Upgrading 2001 Golf TDI

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
It's been a while but I'm still working on the Golf.


I installed new Cupra R rear bushings (6LL 501 541) it was easier to remove the rear axle. Not an easy or fun job! It's back in place with new brake pads & rotors to match the front. Also got Shine Racing Real Street Springs and Bilstein TC shocks.


Installed a PD Lift Pump


and a 2.5” stainless steel downpipe & tailpipe


Still sorting out the PD150 vent pipe, I think I have a solution. It actually runs now, in fact I drove it around the block last week.


One thing I did was to have a flexible line installed on the power steering hose. They cut the steel line and welded on AN fittings. Then made a hose with AN hose ends to connect the metal pipes. Makes running the PS hose around the 6 speed a lot easier. The clamp is on a 1.5” tall standoff bolted to the transmission mount. I like it a lot better than trying to bend a 5 speed hose to fit.


And here it is off the jack stands! The wheels are powder coated Force with 205/55 16 Yokohama S Drive tires. Haven't installed the wheel centers yet or even cleaned them up from mounting them. Started on the interior, the headliner is out at the upholstery shop.
 
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bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Another busy weekend, but not much to show. I got all the black interior parts from a parts car. Stripped out the interior of the Golf. It's probably good to good clean every 15 years or so!


Interior all out. After this pic was taken, I put the black carpet in along with a few interior bits.


Installed a vented fender liner from a Jetta City.

Got a few little things to do, then it's off to another body shop to fix the paint on the top while the headliner is out. The first body shop couldn't seem to get it right after taking a month. Unfortunately State Farm is refusing to pay for redoing the paint, even though they are supposed to have a "lifetime" guarantee. Oh well. I've also ordered a new front bumper. The original one is cracked so I'll have that painted as well.
 
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bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Any more updates? How are you liking the 6-speed?
It's been busy but I have made more progress. I'll try and post more soon. We sold both MK4 wagons and bought a 2015 GSW - not in that order though! Which means I'm driving the Golf now as my daily driver as I finish it up. The mechanical stuff is about done, along with the paint but the interior has a ways to go.

As to the 6 speed, yes I do like it. I had a 6 speed in one of the wagons I just sold, so I've been driving a 6 speed for a while now. I really like it, having the extra gear is very nice. After having both a 5 and 6 speed, I can say I would be very reluctant to go back to a 5 speed. The PD150 DMF clutch is very smooth and easy to drive. With the Peloquin LSD you can get on the power sooner out of a turn. It takes a bit different technique and I really haven't got it 100%, but there is certainly a difference to the open diff. I set the front camber at stock Golf settings. Once I get everything done, I'm going to dial in some more front camber, I think that will help. Then I'll see if I need a rear sway bar. However, it has pretty good grip now.

All in all, I'm happy with the mods. It has good power (never enough, but it's OK for now), handles and drives well. It's a little louder than I would like and has a drone at speed. Once the interior is done I'm sure it will quiet down, if not enough I'll sort that out as well.
 

artdeco42

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Location
Florida
TDI
2003 VW Golf TDI
Thanks for the update, I'm glad it's still going good on the upgrade. That GSW sound like a lot of fun too!

I'm going to be starting on updating my 2003 golf tdi this fall. I have the 6-speed and the conversion kit ready to go, but I want to do the shift fork fix before I put it in the car. I have to buy a bunch of tools too, I only have the basics at this point.
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
I discovered my aluminum upper intercooler pipe was hitting the power steering pulley. It has good clearance, so I guess the engine is moving a bit.

I've installed a Nicktane filter in place of the stock fuel filter.

It didn't go all the way through - but it's close! I'll probably have it tig welded up and should be OK.
I've ordered a set of Vibra Technics dogbone bushings. Hopefully they will reduce the engine rocking but won't transmit too much vibration. I guess I'll find out!

I installed the stock pipe from the IC to the intake. This pipe fits better and really I don't think it's all that restrictive.
I'll see how it does, but if I don't notice much difference, I just may keep it. I like the stock appearing engine compartment as well.
I'm not 100% decided on the crankcase vent hose. The way I have it now works, but I'll probably do something else later. I'm still considering a Mann Pro Vent at some point.
 

artdeco42

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Location
Florida
TDI
2003 VW Golf TDI
Wow, I didn't realize the engine could move enough to hit that pipe. Good to know though, one more thing to check on. The upgrade is looking good !
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
I've got another project that will take the next few weekends, but I managed to get a new windshield and a rain sensing mirror installed. It works great.

The mirror is auto dimming and has the red "ambiance" LEDs that shine down.

And while the headliner is out, I resealed all the sunroof drains. I had a small drip from the left front one, but no more. We have had some good storms, but all is dry inside!
 

GIDDY_UP_GO

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Location
Indiana
TDI
10 Jetta 13 Beetle Convertible 15 GSW
Where did you find the vented inner fender liner and how much was it? Thanks!

Awesome work by the way!
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Vibra Technics Dogbone insert

I installed a Vibra Technics dog bone bush and insert. They are nicely made pieces. I went with the Vibra Technics because I prefer rubber to polyurethane for mounts. You reuse the aluminum mount, replacing only the original rubber ends. It is adjustable, but I can tell you the firm is just that. It transmits a lot of vibration to the car. The "comfort" is much better. Still a little vibration at idle, but not too bad. It does seem to help with the engine rocking, the car feels firmer when accelerating to getting off the power. I would say it is a worthwhile upgrade.

