The NARFmobile, My 2001 Golf TDI

Which words in raised white letter for my tire sidewalls? See post #220 for pictures

  • NARFATOMIC BLASTOMIC

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • NARFATOMIC BLASTOMATIC

    Votes: 4 23.5%
  • NARFOMATIC ATOMIC BLAST

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • NARF ATOMIC BLAST

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • NARF BLAST

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • NARFBLAST ATOMIC

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • NARFOMATIC ATOMIC BLAST

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • NARFATOMIC ATOMICBLAST

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • NARF ATOMIC BLASTOMATIC

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • EPIC FACEPALM

    Votes: 3 17.6%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Nice work on the exhaust. How does it sound? You must have lost about 10-15lbs by removing the muffler.
Sounds sweet and grumbley and you can hear the turbo whenever you shift gears. On the drive to Canadian Tire to pick up the straight pipes after cutting the muffler off the drone was kindof annoying. There is almost no droning now that the pipe is sticking out past the bumper, just sounds a little different on the highway.
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
While I was under there, I discovered the parking brake cables were in bad shape so I ordered they arrived today so as soon as the kids were asleep I just had to change them.

edit: these are only three years / 100,000 km old check this thread:
Parking brake cable replacement, step by step - TDIClub Forums




I found that the old ones had cracked insulation at the two front hangers, so I decided to zip tie them to the hangers instead of clipping them in to hopefully extend their life. This way the cables never touch the hangers:



Also, both cables were missing insulation and covered in rust in the section between the axle and the caliper. I think this is happening because of the lift which brings the axle down and puts the cable directly in the path of rocks coming from the front tires. I cut some green garden hose to protect the cables in this area:



Just turned 488,900 km so hopefully I can drive another 11,100km without doing any more work!

It sure is nice not to have exhaust fumes in the cabin, I was able to drive the kids to and from school today.
 
Last edited:

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Update on rear brakes: they're dragging...

I must have brought up an underlying problem with the calipers because now that the hand brake and cables are working properly the brakes are dragging on both sides right side being worse, which is weird because the right side was my good side and the left rear caliper would stick occasionally.

I found that the parking brake levers on the calipers were not fully retracting but were easy to retract with one finger, so I wonder if I can get away with installing the "caliper helper springs" described here:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3216842-Emergency-parking-brake-not-returning!!

I also wonder if the zip ties and garden hose could be causing problems, maybe, but it takes such a light pressure on the lever to get the calipers to get the parking brake to disengage that I am hoping it is just the internal springs are tired and could use some external help.

If the helper springs don't help the next steps would be :

- disconnect the parking brake cables and test: maybe its the way I installed them, but I doubt it
- replace calipers: I actually have some spares that came with an axle someone was throwing away they need to be cleaned and rebuilt likely. I have never even cracked a bleed screw on a caliper before, I hate dealing with fluids, this might force me to overcome my fear and learn something.
 
Last edited:

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Paul, What is the second clamp on your cables?



These are creating a kink in your cables that is likely the cause of your sticky brakes. Undo this clamp and see if it improves things.
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Paul, What is the second clamp on your cables?

These are creating a kink in your cables that is likely the cause of your sticky brakes. Undo this clamp and see if it improves things.
Thanks for looking at the pictures, but I think I found the problem - will post an update shortly.

To answer your question: there are three attachement points for the cable, working from the caliper to wards the front of the car there are:

- a clamp on the axle which aligns with a metal ring on the cable
- a stainless steel hook near the axle busing
- a stainless steel hook that hangs from the underbody near where the cable makes a 90 degree turn to enter the tube to the cabin

I verified this with my Bently manual, which figures smartly into the update I am about to post. :eek:

It is possible the "kink" is due to the suspension lift... but the cables move very freely.

edit: I think it moves freely, good point, I might remove the cable from the rear most attachment and let it hang lower.
 
Last edited:

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Update to dragging rear brakes:

So I decided to back off the adjusting nut for the hand brake:


And then I backed off some more, until I was able to go for a drive (return trip from picking the kids up from school) and put my hand on the wheel without it being so hot that I had to pull it away! For a more scientific analysis I pulled on the infra red thermometer:



The right rear rotor is still hotter than the fronts (for reference) which were only at 60degC:



And the parking brake lever is still not fully at the stop so I will have to double check the kinking issue, thanks Nick (greengeeker) but I will go ahead and pick up the helper springs, only $4.50 each when they come in to my local VW dealer parts desk in a couple of days (I told them it was not a rush).

Anyway, after all of this I check the manual and turns out my initial adjustment of the parking brake auto-compensator nut was too tight. I had adjusted it so that after three clicks the rear wheels were impossible to move by hand. The manual says (paraphrased) "adjust so that at four clicks the wheels are difficult to turn by hand" also it says " release parking brake and check that both wheels turn freely". I did check but there was always some drag, maybe too much drag. Oh well, still learning.

