New Passat TDI owner. Any immediate tips/changes I need?

Hey everyone whatsupp.
Newbie to VW and diesel cars here and I just bought an 05 Passat TDI from my buddy's grandmother. 120k on the odometer, and the interior and body are mint.
His grandma has all her service history, and she took super good care of this thing and did all of the scheduled maintenance required.
I wanted to know if there was anything I needed to know about this platform/ any modifications or fixes that would be recommended such as the balance shaft issue, which I just recently read about. The car runs great and feels tight so I'm not sure if I should even mess with it at all or just leave it be. Let me know your thoughts=D


Here it is:

you definitely need to address the oil pump issue, it can go at anytime and will take the engine with it, alt pulley, steel glo plugs, reflash ECM for new glo plugs, make sure the carpet is dry under both driver and passenger foot area. TCM's are getting expensive. Sunroof drain hose, make sure its not clogged. I'm sure there are some I missed. You got a great solid car!

afarfalla said:

you definitely need to address the oil pump issue, it can go at anytime and will take the engine with it, alt pulley, steel glo plugs, reflash ECM for new glo plugs, make sure the carpet is dry under both driver and passenger foot area. TCM's are getting expensive. Sunroof drain hose, make sure its not clogged. I'm sure there are some I missed. You got a great solid car!

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Dang I was hoping the oil pump wasn't that big of a deal, hopefully it's not too expensive to have a shop do the delete, screw paying over 1k for the gear replacement. I briefly looked through all the service history so go plugs are good and the ecu has been flashed just gotta double check. I just vacuumed the crap out of the interior and didn't see any wet spots whatsoever, do I need to lift the carpet to double check? And what about the alternator pulley? Looked fine to me but I wouldny know what to look for coming from a Chevy truck is there something different about VWs setup? Also what's a TCM and what do I need to do to verify mine is good lol.

Thanks for the reply I can't wait to start driving this thing g when I can get to the DMV.

Check the top of the TDI101 forum for the recommended mechanics list to find one near you. b5.5 guide http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/b5/vw-passat-TDI-buying-guide.htm B5.5 DIY guides http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/b5-2004-2005-vw-passat-tdi-forum-faq-diy-bhw-engine/

TCM transmission control module located under the carpet under the passenger seat. If your car shifts OK the TCM is fine but I would switch it to sport mode, like OWR084 said find some one in your area that's familiar with this car, they are definitely fun to drive your in for a treat.

afarfalla said:

TCM transmission control module located under the carpet under the passenger seat. If your car shifts OK the TCM is fine but I would switch it to sport mode, like OWR084 said find some one in your area that's familiar with this car, they are definitely fun to drive your in for a treat.

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Well a buddy of mine is a VW tech and he's gonna flash the transmission for me, it seemed to shift fine when I was driving it home but I'll have him double check. I'll see if he can do the balance shaft for me as well.

Thanks for the advice everyone if anything else is missing let me know. I'm glad the community is so active here =D

You have some reading to do on the tdiclub.

When was the timing belt and water last replaced ?

Transmission last serviced ?

Balancer shaft updated ?

Does it have the updated alternator pulley ?

The three big ticket repair items are---camshaft that goes bad, the balancer shaft concern and the ZF automatic transmissions that is also prone to failure.

These are wonderful cars to drive, but be advised they can be very expensive to fix up !!

Plenty of great information here on the tdiclub.

Engine mounts, any red leakage? Oil used, possible cam issue.

Hey everyone =]
so I've been going through the service history and looking for the things you all pointed out.

deming said:

You have some reading to do on the tdiclub.
When was the timing belt and water last replaced ?
Transmission last serviced ?
Balancer shaft updated ?
Does it have the updated alternator pulley ?
The three big ticket repair items are---camshaft that goes bad, the balancer shaft concern and the ZF automatic transmissions that is also prone to failure.
These are wonderful cars to drive, but be advised they can be very expensive to fix up !!
Plenty of great information here on the tdiclub.

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The timing belt was done at 86411mi
Nothing on the transmission or the balancer,so im guessing the previous owner never had problems with them.
One report says the battery light came on at 91223mi, and they replaced the alternator and pully with these parts, not sure if these are the updated ones
alternator: 038-903-018-QX
pully: 022-903-119-D

zzdiesel said:

Engine mounts, any red leakage? Oil used, possible cam issue.

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Engine mounts were replaced at 96849mi
Also found out that the EGR valve was replaced at 71620mi, and the intake was cleaned.
The glo plgus were replaced with N-105-916-09 plugs and the ECM was updated at 60922mi

Ill try to see if i hear any noise from the chain on the balancer tomorow. So it looks like im in pretty good shape with my purchase

Appears you found yourself a pretty clean " one owner" car with a good maintenance schedule. Having the new engine mounts and a fresh alternator with new pulley is a good thing. It is not too hard to figure out if you have the metal alternator pulley or the plastic one. Just open the hood and take a look.