The stock mount is on the left. The middle is the small end bush. On the right is the finished mount, ready for installation. The black support brace mounts to a machined step on the small bush. You can see the step in the center picture.
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Between cleaning up tree limbs from the hurricane and other projects, I haven't done much on the Golf. However, I did find time to swap out the crankshaft damper. I decided to go with a





It sure looks nice. The car seems smoother and also seems to accelerate a little quicker, but maybe it's just wishful thinking. Honestly though, it does seem to be smoother and maybe even shift a bit easier. I haven't seen any downside (other than my wallet :D).

I'm really enjoying the car. I have the headliner and interior done from the rear seat back. Still working on some other stuff, it's slow but getting there.
 
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bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
The side to side shifter gate has been stiff since I put it in, especially between the 3-4 and 5-6 gate. I pulled the shifter out (which requires removal of the downpipe and heat shields). I found the inner cable had a small kink at the transmission end. I replaced the cable with another one I had and replaced the shifter bushings while I had it apart. It had a small vibration at idle, but dosen't vibrate at all now, I'm guessing the kinked cable was transmitting the vibration from the outer cable to the inner? Anyway, it works great now.
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Got a little more done. The original Climatronic evaporator has some issues, so I swapped it out.

It was taking longer to warm up in the morning, so while I had the cooling system open, I changed the thermostat and installed an alloy thermostat housing.
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and installed the larger oil cooler.

The Golf originally had gray interior, I've swapped it over to black. I also found a rear cargo cover!


I changed the seats to GTI Recaro seats. Still have the door panels and a few other minor parts left to do.

I installed the red stripe seat belts, a bit of a trick in a 4 door!
 
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bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
A little more done this weekend.

Changed out to the newer style battery cover and tray.

Installed my Panzer Plate with full metal jacket side covers. I bought the panzer plate used, repaired it and had it powder coated black.

Just a typical TDI engine.
 
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3L3M3NT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Location
Sturgeon Bay, WI
TDI
04 Jetta GLS TDI, 04 RTDI
The car's coming along quite nicely. The Recaros are a definite upgrade if you're going to be doing longer road trips or want extra lumbar support. :)
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
been following this with a lot of interest. looking forward to seeing what you do with the door panels.
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
Lately I've been working on the interior and electronics. The interior is close to being done. Seats and door panels are in. Since I went with the red stripe seat belts, I carried the theme through to the door panels. I had the upholstery guy make a red welting to break up the all black door panel. In addition, I found a new old stock leather multi function steering wheel with red threads. I haven't installed the dash panels on the drivers side as I'm still doing a bit of wiring.
For the radio and cluster, it took a bit of work to get it the way I wanted, but I'm happy with the results. I particularly like factory radios, for the quality, fit and how they integrate with the interior. With that in mind, it took several different radios to find one that worked with my collection of factory and aftermarket electronics.
The first thing was the cluster. I'm using a full height FIS cluster that is likely made up from several clusters and has some reprogramming done. I like the feature where it shows which door is open, but on a 2001 this requires changing from the 1J0 to 1C0 CCM. It's a fair bit of rewiring and swapping out the power window motors to the 1C0 compatible motors. Once that is done, with a little recoding, you can get everything to work like it should. So with that sorted, I moved on to the next part, which was the radio. With the new CCM,. I went with the double DIN Delta 6 radio and it worked fine. The next step was a FIS-Control. This is a slick box that allows lots of information to be displayed on the FIS cluster screen. However, between the radio and cluster, it just wouldn't work. The radio was sending information over the canbus overriding the FIS Control. I tried everything and with a lot of emails between the FIS-Control developer in Germany and my cluster guru here, we determined the cluster was not compatible with the Delta 6 radio and the FIS-Control. Once the Delta 6 radio was removed, the cluster and FIS-Control worked fine. To further complicate things I also had plans to install a Bluestar Onstar converter. This allows cell phone bluetooth connection to the factory radio if you have an (obsolete) OnStar installed in your car. No extra buttons or add ons, it uses the OnStar microphone in the sunroof control panel. It's designed to be plug and play if you have OnStar from the factory, not really an add on if you don't. As you can probably guess, a 2001 Golf didn't have OnStar but I figured it could be added without too much trouble. Well, maybe a little trouble. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Studying wiring diagrams and figuring out what exactly was needed, add a few wires and there you go, OnStar added! Now all I needed was a non canbus factory radio that was compatible with an updated CCM, a Frankenstein cluster, steering wheel buttons, OnStar and several aftermarket devices that connected to it. I ended up with a VW Navi radio. It works great and gets along with all the electronics. When I get a call (or want to make one), the radio mutes, I push a button on the OnStar panel. The call plays through the speakers and it is as clear as any other factory Bluetooth. So was that it? Of course not! Instead of the factory CD changer, I use a Dension controller to play my iPod through the radio. I realize I could have found an aftermarket radio that did all that, but what fun is that? My setup does exactly what I want and looks factory, because it is. I don't have the navigation part of the radio working yet, but it's coming soon. One neat feature of the FIS-Control is the ability to remotely display a Valentine One on the upper portion of the FIS screen.

Door panels with the red welting. I replaced all the plastic door hardware with non soft touch pieces.

OnStar control panel fits where the rather useless center visor normally goes. Green light indicates it is paired with my phone. The button on the left answers or initiates a call. Valentine One resides just to the right of the OnStar panel.

The sunroof panel & switch are lighted W8 parts.

Multi function steering wheel and FIS cluster. That is the standard boost screen. The upper section of the FIS screen is the Valentine One. The GPS is a Garmin with built in camera.

Navi radio and Climatronic. Hard to see but I have the Myrtle wood trim on the radio console.

Cluster shows which door is open. A not so easy task on a 2001!
I still have a bit more to go, but the car is coming along nicely. It is a great daily driver, reasonably quick and fun to drive. It needs a few more tweaks and tidying up. It is a long way from where I started!
 
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