Balance Shaft Upgrade Shops

jonbergga

Active member
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Alpharetta, GA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS, unchained
Jeff S. (vwztips) in Greenville, SC did my the BSM/TB on my Passat last month (@ 122K, whew!).

He was willing do either a delete or an upgrade - my choice, and he even picked up my car at the tail-end of his family trip to Atlanta and drove it to his place to do the work.

Aaron at Boraparts drop-shipped a deluxe BSM kit, new engine mounts, and a new alternator pulley, and I picked up my car at Jeff's place a week later.

Other than the co$t of the parts (and even that was bearable all things considered), it was a painless procedure.

Thank you Jeff. And thank you Aaron.

JB

PS: Jeff also does a nifty automatic to 5-speed conversion if your tastes lean that way. Check his other postings (vwztips).
 

kinghomes

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 4, 2010
Location
alabama
TDI
2004 passat tdi
I would like to remove my recommendation. It failed early. I will never know why?

I replaced all gears involved myself. 6k miles since all is well - I hope.

Balance Shaft unchain in Nashville TN
Jerry @ :
German Performance Auto
1227 Lebanon Pike
Nashville, TN 37210
gpotuning@gmail.com
615-248-9466
Repaired and Replaced the following on a 2004 VW Passat TDI with 95,000 miles on it
Oil Pump and balance shaft unchain
Camshaft Seal
Crankshaft Seal
Water Pump
Dryer, Orifice, Recharge
Alternator Pully
Cabin Air filter
Check Cam Wear
Replace Axel assembly
Fuel Filter
AC Tensioner Kit
Engine Mount
Timing Belt
I have since put about 4,000 miles on the car and it has performed with no issues. The motor is much quieter and the power seems proper - with out hesitation or excessive smoke. I was happy with Jerrys professionalism and promptness. I was able to drop the car off on a Saturday and he left the car out for me to pick up on a Sunday. Paid with card over the phone.
Jerry had not performed this specific work before on a Pump Duse. I shared Oil hammers procedure with him (thank you).
I would like to thank Oilhammer and the other TDI Club members for providing such excellent content to the forum. I did not drive the car for about 8 mouths because the car had lost power and I did not want to take it to my local dealer. I abhor the lack of information provided by the local dealer. Also, my local dealer once changed the oil on this passat and close to a quart of oil was on my drive the next AM. Finally, when I found time to work on the car myself, I researched my symptoms and codes on the TDI Club and quickly found the split pressure intake pipe. With this repair done the Passat ran great again
After the pipe repair, I decided after reading the forum post, to upgrade the motor to gear drive. I believe the Economy and versatility of this car is well worth the extra investment. I love to put the bikes on the hitch and hit the MT's for Mt. Biking and the Passat carries all the gear with room to spare economically and comfortably. I have a Tiguan, its quite nice but no more roomier and a little harder to handle. So the Passat is my favorite for the trips @ 15 MPG more than the Tiguan. What competition does a TDI have - an Outback - umm uh no. whats with all that 4 wheel drive stuff?
Thank You and the other TDI people for the great content. And please put Jerry with German Performance on your list of unchain mechanics. I highly recommend him.
Philip King
256-990-5464
Huntsville, AL
 

WECoyote6

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Location
Maryland
TDI
2005 Passat Wag
BSM Shop In Maryland

I had my BSM replaced 3 years ago at NGP New German Performance in Aberdeen MD. They did a great job and had done several BSM before mine was done and were thoroughly familiar with the project. Arno was my contact person at the shop and they have several TDI specialists on staff.
They used the VW OEM part/kit and it has worked flawlessly. I wasn't having any issues other than the noise that over time was getting louder from the chain and guides. I had 38,000 miles on the car when I had the work done.
They had it for about a day and a half. The cost was $1900 parts and labor.
I plan on keeping the car for a long time and didn't want to have any concerns over the engine blowing while driving. The engine idles and runs noticeably smoother and is also more quiet all things considered for a diesel.
They also did the timing belt service last year and I waited at the shop and
was in and out in several hours. I tried getting in touch with Oliver W. and he never returned my phone message or e-mail. I suppose with his law practice and auto repair, racing business he has no spare time.

