New to me 2003 Jetta ALH MPG's

Hey Guys
First post for me but this is a good place to get knowledge. In the past I had a 2009 Jetta tdi that I got new and the best I could get was around 48mpg when dividing miles by gallons. Well fast forward to late September 2019 and I found a one owner 2003 Jetta tdi with 178k on her. PO changed the oil and fuel filters but that was about it so I have been doing a lot of maintenance....

Changed the oil (Shell Rotella 5w40)
Cleaned the intake as it was 80% stopped up
Removed EGR and installed race pipe (Nearly 90% clogged)
Cat was clogged so I installed a straight pipe
Changed manual trans fluid to Mobil 1 75/90
Changed coolant
Changed thermostat and housing
Replaced Lower control arms with new ball joints and bushings
Replaced inner and outer tie rods
New Shocks Struts and springs all the way around with all new hardware
New MAF Sensor
Kerma Tune
And new set of Goodyear Fuel Max tires 195 65R15

Well after all that work I finally got a chance to take hew maiden voyage feeling confident that I had all the maintenance up to snuff. I drove 516 miles on the interstate going around 75mph and burned 9.8 gallons of BP Diesel for what I think is a not to bad number of 52.65 MPG.

My question is can I do anything else to improve fuel economy? I do get a small puff of black smoke after the Kerma tune under heavy acceleration. Kind of like it as it works as tail gator repellant lol....but I thing an IQ adjustment is called for once I get the equipment to get into the ECU.

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks
Ron

Many things but you are on a path of diminishing returns.

Lightflyer1 said:

Many things but you are on a path of diminishing returns.

Click to expand...

So what could I do to increase MPG's?

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=342274


Start here.

VW Ron said:

...
I drove 516 miles on the interstate going around 75mph and burned 9.8 gallons of BP Diesel for what I think is a not to bad number of 52.65 MPG.

...

My question is can I do anything else to improve fuel economy?

Click to expand...

use lighter shoes. You're getting almost 53 mpg at 75 mph. You should be thrilled.

^^^What he said.

But if you want more, play with timing and IQ, lighter wheels and tires, higher tire pressure, lighten the car.

how old is the timing belt on this thing? if that fails, you'll be getting 0mpg...

Slow down is the best way to get better mileage.

Just recently I was driving in Texas on an 85Mph speed limit road. At 85Mph I was the slowest on the road. My mileage was abysmal.

Until you get a several tank average one partial tank or trip doesn't mean much, but nice start. Lots of work done. Unless the TB history is ironclad consider it past due.

Rob Mayercik said:

how old is the timing belt on this thing? if that fails, you'll be getting 0mpg...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the members who pointed out the TB. The Jetta was a one owner car with 178k and the timing belt was serviced at 100k back in 2010. I was going to hold off till she hits 200k but I am open to opinions. I never did this service but I am sure I am capable of doing it.

Thanks
Ron

Change it. The rule of thumb is 100k miles or 5-7 years depending on who you talk to.

Tdijarhead said:

Change it. The rule of thumb is 100k miles or 5-7 years depending on who you talk to.

Click to expand...

Thanks for informing me of this as I did not know age played a part on timing belt replacement.

Any tips on what kind of kit to pick up and who has the best one?

How do I check timing on the ALH to insure the new TB is on right?

Also can I do anything to set timing to max out my fuel economy?


Thanks again for all your help and comments as this will be my first timing belt on the TDI. I did do a timing chain on a 1982 Mercedes 300D but I am sure this is a bit different.

Ron

Here you go. 118 pages with many pics, read it several times, myturbodiesel.com also has a writeup that is good. Though they recently updated their site and what used to be very easy to navigate is now so confusing I couldn’t even find the MK4 section. Also if you do manage to find it you’ll have to pay for at least the final part of the 3 part instructions.

http://pics3.tdiclub.com/pdf/a4timingbelt.pdf

Metalnerd makes a very nice set of tools for locking the cam, injection pump and crank at TDC. The place to get a complete belt kit is idparts.com, metalmanparts.com, cascadegerman.com. Do not go to eBay although all three of these sellers sell their kits on eBay. Go directly to their websites. You will want the entire kit, belt, rollers, tensioner water pump and the single use bolts.

This is what a complete kit looks like and idparts also has a “high mileage “ kit that has additional items that should be replaced as you reach 300k or more.

https://www.idparts.com/alh-timing-belt-kit-038109119m-p-449.html

Metalnerd tools. Very nice kit although there are cheaper alternatives. You might check the for sale section on this forum. Guys sell their tools as they get rid of their cars.

https://www.idparts.com/timing-belt-tools-a4-alh-p-1262.html

VW Ron said:

Thanks for the members who pointed out the TB. The Jetta was a one owner car with 178k and the timing belt was serviced at 100k back in 2010. I was going to hold off till she hits 200k but I am open to opinions. I never did this service but I am sure I am capable of doing it.
Thanks
Ron

Click to expand...

With my limited knowledge, there is NO such thing as servicing a timing belt. You can look at it until the cows come home and it tells you nothing.
Change it if unknown whe the last was installed. Else you my be in to do a several thousand dollar engine job!

Do the timing belt NOW! Both my gurus recommend sooner rather than
later. As a disclaimer, I'm modded; more torque, stress, etc. If you can do
it yourself, buy the tools and take your time, it's cheap insurance for keeping your motor alive.

Your fuel economy is terrific!, I wouldn't touch it. Your foot and tires are
probably the biggest, and easiest, areas for improvements.

Thanks Guys
I am looing for a good timing belt kit and tools at the moment. Would it make sense for me to get a standard kit at 188k or should I go for the HM Kit?

Also the tools at IDPARTS are $209......any more cost effective options?

You can rent the tools.

https://www.blauparts.com/vw/vw_timing_belt_tools/vw_timing_belt_tool_kits.shtml

https://www.metalmanparts.com/category.sc?categoryId=9

https://www.tunemyeuro.com/tools-and-diagnostics/

To name a few.

IDParts should have the kits you need as well as dieselgeek and others.

I have a set of the ALH TB tools... happy to rent to you.

PM me.