Anybody out there in Louisiana?

bsmith67inla · Dec 10, 2013

zukikat said:
Sounds like you're looking for some major power/torque...
My TDI is my commuter-box for my 100 mile (round-trip) work commute so I'm not really thinking about a 17/22 turbo upgrade or anything quite that radical so far as just nozzles takes an ALH from a total slug to a little faster than a Prius, gives it the ability to actually accelerate to pass other vehicles on the interstate and makes it a fun little car for what it is...

When all but one of the factory idlers/rollers for the timing belt system seized up at 150k miles and shredded the belt because the original owner's mechanic only replaced the timing belt itself, I had Frank06 fully rebuild the head and since it needed a new cam anyway and the price wasn't that much more expensive I opted for the Frank06 cam upgrade to go with my PP520 nozzles and I'm still getting 45-50mpg at 70mph and it pulls strong from about 1,800 all the way to redline while still on the stock tune...

dremd can tell you how much fun my car is for the minor mods it has.
deebeaux's Golf is noticeably faster now but he's got a clutch and tune...

A tune on my car would be so much better but I'm still waiting on delivery of my DC Stage III clutch setup since my stock flywheel seems to be getting unhappy at about 165k miles now.
I did some reading and called a few people and decided to try the DC Stage III clutch/flywheel setup to give me more upgradability down the road while still retaining my easy commuter car shifting comfort as the only bad thing I've heard so far about DC is delivery time can sometimes not go as planned.

When it comes time for a turbo I'll probably get a plain VNT17 and a new tune so I shouldn't have to worry about building the motor. Won't be the fastest TDI around but should get to be even more fun to drive and come a lot closer to living up to the rep of being a "Blue Lagoon Metallic" Jetta as everyone assumes it's a 1.8T because it happens to have gotten painted that color from the factory... I put BBS RC's on it for a few months and BMW owners and ricers and even other VeeDub's rev'd on me all the time at the light, assuming it was a fast gasser... It puts on a good show from a stop with all that low end torque but it's no modded 1.8T or TT'd VR6... But then again it does get 45-53mpg as-is and they don't.

Thanks I'll check that shifter out. I wasn't crazy about dropping 200 on dieselgeek s. I don't want to be the fastest either. I just know you can mod a diesel and still get good or better fuel economy.

I will also get gages to monitor everything before injectors and cam. Egr will be gone asap and intake cleaned.

TDikook · Dec 10, 2013

http://www.42draftdesigns.com/Shifter-Bushings_c_70.html

here is another option for shifter upgrades with out too much money. Get the Audi SS shifter and replace the bushings with these. Whitbread did this for me. while not Superior, it is noticeable enough...

just a note. removing the rubber bushings is a PITA!!! there are videos on it on youtube

bsmith67inla · Dec 10, 2013

TDikook said:
http://www.42draftdesigns.com/Shifter-Bushings_c_70.html

here is another option for shifter upgrades with out too much money. Get the Audi SS shifter and replace the bushings with these. Whitbread did this for me. while not Superior, it is noticeable enough...

just a note. removing the rubber bushings is a PITA!!! there are videos on it on youtube

Where's whitbread located?

TDikook · Dec 10, 2013

he is in Michigan now, was in Lima,OH

zukikat · Dec 10, 2013

bsmith67inla said:
Thanks I'll check that shifter out. I wasn't crazy about dropping 200 on dieselgeek s. I don't want to be the fastest either. I just know you can mod a diesel and still get good or better fuel economy.

I will also get gages to monitor everything before injectors and cam. Egr will be gone asap and intake cleaned.

There's some debate about EGR, especially if you're doing a significant amount of highway driving as it apparently tends to actually improve economy with it versus removing it. The big EGR delete fans swear by doing it because the one big thing it does do for the car is keeps your intake manifold from slowly getting all clogged up with exhaust gunk but I can tell you that my intake hadn't ever been cleaned in 150k miles (149,954 when I pulled it apart) and was so clogged up you couldn't put a pencil through the tiny inlet hole in the build-up gunk, it was barely big enough for a small flat-head/standard/slotted screwdriver tip to fit into, and my car still ran and drove and accelerated normally.

In case I missed it, what nozzles are you planning to run?
Instrumentation is always a good plan when modding but it's been my experience that on the ALH a set of properly balanced PP520's can be dropped into a stock car as-is with the I.Q. checked and asjusted as needed and will work just fine without needing a tune or gauges. I'm 26k miles into this car and had 6K of hard and fast interstate driving on my last one with these same nozzles before the crash and I've had the Frank06 cam in this car for almost 15k miles now on top of the nozzles with nothing more than VCDS for initial setup and a ScanGauge for monitoring in real-time.
No two cars are identical but I set my IQ and double-checked the VCDS injector balance numbers and injection timing to make sure they were in spec when I dropped in the nozzles and then I set the injection timing (adjusted the slotted injection pump gear) and double-checked my IQ and injector balance readings after installing the cam and dremd and deebeaux can tell you I'm not gentle on my TDI and it just goes and goes... Now, this car smokes quite a bit under moderate to hard acceleration which some TDI owners don't like and we're not entirely sure why yet (probably the cam) but it runs strong for what little modding I've done and sometimes a tailgater deserves a good windshield diesel bath anyway...