 
Last edited:

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Latest Modification Teaser

Nothing broke for a few days, so I decided to do something I have wanted to do for more than a year now, details to follow in a few days:



Wall-e is helping me gather the right parts to make this modification plug and play...

Now I just need to wait till everyone is sleeping so I can concentrate on soldering.



You can build your own Wall-e helper for free, all you need is a printer an exact-o knife and a little patience go here: http://www.cubeecraft.com/

Direct link to Wall-e model download page: http://www.cubeecraft.com/cubee/wall-e
Direct link to Wall-e model in .pdf format: http://cdn.cubeecraft.com/downloads/character266.jpg
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Here is something I did today that made me feel warm and fuzzy, finally replaced the last of the old body plugs that were not in good shape:



I have been splashing "Rubberized Paint-able Undercoating" around and making sure all the body plugs were in good shape. Especially concerning are these ones near the rear because there seems to be fabric/insulation right behind them!



I really liked the look of these new 40mm plugs from idparts.com (genuine VW part) so I took a picture of them beside the best of my eleven year old plugs that I replaced:



Anyway, this is one of those things that gave me a good feeling that maybe this car will be around for another ten years so I just wanted to share.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Glad to see she's still up and running Paul. Can't believe I missed this thread - let me know when you want to do another timing belt. :D
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Glad to see she's still up and running Paul. Can't believe I missed this thread - let me know when you want to do another timing belt. :D
Thanks for that timing belt! That was definitely one of those experiences that will always stick with me as the first time I ever got that deep into a vehicle. Maybe next timing belt I will do some of the wrenching. :eek:

Currently sitting at 495,000 km and The timing belt is not due again until 556,000km which may be a few years. I used to average 45,000km per year but I think it will be closer to 20,000km per year if I don't go back to work after this parental leave I am on now.
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Found the source of the clunk in the right front and also the reason why the steering wheel would move ever so slightly on its own during braking or acceleration:

edit: here I am doing my best impression of the evil monkey in the closet from "Family Guy".


Decided to save the frustration and replace the whole lower control arm because the new one comes with new bushings already installed for only $65. Stay tuned for "How to do a front end alignment in your garage using only a couple of four foot straight edge/levels and a piece of chalk"


 
Last edited:

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
A tape measure does a decent job of setting the toe.

If you're up for a drive to cambridge, I can set your toe with my trammel.
 

snakeye

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Location
Montreal, Canada
TDI
2003 Jetta and Wagon, GLS 5sp
Found the source of the clunk in the right front and also the reason why the steering wheel would move ever so slightly on its own during braking or acceleration:

edit: here I am doing my best impression of the evil monkey in the closet from "Family Guy".


Decided to save the frustration and replace the whole lower control arm because the new one comes with new bushings already installed for only $65. Stay tuned for "How to do a front end alignment in your garage using only a couple of four foot straight edge/levels and a piece of chalk"


Haha love that pic. Kind of gives the illusion of a miniature LCA for some reason.
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
So either my eyeball is super calibrated or I got really lucky when I tightened up the lower ball joint bolts because I checked camber and toe today and they are all within spec as far as I can see. edit: see OOPS below missed a decimal point.

I was inspired by this web page: Do It Yourself Alignment Tips

Checking camber was easy, and it came out to within spec even tho one site was slightly more tilted than the other I am going with that is the slant of my garage floor. I measured 5mm at the top of the two 48" levels on the passenger side and 15mm on the drivers side. Being parked on the left side of a well laid two car garage floor I am guessing there could be a cm difference from one side of the car to the other. Will measure one day, but not today. :)






For the toe I ditched the whole "find the center line of the car and hang some string" method and came up with this instead:





My diagram says that it doesn't matter how wide your car is just subtract the distance between the front outer edges of the rims from the distance between the back outer edges of the rims and divide by two and you will get the opposite side of a right triangle where the hypotenuse is the face of the wheel and the adjacent side is an imaginary straight line parallel with the center line of the car. Greater simplicity makes for greater accuracy!



In order to make the triangles bigger and easier to measure, install 66" rims, or use a 48" straight edge on your 15" rims like this:








Make marks on the floor on the other side as well. Notice I made the marks on the outside of the straight edge some distance from the face of the rim. Like I said it doesn't matter how wide your car is, as long as you use the same method all the way around you will end up with two right triangles.


After measuring the front marks and the back marks and subtracting and dividing by two...





I found the opposite side of the right triangles = 12.5mm
I found the hypotenuse by subtracting 15" from 48" x2 = 66" = 1676mm


SOHCAHTOA


toe angle = sine (opposite/hypotenuse)


toe angle = sine (12.5/1676) = .427 degrees toe OOPS!!!!! I was off by a factor of 10 in my calculations because I should have been aiming for .08 deg max toe in but I had read it as .8 deg. So I need to be within 4.7mm over 66", not 47mm. DOH!!! Oh well, will have to adjust the tie rod after all.