The timing belt appears to have been changed, but remember every 7 years or 85-90k is the advised changed out interval.

I guess at this point, I would advise you to locate a TDI guru and have them assist you with changing all the fluids and all filters, which includes proper servicing of the automatic transmission and replacing the fuel filter. Inspect your brakes ( pads and rotors). Make certain you have a good set of wiper blades. Check all bulbs ( headlights, brake lights and turn signals). Make certain your sunroof drains are not clogged and re-seal the airbox plenum to prevent water intrusion into your passenger front compartment. Load test your battery and make certain you have a good battery. Also you may wish to remove those pieces of foam that are glued to the inside top of the front fenders. They are like little sponges that hold water and rust out your front fenders.

Then you should drive your car and enjoy the vehicle.
Do not loan your car to friends that could screw up and accidently put gas in the tank instead of the proper DIESEL fuel.

Down the road you will most likely face what we all face in terms of the
"BIG 3". Camshaft, Transmission, Balancer Shaft. There are lots of theories and advice regarding these three pricey repair concerns.

The trend tends to be having a TDI guru
(expert level TDI enthusiast / Technician ) do the following ---

Convert the car from automatic to manual transmission
replace the worn camshaft with a new and reputable camshaft kit
Install balancer shaft delete kit or VW gear driven balancer shaft unit
Install new timing belt kit ( everything is already apart so that it is a good time to just replace with new )

The upside is that you car appears to be a clean looking "one owner" car with good service history.

The downside is that we all face the camshaft, transmission and balancer shaft woes as some juncture in time. Some camshafts ( if proper oil was used) last a long time. Most automatic transmissions ( if properly serviced) also last a long time. That magic mileage number tends to be around 160,000-175,000 miles before things start failing and getting expensive.
The balancer shaft issue is the biggest concern for you right now and I am assuming it has not been changed. If it fails; you will have a big problem ( trashed motor ) and it will not be cheap to fix.

Once the big items have been updated / replaced; these tend to be really solid and well built cars. Please understand, you do not own a Camry or Accord, therefore do not expect the same type of ownership.

If you decided to update everything right now; plan on a budget of around
$5000-5500 to get everything done. These are not cheap cars to repair !
Once everything is done; you should have a pretty clean car.

If you are not a car person and if you do not want to invest the time and money into the updates; clean it up and market it to a TDI enthusiast and go buy yourself a new Camry with the 0% for 72 month financing deal.


Good luck and welcome to the TDI Club.

deming said:

Appears you found yourself a pretty clean " one owner" car with a good maintenance schedule. Having the new engine mounts and a fresh alternator with new pulley is a good thing. It is not too hard to figure out if you have the metal alternator pulley or the plastic one. Just open the hood and take a look.

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Ahh didnt know the update was simply the material, ill double check later on today.

deming said:

The timing belt appears to have been changed, but remember every 7 years or 85-90k is the advised changed out interval.
I guess at this point, I would advise you to locate a TDI guru and have them assist you with changing all the fluids and all filters, which includes proper servicing of the automatic transmission and replacing the fuel filter. Inspect your brakes ( pads and rotors). Make certain you have a good set of wiper blades. Check all bulbs ( headlights, brake lights and turn signals). Make certain your sunroof drains are not clogged and re-seal the airbox plenum to prevent water intrusion into your passenger front compartment. Load test your battery and make certain you have a good battery. Also you may wish to remove those pieces of foam that are glued to the inside top of the front fenders. They are like little sponges that hold water and rust out your front fenders.

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Yeah, my friend whos a tech is gonna help me do all the fluids at some point in the next week or so, hes not specifically a TDI guru since he focuses on whatever comes in (and he likes gas engines more) but hes a dam good mechanic so im pretty confident we wont screw anything up. Wipers were already replaced and bulbs are good, rotors and pads are new (our buying check list had most of this stuff on it ) Ill check the sunroof and battery today, i know the battery was replaced at 70424mi but ill still check that and the fenders too.

deming said:

Then you should drive your car and enjoy the vehicle.
Do not loan your car to friends that could screw up and accidently put gas in the tank instead of the proper DIESEL fuel.
Down the road you will most likely face what we all face in terms of the
"BIG 3". Camshaft, Transmission, Balancer Shaft. There are lots of theories and advice regarding these three pricey repair concerns.
The trend tends to be having a TDI guru
(expert level TDI enthusiast / Technician ) do the following ---
Convert the car from automatic to manual transmission
replace the worn camshaft with a new and reputable camshaft kit
Install balancer shaft delete kit or VW gear driven balancer shaft unit
Install new timing belt kit ( everything is already apart so that it is a good time to just replace with new )
The upside is that you car appears to be a clean looking "one owner" car with good service history.
The downside is that we all face the camshaft, transmission and balancer shaft woes as some juncture in time. Some camshafts ( if proper oil was used) last a long time. Most automatic transmissions ( if properly serviced) also last a long time. That magic mileage number tends to be around 160,000-175,000 miles before things start failing and getting expensive.
The balancer shaft issue is the biggest concern for you right now and I am assuming it has not been changed. If it fails; you will have a big problem ( trashed motor ) and it will not be cheap to fix.
Once the big items have been updated / replaced; these tend to be really solid and well built cars. Please understand, you do not own a Camry or Accord, therefore do not expect the same type of ownership.
If you decided to update everything right now; plan on a budget of around
$5000-5500 to get everything done. These are not cheap cars to repair !
Once everything is done; you should have a pretty clean car.
If you are not a car person and if you do not want to invest the time and money into the updates; clean it up and market it to a TDI enthusiast and go buy yourself a new Camry with the 0% for 72 month financing deal.
Good luck and welcome to the TDI Club.