TDikook · Dec 10, 2013

Zuki, all that without a tune? Man a tune will bring that smile back to your face. but it is still fun. and yes...The tailgaters HATE me!!

bsmith67inla · Dec 11, 2013

zukikat said:
There's some debate about EGR, especially if you're doing a significant amount of highway driving as it apparently tends to actually improve economy with it versus removing it. The big EGR delete fans swear by doing it because the one big thing it does do for the car is keeps your intake manifold from slowly getting all clogged up with exhaust gunk but I can tell you that my intake hadn't ever been cleaned in 150k miles (149,954 when I pulled it apart) and was so clogged up you couldn't put a pencil through the tiny inlet hole in the build-up gunk, it was barely big enough for a small flat-head/standard/slotted screwdriver tip to fit into, and my car still ran and drove and accelerated normally.

In case I missed it, what nozzles are you planning to run?
Instrumentation is always a good plan when modding but it's been my experience that on the ALH a set of properly balanced PP520's can be dropped into a stock car as-is with the I.Q. checked and asjusted as needed and will work just fine without needing a tune or gauges. I'm 26k miles into this car and had 6K of hard and fast interstate driving on my last one with these same nozzles before the crash and I've had the Frank06 cam in this car for almost 15k miles now on top of the nozzles with nothing more than VCDS for initial setup and a ScanGauge for monitoring in real-time.
No two cars are identical but I set my IQ and double-checked the VCDS injector balance numbers and injection timing to make sure they were in spec when I dropped in the nozzles and then I set the injection timing (adjusted the slotted injection pump gear) and double-checked my IQ and injector balance readings after installing the cam and dremd and deebeaux can tell you I'm not gentle on my TDI and it just goes and goes... Now, this car smokes quite a bit under moderate to hard acceleration which some TDI owners don't like and we're not entirely sure why yet (probably the cam) but it runs strong for what little modding I've done and sometimes a tailgater deserves a good windshield diesel bath anyway...

Thanks for the info. I don't know about injectors I get but I'll probably go larger than needed and cut the fuel back with vcds. I'll upgrade the turbo later on or when I get head studs. And I'm getting gages Reguardless of mods. You can trouble shoot a lot with gauges, plus I like knowing, egt, boost, and drive pressure for Peace of mind.

bsmith67inla · Dec 11, 2013

Plus I have gauges from my truck. I will also monitor fuel psi. Does anyone run a secondary fuel pump/pusher pump?

zukikat · Dec 11, 2013

TDikook said:
Zuki, all that without a tune? Man a tune will bring that smile back to your face. but it is still fun. and yes...The tailgaters HATE me!!

Yeah, I know... I need a tune... but the stock Mk4 ALH clutch just won't handle it, at least not for long, and whatever clutch she (orig owner) had some random mechanic put in this car doesn't seem to be any better and is already getting a bit tired at about 60k on it now based on when she said she had "the clutch" replaced... It holds fine so far in any gear at any speed but engagement isn't so pretty most of the time and slowly getting worse.

New clutch is ordered nearly 2 weeks ago now, was supposed to arrive the day after thanksgiving at the latest but apparently the vendor is still waiting on the manufacturer to ship it.

Plus even if I'd gone with like a Sachs setup and then got a tune it'd be like $1k cost at the least and a lot of work to swap a clutch which would be a fairly fast car by Mk4 TDI standards and make it much more fun to drive than it already is but other things have been far more important so far.

I finally decided to do the clutch, selected what's supposed to be a really good clutch/flywheel setup for bigger future power/tq upgrading without leg breaking pedal action, and we'll see how it does once it eventually arrives...

zukikat · Dec 11, 2013

bsmith67inla said:
Plus I have gauges from my truck. I will also monitor fuel psi. Does anyone run a secondary fuel pump/pusher pump?

dremd is running a Pump Deuce lift pump in the tank on his wagon.
there's an issue or two with that mod which he and deebeaux can explain but it certainly makes re-priming much easier and quickly reveals any weak spots in your fuel line system that may not have been noticeable other than intermittent long cranking from partial loss of prime...
I've been tempted more than once as it would help find my car's few remaining mild random prime issues it's had since long before I bought it but at my mods level it won't really do much else for performance or economy and they're pretty expensive so I haven't taken the plunge on that mod yet.
deebeaux tried it a while back, had foaming/drivability problems, ended up pulling it back out, talked with the seller, figured out the issues and how to deal with them, and hasn't gotten around to trying to use it again yet. I've thought about borrowing his to pressurize my system and look for leaks but available time and motivation for that haven't happened simultaneously yet.