On a side note:



I used an OpenOffice spread sheet to do the trigonometry and I double checked with my scientific calculator which quickly showed me that OpenOffice was giving the answers in radians instead of degrees. Since there was no radio button for "degrees", I had to multiply by 180/pi! LOL! Anyway...


 
Last edited:

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Alignment Update:

Drives rock solid which is expected with a little too much toe in. The steering wheel is straight which makes me think I got things pretty close considering I replaced struts, springs, mounts, and the passenger lower control arm.

I pulled into the garage backwards for a sanity check. The drivers side still has twice as much camber angle as the passenger side. Also the floor is pretty damn level. Also the floor would have to have a perfect slant and a twist for the measurements to be exactly the same even when parked backwards in the same spot (car 180 degrees front tires where back tires were). I doubt my floor has a perfect slant and twist from one end to the other so I will start by unbolting the ball joint on the passenger side and nudging it outwards. This should also bring the toe out I reckon.

Meanwhile I dropped the two older kids off at school and got groceries with the baby. :D
 
Last edited:

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Final Suspension Setup:

Rear (top of wheel arch is 29.75" high)
- OEM Jetta Wagon springs
- 1 inch aluminum spacers from Evolution

Front (top of wheel arch is 28.75" high)
- Moog VR6 Springs
- 1 inch stainless steel spacers from Evolution
- 1 cm OEM aluminum spacers

Tires
- 205/70R15 Motomaster SE2 (cheap, hope to get something more sporty and more aggressive looking next time)

Picture (click/login/click to enlarge):

 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
DIY Alignment Update:

Camber:

After loosening the lower ball joint bolts I nudged the bottom of the tire but it made no difference. I loosed the bolts more and pushed the bottom out until the bolts clunked against the outside of the oblong holes and could actually see the wheel twist slightly outward (due to the tie rod being fixed and the bottom of the knuckle moving). I measured camber again:

Camber target: 10.65mm difference at the end of 48 straight edge +/- 10.65mm
Camber Driver Side: 16mm (not adjusted)
Camber Pass Side: 10mm (maximum adjustement, must be the lift :)


Toe:

I wanted to measure toe as accurately as possible so instead of making pencil marks on the floor I decided to take a couple of steel bars with sharp clean edges and use those to mark and measure like this:






The TOE target is zero, with a tolerance of 4.68mm difference over 66" and I couldn't believe how close I got just by moving the ball joint so I went back and forth measuring twice:

TOE Target: zero plus or minus 2.35mm difference over 66" = zero plus or minus 0.08 degrees

Attempt one:
Rear Measurement: 1753mm
Front Measurement: 1756mm
Difference: 3mm toe out over 66"

Attempt two:
Rear Measurement: 1756mm
Front Measurement: 1754mm
Difference: 2mm toe in over 66"

At this point I don't think I want to adjust anything because I don't think I can get it much closer. Will have to do a few test drives and see if it feels loose in which case I might toe it in a turn of one of the tie rods.
 
Last edited:

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
To adjust camber, you're not going to get much movement at the balljoint mount - you need to loosen off the strut through-bolts.

even if there is not enough movement at the throughbolts, you can open up the holes on the strut to allow more.

A caveat is that you need to unload the suspension when making the adjustment, as the weight of the car will force the car toward more negative camber.
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
To adjust camber, you're not going to get much movement at the balljoint mount - you need to loosen off the strut through-bolts.
On my Mk4 I don't have strut through-bolts, the knuckle has big clamp with one bolt at the bottom of the strut, which is not adjustable (picture from my car):



I think you are talking about the Mk3's with the two bolts?
 
Last edited:

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Right right... my bad. See what happens when I sell my MK4 for this silly passat? :D

There's still hope, loosen the bolts holding the subframe and shift it away from the side with more camber (away from the tire where the tire is more canted in at the top).
 

NarfBLAST

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 3, 2002
Location
Waterdown, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2001 Golf 5MT
Right right... my bad. See what happens when I sell my MK4 for this silly passat? :D

There's still hope, loosen the bolts holding the subframe and shift it away from the side with more camber (away from the tire where the tire is more canted in at the top).
No worries. I don't think I want to try and shift the subframe but good to know.

After a test drive I measured the camber again and I am happy with it:

Drivers side: 15.0mm (.7 degrees)
Passenger side: 10.5mm (.5 degrees)
Specification: .5 degrees +/- .5 degrees

If I wasn't happy with this I could take a little camber out of the drivers side but its good 'nuff for me.

Also took one last measurement of toe and got a difference of only 2mm less at the front over my big measuring bars which works out to about .068 degrees toed in which is within spec of 0.08 degrees.

Anyway, working on the alignment is fun, will do again!
 
Top