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Oh dont worry no one is driving my new car, I usually never let anyone drive my vehicles unless theres an emergency or something serious.

But there is not a single chance im going to go get some toyota haha, I love messing about with cars. I usually try to do all my own work if i can and learn from the process, but i know VWs and european cars in general are a bit more touchy and require some decent experience before you mess with them, so while im still gonna do all the simple wear and tear stuff myself, ill go to my buddys TDI specialist for the big items.

So i guess my main priority right now is deciding if i want to do the new gear driven BS or just delete it. Im an electrical/computer engineer so i get how signals and systems work for electric signals, but i have no clue how second order harmonics affect engines/mechanical systems, but im guessing since VW took the time and money to design a whole specific unit to remove those vibrations, i should keep it in the system.
If i switch to the geared setup is there like a forged hex shaft for the pump i could get, or just one that wouldn't be as prone to failure like the stock setup?

As for the trans and camshaft, ill wait a little bit to take care of those, ill check the cam next time I change the oil or probably when i address the balance shaft and need to change the timing belt anyways. If the cam is good, should i replace it anyways as preventative maintenance, and if yes should i stick with the stock cam or go with an aftermarket one?

I don't think I'm gonna do a manual swap, as much as i would like a manual transmission that's just gonna cost more time and money than just getting a rebuilt automatic. My dad has a buddy who owns a transmission shop who did my blazers for cheap (since were good friends) so ill see if he does VWs. Plus Im terrible at driving stick haha, but you never know i could have a change of heart eventually and hate the automatic so much that i swap it. With the automatic though do they make higher performance clutch packs for these? I was thinking about a malone stage 1.5 or 2, tune on this after i drive it for a while and verify that everything is solid, but i dont want to put too much stress on the clutch packs and cause the transmission to fail prematurely.
Again thanks for the help, glad to be on this site.

Are the gear kits still available? Last time we tried to purchase one we were told they are NLA. Delete is, AFIAK, the only way to go at this point.

Not correcting the balance shaft/oil pump issue because it "sounds OK" is like "inspecting" a timing belt and determining it doesn't need to be replaced. You're inviting catastrophic failure. Sometimes tensioners get noisy before they fail, sometimes they just fail. At 120K I wouldn't stop driving the car, but I wouldn't postpone the repair, either.

I do not know if the VW gear driven balancer shaft unit is available or not but I think Bora / Cascade has them.
It used to be about $1500 dollars just for the parts and then you have the labor costs involved with the swap out. The balancer shaft delete kit is available and more affordable and it will solve your concern, but it will add some noticeable vibrations to the engine.

My understanding is that the vibrations are negligible when you convert to the manual transmission setup and add a heavy weight flywheel.
The weight of the flywheel helps with vibrations after the balancer shaft has been deleted. This is what I have heard. My cars both have gear driven balancer shaft setups with the automatics.

Down the road I plan to convert to a manual transmission (FHN) setup, balancer shaft delete kit, new timing belt kit and the Colt Stage 2 Billet camshaft from Kerma.com.

If you have the $5500 to spend; take the car to a known and trusted TDI guru, that has done many of the manual transmission conversions and balancer shaft update jobs and get the work done properly and before you have an issue. No offense to your VW technician friend, but I doubt he knows the B5.5 Passat TDI ( BHW) as well as the TDI gurus on this website. He may be a great friend and good contact for basic maintenance related repairs and service, but you want somebody knowledgeable and expereined doing the blancer shaft delete for you.

BTW- Your current automatic transmission has about 40-50k of remaining useful life before it potentially develops an issue.
Usually it is just the torque converter that is the culprit. If the VW OEM chain driven balancer shaft goes bad; you will TOOF the motor and ruin the turbo.,
At that point you will only have a chassis and a junk motor, so do not wait too long on this one. If it was not updated; you are on borrowed time at 120k.