TDikook · Dec 11, 2013

i hear ya. I got my RC tune the day I bought it. from dealer to RC's house. and my stock clutch slipped that day. but once the clutch is changed....oh man....

zukikat · Dec 11, 2013

TDikook said:
i hear ya. I got my RC tune the day I bought it. from dealer to RC's house. and my stock clutch slipped that day. but once the clutch is changed....oh man....

It's one of those things for me where I had a >400whp "BPU" Twin-Turbo 6-Speed Mk4 Toyota Supra for several years, a couple of TT Automatic Supras one of which I also "BPU'd", and I've been a guest in the passenger seat of much faster cars than that (>1000whp) on a road course and drag strip so fast is a relative term... but fun, on the other hand, can be had in a variety of cars without all that much power. The little IS300 Lexus I commuted in for a couple years was grossly under-powered in this country for its' looks and handling abilities in my opinion but was fun to get sideways in with no mods at all without a doubt. Ironically, in contrast I also thoroughly enjoyed the torque curve and surprising handling/steering/braking/etc and unbelievably tight turning radius of the 1st gen Toyota V8 (4.0L 1UZ-FE) powered Lexus LS400 I bought used and thorougly enjoyed commuting in for over a year before buying my first TDI... How's that for culture-shock... From TT Supras and a V8 Lexus directly to a 90hp Mk4 TDI VW...
The stock Mk4 TDI was borderline frustrating in so many ways and downright scary to merge into fast moving traffic from a stop with but within the first week I put these same PP520 nozzles and then a PD150 Turbo Inlet Pipe on (which got destroyed less than 3 months later in the crash) and it instantly went from a stressful econo-box to a fun car.
On my current Mk4 TDI with the nozzles and cam I drive it a lot like I did in my Supras and still somehow consistently get 45-48mpg on a regular basis...
So the itch for more power is always there but these days I'm getting better at resisting the urge to constantly mod things... I still cave and do stuff to it several times a year but most of the time I just remind myself it's my work commuter and end up leaving well enough alone... for a while anyway...

monkeybrain · Dec 20, 2013

bsmith67inla said:
No just planning ahead for psi. I come from a tt cummins, so I can't leave stuff stock. Ryanp sells the 4bar map like 60 euro I think.

Thought that screen name looked familiar. What's happenin'? Sold the truck huh?

destdi · Jan 19, 2014

I just moved to the Hammond, La area...woulnt you know it as soon as I got here my ip sprung a bad leak...believe it needs a reseal. Anyone out there that can tackle asap?

destdi · Jan 19, 2014

lift pump

zukikat said:
dremd is running a Pump Deuce lift pump in the tank on his wagon.
there's an issue or two with that mod which he and deebeaux can explain but it certainly makes re-priming much easier and quickly reveals any weak spots in your fuel line system that may not have been noticeable other than intermittent long cranking from partial loss of prime...
I've been tempted more than once as it would help find my car's few remaining mild random prime issues it's had since long before I bought it but at my mods level it won't really do much else for performance or economy and they're pretty expensive so I haven't taken the plunge on that mod yet.
deebeaux tried it a while back, had foaming/drivability problems, ended up pulling it back out, talked with the seller, figured out the issues and how to deal with them, and hasn't gotten around to trying to use it again yet. I've thought about borrowing his to pressurize my system and look for leaks but available time and motivation for that haven't happened simultaneously yet.

I just moved to the Hammond area from Ohio. Growler installed my lift pump on my 2001jetta with a 11mm ip and the injectors out of the European van I can remember what size now...no tune on that car....man it runs incrediable on stock tune cant even imagine with a tune. I have a 97 passat with .764 balanced injectors and the most aggressive tune I could get on the stock turbo and I believe the 01 is faster never lined them up tho. I do reccomend the lift pump to save on extended cranking time after fuel filter change.

TJSonOfAnder · Feb 19, 2014

I'm still stuck in third gear. I've narrowed it down to a miss communication between my transmission and my TCM. It could be as bad as needing a new transmission, or as simple as resetting the TCM; though I don't know if you can do that with Vag-Com or if I HAVE to take it to a dealer. Obviously I've been a little short on time, and every time I do get a free day I end up spending a couple hours on it, just to figure out that I'm not equipped to solve the problem, even if I knew exactly what it was.
Has anyone tried Uptown Imports? They are the only mechanic I can find in the area that works on Volkswagens and has decent reviews.
Thanks again for the help. Also did the talk of a GTG die, or did it actually happen?

dremd · Feb 19, 2014

GTG talk has essentially died, if anyone wants to organize one, i'll come and help in anyway that I can. Probably mostly due to time being short on time for everyone.

