Balance Shaft Upgrade Shops

jacktdi

Active member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Mansfield, Texas
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
For those in the North Texas/Southern Oklahoma area, I will continue to recommend the work of Brian Hague (aka alphasenior on this site) at DSP Automotive.

I just got my low mileage (now with ~42,000 miles) 2005 Passat TDI back chainless.

I spoke to Brian about this before I picked up this car in Pittsburgh in April. He recommended that I look at things like the timing belt and the BSM based on the years that the car has been in service, NOT the mileage of the car. I put almost 8,000 miles on the car since I purchased it, and I took the car in this week for the BSM/Timing belt, and transmission fluid service.

The tensioner was broken, and things were starting to go down hill, so I am very glad to have this behind me. This was a car that had been meticulously maintained by the previous owner. However, all the work was performed at a VW dealership in the Pittsburgh area.

Now, one thing about Brian. His work has always been very thorough (he has worked on my 02 Jetta too), reasonably priced, and his care about these cars and his customers can not be overstated. You will not be disappointed if you chose him to do this, or any other maintenance on your TDI.

If you are driving one of these cars now, and have not gone chainless; You should. Unless you enjoy playing Russian roulette.
 

hevster1

Vendor
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Columbia NJ
TDI
98 NB
I don't know if this is the record but I just did one with 199k. The tensioner was in 3 pieces. I also recently did another at 130k with a broken tensioner as well. So owners don't wait just because someone got lucky.
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
Makes me wonder how many B5.5 TDI have had this surgery done in the USA. I know that there is no real way to know, but I bet it is under 25 % because people probably either trashed, crashed or junked theirs. Experts out there, thoughts? Curious minds want to know.
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
In my research for a shop to do the BSM upgrade on my B5.5 Passat in my area, I have been told that there are probably only about 30 B5.5's TDI's in the Washington state region. I wasn't surprised to hear this, since I haven't seen another one until today - and I have been seriously looking for the past few months I have owned mine.

I plan to buy the BSM parts from BoraParts, (seems like the best price!) and I am going to solicit quotes for the installation labor and fluids, etc., from 3 or 4 shops that have performed this work in my region. They are all within about 200 miles.

I believe there is a crank seal that is an option to this kit, should this be replaced during this work?

Thanks!
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
I plan to buy the BSM parts from BoraParts, (seems like the best price!) and I am going to solicit quotes for the installation labor and fluids, etc., from 3 or 4 shops that have performed this work in my region. They are all within about 200 miles.
Please ask the shops whether they'll be agreeable to installing parts supplied by you for this job... many shops will only guarantee their work if they also supply the components...

Yuri
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
Thanks for the suggestion Yuri, I will make it clear that I intend to supply all of the parts necessary for this job, and that they will all be VW OEM Parts.

My only remaining question is regarding the crank seal that is listed as "optional" for this work. Bora, can you help with that?

Thanks!
 

dogdots

Vendor
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Location
Kansas City
TDI
None
Crank seal is definitely not optional. Also be sure to get the CV boots looked at while the car is in the air.
 

rpatricky

Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2010
Location
Michigan
TDI
05 Passat TDI
05 Passat 2.0 unchained

I had mine done at Guffey's Automotive Service in Northwest Lower Michigan. Awesome job.

Garrett Guffey
Guffey's Automotive
Maple City, MI
231-228-2588
 

LaPointe

Active member
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Location
So. California
TDI
2003 Golf, 2005 Passat
Hi all,
I'm new to the forum and own a 2003 Golf and 2005 Passat. I'm doing the BSM update now and I'm wondering if the crank holder T10050 is strong enough (as well as the casting it locks into) to use as a counter holder for removing the crankshaft sprocket bolt? My second thought was to use two of the serpentine pulley holes to attach a lever.

Also, is it important to loosen the crank bolt before un-mounting the engine

Any other wise thought for me?

Thanks
 
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greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Do not use that T10050 as a counterhold! There are a couple threads floating around about homemade crank counterholds.
 
Last edited:

Smokerr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Alaska
TDI
Passat Wagon GL,2005,Silver
I am up in Alaska (Anchorage) and if anyone has a shop that has done it up here.

If I was someplace where there was a known and respected TDI expert I would be happy to, but you do have to keep in mind that someone that does it in person and then the job is not done right, who pays?

We are closing getting into the 80k region. If some money comes through that I am expecting I may have it done sooner (suspect the alternator drive is going).

Last repair I checked with 3 shops and all (including VW) are going with Chinese axles though one shop claimed they were not. Does not leave a warm and fuzzy.

Also, can this be made into a sticky and have Oilhammer update it once he is satisfied with both the shop and their agreement to be included?

And yes this site is a huge comfort for dealing with the wonderful but at times strange world of VW and the oddities of the B5 TDI!

