My project: DußCity 2.X - '02 Jetta Wago M/T

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
It's a serious project. Promise.

Back story about me:
I used to own a '03 Jetta wagon GL with the manual transmission(DußCity 2.0). Used it for work, drove around the U.S. After 130K miles, while going through Oklahoma. A snow patch, swallowed me whole. Pulling me into, the roadside drainage ditch. I slide right through a road sign, doing major damage to the front passenger door AND roof. Damage was severe, body shop estimate was more than I thought worth the effort. I was wrong.
I quickly sold the car, cheap, to a guy from Florida. After about a year, I missed my Jetta. So I started to hunt down another. One that I would cherish, fix, and keep long term. So I searched Craigslist, long, far, and hard. Until I found her. She will be my next DußCity....



DußCity 2.X (2.1):
There was a posting for a sister Jetta, to the one I used to own. Forest green in color. Black interior. Heated seats, that was a perk. Even had a sunroof!!! I’m sold, just on the photos. She was in Sibley Mississippi, along the Louisiana border.
Even as had I found her dead, laying in the backyard of a General Contractor. Next to a well used excavator, a small tractor, another MK4 Jetta Sedan TDI in dire need of attention, and the remains of a vehicle long lost to time. All I could do, was smirk. Challenge accepted. The owner knew nothing of the current condition, other than the driver's door opens. His story was, “Daughter was rear ended, wrecked the hatch. Parked it until he found a hatch.” That was 3 years before my acquisition. Flimsy story, AT BEST. Open the door, and was broadsided by the wave of mildew. Shifter would only move from 3rd to 4th. Any other gear, was extremely difficult and not worth snapping the shifter or anything frozen/not frozen. He had one key, lost the other. Owner did not have any battery to try and crank off of. So who knows. Other than leaves, rust, and calcium deposits(rust for aluminium parts). It was a clean engine compartment. Nothing living, nor took residents there. After an hour of loading her onto the tow dolly. The exchange was made. Title for cash. We were on our way.
Tires held air, but have plenty of rot on them. They would hold, for the journey back to Spring Texas. After spending a few minutes at Das European Autohaus, I got the initial report:
She had a seized motor. Front quarter panels, front bumper, rear hatch totaled, rear bumper, heavy mildew under the carpet and in the seats, frozen shift linkages, no brakes pressure, no clutch fluid, a ungodly presence of rust, and other smaller issues. Yup, that was within minutes of getting to the shop.
So then I was on the hunt for a running 1.9L motor. Found one, bought it. Had it installed. Now I have updated to DußCity 2.2. Still didn’t run. Christian noticed that the windows were working, and then stopped working. Popped open the fused panel, completely corroded out. He looks at me, “You have to replace the fuse panel.”.... Damn… (DußCity 2.3??)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/G6mCBxuB9dRjvmMT1apjKjZusxmQGjahdeXcv88BcaOgraa1TN9PDgbRv-p3_Ad6PfnYwaXKBiSUm054kwUdpMXuRcCtY_SeOo_odhiqdeAwsM0bv3GsP59FObrlFzRDm2vxbpPjzkiApNRd8Fc-Y-EurTvyzoCgBf8JYXUwuaWOIXZtK0lFeojtqk3p33Iaj3yA_TBY341-7oacUt29Sp_7PnHbGe3s4k7Wu2mYXV8Z8sqfGz5JYPit7x39EoFNbRGxzhvAKoVxnU87S-HsPsrXSZIcTqJPutgY69kxKc9h1cv8MaB7SQkgaly04dg0lENVUbNlxcrHJSCse3fz4ILjibk5t2Q4rpvqyMMZC20rksj2BTKjYrRiSPoK9UPcuReZneYlTvrKzJDs50PgNa5Ry6NlBqUgTAeUjUAowrVXFXBipVQlDbsz71LYeJPLu5vazr___UMpWhpazrz0rXwD-0MvT62MKN6LveIy_zdpA1K96AA6R6Q8-2MpcZTcBz7YZGuzOr35vARhZuxtAbvpAu1k8TzZs0d29pKwdcsbT-3lgGzMDdVGM-gE7M5fWvQmzupeQTnS7PJ1-LrBi0bqd5pEWWDeK0G4lUYDomv8pg=w532-h885-no
Mostly swapped over to a new junkyard replacement.

After getting that done. We TRY to bleed the fuel system. Not working so well. Christian said to replace the Injection Pump. Bought a used one(I know, I know. That’s also coming up in the story), swapped it in. This time, we did not waste so much time, with bleeding the fuel lines with the air compressor. We broke out a can of either. After TWO YEARS of sitting, the engine comes to life!!!! After a couple of minutes of either down the intake, we get diesel in the IP and she was running under her own power!!