Thanks

Hi, The balance shaft chain failure is immediate no oil pressure. Stop engine immediately or face large damage. Bora parts is still advertising the geared balance shaft. Transmissions are not generally a catastrophic failure. Get a tranny flush and go. No reason not to make it to 200000 miles. Use the proper engine oil in a 5-40 weight. The cam also gives you plenty of warning about trouble. Enjoy

zzdiesel said:

Hi, The balance shaft chain failure is immediate no oil pressure. Stop engine immediately or face large damage. Bora parts is still advertising the geared balance shaft. Transmissions are not generally a catastrophic failure. Get a tranny flush and go. No reason not to make it to 200000 miles. Use the proper engine oil in a 5-40 weight. The cam also gives you plenty of warning about trouble. Enjoy

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3 of my 5 B5.5 Passat TDI's suffered transmission failure well before 200k miles, and 2 of the 3 were catastrophic with absolutely no warning. The 3rd suffered a no reverse symptom at fail.
Also, FYI the turbo lasts about 3 city blocks once the balance shaft module fails to deliver oil pressure.

Dogdots has performed many transmission conversions and he has performed some difficult TDI repairs.

When I refer to the word "GURU"; dogdots would be one of several highly skilled individuals here on the tdiclub.
A few others that come to mind are vwztips and oilhammer. Pay close attention to the advice they provide, as they have years of VW / Audi experience and lots of experience working with the 04/05 BHW Passat TDI.

Well been doing some thinking, I'm not going to worry about the transmission until it goes, I'll flush and replace the fluid and just hope that it lasts a while. My transmission on my blazer went out on the highway, so if it goes while I'm driving I wont be scared or anything. When the time comes ill see which route is cheaper with rebuilding the automatic vs a manual swap, plus i have no clue who around here would source and do the swap for me (in connecticut)

Im not too worried about the camshaft since all the service records indicate regular oil changes with the correct oil, but I honestly think that if I'm gonna be going through the trouble of taking care of the BSM, and since you guys say i should redo the timing belt when i do that anyways, i might as well change the cam, no? If i did i would get a colt cam stage 2 and a tune from malone. Thoughts on this idea?

Now on to this BSM headache...the delete is way cheaper we all know this, but im concerned as to why VW would take all the time and money to create this module in the first place if its so easy to get rid of. So my main question is should i do the geared setup, or should i just delete it since ill prolly tune it and get the performance cam, and deal with the added vibration? Is this vibration anything to worry about?

The delete and colt cam looks like it will cost me 1730 in parts alone plus 400 for the tune which is already over half of what i paid for the car =/ not sure what labor is gonna cost

My thoughts on this. I have two B5.5 1st auto with the AMC BEW billet cam from Bora and the geared balance shaft. The 2nd manual conversion with delete and the BEW cam and a Malone stage two tune. The cam kits were about 550 each. They are supposed to be long lasting. The 1st still seems to have lots of power but the comparison was coming from a buggered cam. The 2nd has a ton of get up and go. I find the deleted one more buzzy than the geared one, particularly around 1800 rpm. If I were to spend the money you are talking I would do the balance shaft and the BEW cam. The tune will more than make up for the slight loss of going with the BEW. But, why change the cam if it doesn't need it.

Lots of thought on the subject and many theories.

I would take the car to vwztips and have him change / replace the camshaft kit, timing belt kit and do a balancer shaft delete to the car.

Service your automatic at this time. Then you can drive the car pretty much worry free until the automatic transmission pukes out.

Then, at that point, you can either decide to swap to a manual transmission or fix your existing ZF automatic transmission.

The go to source in North America for your automatic would be here---

www.erikssonindustries.com

Wentworth Engineering Inc.
146 B Elm Street,
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475
1-800-388-4418

d0u8l3m said:

Im not too worried about the camshaft since all the service records indicate regular oil changes with the correct oil, but I honestly think that if I'm gonna be going through the trouble of taking care of the BSM, and since you guys say i should redo the timing belt when i do that anyways, i might as well change the cam, no? If i did i would get a colt cam stage 2 and a tune from malone. Thoughts on this idea?

Now on to this BSM headache...the delete is way cheaper we all know this, but im concerned as to why VW would take all the time and money to create this module in the first place if its so easy to get rid of. So my main question is should i do the geared setup, or should i just delete it since ill prolly tune it and get the performance cam, and deal with the added vibration? Is this vibration anything to worry about?

The delete and colt cam looks like it will cost me 1730 in parts alone plus 400 for the tune which is already over half of what i paid for the car =/ not sure what labor is gonna cost

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Take the valve cover off and inspect the Cam. Change it, with the BSM delete, if the cam shows shows wear (unlikely at 120,000 miles) and motor on. Lots of us have over 200,000 on the original cams, and making it to the next timing belt change at 200,000 is not out of the question, if the Cam looks good.

The geared BSM does not seem like the best route to follow at this point. Some have reported wearing out of the hex key, even with the geared BSM. So while the chain may be gone, another issue may be lurking. There haven't been significant complaints about the BSM delete and vibrations with the auto tranny.

zzdiesel said:

My thoughts on this. I have two B5.5 1st auto with the AMC BEW billet cam from Bora and the geared balance shaft. The 2nd manual conversion with delete and the BEW cam and a Malone stage two tune. The cam kits were about 550 each. They are supposed to be long lasting. The 1st still seems to have lots of power but the comparison was coming from a buggered cam. The 2nd has a ton of get up and go. I find the deleted one more buzzy than the geared one, particularly around 1800 rpm. If I were to spend the money you are talking I would do the balance shaft and the BEW cam. The tune will more than make up for the slight loss of going with the BEW. But, why change the cam if it doesn't need it.

