Feeler: Interest for TDI mechanic in Chattanooga?

*Updated 2/21/17

I own and operate Ben's TDI Service, I have been on the Trusted TDI Mechanics list for several years. I travel to the Chattanooga area often to visit family and usually stay for several days before heading back to Missouri.

I offer mobile TDI work and Malone chip tuning. I offer the mobile service as a convenience to those with a busy schedule or who live far away from a TDI mechanic. So if you have timing belt that is due soon, worn cam, DSG service, clogged DPF or some other large maintenance item let me know, I can give you a quote for the work needed.

If you're curious here is a map showing some past mobile job site locations: http://goo.gl/maps/sl0ZE

Cheers,
Ben

Welcome to TN...

It's nice to know we will have a trusted TDI mechanic nearby. I'm coming up on the mileage for a timing belt. Have you done any newer common rail TB jobs?

Hi TNriverjet, yes I have done timing belt changes on the newer CR TDI's. They aren't really that bad, similar to a PD TDI with the exception of the high pressure fuel pump.

Give me a shout when you get close to the timing belt change, I know I can beat dealer pricing without breaking a sweat.

Cheers,
Ben

Ben,

Hey what about Knoxville?

Would you be able to do work here?

Clutch, thanks for the text, sorry I didn't see this post before. Look forward to meeting you later this month.

Cheers,
Ben

All PM's replied.

Thanks

I just wanted to take time to say Thank You! to Ben.

Ben drove up to Knoxville from Chattanooga yesterday and changed my timing belt, looked over everything else, and fixed an annoying rattle in my dash.

Fellow members let me say if you need a great mechanic to do work on your TDI and you are in our South East area don't hesitate to contact Ben. I have to say Ben is one of the best Mechanics I have ever had the pleasure of using, and best of all he comes to you and does the work.

Ben is extremely knowledgeable about our TDI's, is very organized, is very clean, and didn't mind me asking questions. We also made a plan on what my next steps would be for future upgrades and performance mods. His services were also more reasonable than the local go to TDI shop here in Knoxville.

Contact him and let him do your next service, let's keep Ben busy so he'll stay here with us in the South East area

Clutch

It was great meeting you Clutch, you own a very nice TDI. If you ever want to trade, let me know, lol.

Glad I was able to take care of that pesky rattle for you, sometimes their not as easy to fix as yours was.

Until next time,
Ben

Updated the first post. Plus for those interested here is a link with some recent feedback of my work from the Mid-West section of the TDIClub: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=396818

Also replied to all PM's.

Thanks,
Ben

Awesome to hear. I'm interested in getting a Malone stage 2 tune. I travel to Nashville occasionally. Can't wait to figure details.

I need to give some props to Ben for a complete timing belt job on my 2010 JSW. As others have noted, he is professional, clean, prompt and trustworthy. He came to my home and worked in my garage. He used good, high quality parts that I was comfortable with for the job. I hope I didn't bug him too much, but I sure enjoyed talking with him while he worked. He has very reasonable prices and was kind enough to reduce the trip charge since he was already planning to travel through Nashville. I usually do my own maintenance, but was certainly comfortable with Ben working on my car. Give him a call or PM. He will take care of you.

Ben, I only had to add a bit more coolant after my 70 mile trip last night. The level stayed constant for my 345 mile jaunt today. Everything seems rock solid. I did experience another regen today after about 200 miles... That's kind of weird since our scan showed one had happened only 50 kilometers before. Maybe the cooler weather is some of that, but they have been happening more frequently as of recent.

VdubbG said:

Awesome to hear. I'm interested in getting a Malone stage 2 tune. I travel to Nashville occasionally. Can't wait to figure details.

Click to expand...

HI VdubbG,

I can actually pass through Memphis quite easily on one of my trips between MO and Chattanooga, so whenever you are ready let me know and we can setup a time to get your TDI tuned.

TNriverjet said:

I need to give some props to Ben for a complete timing belt job on my 2010 JSW. As others have noted, he is professional, clean, prompt and trustworthy. He came to my home and worked in my garage. He used good, high quality parts that I was comfortable with for the job. I hope I didn't bug him too much, but I sure enjoyed talking with him while he worked. He has very reasonable prices and was kind enough to reduce the trip charge since he was already planning to travel through Nashville. I usually do my own maintenance, but was certainly comfortable with Ben working on my car. Give him a call or PM. He will take care of you.

Ben, I only had to add a bit more coolant after my 70 mile trip last night. The level stayed constant for my 345 mile jaunt today. Everything seems rock solid. I did experience another regen today after about 200 miles... That's kind of weird since our scan showed one had happened only 50 kilometers before. Maybe the cooler weather is some of that, but they have been happening more frequently as of recent.

Click to expand...

TNriverjet,

It was great to meet you, I enjoyed talking while I worked, so no you didn't bug me, lol. Also I have a little bit of info regarding your oil ash level that we checked, I'll PM it to you.

Thank your wife again for the fresh baked cookies she gave me.

When you get ready for that Malone tune, you know how to reach me.

Cheers,
Ben

Great mechanic, very professional!!!

Last week on my business trip to Nashville my serpantine belt started making noise, I used some belt conditioner, but it helped little. I drove with this noise about 180 miles to the hotel and after making some research (figured out it is alternator pulley) I contacted Ben (I know him from the time I sued to live in Lincoln NE and I used to drive down to MO for TDI maintainance and timing belt changes).

