The "What did you do to your B4 today" thread...

yea, you werent the sarcastic one.
and some more criticism, well i hadnt planned to be here doing like that. im here for (over-all)content, use, benefit, and because its in our topic(s).

I brought that up to him when he first joined in here and got the same response. First person to ever be put on my ignore list because of his own stubbornness.

The problem is not that you're using "imprecise, not proper sentence structure" but that you're refusing to attempt to abide by more basic fundamentals of language such as spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

I attempted to recharge the AC on my blue B4 wagon and within minutes of starting procedure using all correct equipment, the AC condenser sprung a leak in the lower left corner. Yikes!

I have to now source a B4 a/c condenser and maybe also a connector hose and O-ring. I am now looking for VW Part number 3A0820413A ??

TDIL3dad said:

I attempted to recharge the AC on my blue B4 wagon and within minutes of starting procedure using all correct equipment, the AC condenser sprung a leak in the lower left corner. Yikes!

I have to now source a B4 a/c condenser and maybe also a connector hose and O-ring. I am now looking for VW Part number 3A0820413A ??

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your AC dilemma, with this weather AC needs to be in good order.

Rock Auto sells one bearing that number, Rein branded, $51.79 plus ship. They also have a Nissens branded one for just over $80 plus shipping.

Nissens has been a good manufacturer of various coolers over the years.

Steve

Steve Addy said:

Sorry to hear about your AC dilemma, with this weather AC needs to be in good order.

Rock Auto sells one bearing that number, Rein branded, $51.79 plus ship. They also have a Nissens branded one for just over $80 plus shipping.

Nissens has been a good manufacturer of various coolers over the years.

Steve

Click to expand...

Yes, Nissens is a good make. Sounds like yours sprung a leak in the same place as mine: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=3473231&postcount=316

some time ago i had noticed some air in my fuel line, it was prevalent after revving(@idle). checked a few days ago, i mean a lot of air, a consent stream of air, not just bubbles. i figured id change out the filter, maybe its the 'T' return, got a new filter, as the one in there is supposed to be a pretty good one. the one i got is mahle, its a shorter one, i suppose it has not as much filtering capacity and in the same token not as much water separation ability.
after installing took for a drive, was some what disappointed, same amount of air in inlet line. took for another drive this morning, looks like, almost, no air. after looking at line @idle for a bit a 'spurt' of bubbles, a fairly big set of bubbles, rev her up and look, noticeable amount of bubbles. when i get to my shop i ll have a chance to take a look, get a light and mirror and get a better look. then again its been pointed out to me not all leaks let fluid(traces) out, but can just as easily let air in.

Windex said:

Yes, Nissens is a good make. Sounds like yours sprung a leak in the same place as mine: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=3473231&postcount=316

Click to expand...

Found out that the hose 3A0-820-739-C (hose connects to lower corner where my condenser sprung a leak) and two different O-rings 7H0-820-896 and 8E0-260-749 are still available from VW and placed order. Also, ordered after-market A/C Condenser, and A/C Receiver Drier.

Thanks Windex and Steve for suggestions. By end of this week, all parts should have arrived, and my "local guru" should have time to install parts and recharge the system.

TDIL3dad said:

Found out that the hose and two O-rings (connects to lower corner where my condenser sprung a leak) are still available from VW and placed order. Also, ordered after-market A/C Condenser, and A/C Receiver Drier.

Thanks Windex and Steve for suggestions. I should have A/C by end of the week when all parts arrive and my "local guru" has time to install parts and recharge the system.

Click to expand...

That's good to hear, the heat is subsiding in Iowa at the moment but not enough to turn off the AC yet. We're barely into the bad stuff for this part of the country and it started off very early this year in the mid-west.

I also wanted to mention that in regards to your sunshade issue you might also consider one from the Mk3 car. The B3/4 and Mk3 cars all shared the same mechanism but they did not share the same glass.

