The "What did you do to your B4 today" thread...

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
For the last couple of years my fuel gauge hasn't moved below the red lines. And that's not because I have found an unlimited source of fuel - it just doesn't register that low for some reason. So I pulled the sender out and did some tests on it.

View attachment 129654

I put my multimeter on the leads and got about 40 ohms in the full position, and 285 in the empty position, with an even sweep at all points in between. To test my gauge I put a 220 ohm resistor in the plug contacts, and it showed down in the red close to empty.

View attachment 129657

Clearly this was a problem with the sending unit, so I unclipped the float arm in order to clean the contacts.

Before:

View attachment 129655

After:

View attachment 129656

I hooked it back up in the trunk and got perfect gauge readings all the way through the sweep. I'll have to wait until I'm almost empty to confirm whether or not it's fixed, but I also pulled out the contacts a little for extra contact so I'm hopeful about it.

View attachment 129658
I had to open it again yesterday, as the gauge was stuck on about 9 gallons over 200 miles of driving. After checking resistance a few more times I managed to discover that my sending unit was turned too far clockwise in the hole, keeping the float from having full range of travel. Now I've got the hose barbs pointed pretty much at 12 o'clock with the front of the car and I'm hoping it'll register down in the red again. The only reason I had it turned more clockwise was due to the length and location of the fuel hoses.
 

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
Further update - after running out of fuel as I was literally pulling in my driveway and the gauge still didn't read in the red portion yet, I twisted the sending unit even further counterclockwise and finally got it to register empty. Then I filled it up, and it only registers about 2/3 of a tank. FML. 🤦‍♂️
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Further update - after running out of fuel as I was literally pulling in my driveway and the gauge still didn't read in the red portion yet, I twisted the sending unit even further counterclockwise and finally got it to register empty. Then I filled it up, and it only registers about 2/3 of a tank. FML. 🤦‍♂️
Been there...my winter driver is an old 94 Dakota, the fuel pump was giving me fits and the level sender had never worked...it always read full. I would typically drive by trip odometer vs fuel gauge so it didn't matter, but when I swapped beds last year I was bound and determined to fix it.

What I found was a sending unit installed improperly such that the level was stuck up against the side of the tank. The new one I installed properly but like you I had to adjust the fuel lines and electrical to make it work. The old sender was probably fine but never put in correctly.

Thing works fine now but the new chinese fuel pump whines like nothing I've heard before.

Steve
 

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
Further further update. The following morning my fuel gauge crept up to full after about 30 minutes. Then I drove about 350 miles and it never moved off full. 😅 So I loosened everything back up and twisted it clockwise just enough to read where it should be. Probably less than 2 degrees. Now I'm waiting again to see how empty it'll show. Regardless, I'm filling up at 800 miles just to be safe!
 

alanack

Veteran Member
Joined
May 10, 2022
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
1998 Jetta
New compressor, expansion valve, and dryer.
Vac'd it down and it passed the leak test. Charged it up and now the AC works

Also evacuated, and re charged my other A3 TDI that had an unknown amount of refrigerent and poor ac performance
Both cars have a discharge temp around 38* 👌


Also my letting my Dad run the car ~4,000 miles round- trip anything I should check?
Just did a full timing belt service, glow plugs, all new drive belts, fluids, filters, calipers, brake lines, front & rear brakes, and 4 brand new tires.

Put about 6,000 miles on the car since i swapped the blown AHU for the 1Z and the cars been perfect other the wobbling crank pulley that has since been repaired during the timing belt job (new gear, pinch bolt, and balancer)
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Well, not my B4, but I worked on Snoopy Smiles' other B4 yesterday. This was after a week of working 2 jobs due to starting a new one and not wanting my old job as laboratory manager to fail due to my departure. Needless to say, I was pretty beat. She lives in Tucson which is about 3.5 hours away and doesn't like driving at night due, so I had a limited window to get work done.

