My free a4 tdi project

We'll I stumbled upon this deal.

99 tdi alh 5 speed with 247000 on it. Owner said the battery light came on and was putting out 18v. Sat for 2 months and didn't start.
Had the timing belt done at 230000 and a whole new turbo at 225000, lol.

I stepped in and bought it for $0.

Done so far:
Battery
Battery mount
Alternator (fixed over voltage problem)
Oil change
Fuel filter change
Air filter
Tranny fluid change
Tire rotate
All new pads and rotors around
Daytime running light delete
3m headlight polish
Reinstalled the torn off bottom engine cover
Power steering flush with cfh11s, nasty!!!
Thermostat
Egr delete
Muffler delete
Stage 2 Malone tune
straight piped no cat
HVAC fan fix (JB weld) - ended up buying a whole new assembly. Not because the JB didnt last but just to be safe with northern MN winters.
new HD radio tuner with antenna and base
snow filter cleaning
new glow plug harness
new glow plugs
new inner and outer tie rods (moog)
new front sway bar links (moog)
new lower control arms with ball joints (moog)
new front sway bar links (moog)
all new silicone vacuum hoses in engine bay
rebuild CV axles
new moog strut assemblies
new AA rodriguez front hub assemblies with bearings and WSS (ended up having right front wheel speed sensor go bad, replaced with $70 ID parts).
New front brake lines
New front brake pads
New front brake rotors (bosch quiet cast)
New tires (cooper Cs5)
Alignment
Midwest motorworks 300K overhaul (includes timing belt change, camshaft, oil pump chain/guide, etc lots of work was done to the engine to get it up to snuff for another 300k)
single mass flywheel and new clutch pack (Stage 2) and crank seal while back there.
turbo boost gauge
EGT gauge
Battery voltage gauge
Power plus 520 nozzles.
Updated Bosch MAF sensor
New Coolant overflow tank/cap, upper and lower radiator hoses, oil cooler hoses
Mud flaps
updated cup holder
rear springs and mounts
rear shocks, bump stops and hardware
rear hub assemblies and hardware
rear stub axles and hardware
rear ABS sensors
rear brake lines from ABS module to calipers
rear pads
rear rotors
rear calipers
Sand blasted and POR 15 rear axle
rear parking brake lines, hangers/mounts and stainless tubes
rear axle bushings (Cupra R) and hardware
New front fenders
Fixed rust on rocker panels
ECS Tuning smoked side indicator lights
New front pads and rotors.
windows tinted.

So I've put on about 38,000 miles and love this little thing. Getting consistent in the 53-54 mpg! Mileage update 300,000 miles

Now things on the list

Fix my drivers rear window! won't go up or down with driver controls

Been fun so far, best part is I get paid for the miles I put on this car for work. Since I have started driving this car, I keep a spreadsheet active of the money received from work and all the money I have into and to this date I am still up over 2k!!!

great deal! for sure! post some pics.
i cut my muffler off and welded a fake muffler on with dual down tips. looks legit but is straight piped. didn't want to take any chances in Texas.

scha0786 said:

We'll I stumbled upon this deal.
99 tdi alh 5 speed with 247000 on it. Owner said the battery light came on and was putting out 18v. Sat for 2 months and didn't start.
Had the timing belt done at 230000 and a whole new turbo at 225000, lol.
I stepped in and bought it for $0.
Done so far:
Battery
Battery mount
Alternator (fixed over voltage problem)
Oil change
Fuel filter change
Air filter
Tranny fluid change
Tire rotate
All new pads and rotors around
New rear caliper(don't ask)
Daytime running light delete
3m headlight polish
Reinstalled the torn off bottom engine cover
So I've put on about 900 miles and love this little thing.
Now things on the list to do
Egr delete
Thermostat (scan tool shows stuck open)
Econ tune by local Malone shop (egr delete too)
Straight piped
This is where I need some help, anyone have a cheap DIY striaght pipe?
Don't feel like spending 600-700 on exhaust
I was just going to buy some exhaust pipe and bends from summit racing

Click to expand...