Now you’re up to speed with my current situation. I will give a little more details.
Now we have a little bit of an issue, not major. But a fly buzzing around your head, kind of issue. While the car does run, and starts. It take about 10 seconds of cranking, to get ignition. My thought, is that my used 11mm IP might have a leak, or looses pressure. I don’t know for sure. My thought is to replace the clear lines going to and from the IP, run the car for a minute or two, then let it sit. To see if there may or may not be some kind of loss from there. I have replaced the, in tank sending unit already.


But to be honest, I am not going to worry about it now. All I want to do, is bold the intercooler up, reattach the power steering lines, radiator support, condenser, and radiator. Whatever is going on with the fuel system, is small details. And I am not ready to deal with small details. I am trying to get the big picture stuff done, first.

Should I be considered to be at version 2.2, or 2.3(for the fuse panel)??

Now that we’re all on the same page, I thank you for staying and reading about my excitement for getting this machine running again. I will certainly update, with more info, when it happens.
~Junior
 

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Forgot to mention about the new car.
Due to the weak story from the PO, I have a theory about the car. MY THEORY:
The car was parked. When the last hurricane went through that area, the was flooded out, and stuck/bumped into by other floating debris. This would explain all the mold, corrosion to everything, and could explain the damaged front clip.

I told this to Christian, he thinks it is the likely story also. But would not say, "THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED." So, that is my theory as to the real history of the car. Which storm? I wouldn't know. I was never living out here during those times. Nor have I lived in or through such troubles. I was born and raised in California. We panic with three inches of rain, in a week.

That's my story, and i'm sticking to it,
~Junior
 

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Well, I hooked the intercooler back up, and the power steering. The stupid coupler on the lower IC(intake side), was a pain in the Kraken. But it was over came, with some lube and a new clamp.



I was in a rush to get to work. So I just put the two upper bolts in, on the radiator support.



I have to find time, to hit the junkyards!! :mad:

Baby steps,
~Junior
 

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Not much this week.
Bought, ordered, and installed new upper and lower radiator hoses.
Also was replaced the o-rings for the AC lines. Back of compressor, to the drier, to and from condenser.

Had to remove the front clip to get those plastic pieces off the radiator(between the radiator and the hose. What is the point of that piece?) and used a little bit of lube to install the new hose. Also, I did not get a new hose clamp with the lower radiator hose(to the block) and the old one. Well, it was old... So I replaced it with a regular hose. I'll probably swap out to regular clamps anyways. I just don't like/trust those pressure clamps.

Had to make a couple of trips to NAPA, to get the right o-rings. The line to the rear of the AC, as different from the rest. So that took a little more time out of the day.



Next I have to hit the junkyard, to pick up some radiator fan BRACKETS. Those plastic spider pieces, that hold the actual fan into the shroud. The old fans were seized. I was so long ago, that I totally forgot that those pieces were cut off! No worries. Next i'll be ordering the new fans. It's coming to that time, for her to idle for minutes and not just seconds.

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.
Slow progress, is still progress.
~Junior

P.S.
Yes, that is a new AC drier. And yes, it is still plugged from the bottom. I'm not hook that line up, until im ready to run the engine. I don't want any moisture getting in there.
 
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jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Well, I ordered on sunday, they shipped on Monday. Here they are, ready for install, yesterday.



So I assembled the new fans, new brackets, onto the old shroud. Reconnected the front clip(found it easier to mount the fans with it off). It was only held in by the two upper bolts. All I had to do was unhook the upper rad hose, install the fans, and reconnect.



Then I install my. $3 junkyard battery tray. That task was a hell of a lot harder to do. I had figure out how to route the wires, and that took me for ever to figure out!



But I am now ready to bleed the clutch, the brakes, and coolant system. Once that is done, I will be able to run the engine. Do some more diagnostics, and prep for state inspection.

Also, I tossed the old headlights. Since I have new once in the front seat, I wouldn't need those hunks of weight.
I had to cut my time short, my cousin needed some help with his truck. His alternator died on him. Towed the truck to his place, spent 3 hours replacing it. But it seemed to work well, even with the chinese parts.

Now it's time for finals..... Joy??
~Junior
 

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Well. Couldn't Bleed the system(s).
Turns out that my clutch line, is ruptured and requires replacement. The actual hard line, where it is clamped to a plastic connector, is ruptured. Well, with this much work ahead of me. Set backs are bound to happen. Not going to bother with the boneyards, yet. I want to ask Christian, about using a steel braided line. Found one on eBay, for less than factory replacement on ECS. I will take the advisement of a Guru, any day.

