What did you do to your MKIV today?

ghohouston

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Location
Lewisville, Texas
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI 5 Speed
So this was a first - got an alternator workshop error. Never seen that before. And my battery was not being charged, nor was any voltage being output from the alternator. So I replaced it with a junkyard alternator last night. I also couldn't wait for the replacement fan I ordered from CascadeGerman, so I put in a junkyard fan which worked flawlessly. Even got a spare. I don't know if I should be satisfied or not, but AC now gets down to around 44-45 at idle with outside ambient air in the 83-87 range (at around 70% humidity). Driving, I got it as low as 42 and as high as 54, but the car stays cool now.

On mom's 2005 wagon, the radiator fans won't come on and I can't figure out why. The AC compressor engages manually, and the radiator fans also come on manually, but I tried a different high pressure control valve, 2 different fan control modules, and checked all the fuses. I started losing patience checking things electrical, so I'm giving up for now.
Try swapping the high pressure switch with another car.
 

Nero Morg

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
2014 A6 TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI, 2014 Passat TDI
Helped the friend of my wife's 03 wagon today. Had 16955 for brake light switch intermittent... Cleared the code for now, will order a switch. Found that all the brake and running lights were out in the back end. Had one blow up in my hand too, luckily it didn't cut me. All new bulbs and down the road she goes.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Try swapping the high pressure switch with another car.
Already did that, but I might have a better suspicion of the problem, which is something I induced a few weeks ago when swapping ECUs.
 

wonneber

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Location
Monroe, NY, USA
TDI
2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Helped the friend of my wife's 03 wagon today. Had 16955 for brake light switch intermittent... Cleared the code for now, will order a switch. Found that all the brake and running lights were out in the back end. Had one blow up in my hand too, luckily it didn't cut me. All new bulbs and down the road she goes.
Maybe hold on the switch.
The bulbs out may be the only thing wrong.
 

Nero Morg

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2017
Location
OR
TDI
2014 A6 TDI, 2001 Jetta TDI, 2014 Passat TDI
I'll keep that in mind. She came back today for another oil change. She drives a lot apparently lol
 

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Filled it up this morning. $80.81 @ $6.249 a gallon at Citgo. Seems to be the cheapest around. I did, however, just barely get 50 MPGs on that last tank, a personal best (usually around 45-47), so I wasn't too upset. Mostly normal driving.

Filled up the Suburban yesterday at Mobil. Pump cut me off at $125, so it didn't get filled all the way. That was at $4.949 a gallon. Probably 15 MPGs on that pig.

Works out to $0.33 per mile on the Chevy, and $0.12 in the VW.

Also mounted the JETTA and TDI badges on the trunk lid.
 

Randomhomelesstdibeetlegu

Veteran Member
Joined
May 12, 2022
Location
Stinking onion land
TDI
00 ALH Tdi
Yesterday, was backing my Roadmaster out of the garage, Jetta parked in the driveway but behind the 2nd stall of the garage (similar to the picture below). Checking mirrors, going slow, etc - CRUNCH (sigh...)

Broke a bunch of plastic on the right side mirror of the Jetta. It didn't come completely off, but was loose/wobbly. About 20 wraps with electrical tape over the joint holding most of the plastic bits together and at least it's not all floppy anymore. That will last long enough until I can get a replacement from the spare parts bin.

While I'm frustrated about the mirror, I'm not too sad because it means that I'm driving my Roadmaster that I spent the last 8 years working on...no damage to the Roadmaster :)


LT1?
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Ended up replacing the passenger side CV with a new GKN on the 2000 Golf, replaced the upper radiator hose with a genuine VW from idparts (so like 95% of the engine cooling system, including the fluid, is all brand new). Put on an Evolution Atlas kidplate obtained from cascade german. Replaced the hood latch assembly on the front, put on a racepipe (ASV delete) from darkside, and finally RSSR tail lights from Korwerks. I only have a single rear shock that needs to be replaced (worldpac sent me 1 B6 and 1 unknown/wrong part). All that's left is the rear main seal and clutch. I'm holding out on that, because I'm still undecided if I want to install an LSD or not.

Last night - checked out my fix-n-flip 2002 Beetle. Looks like the head's coming off. Cylinders 3 and 4 have both cracks on the pistons and bent rods. Oddly, cylinders 1 and 2 look okay. The oil pan area smells like burnt oil. A friend suggested a blown turbo, but we shall see.

And then not mk4 related, but I'm hoping to change the starter on my 1995 GMC 6.5L diesel, so I can get it the hell out of my life. I only have room for Fords and VWs in my life right now LOL!
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
And then not mk4 related, but I'm hoping to change the starter on my 1995 GMC 6.5L diesel, so I can get it the hell out of my life. I only have room for Fords and VWs in my life right now LOL!
Just make sure you have the little bracket on the end or bad things will happen.
 