I also installed a Panzer Plate and had Jeff at Rocket Chip install a stage 1 tune and sport shift mode on the TIP and that has made a nice difference in performance. My ride is 2005 GL wagon Blue Graphite with gray interior.

http://www.ngpracing.com/store/

John :D
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
All the ones we have done that I have seen back for other things have been doing fine. My own car has only covered about 50k miles since the upgrade, but many others have done 100,000 or more.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
All the ones we have done that I have seen back for other things have been doing fine. My own car has only covered about 50k miles since the upgrade, but many others have done 100,000 or more.
Mine has done about 50k miles as well since the upgrade, no issues. My son was home yesterday, and I was standing by the car as he started it up to drive off (like any good dad, I was listening for potential problems), and it purrs, or rather clatters, like a good diesel kitten, no chain swooshing or rattling or other unexpected noises. It sure is looking ratty though with rusty doors (passenger front door perforated with a dime-sized hole), but VW is going to fix that, once the back-ordered door is received by the stealer. It should be good as new when that happens (nearly new in fact, last year the front fenders and trunk lid were replaced under warranty).

I can't help but notice it sounds more "diesely" than our CRs. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing :D
 

Fasteddie10

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2011
Location
Illinois
TDI
2004 Jetta Wagon TDI, 2-2005 Passat Wagon TDIs, 2-2004 Passat Wagon TDIs
BS Delete

:)Had the BS delete performed by Dell's Service Center Green Bay, WI. http://www.dellsservicecenter.com/. I purchased the car in need of repairs: timing belt, torque converter, BSM chain noise. Dell's performed the work at a GREAT price!!! I bought the kit from Bora parts, they give you the ALH or the BRM oil pump, gears, and chain. I was VERY impressed with the Dell's guys, they counted the new chain links and questioned the numbers 23 vs. 25 links. We expected the ALH parts but got the BRM parts in the kit, as stated in the Bora parts list. Dell's got a rebuilt torque converter from ZF at an excellent price too!
 

RickyHus

Active member
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Location
chicago
TDI
Chainless 05 passat tdi wagon auto, 05.5 jetta tdi
:)Had the BS delete performed by Dell's Service Center Green Bay, WI. http://www.dellsservicecenter.com/. I purchased the car in need of repairs: timing belt, torque converter, BSM chain noise. Dell's performed the work at a GREAT price!!! I bought the kit from Bora parts, they give you the ALH or the BRM oil pump, gears, and chain. I was VERY impressed with the Dell's guys, they counted the new chain links and questioned the numbers 23 vs. 25 links. We expected the ALH parts but got the BRM parts in the kit, as stated in the Bora parts list. Dell's got a rebuilt torque converter from ZF at an excellent price too!
So how much have you paid for labor and how much for parts
 

TomB

Veteran Member
Joined
May 1, 2003
Location
Cle Elum, Washington/Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2015 Audi TDI Prestige Sport
For those in Washington State, forget about Eastside Automotive in Ellensburg, Washington. I asked them about this and they responded.

" [FONT=&quot]We are unable to work on your vehicle at this time. Therefore we are not leaving an estimate . Our apologies for not letting you know sooner. We have been too busy!! [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your enquiry, Eastside Auto[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
"
No reason to use them if they are not available. Has anyone else ever gotten this kind of response to a service request?
 

dangerranger99

Active member
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Location
DeWitt, IA
TDI
05 Passat
Mine has done about 50k miles as well since the upgrade, no issues. My son was home yesterday, and I was standing by the car as he started it up to drive off (like any good dad, I was listening for potential problems), and it purrs, or rather clatters, like a good diesel kitten, no chain swooshing or rattling or other unexpected noises. It sure is looking ratty though with rusty doors (passenger front door perforated with a dime-sized hole), but VW is going to fix that, once the back-ordered door is received by the stealer. It should be good as new when that happens (nearly new in fact, last year the front fenders and trunk lid were replaced under warranty).

I can't help but notice it sounds more "diesely" than our CRs. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing :D

how'd you get the fenders and trunk replaced under warranty, because my trunk has a dime sized bubble as does my lf fender.
 