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Well I figured since the timing belt is going to be redone, might as well replace it if the stock cam is prone to failure, plus i knew i wanted to upgrade some things to get more power anyways. If its in good shape i might just leave it, but it has to have no wear at all for me to have piece of mind.

deming said:

Lots of thought on the subject and many theories.

I would take the car to vwztips and have him change / replace the camshaft kit, timing belt kit and do a balancer shaft delete to the car.

Service your automatic at this time. Then you can drive the car pretty much worry free until the automatic transmission pukes out.

Then, at that point, you can either decide to swap to a manual transmission or fix your existing ZF automatic transmission.

The go to source in North America for your automatic would be here---

www.erikssonindustries.com

Wentworth Engineering Inc.
146 B Elm Street,
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475
1-800-388-4418

​

​

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I would love to go to vwztips but that's one heck of a drive haha, theres a TDI specialist up in mansfield connecticut that one of my friends goes to for his jetta, hes an older guy so i don't think he uses the internet much for forums or anything like that. Ill call him up and see if hes had any experience with this issue. If not there are some other guys that are listed on the stickied thread closer to me i might try.

johnboy00 said:

Take the valve cover off and inspect the Cam. Change it, with the BSM delete, if the cam shows shows wear (unlikely at 120,000 miles) and motor on. Lots of us have over 200,000 on the original cams, and making it to the next timing belt change at 200,000 is not out of the question, if the Cam looks good.

The geared BSM does not seem like the best route to follow at this point. Some have reported wearing out of the hex key, even with the geared BSM. So while the chain may be gone, another issue may be lurking. There haven't been significant complaints about the BSM delete and vibrations with the auto tranny.

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So it looks like im going to definitely do a BSM Delete, does it matter which kit i get either the ALH parts or the BRM parts?

If the cam is good ill leave it, if its worn at all do you guys know which cam i should replace it with? I was gonna get the delete kit through KermaTDI so i figured id just get the colt cam from them. Is this a good cam for the money or are there better ones with a better price/performance ratio.

Thanks again for the continued input everyone

Make sure whoever works on that car knows what they are doing.

I do not want to start a debate here over camshafts and what parts to use, but you look like you are on the right page and looking at a reliable and knowledgeable vendor for your parts.

Personally, I plan to go with the Colt Stage 2 camshaft setup with the new timing belt kit. Make sure you get the good water pump with the metal impeller !

With a new cam, new timing belt kit and balancer shaft delete; you will have a pretty nice car. Check the motor and transmission mounts as they are notorious for leaking. Make sure you reseal that airbox plenum so you do not end up with the passenger front " wet carpet issue". Make sure the sunroof drains are opened up and not clogged. Remove the foam chunks from the inner front fenders.

Go with a known and trusted "guru" for your work as it is worth having somebody experienced doing the job correctly the first time.

deming said:

Make sure whoever works on that car knows what they are doing.

I do not want to start a debate here over camshafts and what parts to use, but you look like you are on the right page and looking at a reliable and knowledgeable vendor for your parts.

Personally, I plan to go with the Colt Stage 2 camshaft setup with the new timing belt kit. Make sure you get the good water pump with the metal impeller !

With a new cam, new timing belt kit and balancer shaft delete; you will have a pretty nice car. Check the motor and transmission mounts as they are notorious for leaking. Make sure you reseal that airbox plenum so you do not end up with the passenger front " wet carpet issue". Make sure the sunroof drains are opened up and not clogged. Remove the foam chunks from the inner front fenders.

Go with a known and trusted "guru" for your work as it is worth having somebody experienced doing the job correctly the first time.

Click to expand...

You seem to know your stuff pretty dam well so im just gonna go with the colt cam if i need to change it haha. Ill get the timing belt kit from Kerma as well since they specifically state they give you the water pump with the metal impeller.

The motor mounts were replaced already, i just need to look up the part number and make sure they are the new ones, but they should be considering when they were replaced. Gotta look at the trans mounts. I tried to look for the foam pieces yesterday but if they are there they are unuderneath the inner fender liner and i didnt have time to disassemble all that, but the VW service notice states to just cut them so they are 10mm above the fender edge. Ill inspect them and decide what to do, if they are dry ill just follow the service paper and cut them to the correct length.

What do you mean by the airbox plentum though i cant find any info on it or how to do it. Luckily im pretty sure mine is still fine as the carpets are all dry, but if you could tell me what to look for ill definitely get on it.

Now just have to find a guru near me to get all of this done.

So to recap I'm gonna inspect the cam to decide if it needs to be changed. Do the delete and change the cam with a colt stage 2 if the old one is worn, tune it for the new cam (malone stage 1.5 or 2 depending on what he says about boost creep), flush the transmission fluid, and flash the transmission to sport mode with the old strategy.