Having said that I'm not sure whether the color of the shade plastic is going to be the same as what you need, the later Mk3 shades tended to be very light, I think the color was called slate. The earlier cars used one that was a little closer to beige but those shades also lacked the vents that were used on the later ones.

AFAIK the B4 (and I think B3) used two interior colors for headliner etc. One was very light grey and the other was the light beige.

Good luck!

Steve

Could we get away from all these part numbers, repair this , fix this, and it goes in very easy with two left hand wrench's, if you hold your mouth to the right! Go back to the hate and discontent. Lots more fun.

TDIL3dad said:

Found out that the hose 3A0-820-739-C (hose connects to lower corner where my condenser sprung a leak) and two different O-rings 7H0-820-896 and 8E0-260-749 are still available from VW and placed order. Also, ordered after-market A/C Condenser, and A/C Receiver Drier.

Thanks Windex and Steve for suggestions. By end of this week, all parts should have arrived, and my "local guru" should have time to install parts and recharge the system.

Click to expand...

Removed front bumper, headlights, grille etc only to find out that the radiator is corroded and leaking around plastic end caps and that the two top mounts are also worn out and should be replaced. Radiator parts appear to be still available. Anything else I should look for to replace or upgrade while I have both radiator and A/C condenser out of the way?


Also, any suggested upgrades or mods that I should consider while doing both radiator and A/C condenser?

The wagon had started to write a little rough. I’d feel every little bump, I was getting a popping noise from the front end when turning at low speed, and the front struts mounts looked like they were beat/lifting.

I got as far as swapping the front struts. I installed Monroe OE Spectrums, they I bought for the sedan, back in July 2014.... I never got around to installing them...

What I pulled were Boge Turbo Gas, so these could possibly be original. Honestly, there was still a gas charge in them, and they didn’t feel much different than what I installed.

The Meyle HD strut mounts looked ok, other than a little dishing where it went over the bearing. I may toss them in the press to try and fix them.

One strut bearing fell apart when I took the assembly apart and the other had s lot of slop.

Both outer tie rod ends were beat, and I had a used one that I swapped on the driver side. Both rack boots are torn, so I’ll need to swap them, when I swap the tie rod assemblies.

Ball joints and control arm bushings were still good, from when I swapped them years ago. One outer CV boot was getting some small cracks, so it was hosed down with Aerospace 303.

Road tested the car and it’s riding a bit better and the popping is gone. Tires get delivered tomorrow, so I’ll need to do a quick alignment and camber adjustment.

Noticed that the brake pads are crazy thin. I put 11” brakes on years ago, so I may go back to 10”, only because I have new rotors and pads on the shelf.

Not looking forward to swapping the rear suspension...

Who’s selling decent tie rod assemblies and boots nowadays?

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

The wagon had started to write a little rough. I’d feel every little bump, I was getting a popping noise from the front end when turning at low speed, and the front struts mounts looked like they were beat/lifting.

I got as far as swapping the front struts. I installed Monroe OE Spectrums, they I bought for the sedan, back in July 2014.... I never got around to installing them...

What I pulled were Boge Turbo Gas, so these could possibly be original. Honestly, there was still a gas charge in them, and they didn’t feel much different than what I installed.

The Meyle HD strut mounts looked ok, other than a little dishing where it went over the bearing. I may toss them in the press to try and fix them.

One strut bearing fell apart when I took the assembly apart and the other had s lot of slop.

Both outer tie rod ends were beat, and I had a used one that I swapped on the driver side. Both rack boots are torn, so I’ll need to swap them, when I swap the tie rod assemblies.

Ball joints and control arm bushings were still good, from when I swapped them years ago. One outer CV boot was getting some small cracks, so it was hosed down with Aerospace 303.

Road tested the car and it’s riding a bit better and the popping is gone. Tires get delivered tomorrow, so I’ll need to do a quick alignment and camber adjustment.

Noticed that the brake pads are crazy thin. I put 11” brakes on years ago, so I may go back to 10”, only because I have new rotors and pads on the shelf.

Not looking forward to swapping the rear suspension...

Who’s selling decent tie rod assemblies and boots nowadays?

