turbo intake downpipe cracking? 2 different part #s?

Are there 2 different turbo downpipes for the B4 out there? 180129654 and 1H0129654R ?

While searching for exhaust downpipes a hit from "nice cars" came up and I checked it out...I'll include it if you want to check it out...I assume this is the same Nice Cars that everyone is complaining about...

http://www.nicecarstdi.com/engineupgrades

Seems they claim the turbo intake downpipe for the intake has a lot of reported problems cracking and they had an easy "fix"....well since I was in the middle of removing my exhaust downpipe to remove and rebuild my shifter and also finally straight pipe my exhaust I figured I might as well investigate my intake pipe too...

when I pulled the pipe I found it to be just fine...no cracks...but the part number does not match the one given by Nice Cars(180 129 654)...it's similar but not the same (1H0 129 654R)...I wonder if either my pipe is a new upgraded version one or from a different model TDI.

BTW, the engine on my car has been replaced as some point (factory VW rebuilt judging by the block stamping) and I found one of the 2 mounting bolts for the downpipe flange missing??? And one of the 4 nuts on the exhaust downpipe mounting was missing as well???

Oh, And it seems neither pipe is available anymore....anything I should do to strengthen my pipe to preserve it or is mine an already improved/strengthened version?

well let me double check my pipe number tonight when I get home...lol

The turbo inlet pipe on mine seems good, I noticed that the top of the pipe was never fixed (bolted) to the top part of the head which may allow for some flexure. My car has 267000 miles on it and that pipe doesn't show any signs of ware. That is the nice cars you should avoid like the plague.

I have one in great shape that i did this mod to. Here are some pictures. PM me if you want it. $20 + whatever shipping is Ill never use it again. You can have it! Comes with the boot and the hose clamps if i can find the clamps

Yes, both of these are NLA from VW now and no aftermarket source at least in the US although there might be in Europe, I don't know.

Treat them with care, from here on out they'll only be more difficult to find. Plastic welding can be your friend!

Steve

I took a closer look at mine...part numbers are....

ZSB 1H0 129 654 M
1H0 129 656 "L" or "I"

yeah, mine wasn't bolted to anything at the top either...even though there is a large tab with 2 bolt holes. the lower hole has some kinda grinding wear on it like it was loose and the top hole is notched open or broken at the top...neither hole has any signs of wear from a washer (which I would assume would have been used under either a bolt head or nut.

Mongler98 said:

I have one in great shape that i did this mod to. Here are some pictures. PM me if you want it. $20 + whatever shipping is Ill never use it again. You can have it! Comes with the boot and the hose clamps if i can find the clamps

Click to expand...

Why did you take the pictures down?

My guess it they were too BIG.

KLXD said:

My guess it they were too BIG.

Click to expand...

ill say it again, this is 2017 almost 2018 where screens on phones and computers are at LEAST 1080P. at 100% scale, they only take up 3/5ths the screen, not sure what everyone is griping about. Get with the program, most of us are running higher than 1080, most at 2K so yea. get rid of your old win 98 cancer tube computer and nokia cellphones! No other forum has this issue. only this barbaric old school platform. Even vortex has this solved and no one goes there any more compared to this forum. So odd.
Also who has time to edit photos taken with a old DSLR, even phone camera pictures are in 1080 now days and have been for years.

The pics filled the screen on my iPad While they looked ok, they made the text tiny, which I find annoying.

First world problem, but I resize my pics in my posts/threads. Definitely not as easy as Photobucket was, but I also don’t post as many pics as I used to.

-Todd

the one support fastener will be your most important, most likely. check you have that nut/or bolt. and the pipe is supported. i ve replaced the oring on mine. getting that pipe back on can be testy.

Mongler98 said:

ill say it again, this is 2017 almost 2018 where screens on phones and computers are at LEAST 1080P. at 100% scale, they only take up 3/5ths the screen, not sure what everyone is griping about. Get with the program, most of us are running higher than 1080, most at 2K so yea. get rid of your old win 98 cancer tube computer and nokia cellphones! No other forum has this issue. only this barbaric old school platform. Even vortex has this solved and no one goes there any more compared to this forum. So odd.
Also who has time to edit photos taken with a old DSLR, even phone camera pictures are in 1080 now days and have been for years.

Click to expand...

The pictures were simply too large, reducing the rest of the thread to so tiny it could not be read. I saw them this way on my 2017 new Dell laptop, my iPad mini, and my iPhone 6S. I did not delete the pictures but agree with them being gone.

And you are more than welcome to leave this barbaric old school platform anytime, no one is keeping you here.

This site has a location you can store your pictures and link them from there, and it's even FREE. You might consider giving it a try.

Abacus said:

And you are more than welcome to leave this barbaric old school platform anytime, no one is keeping you here.
This site has a location you can store your pictures and link them from there, and it's even FREE. You might consider giving it a try.

Click to expand...

I hate when people say "you dont have to be here, its a comp out to being able to fix issues. Besides, where would i go? vortex mk3? lol yea thats a joke too, maybe 10 people on a given month!

the photo storage here is a joke too. not one photo can be uploaded unless its size is reduced to some pathetic file size.

"Some pathetic file size that doesn't render it so large the accompanying text is irrelevant", you mean. There is no reason for the pictures being as large as you posted. Now that you know what happens, please make accommodations to post manageable picture sizes in future posts. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience, but it is an inconvenience for others to not be able to read the accompanying text as a result. I didn't make the board, it is what it is: good, bad, or indifferent. I use an offsite photo storage site (Smugmug) from which I post my pictures, but I only link ones that are an appropriate size. I pay extra to do this but it's worth it for me.

And it's not a cop-out. This isn't your board or mine, the owners of the board make that well known and it's one of the reasons it's so well attended. No one wants this to become another VWVortex. The Forum Rules (link at the bottom of every page) are adhered to and maintained by the forum administrators and moderators, who are lenient and tolerant but active.

It’s a comp out Abacus

iluvmydiesels said:

the one support fastener will be your most important, most likely. check you have that nut/or bolt. and the pipe is supported. i ve replaced the oring on mine. getting that pipe back on can be testy.

Click to expand...

are you talking about the tab higher up on the pipe? should there be a bolt attached there or is there a mounting stud on the block/head? I seems obvious that it should be attached higher up somehow, otherwise why is that tab there?

That mystery tab should be bolted to the intake.

There should be a metal, oval spacer in it, to prevent over tightening and breaking the tab. The lower 2 flange bolt holes should also have spacers. They have a habit of going missing.

If you’re going to do what Mongler98 did, you should think about instering a metal ring inside, to prevent collapsing the tube with the clamp.

-Todd

I have had good luck using a slightly crushed injector seal (the copper washer thing on the bottom) in place of the often missing metal oval spacer.

I’ll have to keep that in mind.

-Todd

neat trick...I found the hole in the intake and stuck a bolt & washer in it...I didn't think about a metal spacer/sleeve...

what about the upper hole? I see it's open at the top...is it for a vacuum hose or something?

I'm not doing the Mongler98 mod...my pipe is still intact

0die said:

neat trick...I found the hole in the intake and stuck a bolt & washer in it...I didn't think about a metal spacer/sleeve...

what about the upper hole? I see it's open at the top...is it for a vacuum hose or something?

I'm not doing the Mongler98 mod...my pipe is still intact

Click to expand...

Yes, it is for a hose, iirc the red one.

Steve