Then hopefully the transmission will last me at least another year so i can save up (i dont drive very far for work) and possibly do a manual swap in the future.

I'm thinking about starting a build log for everything since I plan on some ascetic changes also, like the grill, bi-xenon projector retrofit since the stock projectors are technically for halogens, led interior lights,tints, etc.

I think this is gonna be a sweet car, and now i have a great starting point on what i need to do to keep it fun and reliable.

Thanks for the compliment. I have been a TDIClub member since 2003 and we have owned several TDI vehicles in addition to a plethora of various other makes and models of cars and trucks over the years.
The 2005 Passat TDI is one of my favorites and obviously we still own two of them so that should tell you something.

Headlights -- We have found that the Sylvania Silverstar Bulbs ( Grayish / Blueish Pkg.) provides a much better and brighter bulb and driving experience and it is a simple and cost effective way to improve your headlight performance. Roughly 35% brighter than a stock set of bulbs.
I think you will find a fresh set of bulbs installed in both the headlights and fog lights will make your night time driving much improved. Make sure you have a nice clean and bright set of lenses on your headlights.
A car this old will most likely need new headlights as the plastic gets scratched and faded over time ( old plastic).


Here is a nice write up that was provided by a valued contributing TDIclub member on this forum.

Water on passenger side front floor area—

The plastic air filter plenum needs to be re-sealed, with the VW specialty sealing cord, in order to keep water from running into the car from the engine bay area. There is a VW technical service bulletin regarding this concern.
The original housing seal goes bad and it is allows water to seep into this area. This can cause some pretty significant electrical concerns if not addressed properly and promptly. Cabin Filter Housing “Plenum” VW Cording /Sealing Material .

This plastic "plenum" box is located below the HEPA cabin Filter, on the passenger side of car, just above the blower motor and near the firewall area. VW Cording / sealing material-- Part # AKD 497 010 04 NAR

1. Left rear window regulator panel for leaks. Take garden hose and run water on window for 1-2 minutes. Do not open door. Get in from other side and inspect for water intrusion at bottom of door panel, door sill and door gasket
2. Left front window regulator panel for leaks. Same as #1
3. Left and Right front sunroof drains between left front door hinges at A-pillar and right front door at A-pillar. If the rubber tip has not been cut off, do so now. If water comes out, you have found the source.
Follow up by carefully inserting a long piece of weed trimmer (plastic trimmer line) through the drain hole from top at sunroof corner and out the other end.
4. (A.) Left sunroof drain connection behind a-pillar kick panel. Sometimes pipe can come loose where it connects to rubber grommet that goes through the body. (B.) Check rubber grommet on hood release cable where it passes through the firewall behind the drivers side hood hinge. It is barbed to hold it in place but can easily get dislodged when attempting to remove the plastic cover over the battery plenum. Water intruding here will definitely wind up on left rear floor (ask me how I know) Use silicone spray on grommet to aid in reinstalling if necessary.
5. Remove the battery and inspect the drains under battery and brake booster. I suggest removing them.
6. Check rubber grommet on hood release cable where it passes through the firewall behind the driver’s side hood hinge. It is barbed to hold it in place but can easily get dislodged when attempting to remove the plastic cover over the battery plenum. Water intruding here will definitely wind up on left rear floor (ask me how I know) Use silicone spray on grommet to aid in reinstalling if necessary

deming said:

Thanks for the compliment. I have been a TDIClub member since 2003 and we have owned several TDI vehicles in addition to a plethora of various other makes and models of cars and trucks over the years.
The 2005 Passat TDI is one of my favorites and obviously we still own two of them so that should tell you something.

Headlights -- We have found that the Sylvania Silverstar Bulbs ( Grayish / Blueish Pkg.) provides a much better and brighter bulb and driving experience and it is a simple and cost effective way to improve your headlight performance. Roughly 35% brighter than a stock set of bulbs.
I think you will find a fresh set of bulbs installed in both the headlights and fog lights will make your night time driving much improved. Make sure you have a nice clean and bright set of lenses on your headlights.
A car this old will most likely need new headlights as the plastic gets scratched and faded over time ( old plastic).


Here is a nice write up that was provided by a valued contributing TDIclub member on this forum.

Water on passenger side front floor area—

The plastic air filter plenum needs to be re-sealed, with the VW specialty sealing cord, in order to keep water from running into the car from the engine bay area. There is a VW technical service bulletin regarding this concern.
The original housing seal goes bad and it is allows water to seep into this area. This can cause some pretty significant electrical concerns if not addressed properly and promptly. Cabin Filter Housing “Plenum” VW Cording /Sealing Material .