-Todd

Click to expand...

IDK who sells decent tie rod assemblies but I did buy some super cheap ones from RA a while back.

As for steering rack boots the ones I installed in 2014 are now seriously cracking and they'll need to be replaced. Back then the only thing I didn't replace with steering was the right inner tie rod, the rest was replaced. This time around I'll replace the whole right tie rod assembly when I go in to do the boots again.

I'm figuring this will happen when I replace the front struts, which I would like to do this year. The rears are new 26k ago so those wills stay for another season at least. I will probably buy the Bilstein TC's for the wagon front, what I installed in 2014 was a used set of KYB's that looked like new. I figured I'd try and get a couple years out of those before renewing again. I installed new mounts and bearings too but those will be replaced again with Meyle HD and new bearings.

You can probably get by with those used Meyle HD mounts if you only get new bearings, but the mounts themselves aren't all that expensive either so you could just renew those as well.

Is this all in preparation for something or did this car finally stick a burr under your keister?

Steve

I like Moog’s tie rod ends because you can pump in new grease at will since then com with appropriate fittings and check valves.

Steve, what brand tie rods did you use and how long did they last? I barely log any mileage on my cars, (maybe 3k per year on each) so if you’re getting respectable use and mileage out if them, they’d be considered.

So far, light research has pointed at TRW, still being German made. FAG strut bearings are also supposedly German made. Not finding any origin info on the rack boots, but I have a set of Lemforders, on the shelf that are Italian.

Ended up ordering Corrado G60 Akebono pads again for about $66. Not the greatest pads, but they’re ok and buying them from Advance, gives me a lifetime warranty.

The HD strut bearings are cheap (about $8). I had another set of the HD on the shelf, that I compared them to and installed. Looking at them, the rubber is perfect. The only issue is the dishing, where the bearings were pounding into them. It should be an easy fix, and since they can be swapped out on the car, it seems to be a no brainer.

Hmmmm.... Moog has grease fittings....

-Todd

doing something about my 96 red wagon's sunburn

My 96 red wagon runs great because of continued maintenance. It has no rust because it never leaves Texas in the winter. But the relentless Texas sun has burned off the paint, mostly on the hood and roof.


I went into a paint and body shop that was recommended by a trusted shop, but the owner would not even consider painting my car. His initial comment was that it would be too expensive. Then he said there was too much work and there would be no money in it for him. Then he said it would need to be available for 2 - 3 weeks and would tie up one of his bays. He said that it had no rust so i should just drive it as is. Sigh

96RedWagon said:

My 96 red wagon runs great because of continued maintenance. It has no rust because it never leaves Texas in the winter. But the relentless Texas sun has burned off the paint, mostly on the hood and roof.


I went into a paint and body shop that was recommended by a trusted shop, but the owner would not even consider painting my car. His initial comment was that it would be too expensive. Then he said there was too much work and there would be no money in it for him. Then he said it would need to be available for 2 - 3 weeks and would tie up one of his bays. He said that it had no rust so i should just drive it as is. Sigh

Click to expand...

Find another body shop - this one is only interested in insurance work it seems.

Windex said:

Find another body shop - this one is only interested in insurance work it seems.

Click to expand...

100% agree. He doesn't want the business.

ToddA1 said:

Steve, what brand tie rods did you use and how long did they last? I barely log any mileage on my cars, (maybe 3k per year on each) so if you’re getting respectable use and mileage out if them, they’d be considered.

Click to expand...

I will go dig them out and see. The complete left one that's on the car was installed 26k miles ago so I wouldn't expect to see any wear on it yet, the right outer was installed at the same time.

I looked on RA and it looks like their super cheap tie rods for B3 & the ones for the B4 are gone.

ToddA1 said:

So far, light research has pointed at TRW, still being German made. FAG strut bearings are also supposedly German made. Not finding any origin info on the rack boots, but I have a set of Lemforders, on the shelf that are Italian.

Click to expand...

