DIY Balance Shaft R&R plus everything else @ 160k mi, don't want to forget anything!!

DIY Balance Shaft R&R plus everything else @ 160k mi, don't want to forget anything!!

I just rolled over the 160,000 miles on my 2004 Passat GLS.



I've had the car for about a year, since 125,000 miles, and I'm going to do the Balance Shaft upgrade myself in a couple of weeks. Carfax claimed that the timing belt was done at a dealer around 80k miles. I'm guessing it will take the car down for a week or two, and I'm trying to prepare by having all anticipated tools, parts, and fluids on hand before I start. The car bought off of ebay, and was a repo that was bought from a smaller dealer that bought it at an auction, so I don't have any previous maintenance details from the previous owner.

While I'm tearing the car apart, I want to make sure I get all the big ticket items done while I'm deep in the car. So far the things I've already done are:

1. Upgraded Battery to 80 amp hour
2. Replaced leaking turbo intake 90 degree hose
3. Replaced and cleaned all the ground contact points after a fail to start
4. AC 384 Relay re-solder after intermittent AC issues
5. New pollen filter
6. Updated 219 relay in ECU compartment
7. Plenum drain plugs removed
8. Sun roof drains snipped
9. Fixed the oil leak on the valve cover to turbo intake

The big maintenance Items I hope to hit all at once while the car is open are:

1. Balance Shaft Upgrade, the current chain is SUPER noisy and it taunts me anytime I hear my wife drive away in the car
2. Timing Belt R&R
3. Water pump R&R
4. Motor Mounts R&R
5. Coolant Flush
6. Thermostat R&R
7. Cam Shaft inspection
8. Fix two Oil leaks, one at the back side of the motor, the other located around the fuel filter/oil cooler area
9. Fuel Filter R&R
10. Oil Change and filter
11. Tranny fluid Flush and filter replacement
12. Fresh Air intake foam gasket upgrade to a RTV bead
13. CV joint R&R, my driver side Axle is ratteling and loose when the car is up on stands. I get the rough idle vibration when in gear and standing on the brake. If I shift into Neutral it goes away. Should I replace both Axels while I'm there or just the offending one? They are spendy!
14. Clean/remove snow screen
15. Air filter
16. Aft bottom splash shield on the bottom of the car is missing, is it worth $200 in sound deadening to replace the missing shield?

Is there anything else I should be sure to check while I've got the car opened up? Does anyone know of how to get a "deal" on parts when I'm going to buy a trunk load of stuff all at once? When I had my MB 300D, if I bought expensive items that go together as a package, often you could get free shipping and like 30% off of list price.

My thoughts were to order the parts from 1st VW imports, or impex. I'll probably get the axle/cv from Raxle.com. My wallet is feeling thin just typing it all out

I read on audiworld that Raxles is down for now so plan ahead with your axle replacement plan- raxles was considered the best is now not an option. Do not put in a chinese made unit....I don't know what options there are for you there...

If you find the oil leak at the back of the engine, please let me know what is causing it.

1. Axle shafts: I am an expert on this by now. Buy an outside CV joint kit (or two) from Marquette Automotive and save some money:

http://www.metalmanparts.com/product.sc?productId=481&categoryId=78

2. Look at 1stVWParts.com they are the low price leader around here (at least for me).

3. Get an aluminum skid plate from dieselgeek.com for $300 and save a busted oil pan from hitting an armadillo.

4. (add): for $45 you can get a 35W 4300K HID kit and use the two low beam projectors already in the headlights. This make a huge difference at night. Don't go over 4300K, don't use a relay, and solder the bulb connections.

Cheers!

Tony

A couple of things on my list ...

Howdy,
I'm about to do the same job on my 2004 Passat sedan. The other things I'm looking for / going to do (based on much research here and on myturbodieselcom) are:

* change fan clutch (mine definitely needs it ... I'd at least check your while your in there ... would be easy to do while all is apart).
* check alternator pulley. Evidenlty this can be a problem. Here's a quote from ChittyChittyBangBang on how to check:

"To test the alt pulley, w/belt off, use a wood stick to hold the fan. The pulley should rotate freely in 1 direction, not at all in other."