tdidieselbobny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Stafford,NY (WNY)
TDI
'03 Galactic Blue Jetta TDI, '15 Silk Blue Golf Sportwagen TDI
Sunday was steering rack day. All told it took me about 5 hours total. No issues. Had to go to Advance and get 2 quarts of that Pentosin CH11S fluid in green can-$37.99/qt o_O . I did 2 separate online orders, 15% off and $10 speed perks for each so it came to $25.69.I only needed part of 1, as I already had a partial quart. I centered the steering rack, it is 3 complete revolutions from lock to lock, so I made 1-1/2 turns before installation. Put some grease on hard lines to cut down on future rust. Installed heat shield before putting rack back in car. Outer tie rods were a little tricky. I counted turns coming off, but the old ones(TRW) were just a little longer body than the Driveworks ones from Advance. So I just set them to # turn ins from old rack, then I set new rack and old rack side by side to compare. Got them eyeball close before reinstalling rack in car. Once installed, lost count how many times I turned wheel lock to lock to bleed with car off. Thought it'd be good, topped off and started car and did a few more lock to locks. Lots of foam/bubbles. Next day I re-did bleeding. I did eyeball alignment, checked how much tire I see on each side from top. I adjusted right side 1 turn. Tightened everything up and took for a road test. I was shocked to see the steering wheel almost centered and no pulling side to side. I'm still dropping it off for alignment check tomorrow. We'll see how close I was....
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Just make sure you have the little bracket on the end or bad things will happen.
You mean on the 6.5? I did. Working with that truck is a PITA, but I did get the starter replaced and got it to crank up (with help from my 7.3L in high idle, to get my crappy Walmart Neverstarts going).

Question that's semi-TDI related - one of my fuel return lines is leaking. Any idea if it's the same size return line rubber as on a TDI? I have plenty of it and it would save me considerable trouble, though I'm not sure yet how I'm going to get in there to do it (it's the second from the last injector on the passenger side).
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
You mean on the 6.5? I did. Working with that truck is a PITA, but I did get the starter replaced and got it to crank up (with help from my 7.3L in high idle, to get my crappy Walmart Neverstarts going).

Question that's semi-TDI related - one of my fuel return lines is leaking. Any idea if it's the same size return line rubber as on a TDI? I have plenty of it and it would save me considerable trouble, though I'm not sure yet how I'm going to get in there to do it (it's the second from the last injector on the passenger side).
Yeah, on the 6.5. Lots of people leave them off, but it can cause problems with that.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
Well I’ve been noticing a slight growling noise from the rear of the car recently, seems loudest around 60-80 km/h. So this morning I jacked up my rear wheels and tried wiggling them back and forth, up and down, well that all seemed good so I gave them a spin. That also seemed fine, at least at slower speeds, but if I spin the driver’s side up as fast as I can by hand and feel the spring there’s a slight vibration and faint growling noise so I guess I get to do rear wheel bearings now...
Question is, should I replace both sides or just the one that’s making noise?
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Well I’ve been noticing a slight growling noise from the rear of the car recently, seems loudest around 60-80 km/h. So this morning I jacked up my rear wheels and tried wiggling them back and forth, up and down, well that all seemed good so I gave them a spin. That also seemed fine, at least at slower speeds, but if I spin the driver’s side up as fast as I can by hand and feel the spring there’s a slight vibration and faint growling noise so I guess I get to do rear wheel bearings now...
Question is, should I replace both sides or just the one that’s making noise?
This is only personal opinion, but I do everything in sets. Front wheel bearings, rear wheel bearings, etc. I can only imagine if they were put in at the same time that if one is going, the other isn't far behind. If I was strapped for cash then maybe I'd just do one. I see it kind of like rear axle beam bushings. You wouldn't want to do just 1. It could potentially heighten the issue on the other side (cause premature wear to the newly installed side), or push that wear somewhere else.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I had to replace one rear wheel bearing recently due to a shop monkey cross-threading one of the lug bolts and it stripping out.
I just replaced that one - not for cost reasons, or lack of time (it was up on the mini-lift for a couple weeks)....just figured there was no need.
YMMV :)
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
...so I guess I get to do rear wheel bearings now...
Question is, should I replace both sides or just the one that’s making noise?
This is only personal opinion, but I do everything in sets....
One. When my front bearing went bad, I only changed that one, and the other side is still good tens of thousands of miles later.
I think this is mostly personal preference. I replaced one on the 2002 Golf (because I put on a new axle after I hydroplanned in January). I bought a second and was going to do both, and then decided against it (because the labor was high, since I haven't figured out how to do bearings yet), and for the same reason @turbodieseldyke suggests.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
Thanks for the input everybody! Not sure what I’ll do yet, I did both front bearings shortly after I got the car, so if I do both the rears all my wheel bearings will be new, and my OCD likes that idea lol but I’m not sure I want to spend the money.

Another question, I normally get my parts from Roseland here in Canada, and they only have the rear bearings in two brands, Topran ($65) and FAG ($112). I’m guessing the latter would be the bearing of choice here? I’m not sure I’ve heard much about Topran, and that price makes me wonder about quality.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
In my experience wheel bearings on these cars tend to suffer pothole damage long before they wear out, which is why replacing two when only one is noisy is usually a waste of time and money.
Yeah I had to replace the caliper on that side when I did brakes as it was apparently seized, couldnt get it to retract, so I’m guessing that brake was dragging and overheated the bearing.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
What did I do to my mk4 today... I learned what a bent piston looks like!
This is actually a project car I bought to fix and flip, but yeah, definitely gonna be more involved. Someone wanted to buy it for $1200 as-is. I almost wished I sold it, but... I really want/need the experience of rebuilding an engine, and it's been on my bucket list for over a decade to rebuild an engine by myself.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
Thanks for the input everybody! Not sure what I’ll do yet, I did both front bearings shortly after I got the car, so if I do both the rears all my wheel bearings will be new, and my OCD likes that idea lol but I’m not sure I want to spend the money.

Another question, I normally get my parts from Roseland here in Canada, and they only have the rear bearings in two brands, Topran ($65) and FAG ($112). I’m guessing the latter would be the bearing of choice here? I’m not sure I’ve heard much about Topran, and that price makes me wonder about quality.
Fag. No question there. You get what you pay for!
 
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