I would use any rubber parts that you've had on the shelf for a while, regardless of manufacturer. I just think that eventually that stuff will break down and it's best to use it sooner rather than later. I think the ones I installed were old, I remember having them for quite a while and I'm sure that contributed to their early decline.

ToddA1 said:

Ended up ordering Corrado G60 Akebono pads again for about $66. Not the greatest pads, but they’re ok and buying them from Advance, gives me a lifetime warranty.

Click to expand...

A lot of people end up liking those, before the B3V came out of the garage I had installed ceramic pads so I wouldn't have to deal with the pad dust. Can't say I've been disappointed with that move. I will do that again in the future when it's necessary.

ToddA1 said:

The HD strut bearings are cheap (about $8). I had another set of the HD on the shelf, that I compared them to and installed. Looking at them, the rubber is perfect. The only issue is the dishing, where the bearings were pounding into them. It should be an easy fix, and since they can be swapped out on the car, it seems to be a no brainer.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I follow, you say you can swap out strut bearings without pulling the struts off the car? I have always had to pull the strut assembly with the bearing carrier to do strut bearing / mount work.

ToddA1 said:

Hmmmm.... Moog has grease fittings....

-Todd

Click to expand...

Yes, they do come with a grease fitting, but other makers offer that as well, and then if you really feel the fitting is necessary a person can always drill and install one in a tie rod that does not come with one. I've done that before too.

The one problem with the Moog tie rod ends that I've seen is they have a removable boot that isn't bound to the main tie rod. I guess in one way that's a benefit since a person could replace it if they needed to, and further it allows for grease to be smeared inside that boot too when it's removed.

Also, some Moog ball joints have grease fittings too...

Steve

There are still shops who will paint older cars. Here's my MKIV Golf at a local shop a couple years ago.



And the result:


Not cheap, but worth it for a car that is, in my opinion, irreplaceable.

Steve Addy said:

I would use any rubber parts that you've had on the shelf for a while, regardless of manufacturer. I just think that eventually that stuff will break down and it's best to use it sooner rather than later. I think the ones I installed were old, I remember having them for quite a while and I'm sure that contributed to their early decline.

Click to expand...

Not sure how it’ll work out long term, but I’ve been using Aerospace 303 Protectant, on anything rubber vinyl, etc.. Simply spraying it on tires gives a great luster. I’ve been wiping my door seals and rubber seals with it and it brought back the faded centercaps on my Corrado steelies.

The stuff always gets rave reviews and I’m currently soaking some new shock boots in a tub, with a decent amount of 303 in it. Every so often, I slosh it around to recoat the boots. Im going to put the tub outside to warm it up a bit, tomorrow. Guess I’ll toss those rack boots in the tub... they can soak for a few days.

Steve Addy said:

I'm not sure I follow, you say you can swap out strut bearings without pulling the struts off the car? I have always had to pull the strut assembly with the bearing carrier to do strut bearing / mount work.

Click to expand...

That was a typo... I meant the mounts. When I installed the HD mounts years ago, I was able to get them out without pulling the strut. I think I had to disconnect the sway bar end link. I didn’t want to disturb the camber and it was easier than disconnecting everything to pull the knuckle out with the strut.

I’m guessing, you could swap the bearings, if you had the strut back in the tower and used the weight of the car to compress the spring...

Steve Addy said:

Yes, they do come with a grease fitting, but other makers offer that as well, and then if you really feel the fitting is necessary a person can always drill and install one in a tie rod that does not come with one. I've done that before too.

Click to expand...

I’ve always read that can be detrimental, because of the metal chips that go inside. From what I understand, there’s a plastic socket that receives the ball portion. I’m guessing if there aren’t any channels, the grease can’t flow properly.

Steve Addy said:

Also, some Moog ball joints have grease fittings too...

Click to expand...

I saw that, and they’re expensive... I think I installed Altroms, years ago, when I rebuilt the control arms. They’re fine, so I’m not messing with them. I’ll probably just end up ordering the TRW tie rod assemblies.