* another thing CCBB recommended is: "Something else you can do is to stuff some foam between the headlight and bumper skin if your headlights are shaky at idle."

I'll probably be doing mine in 2-3 weeks once I get all my parts and tools together.

Good luck!
Jesse

don't forget a torque converter. with what you are doing, you might as well just slide the eng, trans assy out and make it easier

I wouldn't consider the torque converter as a "change before failure" item because, as quite a few of us have experienced, these transmissions are far from bulletproof.

It would really suck to swap out the torque converter as PM and then have the transmission go 10,000 miles later.

that is true John, but if the tc, fails it can take out the trans and a good rebuilt with the improved seal is only 250. especially earlier production cars before the production seal change.

the tc seal on the later production tc I sent to Eriksson was intact. xx076000 vin the tc I'm replacing today is from a much eariler production car, I'll take a good look when its out.

aja8888 said:

If you find the oil leak at the back of the engine, please let me know what is causing it.

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I have the same leak. Would also like to know what it is.

thundershorts said:

that is true John, but if the tc, fails it can take out the trans and a good rebuilt with the improved seal is only 250. especially earlier production cars before the production seal change.

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I'm thinking I like Thundershorts Recommendation, while I have the subframe out and ready to rumble, I might as well. If I blow the tranny anytime soon, there is no reason to have to swap the TC if it has only 5k miles on it right? I already plan on getting into the Tranny and to a fluid and filter drain and replace, so getting the TC out is only going to cost me a couple more hours right? Thunder did you get your rebuilt unit from Ericksson here?
http://www.erikssonindustries.com/

Do I need to send the core in first, or will they repay a credit after they receive it

What does a VW reman cost?

rocketboy52 said:

I'm thinking I like Thundershorts Recommendation, while I have the subframe out and ready to rumble, I might as well. If I blow the tranny anytime soon, there is no reason to have to swap the TC if it has only 5k miles on it right? I already plan on getting into the Tranny and to a fluid and filter drain and replace, so getting the TC out is only going to cost me a couple more hours right? Thunder did you get your rebuilt unit from Ericksson here?
http://www.erikssonindustries.com/
Do I need to send the core in first, or will they repay a credit after they receive it
What does a VW reman cost?

Click to expand...

Eriksson quoted me $2500 + shipping (~$300) for a rebuilt unit. That's with NO new TC. Plus, add 9.6 liters of Pentosin and shipping, you are better off with a VW Reman from a nearby dealer. Plus, you will have to ship your core back to Eriksson for another $300.

aja8888 said:

Eriksson quoted me $2500 + shipping (~$300) for a rebuilt unit. That's with NO new TC. Plus, add 9.6 liters of Pentosin and shipping, you are better off with a VW Reman from a nearby dealer. Plus, you will have to ship your core back to Eriksson for another $300.

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I was going to swap just the TC and service the tranny. With the reman Tranny not having a TC, If I only have 5-10k on the TC, I don't know that I would replace it if the tranny went out. I've learned a number of times to only fix what's broke. Sometimes my tranny does seem to shift late, and also seems to sometimes have a hard time knowing when to downshift. I've never got a code, but I'm thinking if I do all my chores at once while doing the BS replacement, I should be good to go for another 80k miles as long as the Tranny doesn't give up the ghost!

I was curious what the price for the VW torque converter compared to the $250 for the Erickson reman.

The VW converter is a couple (few) hundred dollars more from what I recall. But it comes with the correct internal seals.

VW torque converter 01V 323 572 B is $1095 - shop around and you will find for about $900. Part number is listed in the stickies

s4phillips said:

VW torque converter 01V 323 572 B is $1095 - shop around and you will find for about $900. Part number is listed in the stickies

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Yes, 1stVWParts has it for $868.00.

the eriksson trans rebuild includes the tc. if you replace the tc, and the trans pukes, the tc will probably but not necessarily be contaminated, so someone such as eriksson would supply a tc with the rebuilt trans, as they warranty their stuff for a year. they are the only rebuilder that pays labor if there is a problem during the warranty period. the tc carries the same warranty, along with labor if it were to fail.

vw tc carries a one year warranty as well, but labor is only included for a problem if you have it installed by vw dealer.

thundershorts said:

the eriksson trans rebuild includes the tc. if you replace the tc, and the trans pukes, the tc will probably but not necessarily be contaminated, so someone such as eriksson would supply a tc with the rebuilt trans, as they warranty their stuff for a year. they are the only rebuilder that pays labor if there is a problem during the warranty period. the tc carries the same warranty, along with labor if it were to fail.