The first thing was diagnosing why the interior lights stayed on all the time and drained the battery, and a previous garage 'solved' the issue by removing the interior light bulbs. :rolleyes: I checked both sides and figured out there is a wiring issue on the drivers rear side, which was caused by a rear end collision years ago. Not having the time to remove the interior and gut the trunk, I left the bulb out on that side but the interior lights now work in the rest of the car. I'll tackle that on another day.



Next was checking the time and overall engine. I was pleasantly surprised to see the timing belt tensioner in the correct orientation and of a newer date.



But I was not happy to see Mark-N-Pray paint on the gears.



But the timing was right where it should be so I didn't have to adjust it.



However, she complained about smoke, so I checked the IQ, which was 4.0 but cranked all the way down with a Vag-Com. When I returned it to base it was actually 2.8 mg/str.



Time for a Hammer Mod!



That's better. I hammered it to 4.2 and then adjusted it to 4.8. She's going to report back with smoke/power and I'll adjust from there.



I replaced a valve cover grommet due to it being overtightened and squished, creating an oil leak. This engine is the cleanest I've ever seen and in amazing shape. The intake ERG weep hole is also wet with oil, so next time I'll tap it, insert a nipple, and route a hose so it doesn't drip, probably to the puck or under the car.



The rear door handles weren't working correctly so I swapped them with some used original German ones in good condition with new gaskets. I hate those Chinese ones.






Continued...
 
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Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Continued...

Next was making a new trunk hard liner so things would stand upright. Both her B4's needed this so I bought a sheet of 1/4" plywood for the job. She helped me cut out the liner and put it into place. There was a little rust in the trunk area from rewelding so she's going to hit it with some Fluid Film for the time being.




The front marker light was broken so I cobbled parts together to make a good one. The reflector was gone but at least it works now and isn't siliconed into place.





The driver's door wasn't latching properly and I figured out why, the striker was toast. I tossed a new one on from the 20 or so I still have in inventory.



Now the door latched properly but needed a new gasket. I put one on, after adding the latch shim due to the Chinese handle wearing it out, and then it wouldn't work. :unsure: I looked into it further and found the latch mechanism was moved inward too much so the handle latch wouldn't engage. I didn't want to mess with the clearance due to time constraints. If I moved the latch outward where it belonged, the door would crush against the weather stripping and be out of alignment, and then I'd have to balance it and the doorstriker, which was at the end of it's movement. I think this was all due to the crash. So in the end the door handle just doesn't have a gasket on it.




I also installed a bolt for the rear bumper which was sticking out from the car. It must have fallen out.

I was super impressed with the seats her late husband reupholstered. They're B4 seats to which he added heaters, and they are absolutely incredible.






We'll set up a time to either work on this one again or her other gray one, which has a few engine oil leaks I'll fix. It's nice working on rust-free B4's and helping keep them alive. Kudos to the Bowie Kid for letting me borrow his Vag-Com. My brother back in Maine has mine since a mouse got into his 2015 TDI SEL and chewed up a bunch of the wiring, causing dozens of fault codes he's been repairing.
 

alanack

Veteran Member
Joined
May 10, 2022
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
1998 Jetta

Made it guys. Average 60mpg on the way down and low 50s on the way back(traffic). Not bad for a car i paid $400 for roughly a year ago with a blown engine.
Thanks for the help on here getting the car going.

So absolutely No issues, just shy of 4,000 miles total on trip.Going to do struts in it now, also the ac started peeing on the floor, so i gotta check the condensation drain on the firewall.
🚫🚫🚫 new car 🚫🚫🚫
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
I can't imagine what the underside of that car looks like.
I know..but amazingly I have a 97 sedan with over 300k miles on it midwest lived and treated like crap and it has no holes into the cabin yet, so who knows.

But it's a long ways and I doubt I'll be making that trip.

Steve
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Interesting - too bad that it's gas. Other than the hit on the *passenger* side, the body looks to be in great shape. I wonder why anyone would go through the complex and costly process to import that - would get a TDI or a VR6 before an NA 2.0...
That's not even a 2.0......