I noticed that I was getting rust bubbling, on one of the fenders. I had this fender repainted, maybe 5 years ago. It was caused by the stupid foam thing that I reinstalled, to keep it original... Now, a piece of the flange is rotted out. I’ll need to see if I can fix it or if I’ll have to get another fender. Back to the body shop...

On a better note, I made some progress and prepped the car to get the rear shocks out. I didn’t need to pull all of the plastic, seats, etc. I was able flex some plastic parts, to expose the shock tops. Nothing cracked or broke!

I also noticed that the storage tray in the quarter panel has water in it. I resealed the rear, side windows years ago... I’ll probably keep the plastics off, until I find out where it’s coming in.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

I also noticed that the storage tray in the quarter panel has water in it. I resealed the rear, side windows years ago... I’ll probably keep the plastics off, until I find out where it’s coming in.

-Todd

Click to expand...

Sounds like good progress being made, I'll have to do some looking up on that 303 stuff...

As for the rear leak, if you have water dripping into the plastic bin don't bother with the side windows, I would bet that it's leaking in from the seam that's under the black strips on the roof. The sealer gets hardened and cracked and then water makes it's way into the roof structure and runs to the rear and down the pillars and drips into the plastic bins.

Been there before with that leak...

Steve

Hmmmm.... the last time it was the windows. There’s a body seam under those rails? I’m guessing the headliner needs to be pulled down, to get the strip hardware? I’ve taken the rails off to paint, but never messed with the strips.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

Hmmmm.... the last time it was the windows. There’s a body seam under those rails? I’m guessing the headliner needs to be pulled down, to get the strip hardware? I’ve taken the rails off to paint, but never messed with the strips.

-Todd

Click to expand...

Yes, the roof is composed of three parts, the outer section rails and a center panel, there are spot welds under there and seam sealer that hardens. I had to smear silicone sealer into that in order to get my profuse leaks to stop, at least I hope they're stopped, it's not leaking into the rear quarters anymore.

The black strips come out with a prying tool, preferably a plastic one, but they're brittle and they can break too. I damaged one of mine but found a replacement at the JY luckily. The black strips are secured in the center with small plastic clips. You don't need to pull the headliner to take them out.

I didn't really want to remove those but it was either solve the leaks or put up with the water. I used a hose on the car to observe the leaking behavior to figure out that it was the roof seams.

Steve

Ok, thanks for that. If I’m picturing it correctly, the strip will have a ball that engages a socket, of some sort on the sheet metal? Maybe like how the side trim attaches to the doors, with those goofy rubber cups?

I should probably probably tape off the side window, to create a seal, then hose the rail down.

If it is the seam, I’ll have to seal it up with seam sealer or butyl tape.

-Todd

I got to the rear shocks tonight. The right side had heavy rust and rot where the upper bushing met the bump stop cup. It was fused to the shock. I had this happen several months ago, but didn’t catch it in time and it ended up blowing through and making a ton of noise with every little bump.

Anyhow, the Boge Turbo Gas were still extending on their own, and I was surprised that they had more resistance (stiffer valving) than the the new Monroes. Got everything back together with a KYB bushing kit, and road tested the car. Will reinstall the interior later.

It feels the exact same....

I haven’t replaced the tires, but they’re in the rear of the wagon. Waiting for the TRW tie rods that I ordered today, and a driveway alignment, before I get the tires mounted.

Brake pads get delivered tomorrow. I’m on the fence whether to order new rotors or wait and see if the existing ones can be cut. One looked a bit strange, when I was replacing the front struts. I should have paid more attention to it.

-Todd

New owner of 98 jetta tdi... Yesterday sunroof wouldnt close, took out deflector and now it shuts... On To do later list..... today is oil change.... car has sat for a couple years, so gonna do as much maintenance as i can afford before driving it.... tomorrow is pass inspection cecklist... cant transfer title till it passes inspection...

luckily, texas is no emissions on diesel, so just bulb check and get unused seatbelts to move... ...(seatbelts will never be used by me...)...