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The problem buying a trans from them is if you are thousands of miles away, you are going to have to pay hundreds in shipping costs (trans and core). I know that's partially offset by sales tax, but the downside is the distances and waiting times involved. If my new trans pukes after 5K miles, I can be at the seller's door in hours, not days. It's an inconvenience to have a car down for a transmission problem, but dealing from long distances is additional time and frustration.

it all depends on the circumstances and whether you need the vehicle immediately back on the road. Obviously the quickest way is the friendly vw dealer replacing it, as long as you don't give a hoot what it costs.

You can buy the trans from the dealer and have an independent change it, or change it yourself (like this fellow will do). No need to have the dealer change it. That would be my last choice and I (anyone) would have to be nuts to let the dealer's morons near it.

The point of this is that this fellow is in California and not near a thriving metropolis. Being 3,000 miles away from Eriksson is not a good choice for purchasing a transmission, especially if something goes wrong with it. And we all know that nothing will go wrong, right?

then safest bet is the dealer/supplied/installed option. 12months parts and labor. you can forget getting an independent to do a 12 month labor warranty on a trans job.

thundershorts said:

then safest bet is the dealer/supplied/installed option. 12months parts and labor. you can forget getting an independent to do a 12 month labor warranty on a trans job.

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I got a full 12 month 12000 mile warranty from my local Guru.

point being, that if you are driving some 8-10 hours away, in East Jppip, from your independent installer and you notice a gremlin, you continue driving, gremlin gets more pronounced....you keep driving.."gee if you had only stopped" the vw warranty is honored by the whole network. It's whatever someone is comfortable with. Eriksson shipped lots of transmissions to Calif, when they were doing the 4hp22 upgrades.

I'm looking around to try and find a R&R details on getting to the TC. With the subframe off for the BS upgrade, I'm trying to understand what all is involved in removing the tranny to get to the TC without removing the engine. If its too crazy to get the tranny out, I think I'll do the rest of my list, flush the tranny and filter R&R and then if the hesitant shifting isn't cured with the tranny service then I'll think about pulling the tranny after I get the major BS and engine service stuff done.

if you have subframe down, you need an engine support, and a good trans jack, which you can rent/borrow. you only need to move the trans back/down, enough to examine the seal and bushing. the seal is viton(light brown/beige) and does not harden. its really only a wiper.

I have an engine hoist (Harbor Freight 2 ton Cherry picker style) For the tranny seal, would I just be pulling the tranny out to inspect the seal and replace it only if it looks bad/is torn? I figured I would have to pull the tranny to get to the Torque converter, inspect it and replace if needed right?

As an aside, we just bought our first house and we need to move over the next month, and I think I would be very overloaded to try and pull the BS upgrade off before then. Just to see, I got a quote from Wild Rose and to do the BS, timing belt, motor mounts, water pump the quote was $3800-$3900. While I know that is a lot of work to be done, its still some serious dollars. I enjoy fixing my own cars, but its hard to do it when its not convenient. Hmmm what to do, what to do...

One thing for sure if Wild Rose did it it would be done right as they were tutored by the PHD of Balance Shaft retrofits, Oilhammer.

rocketboy52 said:

I figured I would have to pull the tranny to get to the Torque converter, inspect it and replace if needed right?
.

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Yes, the trans comes out to get at the torque converter since it is bolted to the flywheel.

The BS job is not bad, especially when you yank off the front clip. Then you have access to all the things you want to change.

aja8888 said:

Yes, the trans comes out to get at the torque converter since it is bolted to the flywheel.

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I guess my question is can I tell the Torque converter is bad by visual inspection once I'm there?

nope,