Balance Shaft Upgrade Shops

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
Welcome to the TDI-Club!!

Please be advised that cross-posting (leaving the same or similar post in more than one message thread) is frowned-upon around here... You did receive a couple of small comments in your other thread...

For the Passat, you'll need the balance shaft upgrade if your car has a chain, and you need to have someone look at the shape of the camshaft as well as the alternator pulley... (Keep in mind that upgrading the balance shaft module is fairly expensive, and since it's recommended that it be done at the same time as a timing belt change, that would add to the total...) Your Golf has no balance shaft...

All the best,

Yuri
 
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drehenkraft

Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2006
Location
Tempe, AZ
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS Stonehenge Grey/Grey
Independent Automotive Phoenix, AZ

Independent Automotive
3800 N. 7th St
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602) 234-9783

I had my 05 BHW unchained during my timing belt service after seeing some positive tdi reviews on yelp and kudzu. Steven and his staff are the somewhat rare honest & competent tdi shop.
 

hysterwv

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Location
WV, OH, KY
Nothing personal, but...

What did they do that's TDI-specific, and how do you know they did a "great" job ??

Yuri
What did they do? This IS the Balance Shaft upgrade shop thread...

They did this:
http://athenseuroworks.blogspot.com...howComment=1296243380993#c8824889295593104718

And I know they did a great job because they did the job as promised and went above and beyond to fix a pretty big boo-boo that my dealer made years ago without a fuss (or charge). I know they did a good job because I have 60+ heavy equipment techs that work for me which gives me a reasonable amount of experience determining who's a good tech and who's a parts changer.

They did a good job.

You question all of these posts that recommend shops?:)
 

NormF

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 15, 2006
Location
Manitoba
TDI
2012 - Jetta TDI (daily driver -120,000 KMs), 2006 Jetta TDI , oldest son), 2004 (younger son), 2003 Beetle TDI ( daughter), 2004 Golf TDI - (son's Girl Friend)
At the end of the day, how much $$$ does one need to get the BS replaced properly. 2500. ??

I missed an opportunity.. I just replaced my Timing belt.
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
At the end of the day, how much $$$ does one need to get the BS replaced properly. 2500. ??

I missed an opportunity.. I just replaced my Timing belt.
It essentially is doing all the labor required for a timing belt again, plus something to do with the subframe. Too bad you didn't know about this sooner.
 

Dean

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 Passat TDI(Sold)
I'm looking for a professional shop in Vancouver, BC, Canada to possibly go chainless.
Any suggestions?
 

kinghomes

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Location
alabama
TDI
2004 passat tdi
Balance Shaft unchain in Nashville TN

Jerry @ :

German Performance Auto
1227 Lebanon Pike
Nashville, TN 37210
gpotuning@gmail.com
615-248-9466

Repaired and Replaced the following on a 2004 VW Passat TDI with 95,000 miles on it


Oil Pump and balance shaft unchain
Camshaft Seal
Crankshaft Seal
Water Pump
Dryer, Orifice, Recharge
Alternator Pully
Cabin Air filter
Check Cam Wear
Replace Axel assembly
Fuel Filter
AC Tensioner Kit
Engine Mount
Timing Belt

I have since put about 4,000 miles on the car and it has performed with no issues. The motor is much quieter and the power seems proper - with out hesitation or excessive smoke. I was happy with Jerrys professionalism and promptness. I was able to drop the car off on a Saturday and he left the car out for me to pick up on a Sunday. Paid with card over the phone.
Jerry had not performed this specific work before on a Pump Duse. I shared Oil hammers procedure with him (thank you).

I would like to thank Oilhammer and the other TDI Club members for providing such excellent content to the forum. I did not drive the car for about 8 mouths because the car had lost power and I did not want to take it to my local dealer. I abhor the lack of information provided by the local dealer. Also, my local dealer once changed the oil on this passat and close to a quart of oil was on my drive the next AM. Finally, when I found time to work on the car myself, I researched my symptoms and codes on the TDI Club and quickly found the split pressure intake pipe. With this repair done the Passat ran great again

After the pipe repair, I decided after reading the forum post, to upgrade the motor to gear drive. I believe the Economy and versatility of this car is well worth the extra investment. I love to put the bikes on the hitch and hit the MT's for Mt. Biking and the Passat carries all the gear with room to spare economically and comfortably. I have a Tiguan, its quite nice but no more roomier and a little harder to handle. So the Passat is my favorite for the trips @ 15 MPG more than the Tiguan. What competition does a TDI have - an Outback - umm uh no. whats with all that 4 wheel drive stuff?

