ready yet to commit large sums of money to upgrading the engine, if, in fact there are other issues with this engine that I have not yet discovered. My question: assuming that there are no known issues with this balance shaft module, is it reasonable to just replace just the sprockets, chain, chain guide and hex drive shaft with new parts and still expect a good 40k to 50k miles more out of this engine? I know that I would still need to do a TB change as well. I am a conservative driver where mileage is more important to me than any performance (HP) enhancement. Basically I just want a good (not necessarily great) daily driver. vehicle. Thanks for your advice. Cheers!
 

vwztips

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
2005 Passat GLS Wagon TDI 5 spd manual w/BSM delete 2011 Tiguan TDI/DSG 2005 Audi A4 Avant 6MQ TDI 2011 BMW X5 35d
For the BSM, yes the geared BSM is expensive. I highly recommend switching over to the delete option as opposed to rebuilding what you have. I think part cost would be about the same if not more for rebuilding. You can buy the delete and timing belt kit together from Aaron at Cascade/Bora.

As for putting it in the 2002 V6 here are a few things you will need:
1. TDI ECU
2. TDI TCU ( I have one I can sell you if you need)
3. TDI gas pedal
4. Lock carrier and cross over pipe from any 2001.5-2005 1.8t (must have the clip in style hoses, not hose clamps) or 2004-2005 TDI
5. If you did not get the AC compressor, alternator or power steering pump, you will need those items too. Also the relays/fuses are different for the AC fan control for the 4 cylinder cars.

Lastly, one thing you need to verify is that the wiring harness for the TCU has the same pin outs between the 2002 V6 and 2004-2005 TDI's. They are known to change from year to year. Personally I would dump the auto and go with a manual.

I have put a TDI with 5 speed manual in a 2004 GLX V6 automatic. It is doable but just need some patience with some things you will encounter.

As far as the motor is concerned,

1. The cam needs to be inspected but if it needs a new one I would not change it until you get it the engine in, running and the bugs worked out.
2. Replace the temp sensor housing and tandem pump gasket while the engine is out.
 
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TTolentino

Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Thank you gratefully for that advice. I, in fact, would love to have a manual in place of the AT, but since I have one already mated to the TDI I might as well get some use from it. On the other hand, selling it (AT) might just pay enough of the cost to switch to a manual to make the effort worthwhile. They seem to be available and rather cheap ( as little as 250.00 dollars from LKQ industries, and I recently saw one on eBay for 100.00, local pick up, on the web). Doing so would eliminate the TCU (would have to modify the ECU) and provide even greater fuel savings. I think I have the skill set to do the swap. I wonder though about the modifications to the crank shaft to accept the MT. How much effort and cost would it be to switch to a manual, roughly? Thanks.
 

Col Sanders

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Location
Illinois
TDI
97 B4 Green And it's Possessed 2001 Audi A4 AFN SWAP
Just make sure you get a TDI manual trans. Gas trans no workey. Frans at Dutch Auto Parts.Com has all the parts in a kit. Pedals, clutch, axles, sub-frame and other stuff shipped to your door overnight via FedEx. Lots and lots of us have purchased from him. Prices are great. First class in everyway!
 

TTolentino

Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Col. Sanders, thanks you for that post. I have heard, also, favorable recommendations of Dutch Auto and will probably go ahead with the swap to the manual. In your conversion to a manual transmission, what did you do about the fuel tank and the low pressure fuel pump which I presume was available only for the TDIs in years 2004 and 2005? If I could I would rather keep my present "gas" tank and convert it for diesel, if practical to do so. The donor car from which this TDI came from may still have its fuel tank but I would rather just place the effort and expense on getting a new fuel pump and convert the fuel tank in the 2002 wagon that I have. Thanks for your advice.
 

vwztips

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
2005 Passat GLS Wagon TDI 5 spd manual w/BSM delete 2011 Tiguan TDI/DSG 2005 Audi A4 Avant 6MQ TDI 2011 BMW X5 35d
I have done a couple of gas to TDI conversions where I left the old tank in. I purged the tank of any remaining fuel. I replaced the fuel filter under the car with a new one.