This plastic "plenum" box is located below the HEPA cabin Filter, on the passenger side of car, just above the blower motor and near the firewall area. VW Cording / sealing material-- Part # AKD 497 010 04 NAR

1. Left rear window regulator panel for leaks. Take garden hose and run water on window for 1-2 minutes. Do not open door. Get in from other side and inspect for water intrusion at bottom of door panel, door sill and door gasket
2. Left front window regulator panel for leaks. Same as #1
3. Left and Right front sunroof drains between left front door hinges at A-pillar and right front door at A-pillar. If the rubber tip has not been cut off, do so now. If water comes out, you have found the source.
Follow up by carefully inserting a long piece of weed trimmer (plastic trimmer line) through the drain hole from top at sunroof corner and out the other end.
4. (A.) Left sunroof drain connection behind a-pillar kick panel. Sometimes pipe can come loose where it connects to rubber grommet that goes through the body. (B.) Check rubber grommet on hood release cable where it passes through the firewall behind the drivers side hood hinge. It is barbed to hold it in place but can easily get dislodged when attempting to remove the plastic cover over the battery plenum. Water intruding here will definitely wind up on left rear floor (ask me how I know) Use silicone spray on grommet to aid in reinstalling if necessary.
5. Remove the battery and inspect the drains under battery and brake booster. I suggest removing them.
6. Check rubber grommet on hood release cable where it passes through the firewall behind the driver’s side hood hinge. It is barbed to hold it in place but can easily get dislodged when attempting to remove the plastic cover over the battery plenum. Water intruding here will definitely wind up on left rear floor (ask me how I know) Use silicone spray on grommet to aid in reinstalling if necessary

Click to expand...

Well the current headlights definitely need to be detailed, but not replaced, I have this old polish from my dad that if you wet sand the headlights and then polish and wax them they look brand new, and all you have to do to maintain them is keep em clean and wax them every now and then, we did it to his Mercedes and they still look fresh . However i already have an HID kit for the car and angel eyes that I'm gonna put in with a controller and bluetooth app that i designed and wrote. I'm gonna get another set of headlights for the retrofit though just in case i screw up.

I just downloaded the TSB on the plentum and the sunroof drains, ill check to see if its been addressed already and if not take it to the dealer as soon as its registered and see if i cant make them take care of it for free. Otherwise it seems like an easy fix. Kinda worried now since it just poured rain today and the car was outside so ill have to check on it when I get home.

I called KMH motors up in mass last night and looks like to do the cam and BSM delete is gonna cost 1400 in labor plus the cost of parts, cant really swing that right now so I'm gonna have to wait a little while (few weeks), nothing I can do about that, unless I buy the parts and do it myself, I have experience with building small block chevy engines, but id rather wait and have someone who knows these engines do it. Coming out of college with a ton of student debt is the best isnt it Ill just drive the thing like a grandma for the next few weeks, theres no chain noise so i think my borrowed time still has some left haha

OP is on the right track and there's lots of good advice here. But don't get overwhelmed. When I had the balance shaft done the first time (don't bother with geared BSM even if it's still available), I went down this same road of thinking of all the things I could get 'corrected' or 'upgraded' at the same time to save on labor, etc. doing it all at once. That gets really expensive quick and can be cost-prohibitive. The guy who did the work gave me some sage advice and said to take care of what needs to be done and when he gets it opened up we can always do more if it's needed. With 10k service intervals, there's plenty of time to save to take care of other stuff later when the need arises when you're having other work done.

As you've noted, start with balance shaft delete and new TB/water pump kit (metal impeller) and service the transmission. Replace alternator pulley unless it or the alternator has already been replaced.

Inspect cam and address it if there's significant wear. Lots of good options there for replacements sold by the registered vendors here. I went with a stage 2 cam (Frank's) and have been pleased, but it might be overkill and is an area where you have opportunity to save some coinage with a quality BEW or even OEM BHW cam if you need to stretch the funds.

Go with Stage 2 if you're doing Malone tune over 1.5, but understand if you don't have personal restraint with the go-pedal that you could be hastening the death of the autotragic transmission. The tune will include the switch to sports mode/old strategy.

Be sure the CV boots are inspected closely so you can potentially catch a tear before it does any damage to the outer joint. These cars require OEM or OEM rebuilds for axles (e.g., Raxles), and a reboot job is a lot cheaper. After-market C.R.A.P. axles will cause serious vibration issues, and the balance shaft delete vibration problems probably have more to do with condition of the axles. Stay in front of CV axle/boot issues.

The front suspension can also be a cost center with the control arms. Have everything looked at now with an eye toward a refresh later (if needed) down the road.

Check out the Trusted Mechanics list in 101 by state. There are a couple options in Connecticut, with a lot more options in Mass and Jersey depending on where you are in Conn. It's worth the drive to get the work done right, especially with a balance shaft and TB job. A lot of these guys know each other too, especially the individuals listed (look on the list for user names here), and they usually can refer you to good hands if they don't want to get into a major job like the balance shaft or otherwise don't like working on the B5.5s.

Enjoy the ride. It's sweet. Especially with a tune.