EDIT: You might be right...it might be 2.0, but it's not the ABA 2.0 with FI.

Steve
 

Mcgink

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Location
South of Boston MA
TDI
I-Red,"The Passat formerly known as Harlequin" 97 B4, a non VW GTDI too
Imagine getting pulled over for driving on the wrong side of the car :oops:
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
I don't have a B4 and I didn't know if it would be breaking rules to post it in the for sale section since they're not mine, but I'd feel bad not telling someone about 3 B4's I found for sale down here in coastal NC. Just in case someone here would need them; I have no idea about them other than the add. It's a pretty remote place down here but maybe they're hard to find? Idk. Apologies for inappropriate posting if it is. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/974739773525406/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp:95bb1605-4d2c-4797-8839-0a9f489ec5e9
 

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
Just got back from a 1800 mile road trip to Florida and found a couple things I need to address.

First off - leaking turbo drain line. Ordered the $15 thread adapter from idparts and a $50 line from an eBay seller based in Turkey.

20230529_154140.jpg

Secondly, my AutoZone cv axle dried up after about 50k miles. It was knocking pretty bad for the last 90 miles home, but I made it!

20230529_154155.jpg
 

alanack

Veteran Member
Joined
May 10, 2022
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
1998 Jetta
Ugh this pile of junk...
Noticed a weird rattle about a week ago, ignored it.....

Apparently the power steering pump fell off and was being suspended by the serpentine belt... woops re-atached that.

Tensioner was flopping around more than i liked. Replaced the pulley, regreased the shaft and replaced the split seals on the
Tensioner. Fixed

Changed the oil and filter. Inspected cam i replaced 6 months ago. Timing belt and cam seems to be doing fine. Sent out an oil analysis trying to extend my oil drain to 10k.

Replaced front motor mount and trans mount PITA!!!

Cars holding up relatively great despite being thrashed 100 miles a day driving to Boston.

Car has some pretty serious Rot/rust being MK3/A3 that needs attention soon. Got myself set up with a MIG welder going to fix it myself.

Also the EGR valve seems be puking oil all over the place. According to a brief research this is normal.... should i be concerned?
🚫🚫🚫 New car 🚫🚫🚫
 

alext91

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2015
Location
Northwood, New Hampshire
TDI
1996 Passat TDI, 2013 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6MT Pano (Sold), 2015 Golf S 4DR 6MT (Sold), 1999.5 Jetta TDI Tornado Red (Sold)
Performed blend door repair over the weekend, discovered that the gearing/linkage in the temperature control knob is broken and that's why I was only getting heat. So I moved it to the cold position for the summer until I get a replacement unit. Up next is to figure out why the AC doesn't work.
 

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
Figured out where my coolant leak ACTUALLY was - Or at least the main one. Just a tiny worn spot on the bottom side of my heater core hose.

20230622_090501 (Medium).jpg

As you can probably tell I cut the end off to hopefully just bypass the damage, but it ended up being a bit too short for prolonged use. So I made my way up to AutoZone and found a new hose that had bends similar enough to what I needed.

20230622_100356 (Medium).jpg
 

TDIDaveNH

Left Lane Coal Roller at Large
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Location
North Conway, NH
TDI
1997 Passat TDI x2 1984 Buick Century 4.3 diesel
Been working on I-red lately...swapped out the steering wheel for a GLX leather wrapped one, mounted good 195 65 15 tires on new Corrado 4x100 steelies, steamed the old tint off the rear and side windows, added little missing interior bits. Started cleaning up the car inside and out. More to come...
 

TDIDaveNH

Left Lane Coal Roller at Large
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Location
North Conway, NH
TDI
1997 Passat TDI x2 1984 Buick Century 4.3 diesel
I pulled the transaxle on I-red and figured out why the clutch would not disengage. I was 100% positive the fork had cracked and folded over, since I've seen that before but I was wrong...hadn't seen this before...interesting.




 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Broken spring pocket.

We get this way too often on the heavy truck side of things. Eaton, freightliners, Volvo all do it.
 
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