Thank You and the other TDI people for the great content. And please put Jerry with German Performance on your list of unchain mechanics. I highly recommend him.

Philip King
256-990-5464
Huntsville, AL
 

upfisk

Member
Joined
May 7, 2011
Location
Prescott, AZ area
TDI
'04 Passat wagon, 2011 Golf TDI 4 door, 6 speed manual, 2015 GSW TDI DSG. al
Another unchained Passat

Just bought an '04 Passat TDI wagon with 87k in the odometer on May 12th. Drove it 600 miles to Phoenix and asked an independent shop to check out the timing belt. The previous owner had owned the car only 4K miles and said his mechanic observed that the timing belt appeared new. Our inspecting mechanic stated that the timing belt was the original, the engine sounded fine on top but from the bottom was a rumble, the motor mounts had excessive vibration, and the front suspension showed some wear that could be worked on later.

We then contacted Eric at Exklusiv Motorsports by e-mail with the results. We had read on this forum that Eric was the mechanic to go to for the BSM repairs in Phoenix. He recommended we buy the deluxe BSM and timing belt kit from Bora Parts. Bora was great at getting the parts sent the day we ordered by e-mail. The next day, we called and ordered the motor mount kit from Bora, Aaron suggested that we also order the transmission flush kit, so we bought that also. All Bora parts arrived at Exklusiv the same day. Eric was impressed that we had thought to order the trans flush kit!

After the work was completed, Eric went over the old parts with us. The timing belt was brand new! But the water pump and rollers hadn't been changed. The chain was showing some signs of wear, one of the motor mounts was shot. Strangely, the transmission oil had never been changed and was rather black. The front suspension seemed OK to Eric and should not be an issue.

We were impressed with Eric's willingness to review our old parts, Bora's suggestions on what to order for the BSM conversion on a car of this age. And we were happy with our bill. Well, as happy as anyone could be after buying a newish car and finding that they had to spend $2800.
 
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Derek@Exklusiv

Active member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Location
Phoenix
TDI
Too many cars
Just bought an '04 Passat TDI wagon with 87k in the odometer on May 12th. Drove it 600 miles to Phoenix and asked an independent shop to check out the timing belt. The previous owner had owned the car only 4K miles and said his mechanic observed that the timing belt appeared new. Our inspecting mechanic stated that the timing belt was the original, the engine sounded fine on top but from the bottom was a rumble, the motor mounts had excessive vibration, and the front suspension showed some wear that could be worked on later.

We then contacted Eric at Exklusiv Motorsports by e-mail with the results. We had read on this forum that Eric was the mechanic to go to for the BSM repairs in Phoenix. He recommended we buy the deluxe BSM and timing belt kit from Bora Parts. Bora was great at getting the parts sent the day we ordered by e-mail. The next day, we called and ordered the motor mount kit from Bora, Aaron suggested that we also order the transmission flush kit, so we bought that also. All Bora parts arrived at Exklusiv the same day. Eric was impressed that we had thought to order the trans flush kit!

After the work was completed, Eric went over the old parts with us. The timing belt was brand new! But the water pump and rollers hadn't been changed. The chain was showing some signs of wear, one of the motor mounts was shot. Strangely, the transmission oil had never been changed and was rather black. The front suspension seemed OK to Eric and should not be an issue.

We were impressed with Eric's willingness to review our old parts, Bora's suggestions on what to order for the BSM conversion on a car of this age. And we were happy with our bill. Well, as happy as anyone could be after buying a newish car and finding that they had to spend $2800.
Thanks for coming in guys.. Aaron at BoraParts is definitely on the ball.. and technically it's "Derek" :) The other BSM kit we ordered from Aaron came in a day early.. so chalk up 2 BSM replacements in less then 3 days.. Good times!
 
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morrisri

New member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Location
Kentucky
TDI
2005 Passat
DickSliver,

How has your new gear driven oil pump held up since Fast Enough performance did your upgrade? How many miles since the job?
 

apaustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
maryland
TDI
05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v
I'm usually on the B4V site but we've had an '05 Passat SW TDI since new. Let's hear it for extended warranties! However we're now at 98K and I'm praying that anything major that's going to go wrong does so soon. Specific to this thread, is the BSM such a leaky pail that it qualifies for replacement just by bad design?