I changed the oil in the B3V tdi conversion, 9000 miles on this change. Replaced air filter element and I probably should have checked the cabin filter but I elected not to since I was running later than I planned.

I did, however, check my cheapy Meyle rear beam axle bushings and I am happy to report that as of 26,000 miles they look to be in great shape.

Otherwise the undercarriage looked pretty normal to me.

Steve

ToddA1 said:

Brake pads get delivered tomorrow. I’m on the fence whether to order new rotors or wait and see if the existing ones can be cut. One looked a bit strange, when I was replacing the front struts. I should have paid more attention to it.

Click to expand...

The brake pads arrived as scheduled, but Amazon didn’t pull through with their delivery of the rotors. They were supposed to be here Wednesday, but now won’t get delivered until around Tuesday.

I decided to pull the brakes off and have a looksie.... maybe I could just clean them up with a Roloc. The outside of both rotors had perfect wear. The inside of both rotors were a different story... for some reason, there was only about 1” of swept area on both, on the centers. One rotor had weird pitting, like it was a bad casting.

Both outer pads were still about .375” thick. The right inside was about .25” thick and the left inside was less than .0625” thick.... I was almost metal on metal.

I was in the process of going back to 10” brakes and couldn’t find the correct carriers. I only seem to have early VR6 carriers.... I should have 2 sets of stock carriers. What I thought was a correct carrier, bolts onto the knuckle, but the pad won’t sit right. I have no clue what this is from....

Anyway, I bolted the 11” stuff back on, with a new Hawk HPS pad on the outside where the surface was good. Long story short, I wasted a few hours swapping out 1 pad. It was getting late, so I didn’t get to set the camber, either.

I may try and get these rotors cut on Saturday, then cancel the Amazon order. Want to get the tires mounted tomorrow.

-Todd

Amazon delivered my rotors a few days earlier than expected. The rotors that came off were heavily rusted so I cleaned and taped the new rotors off. Painted the edges and both sides of the rotor hats, with engine paint. We’ll see if it lasts.

Installed everything and it’s amazing how it feels when everything is functioning properly. Here are the pics that I took the other night, with the initial tear down.

Outer rotor faces and pads wore perfectly. The inside was a different story... never saw this occurr, before.






Right inner pad was paper thin and the left side was delaminating, from the backing. Strange pitting on the left rotor, was also new to me.








Next step was to set the camber. Just had new tires installed and don’t want to ruin them. I never messed with the alignment, since I got the car, in 2011. Left side was at -2.9° and the right was at -2.0°. That explains the inner tire wear... After too many trial and errors, the left side is at -.5° and the right is at -.7°... close enough.

Didn’t get started on the tie rods and boots. I’m expecting a fight with the boots. At least setting the toe is a much easier task.

Also need to start reassembling the interior, from the shock installation.

-Todd

ToddA1 said:

Amazon delivered my rotors a few days earlier than expected. The rotors that came off were heavily rusted so I cleaned and taped the new rotors off. Painted the edges and both sides of the rotor hats, with engine paint. We’ll see if it lasts.

Installed everything and it’s amazing how it feels when everything is functioning properly. Here are the pics that I took the other night, with the initial tear down.

Outer rotor faces and pads wore perfectly. The inside was a different story... never saw this occurr, before.

Right inner pad was paper thin and the left side was delaminating, from the backing. Strange pitting on the left rotor, was also new to me.

Next step was to set the camber. Just had new tires installed and don’t want to ruin them. I never messed with the alignment, since I got the car, in 2011. Left side was at -2.9° and the right was at -2.0°. That explains the inner tire wear... After too many trial and errors, the left side is at -.5° and the right is at -.7°... close enough.

Didn’t get started on the tie rods and boots. I’m expecting a fight with the boots. At least setting the toe is a much easier task.

Also need to start reassembling the interior, from the shock installation.

-Todd

Click to expand...

Hey Todd
I thought the pads / rotors wear that way when the caliper pins get stuck and nothing slides back and forth? That's happened to me before and I thought I ended up with same results.

Steve