PlaneCrazy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 3, 2000
Location
Province of Quebec, Canada
TDI
Gone...
how'd you get the fenders and trunk replaced under warranty, because my trunk has a dime sized bubble as does my lf fender.
Took it to the dealer and complained. They sent pics to VW and a couple of months later, they OK'd the repairs. Also had the two front doors replaced under warranty this spring. One was completely perforated, the other nearly so.
 

rapier

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Location
Michigan
TDI
not yet
I am going to look at an 04 Passat TDI. Not a TDI owner currently, or ever. Very low mileage, 90K and I assume but have not heard back from the seller who is out of town for a couple of weeks,that nothing has been done with the pump drive. Timing belt done however. (the price is too cheap and would rather not advertise it now so as to loose it to you enthusiasts but will pass it on if I decide against it. I am thinking it's too low priced because the seller knows something is up with the pump, Just guess)

My question is off in the weeds a bit. Why doesn't anyone just replace the chain drive hardware, or at least inspect it, every time the timing belt is done? Then too, isn't it mainly the adjuster which is the main fault? My point(s) is short term cost savings, from which a calculation on long term cost could be made.

If rebuilding the pump drive totally was say $500 vs changeover of $2K we are now talking 250K miles to make the gear drive pay off. So in my case, a cheap bastard who does not rack up big mileage, a rebuild makes some sense. Tell me where I am wrong please.
 

vwztips

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
2005 Passat GLS Wagon TDI 5 spd manual w/BSM delete 2011 Tiguan TDI/DSG 2005 Audi A4 Avant 6MQ TDI 2011 BMW X5 35d
this has been discussed many times. if you want to keep cost down the delete option is cheaper than trying to find replacement parts or "rebuild" the BSM.
 

rapier

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Location
Michigan
TDI
not yet
this has been discussed many times. if you want to keep cost down the delete option is cheaper than trying to find replacement parts or "rebuild" the BSM.

Well that answers that. I wonder what VW does then? Put in the gear drive and replace the balance shaft.

Sorry I've skimmed through these threads trying to get up to speed but they are so big it's hard to pin down these things.

Also, what is the range for the cost of this repair? I saw $2K I think here,,somewhere. Is that in the ballpark?
 

dhuddleson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Location
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2012 Jetta Highline TDI sedan
Your assumption about VW's repair method is correct. They have a replacement oil pump/balance shaft assembly with gear drive, and associated gears for crank etc. Overall costs are more like $3k with labor and Timing Kit (since you have that all apart anyway).

As mentioned, there is an alternative solution that does away with Balance Shaft altogether. It uses a simple oil pump from other VW models, and could save perhaps $1k. All this is discussed here in this forum, and unfortunately it will take you some hours to catch up!
 

RSMS

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Location
Clearwater,FL
TDI
04 T-REG V-10 as a driver but too many others to list and always changing
The parts to rebuild the chain driven BSM are available if someone wants to go that route. I have parts in stock and we have done many of these on our cars. Quiet and smooth every time we have done one and I have never heard a complaint. If you want to retain the internal balancing but not pay big bucks for a gear driven BSM you do have an option.
 

merkerguitars

Veteran Member
Joined
May 10, 2004
Location
Elmwood, WI
TDI
01 Jetta
Hey oilhammer you can add my shop to the list. I have done a gear conversion and just did the alh conversion and both have turned out perfect.
 

vwztips

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
2005 Passat GLS Wagon TDI 5 spd manual w/BSM delete 2011 Tiguan TDI/DSG 2005 Audi A4 Avant 6MQ TDI 2011 BMW X5 35d
I can do them if you are in Milwaukee. I have my own method of delete.
Care to let the group in on your method of delete if it is different from the current version?
 

oregun

Active member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Location
Williamsburg, VA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI GLS (sold)
Any recommendations for someone around SE virginia? Looking at the bsm delete option. Have an '05 gls with 107k.
 

balanceshafted

New member
Joined
Dec 6, 2013
Location
Embrun
TDI
2005 passat wagon
delete option on automatic transmission

Has anyone done the delete option on an automatic transmission? Any issues? Thanks
 
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