If there is no noise forget about chain. Many last a lot longer. Repair by replacing chain tensioner, chain, and sprocket gears. It last for quite awhile with stock parts.

Service transmission with correct fluid.

Check TB to see if it is due. Check camshaft condition as some go much further than yours has already.

Don't fix anything that is not bad, only regular maintenance.

Drive and enjoy!

Zambee500 said:

OP is on the right track and there's lots of good advice here. But don't get overwhelmed. When I had the balance shaft done the first time (don't bother with geared BSM even if it's still available), I went down this same road of thinking of all the things I could get 'corrected' or 'upgraded' at the same time to save on labor, etc. doing it all at once. That gets really expensive quick and can be cost-prohibitive. The guy who did the work gave me some sage advice and said to take care of what needs to be done and when he gets it opened up we can always do more if it's needed. With 10k service intervals, there's plenty of time to save to take care of other stuff later when the need arises when you're having other work done.

As you've noted, start with balance shaft delete and new TB/water pump kit (metal impeller) and service the transmission. Replace alternator pulley unless it or the alternator has already been replaced.

Inspect cam and address it if there's significant wear. Lots of good options there for replacements sold by the registered vendors here. I went with a stage 2 cam (Frank's) and have been pleased, but it might be overkill and is an area where you have opportunity to save some coinage with a quality BEW or even OEM BHW cam if you need to stretch the funds.

Go with Stage 2 if you're doing Malone tune over 1.5, but understand if you don't have personal restraint with the go-pedal that you could be hastening the death of the autotragic transmission. The tune will include the switch to sports mode/old strategy.

Be sure the CV boots are inspected closely so you can potentially catch a tear before it does any damage to the outer joint. These cars require OEM or OEM rebuilds for axles (e.g., Raxles), and a reboot job is a lot cheaper. After-market C.R.A.P. axles will cause serious vibration issues, and the balance shaft delete vibration problems probably have more to do with condition of the axles. Stay in front of CV axle/boot issues.

The front suspension can also be a cost center with the control arms. Have everything looked at now with an eye toward a refresh later (if needed) down the road.

Check out the Trusted Mechanics list in 101 by state. There are a couple options in Connecticut, with a lot more options in Mass and Jersey depending on where you are in Conn. It's worth the drive to get the work done right, especially with a balance shaft and TB job. A lot of these guys know each other too, especially the individuals listed (look on the list for user names here), and they usually can refer you to good hands if they don't want to get into a major job like the balance shaft or otherwise don't like working on the B5.5s.

Enjoy the ride. It's sweet. Especially with a tune.

Click to expand...

Some good advice here. Im only gonna replace the cam if its worn, but again i figured since the timing belt and everything is gonna be off i might as well get it done now if its needed.

Im pretty sure both cv boots were already replaced i have to go through that service history folder again but i think all the front suspension is fine for a while. Plus the car rides real smooth now so that gives me even more confidence.

I was gonna get the stage 2 tune, but yeah with the way i drive im gonna have to constantly remind myself to be easy on it so i dont blow the trans myself haha, i think after a fluid change and with the old strategy i should be good, i wont beat on it knowing that i could lessen the transmissions lifespan, plus ill have to try to mitigate boost creep but im sure mark will help me with that through the tune as well

thesearcherman said:

If there is no noise forget about chain. Many last a lot longer. Repair by replacing chain tensioner, chain, and sprocket gears. It last for quite awhile with stock parts.

Service transmission with correct fluid.

Check TB to see if it is due. Check camshaft condition as some go much further than yours has already.

Don't fix anything that is not bad, only regular maintenance.

Drive and enjoy!

Click to expand...

Well there's no way im going to be replacing it with another poorly designed tensioner that just makes no sense. Plus they dont even make that part anymore because it was so bad. Ive pretty much decided on the delete for both money and logical reasons (remove all potential points of failure). Im used to driving trucks, so to be honest i most likely will never notice the extra vibrations, it will probably still be smoother than my truck.

Timing belt isnt due for another 30-40k but idk if the water pump in there now has the metal impeller so i dont mind doing it again. Its not like i can just replace the water pump alone right? Dont you have to do the whole thing again if you take it off?

Well...guess who found water in the front passenger foot well >=\

Same with me

Hi Folks,

I dont mean to steal this thread, I am in a similar position. 2004 Passat TDI Wagon perfect body and interior, purchased cheap due to transmission stuck in high gear. Carpet was wet on drivers side. This is not my daily driver. Had (2) late model Jetta TDI sport wagons, 45K per year. Daily driver at the moment is a Tuguan, toy is an 84 Vanagon I did the subi 2.2 conversion myself...Now to my question! For that year car and engine, what Vag Com would you good folks suggest? I can see that it is an indispensable tool for this project. I found a used transmission for what I paid for the car so still reasonable, but not sure what is wrong with this one except high miles! 175K Conversion to stick would be my first choice so any good links would be appreciated, or a good link to a transmission replacement on same car. Sorry for the long winded note, my first on this forum....Capt100j in NH