You will need to remove the plate in the filler neck so you can get the larger diesel nozzle in it to fill it up.

Once that is done, I put 5 gallons of diesel in the tank, hot wired the pump and ran it through lines to the front, back into the 5 gallon can.

I put a simple T in the supply and return lines in the engine bay so the high pressure fuel pump could dump back to the tank. It has worked well.

I have also swapped tanks with a diesel car tank. It is some work since you have to drop the exhaust and the rear axle to drop it.
 

TTolentino

Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
vwztips, thank you very much for the advice. The fact that you applied a T-connector to siphon off the extra fuel/fuel pressure from the "gas" fuel tank pump seems a practical solution to the problem that I thought would occur if I kept the old fuel tank my 2002 car rather than tackle taking apart the diesel tank from the donor car. Did you use any "gas" manual transmissions in your conversions? If so, which ones and what modifications did you employ? I have heard that the gear ratios are different from, say, the 1.8L turbo manual compared to the v-6, 2.6L manual. Also, the mounting plates will be different between gas and diesel transmissions; hence, a swap of the subframe support will also be needed if a conversion is performed. As an aside, the owner of a VW salvage parts supplier in California, apparently visits Germany fairly often and buys the manuals for the TDIs and container ships them to the US. I plan to call and find out what his prices are for these manual transmissions.
 

vwztips

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
2005 Passat GLS Wagon TDI 5 spd manual w/BSM delete 2011 Tiguan TDI/DSG 2005 Audi A4 Avant 6MQ TDI 2011 BMW X5 35d
For my first conversion I used a DVZ from a V6 car because:

1. I needed to make sure everything worked and I had all the proper parts before shipping over a unit from Europe
2. The DVZ is cheap
3. The DVZ was used in the V6 which has the same subframe as the Passat TDI or any automatic Passat. You just need the drivers side trans bracket from the V6. No need to swap subframes
 

duteman2

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Location
Connecticut
TDI
'02 GOLF, '04 Passat Wagon, 5-speed, BSD, our 8th. and 9th. TDI's
I have also had Mike from 413 Auto do quite a bit of work for me, a major project that included a BSD and Manual Tranny swap (parts from Frans at Dutch who was great), suspension work, ECU Malone tuning, and general maintenance on our Golf, Bora and F350 PowerStroke. He does excellent work for a fair price and is a very conscientious man. I can't recommend him more highly and I've been around shops for a large portion of my life. I'm glad he's on my team!

He moved his shop down the road to a building be bought, a permanent location. His new address is:

413 Auto
128 Meadow St.
Westfield MA 01086
413-642-3799
 
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Dave1980

Member
Joined
May 16, 2015
Location
Lehigh Valley, Pa, US
TDI
2005 Passat GLS
Had a great experience at Mairs Continental Motors near Reading Pa. They did a timing service, replaced the leaking oil cooler, flushed the engine several times and a balance shaft delete. They did great work and are very familiar with these cars. After getting the car back did a Malone tune and the car runs awesome.
 
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zaeli

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Location
North Carolina
TDI
99.5 golf 175k (totaled, sold) 2000 golf tdi 375k (Malone 1.5) 2002 green diesel bug
Looking @ a 2005 Passat tdi wagon tomorrow, leather, auto, heated seats, 254k. TB & cam job @ 190k, I don’t know the mechanic. Nothing about the bal shaft, hopefully records. The Bad:Tear in driver's seat. Rear defroster doesn't work. EGR valve flap needs replacing
1/3 of life of the tire tread left. 2 automatic locks need to be replaced
 

Keysd402

Active member
Joined
Jul 28, 2020
Location
Central square ny
TDI
2005 Passat tdi
Looking for a shop near Syracuse NY or Alfred NY can't find anything close in this forum currently and I'm trying to get the delete done. Any help is appreciated


Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
The shop I work at can do the balance shaft delete.
It's Garber diesel service
701 N Monroe Street Versailles MO 65084
(573) 378-2900
www.garberdiesel.com
 
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