I'd bet VagCom would do as much diagnosis as the dealer can do.
I'd loan you mine, but I don't currently own a Hex-Can.

voilsb · Apr 30, 2014

Hey guys I recently bought a 2012 Jetta TDI and live/work at Ft Polk in west Louisiana. I've got a Micro-CAN cable in the mail, should arrive tomorrow. Just saying hi!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

bob022004 · Oct 19, 2014

New guy here in Monroe. I just bought a 2010 Jetta. Ill be down in baton rouge area for work this monday through thursday if anyone wants to grab a drink and talk tdi stuff.

zukikat · Oct 25, 2014

Hey Bob,
I'm a bit further southeast than B.R. (about 80 miles) and just spotted your post so I'll just say welcome and maybe next time...

stevekarns · Nov 27, 2014

I've just moved to Mandeville and have a VAG-Com, although I haven't used it much, am always willing to try and help someone out. I work lots of hours mostly in the Gulf offshore, but when I'm around will help

CeciltheDiesel · Dec 16, 2014

Hello,
Located in the Baton Rouge area. This weekend I finally bit the bullet and purchased a 2003 Jetta 5M with 169K miles. Loving it! Anyone know a good mechanic in the Southern LA region?

dremd · Dec 16, 2014

Welcome Shane.

I'm In the boudin Capitol of the world, but I do drive through BTR about every other week usually on my way to New Orleans.

Good luck with the ALH, I love mine to death even though I need to change a head gasket in it.

Edit: wish I knew a good mechanic.
I had an argument with our local go to guy about how many Camshafts the ALH has.

zukikat · Dec 17, 2014

Finding a good mechanic for any make/model these days is hard enough but so far it seems that trustworthy german TDI gurus down here (Louisiana) seem to be few and far between which is why dremd and deebeaux and I tend to do our own learnin' and wrenchin' and we haven't managed to bone one up so far...

Heck, dremd's '03 wagon was a Premium 1.8T Auto before he got his hands on it and swapped in an ALH after his '00 Golf got totalled because he wanted all the extra factory goodies a TDI can't get and he couldn't find a decent Mk4 TDI wagon at a reasonable price.

So if you're mechanically inclined at all, for best results I'd strongly recommend getting a real Hex-CAN cable and bentley manual and a handful of the various special german tools (triple-square socket bits, etc) and learn how to use them, and read up on here when you need any help because almost anything you ever wanted or needed to know about your Mk4 ALH TDI can be found on this website.

CeciltheDiesel · Dec 17, 2014

Ya that's the reason I asked because I'm not very mechanically inclinded, but I'm eventually going to invest in a VCDS and bentley manual to start. I tend to learn the hard way

Thanks for the feedback fellas.

CeciltheDiesel · Dec 18, 2014

dremd said:
Edit: wish I knew a good mechanic.
I had an argument with our local go to guy about how many Camshafts the ALH has.

dremd, any reviews of VW Plus in Lafayette?

Ace Deprave · Dec 19, 2014

CeciltheDiesel said:
dremd, any reviews of VW Plus in Lafayette?

I have a friend in Lafayette that used them for one of his scheduled maintenance visits for his Jetta TDI, and he didn't have any complaints. I called them when shopping around for my 40k service, which included DSG flush, and they were actually more expensive than the dealership.

My buddy did say that all of the people who work there drove TDIs.

Desl Ed · Dec 19, 2014

I used VW Plus a few years ago while in Lafayette. I was stranded when a motor mount let loose, and the engine dropped. (This happened within 2000 miles after a timing belt job where the tty bolts were not replaced.)

I had the car towed to them. They did the repair quickly, inexpensively, and professionally.

I would have no problem using them for any VW work.

dremd · Dec 19, 2014

Ace Deprave said:
I have a friend in Lafayette that used them for one of his scheduled maintenance visits for his Jetta TDI, and he didn't have any complaints. I called them when shopping around for my 40k service, which included DSG flush, and they were actually more expensive than the dealership.
My buddy did say that all of the people who work there drove TDIs.

Well, I had an argument about how many Camshafts the ALH has with their self proclaimed "diesel guy".
I used Chris before he opened the shop (late 90's), at the time he did great work, but was virtually unavailable.

That's basically all the data I have other than lots of people driveing pickups stop me and tell me I should go there.

CeciltheDiesel · Dec 20, 2014

Guys, my 2003 Jetta's speedometer stopped working, however the tachometer, odometer, and other gauges are still working perfectly. I just bought this car and unfortunately need the speedometer working to get an inspection sticker. Any suggestions or places in Louisiana that fix instrument clusters?

Anybody out there in Louisiana?

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