Jealous....

Totally cool project!

I lopped my exhaust off just after the cat on two of my tdi's. One time it cost $175.00 at the local shop to straight pipe it back and hang it, and the other it cost $225.00. Depends on how busy he is I guess. Call around. It shouldn't be much.

Seriously jealous!

That's quite the deal!

I will post some pics for sure.

Thanks for the tip on the exhaust.

Just got done doing my egr full delete and thermostat replacement!

Car loves it! Just purring like a kitten at 60mph.

Next is to bring it in for Econ tune and rip off all the exhaust restrictions.

After that I'm not sure, maybe start working on my squeaky wheel bearing in the front

Here you go for the exhaust ---> mufflerectomy http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=11052

Awesome deal...

Curious, what Scan Tool can tell that the T-stat is stuck open?

Edge insight cs, i use it on my 6.0 ford diesel. There is only a couple if pids that it can read on the tdi but I talked with edge and they are working to unlock more.

My ford 6.0 it can pretty much read every sensor.

unbeatable deal on a great platform! but i would not trust the timing belt job any farther than i could push the car unless it was done by a true tdi guru ... just not worth the risk of having your car become worth every penny you paid for it (if ya' get my drift)

Ok, so I deleted the muffler tonight. Nice improvement,Muffler must have been pretty restricted.

On the downside now

I noticed an oil leak on the front engine by the oil pan, sucks, is this a tough job or should it leave this one to the pros?

Check the oil filter base and cooler below the filter, common place for leaks.

How tough the job is depends what you mean by the front. Front by the radiator that duwem is assuming? Or front of the crankshaft, where it turns all the belts?

It's in the shop getting a stage 1 Malone tune with egr delete. They are going to take a look at the oil leak and let me know where it is coming from.

Got the car back, stage 1 done and egr delete tune also.

They also replaced all the vac lines with silicone ones and cleaned up the routing, looks awesome and clean now.

Also had then hook up the vag com and check injection timing, I guess it was wicked retard and they also adjusted the injection quantity.

Runs and starts better now.

Oil leak is from the crank seal and was told to wait until my next timing belt job to fix.

Got some other little stuff like ball joints and tie rod assembly's.

scha0786 said:

Got the car back, stage 1 done and egr delete tube also.

They also replaced all the vac lines with silicone ones and cleaned up the routing, looks awesome and clean now.

Click to expand...

Pictures or it doesn't exist.

It's becoming a very cool project. From conception (the beginning of your ownership) to present day has been an awesome journey to follow.

Thanks!

Andrew

I will have to get some pics uploaded for ya.

Forgot to mention my wife bought me a new shifter and boot for valentines day, lol.

Items on the list to knock off

Sway bar links
Ball joints
Tie rod assembly's
alignment
Then install Midwest motorsports down pipe, cat deleted

After that I am going to drive it for a while because I have a list to do on my 6.0 ford

New injectors on bank 2
Build a flat bed

Then hop back into the Jetta project and install bigger injector cups

I just like how simple these diesels are to work on compared to my ford. Everything is so small and right there to work on.

I will have to say, nothing beats the sound of a straight piped turbo diesel

here's a pic of my hillbilly muffler delete



here's a pic of the EGR delete with Race pipe and vacuum line clean up, along with a new dipstick tube.



she's a little rusty and corroded but still runs like a top

scha0786 said:

Oil leak is from the crank seal and was told to wait until my next timing belt job to fix.

Click to expand...

Make sure to not wait the full 100k interval. An oil soaked tb will break much sooner than a dry one.

[486] said:

Make sure to not wait the full 100k interval. An oil soaked tb will break much sooner than a dry one.

Click to expand...

this ^^ .... have you even looked at the timing belt to make sure it's done correctly with all parts replaced ?... hacked t belt jobs are the number one reason for dead tdi's ... it's fun to do all the upgrades you're throwing money at but it doesn't seem your addressing the core maintenance issues that will keep your car alive long enough to fully enjoy these mods ... good luck with that !