And, any recommended shops in Maryland?
 

apaustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
maryland
TDI
05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v
Yuri, thanks. Next step, how do I break it in the next 2,000 miles? Uh, just kidding. In the meantime I'll look Oliver up - more good shops, the better.
 

1854sailor

Resident Curmudgeon
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Location
Westerly, RI
TDI
2015 Golf SE SportWagen, 2015 Golf SE Hatch Back.
Yuri, thanks. Next step, how do I break it in the next 2,000 miles? Uh, just kidding. In the meantime I'll look Oliver up - more good shops, the better.
I checked with Oliver before we had ours done, and he had never done a BSM job by himself before. He had assisted MoGolf on a couple of occasions so he suggested that I contact Glen. Glen wasn't available, so I wound up taking the car to hevster1 in northern NJ. He's in the Poconos, so we rented a cheap hotel and had a wonderful short vacation at Delaware Water Gap while Mike did the conversion. He did an excellent job, and I highly recommend him.

Also, Mike's price+Room, Meals, etc.<Dealer price!!
 

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
I would assume that your example is noisy as every other BHW at your mileage. My car was noisy at 57k and I am sure glad it has been taken care of. I would definitely try to get the warranty to pay for it. Of course it depends upon what insurance coverage you exactly have.
 

apaustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
maryland
TDI
05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v
I've got the same warranty that DeliveryValve had in s4phillips' thread above. The car is going into the dealer on Monday (ordinarily I'd take it to my mechanic but he's on vacation) to check out a delivery workshop warning message. I'll ask them about BSM noise. I don't know what to listen for - I doubt if they would either or purposely won't hear it. If I could get the work greenlighted by the warranty company, I'd drive it to the Poconos for the upgrade.
 

reynolcj

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Location
Cincinnati, Oh
TDI
2003 VW Golf 4-door, 2005 Passat Wagon
Going chainless in Cincy-hopefully sooner than later

Hello. My name is reynolcj, and I am a masachist.

Seriously folks, why do we do this to ourselves? I love my diesels but sometimes i wonder if we're putting ourselves through needless pain--then i look around and see all of the lackluster cars on the road and remember why I love these cars. Regardless of reason, its definitely a love/hate relationship lol.

Bottomline-I need to go chainless near Cincinnati. I've got a couple feelers out there but not really getting any feedback. Sounds like there is a shop in athens, ohio and possibly one in lexington, ky as well as Oilhammer down in St. Louis. I've contacted a couple other tdiclub gurus to see if this is a job they will do, but no word yet. Just wanted to see if there was someone I'm missing closer to the Cincinnati area. Thanks in advance!
 

OldWrench

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Location
NW Indiana
TDI
2005 Passat TDI 245K (1K/week daily driver), 2003 Jetta TDI (413K now retired), 2008 Passat Wagon 2.0 (89K) wifes baby hauler and a GREAT ride, 2008 Four Winds Motor Home...nice
A couple of questions about the upgrade.

My TDI is at 86K and I am torn between selling it or having the upgrade done.:mad:
My last TDI was a 2003 Jetta wagon. It went 403K with only normal service before I sold it.
I wonder will the passat run with that reliability? Is it a 400K engine?
What is it costing to have the update done with timing belt kit?

Thanks,

OldWrench
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
My TDI is at 86K and I am torn between selling it or having the upgrade done.:mad:

My last TDI was a 2003 Jetta wagon. It went 403K with only normal service before I sold it.

I wonder will the passat run with that reliability? Is it a 400K engine?

Yes, with proper care. There are some now with over 250K miles on them.

What is it costing to have the update done with timing belt kit?

Around $3,000.

Thanks,

OldWrench
Replies in RED above.
 

hevster1

Vendor
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Location
Columbia NJ
TDI
98 NB
My TDI is at 86K and I am torn between selling it or having the upgrade done.:mad:
My last TDI was a 2003 Jetta wagon. It went 403K with only normal service before I sold it.
I wonder will the passat run with that reliability? Is it a 400K engine?
What is it costing to have the update done with timing belt kit?

Thanks,

OldWrench
Depending on if you want engine mounts, alternator pulley or other extras like a trans service, My price starts at 2350.00. I do not charge labor for the mounts or pulley, only for the parts. Trans service is 60.00 + parts
 
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