Luckily, Ben was on the way from Chattanooga to MO through Nashville that week, so he came after changing a timing belt to another member of this forum (see a few posts above). Ben came with a new pulley, tentioner and belt, but because my old pulley overheated, he was not able to remove it. Instead, he found one on local junk yard, drove back to Chattanooga that night, picked replacement alternator from junk yard next morning and installed in less than an hour. I was very pleased with his professional attitude and accomondation he made for me. I've already scheduled next timing belt change and cam replacement at the end of November!

I'm hoping Ben will get more customers in the South so we can all benefit from his knowledge, work ethics and attitude. Not to forget very reasonable charges

Bump to the top! Ben travels to your location to perform service. Let's keep him working in the mid-south.

Thanks TNriverjet for the bump, just so everyone knows I'll be back in Chattanooga next week, have some jobs lined up already, but can fit in more work if someone has a need.

Thanks everybody.

-Ben

No worries Ben. You get my business for the stuff I can't tackle.

I live just south of Chattanooga in Georgia would be nice to have a good tdi mechanic that makes house calls. I have a 2012 jetta with 21,000 when would timing belt need replaced ? Maybe around 100,000?

CraneOp said:

I live just south of Chattanooga in Georgia would be nice to have a good tdi mechanic that makes house calls. I have a 2012 jetta with 21,000 when would timing belt need replaced ? Maybe around 100,000?

Click to expand...

Useful info in this thread. Hopefully it matches what's in the owner's manual.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=372242

Bob_Fout said:

Useful info in this thread. Hopefully it matches what's in the owner's manual.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=372242

Click to expand...

Thanks for the linked info

So 130K for TDI according to that chart

CraneOp, yeah you are a long way off from needing a timing belt change.

The link that Bob_Fout provided is an excellent resource for maintenance, it is interesting though that the 2009-2010 2.0 CR TDI's, and 2011-2013 2.0 CR TDI's use the same timing belt kit, but have different timing belt intervals. So MK5 models are 120k mile interval and the MK6 models are 130k mile interval. IMHO, based on the timing belt changes that I have done on MK5 CR TDI's I think 120k is the max I would go personally. The small idler roller is a possible weak link in the timing belt system, maybe I'll change my mind when I have completed more timing belt changes on CR TDI's. So if you're like me and would rather be safe than sorry, change the timing belt out at 120k. Either way you still have a lot of miles to cover between now and then.

Cheers,
Ben

Also, I've been so busy I forgot to post a picture of my Jetta when it reached 500,000 miles.



Not everyday that you see a TDI with a half a million miles on it. Still my daily driver, still very dependable. Original motor, transmission, and injection pump, replaced a bunch of other stuff along the way though.

-Ben

I had a great experience with Ben over Thanksgiving weekend. He stopped by my house on his way back to KC from Chattanooga. He was doing a DSG and ECU Malone tune on my sportwagen. He ended up doing the DSG at my house and attempting the ECU tune. Some of the hardware that he had needed updated, so he had to wait till the next day to do ECU. So I got to drive about 20 or so miles with just the DSG chip. You could tell the difference. We worked it out for him to show up at my work, which was real convenient for me. He did the ECU tune in the parking lot in about an hour. He is really knowledgeable and knows his way around the car. The DSG chip really compliments the ECU tune.

Thanks Ben. Great to meet you. Feel free to send me that link about the VAG com reading the ash levels.

VdubbG, glad you are enjoying your tune Totally forgot about the link for the DPF info, here is the link: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=324067

First post in the thread tells you how to check your oil ash volume with VCDS.

Good luck with your Cabrio project.

Cheers,
Ben

Just wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for a great 2013, it was a good year.

Hope everyone has a blessed 2014

Happy New Year,
Ben

Been having several people ask me lately if I am still working in the Chattanooga area or not, the answer is yes. Just been very busy working, plus answering all of the PM's, emails, texts and phone calls I get leaves little time for posting on the forums.
This week I'm working in multiple TN locations, ranging from Clarksville to Knoxville, plus Alabama and Georgia locations.
Also let me thank everyone for their referrals, they are very appreciated.
Cheers,
Ben

Ben,

Just wanted to thank you again and let everyone here know about the great work.

Ben came all the way down to Birmingham for me to do the Stage 1.5 Malone tune on my 2011 Golf. Even the wife could tell the difference when we took it for a spin. I would highly recommend it.

I will for sure keep you in mind when it comes to any major service work. Hope you made it through all the bad weather on your way back up.

Ben,

I have a good customer that has moved to Louisiana. as you know that state is a black hole for TDI mechanics.. How familiar are you with B4 Passat Sedans? He has one that needs a full suspension install.. he has the parts already from IDParts and ECSTuning.

Are you able to do this work (familiar with getting the interior apart for the backs?)

I will also PM you. Please contact me ASAP.

Aaron

Aaron,

Just got internet access a little while ago, otherwise I would have responded earlier.

Just sent you a PM.

-Ben

Been awhile since I've posted, but to help answer a lot of the phone calls I've been getting lately, yes, I'm still doing mobile TDI service work in TN. I'm still down 1-2 times a month, so if you need some work done or want a tune just contact me and I'll add you to the schedule.

Also updated the Google map in the first post.

Thanks,
Ben

Ben, have you ever done any flywheel or clutch pack work on a DSG car?