Yes, they inspected the timing belt closely and showed me how to monitor if the belt gets wet from oil. The shop is not a dealer but I trust them way more as all they work on is volks. The mechanic that gave it a once over personally drives a 99 tdi ALH.

but thanks for the tip, I may choose to get the timing belt done sooner than later.

Last night I was inspecting the front shock upper mounts and they seem sacked out. Going to add these to the list.

I went on Moog suspensions website yesterday and priced up some new front end parts, let me know if this is not the way to go:

Moog left and right control arms https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3485133&cc=3145

moog stabilizer link https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=926014&cc=3145

moog front strut mount and bearing https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=274794

moog inner and outer tie rod assembly https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=992944&cc=3145

I can get all of this for around $360.00

Is moog a good economical choice to get my front end tightened up?

Gave some updates to the list on the front page

Next order of business is front end work, sick if the sacked out front end and clunking over bumps

t, It you have not done so yet, check the intake & ASV for clogging. Cleaning makes a huge difference in air in. EGR delete helps prevent re-clogging. Congrats on the great purchase.

The anti shutter valve is gone, if that is what Asv means, that was attached to the egr, right?

The intake was cleaned by the dealer like 30k ago and I looked in there, not too bad.

scha0786 said:

Yes, they inspected the timing belt closely and showed me how to monitor if the belt gets wet from oil. The shop is not a dealer but I trust them way more as all they work on is volks. The mechanic that gave it a once over personally drives a 99 tdi ALH.

but thanks for the tip, I may choose to get the timing belt done sooner than later.

Last night I was inspecting the front shock upper mounts and they seem sacked out. Going to add these to the list.

I went on Moog suspensions website yesterday and priced up some new front end parts, let me know if this is not the way to go:

Moog left and right control arms https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=3485133&cc=3145

moog stabilizer link https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=926014&cc=3145

moog front strut mount and bearing https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=274794

moog inner and outer tie rod assembly https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=992944&cc=3145

I can get all of this for around $360.00

Is moog a good economical choice to get my front end tightened up?

Click to expand...

Go to bora parts or IDparts and price it there (will get better quality then Moog for a better price

I just priced it on Bora parts and it was $335 and the control arms are genuine VW with Audi TT upgraded bushings.

scha0786 said:

The anti shutter valve is gone, if that is what Asv means, that was attached to the egr, right?

The intake was cleaned by the dealer like 30k ago and I looked in there, not too bad.

Click to expand...

Correct. One less project!

thanks, I will check out the bora parts website

well updates for folks:

the car has officially broke even, back to a net cost of $0 investment.

I get paid $0.58 per every mile I drive for work and man I have been putting the miles on this thing.

anywas, now that I am back to a $0 investment I decided to go back into debt, lol.

ordered new moog lower control arms with bushings and ball joints
moog inner and outer tie rod assemblies
moog front sway links with bushings
moog front sway bar bushings

I will be tackling this work this weekend.

PS - my oil leak has really pretty much disappeared with the warmer weather now but have been keeping a close eye on it every fuel fill up.

finished putting new control arms with ball joints, sway bar bushings, sway bar links and new tie rod assemblies. I haven't been working on this car as much as I would like because my truck needed new u-joints and a new rear pinion seal.

But now that I got that stuff done I am going to get a lifetime alignment from my local shop for this car. Pretty sweet deal, you get two alignments every year for the life you own the car at a one time price of $180.

So Ill get one now and then before winter I am going to put new strut assemblies and tires and get the second one.

My next project is going to be cutting out the cat. I debated buying a new down pipe from a local shop but 300 is pretty steep, so I am going to remove the down pipe from the car, cut and weld in a new straight piece and bolt back in with a new gasket and clamp.

After this work I am saving up for my timing belt service and new crank/cam seals along with some internal work that the local shop recommends at that mileage.