Side note:
With as much rust that this machine has. I might just replace the whole engine cradle. That is not needed to be worried about now. But down the line.... This thing just might need it.

Until next time,
~Junior
 

jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
I totally forgot to stay on top of this thread!

Well it's been forever since I last made a post(over a year), and the truth is that I've been busy.

Well. I continue from the ruptured clutch line.
I replaced with a steel braided line. Well worth it. Took more time and effort, but I also replaced the master clutch cylinder.

Now that the line was replaced, I did a backyard brake bleed with a pressurized bottle. Brakes felt fine, and even drove it a couple hundred feet. The rest of the system was not reliable, so I didn't want to over do it.
It was a good thing I didn't. I had the hardest time trying to find gears! I ended up buying new shift cable linkages, those plastic things that brake. Currently on my third linkage, but they are holding up. I think the real fix is buying new shift cables.

I also had an issue with fans not coming on. I spent a lot of time trouble shooting. Ran the engine for several hours, during the winter months, didn't break 190*. I figured it was to cold outside, wait until spring. I tried running the ac system without the engine running, jumped them with a fused line(that did work). Finally summer comes, car starts to over heat, only slightly. I wasn't going to risk it getting any worse than that.
The problem was with the fan switch, in the radiator. Now I can let it idle for hours without worrying.

While the car sat for several months, the brakes went soft. No fluid that I had noticed, so probably air. Just last week, I towed it to the shop. Had them bleed it the right way. No worries, with shifting or stopping.

Because I don't have a 5th gear, due to the shift cables. My top speed is 60mph, in 4th. I was able to stay behind a big rig, that had a full load. So I was alright with driving it home, without current tags. However, I do have current insurance.

I'm going to get a temporary registration tag, and drive it around on that. I'll be doing that tomorrow.

The AC still doesn't work. I had the shop charge the system, their machine didn't give leak warning. So that's a good thing. I bought a new(used) control unit, under the advisement of the shop. They also said check the relay. The only thing that I am finding for a relay, is for a Passat. Now my Jetta. So more hunting.

Until the next update,
~Junior

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 

runonbeer

Maintenance EnthusiastVendor
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Location
Austin, TX/Chapel Hill, NC
TDI
'00 Golf 02M, '10 Golf 02E, '02 UTE 02M
You need to visit the dieselgeek store and get some shift cable repair parts. That man has solved every mkiv shifter related problem imaginable
 
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jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
YES! I want that little bushing kit for the cables, especially under the shifter. That's the source of my shifting headaches.

Today was especially bad. I can't drive the car anymore, because it won't go into the gears. And when I get into a gear, as soon as I let go of the shifter. It stuck in that gear, until I pull over, pop the hood, and pop I out of gear. I'm just glad it was along the same highway right off of house. And that I had half a tank of fuel.

What a horrible way to drive. Took me an hour and a half to get 21 miles, to my highway.

Crawled under the car to try and remove the exhaust, to get to the shifter cables. That muffler is a there. I'm just going to take an angle grinder to the muffler. It needs a replacement anyway. So yea, going to try and remove the turbo back exhaust, and kill the muffler while I'm at it. I'll probably do that on Wednesday, after I get back from the family gathering.

Thanks for the reaffirming suggestion [emoji41],
~Junior

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jrsride2002

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 18, 2013
Location
Houston, TX
TDI
'02 Jetta Wagon TDI
Well. I started to replace my bushings. I felt that getting the exhaust out was the hardest part, so far.

As soon as I popped the cover off, I could see my problem. That bushing was dead! I didn't have a snap ring tool for the replacement, so I'll pick one up from HF today. I put most of the kit in. I installed the left and right bushing(easy enough), and the large 1st gear finder bushing(with a pair of trusty pliers). Next is the up and down bushing with the correct tool. I still need to cut the shifter knob clamp in order to install the shaft bushings. And the easy enough to replace, "Super Slider" for under the hood. I'm hopeful to have all of the kit installed tonight, and reinstall the heat shield and exhaust tomorrow.

I had emailed Dieselgeek last night, after hours, because I was a little concerned about one of the bushings. It looked to be slightly crashed or split. At 9pm, I received an email from Jim(the owner?) assuring me that it was perfectly normal and by design. Dude returned my email at 9pm!!! Talk about customer service! I have the panzer plate, but will be happy to buy the missing hardware. Glad that customer service hasn't slacked over the years.

Will update later,
~Junior


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