If I could I would pay Oilhammer to come up here and od the job (no garage and there are very few up here to line up).
 

oldjettafan

New member
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Location
North Vancouver
TDI
2005 Passat GLS TDI
For the Vancouver, B.C. area, please add

Van Wonder
119 3rd St. W
North Vancouver

email: vwauto at telus.net

Gyula "John" Huszar did a great job on my '05 Passat. I ordered the deluxe kit from boraparts, and FedEx had it up to me within a few days. John charged 12 hours for labour, less that the 20 hours quoted by my dealer.



Gy
 

crimsonguard6

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Location
Kansas City, MO
TDI
2005 Passat TDI (Unchained 2012)
What is the estimated labor time for this mod? My U.S. spec 2005 Wagon is sitting in the shop right now in Heidelberg and total cost is 2800 euro. Labor wise estimate is close to 20 hours which seems a little high. I've had good luck with this shop but it still seems high.
 

jryan11518

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Location
San Diego
TDI
Passat 2.0 2004
Oilhammer

Can anyone provide me with a vender for all parts necessary to do the Balance shaft upgrade.
1. general balance shaft assy for BHW
2. Timing Belt Assy. Kit BHW
3. Left engine and right engine mount BHW
4. ALH Alternator Pulley

I am working with Leonard at Wild Rose Motors, Ltd. and he have found a 2-3-4 week backlog on parts. Does anyone have any ideas that would expedite the time frame on the parts list. thanks
 

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 both the dealer and Boraparts. For me the dealer can match Boraparts on the BSM but when you add in the timing belt, oil, fluid and filters, Boraparts is much cheaper. Also the one stop shopping and quick response from Aaron makes it the best choice IMHO.
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
I was fortunate to get a BSM kit shipped out to my repair shop today, it should be here mid-next week. (Thanks Pete!) It was the last BSM kit this VW dealer had. I hope others in need of a BSM will be able to find one soon. Waiting 4-6 weeks is unacceptable.

My 05 Passat TDI wagon has 97k miles on it. I have owned the car for only 5 months, and I had been hoping the oil pump drive unit would stay relatively quiet if I treated it kindly. I was wrong.

I waited too long to get my B5.5 wagon unchained. The engine sound became noticeably louder this week. The independent VW mechanic I'm working with also noticed it was making more noise, and he said he thinks the chain tensioner is cracked or broken.

I have parked my wagon until the BSM kit arrives, and I'm driving a rental car until the repairs are completed.

Given the shortage of BSM kits, and what I've been hearing about how many kits are currently needed, I'm thinking it's more about the age of the original parts than how many miles are on the car. These defective/poorly engineered parts probably get brittle over time, when they endure heat cycles.

Has anyone suggested/considered a class-action lawsuit as a result of these problems? I've heard that failures during warranty were addressed by VW, but anyone with a car out of warranty is S.O.L. (that would be all of us currently experiencing this problem)

Does anyone have any statistics regarding how many BHW cars were sold in the US/North America?
 

jryan11518

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Location
San Diego
TDI
Passat 2.0 2004
Age of parts or mileage should not matter. These cars were known by VW to have this problem long before the warranties had expired. That being said how can your balanced shaft problem on THESE MOTORS not be covered when everyone knew the problem was there (on these motors) the entire time the car was under warrantie.
Point is VW knows the PROBLEM is THERE. How can THAT SAME PROBLEM be out of warrantie later? VW acts like the problem everyone know is there does not exist unless it goes out under the warrantied period.
Very poor customer service. I have bought 4 new vehicles since this one. I feel VW screwed me and many others, and got away with it. Well they won't get another chance to screw me again. It's human nature why would I take a chance on a new vehicle with a company that has already screwed
me?
 

CoasterMoose

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2011
Location
Tacoma, Washington
TDI
Owned and loved a 2005 Passat GLS TDI Wagon - Stonehenge Grey and Unchained!
The age of parts or mileage should not matter, but it does. I believe the failures of the BHW chain drive assembly are increasing because these cars/engines are hitting the ceiling of time they have been in service, regardless of miles. It's called metal fatigue (in addition to defective design/engineering).

As I said earlier, I believe a class action lawsuit may be the only way to get relief, since VOA is ignoring this problem. Who's in? There should be enough of us who have had this problem to build a pretty credible case. I'm willing to take the lead in filing a class action lawsuit if fellow BHW owners will join in. If we each are willing to contribute 10 or 20 bucks to the cause, we may be able to make a difference.

I'm going to start by contacting the office of the Washington State Attorney General, since my state has a "lemon law" for cars with defects that affect the usability/reliability of the vehicle.

I'll let y'all know what I find out from the state AG's office.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
...I'm willing to take the lead in filing a class action lawsuit if fellow BHW owners will join in. If we each are willing to contribute 10 or 20 bucks to the cause, we may be able to make a difference.

I'm going to start by contacting the office of the Washington State Attorney General, since my state has a "lemon law" for cars with defects that affect the usability/reliability of the vehicle.

I'll let y'all know what I find out from the state AG's office.
Count me in!
 
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