Cptcrnchmobile 2.0 - 2004 Jetta wagon

[Cptcrnch]

After deciding to keep my 2014 Golf I went and decided to get married later this year. Being able to pay cash for my wedding made the buyback look real good but I wanted to stay in the TDI family. I started the search for another TDI and found my next ride here in the forum!

Came across this great little 2004 Jetta wagon that just had a 5spd swap, TB, and a bunch of other PM work performed. Car is rust free too! A good thorough detailing inside and out will have it looking like a champ. It has the typical Mkiv issues (headliner, seat bolsters, etc) and I plan on a suspension refresh later this year (it rides okay now and steering is tight but rougher roads reveal it's time for a refresh). This is my first Mkiv and I'm looking forward to getting to know this motor and performing as much work on the car as I can.

 

[Electrodynamic]

Cool purchase.

The upside down picture reminds me of those cartoons where they would dig a deep hole and pop up upside down in another country. Haha.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Polished out the headlights with great results. Not perfect but 100x better. Last week I washed, clayed, and waxed the car and it cleaned up great. New tires last week as well. Later this week the carpets will get a good shampoo and the leather will get a deep clean and condition

 

[Cptcrnch]

Spoke with Owain at Malone Tuning and the guys at New German Performance today. Between weddings, anniversary parties, and OT at work, a lot of stuff is going to be done next month. The plan is a Malone Stage 1.5 tune with dynamic EGR once I can do the logging in VCDS. The car will also be headed to NGP for a suspension and steering refresh with a Vogtland Junior Cup kit. It should remove the fender gap while still keeping it smooth and comfortable for highway cruising but still let me have some fun every once in a while. I also plan to do the 240k maintenance a bit early so I don't have to be out there in the dead of winter doing it.

As the car doesn't have a belly pan or side engine covers it's getting the Diesel Geek Panzer Plate and Full Metal Jacket treatment. The front fender liners are also pretty beat up so it's getting new liners and foam inserts. Since the roads in my area are crap and we use a ton of salt in the winter getting this squared away before the winter is high on the priority list to protect the motor and all the wiring.

That will probably be it until the start of spring and tax season. Then it's a 2.5" stainless steel turbo back exhaust and new wheels. What's on the car now is the OEM stuff that has 230k+ miles on it and it's rough. Before the hot summer temps next year I plan to do a full coolant system refresh with new radiator, intercooler, piping, hoses, etc.

And here I promised my fiancée I wouldn't put a ton of time and money into the car. Lol

 

[h4vok]

What did you use on the lens to make it look so good? I have seen many method to this, but I am curious what you did?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Nice to see someone taking care of another Jetta Wagon. Some people skip the foam inserts in the fenders, they can trap moisture. I have mine in place and haven't had a problem, but if I had to buy new ones I'd probably skip it. Also look and see if the pinch welds on the rockers are bent over from someone jacking up the car incorrectly. Happens a lot, and rust can migrate into the rocker panels from the bent welds. POR-15 is your friend for that kind of damage.

And if it hasn't been replaced check the cam for wear.

 

[Cptcrnch]

What did you use on the lens to make it look so good? I have seen many method to this, but I am curious what you did?

I just used the Adams Polishes headlight restoration kit and followed the directions.

http://adamspolishes.com/shop/kits/4-polishing-kits/adam-s-headlight-restoration-kit.html

 

[Cptcrnch]

Nice to see someone taking care of another Jetta Wagon. Some people skip the foam inserts in the fenders, they can trap moisture. I have mine in place and haven't had a problem, but if I had to buy new ones I'd probably skip it. Also look and see if the pinch welds on the rockers are bent over from someone jacking up the car incorrectly. Happens a lot, and rust can migrate into the rocker panels from the bent welds. POR-15 is your friend for that kind of damage.

And if it hasn't been replaced check the cam for wear.

Thanks for the valuable insight about the foam inserts. I may put some POR-15 in that area as a preventive measure even if there's no rust as the liners will already be off and it'll be easy to access. I'll give the pinch welds a good look tomorrow!

The previous owner just had Mike at M&M Auto Cycle do the TB and the 5spd swap. Mike went over all the mechanics and the cam is good shape as is the turbo. For 235k miles the car is still in great shape.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Got the windows tinted yesterday. I actually like the wheels on the car right now. I'm going to wait until the winter when the snow wheels/tires go on and have them refinished and repainted.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Took the EGR valve out and gave it a good cleaning. Mainly just gummy tarry soot that came off real easy. What I could see of the intake wasn't bad - It could use a cleaning for sure but didn't look super blocked. I'll probably put off removing and cleaning the intake until next spring. As already stated above a Malone 1.5 tune with Dynamic EGR is coming soon so one good cleaning should be good for the remaining life of the car.

 

[Cptcrnch]

So a day after cleaning the egr valve the car threw a CEL. I rechecked all my work and everything looks good. My Vagcom cable should be here tomorrow and I'll be able to scan it. It should be related to either the egr valve or the air intake since I pulled that to check the snow screen.

Also ordered a new Pioneer Bluetooth only head unit to replace the OEM cassette/cd player. Should be able to install it next Friday.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Scanned the car and found a bunch of codes for the auto trans that I expected since it had the swap done. It also had a bunch of codes from the no start I had from when I had to unplug the ECU after a washing the car.

The car is still throwing a P3003 and P3005 for a High and Low output preheating of coolant but no CEL or MIL.. I've had no drivability issues so I'll drive the car to work and back (100mi round trip) and scan again and see if it cleared. It might be due to transmission swap, always be present, and not be any issue.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Stereo got a much needed upgrade today. Really happy with the quality of everything. Connecting the radio harness to the car harness adaptor was super easy and the kit I bought to retain the steeriing wheel controls works flawlessly. I was able to hide the wires for the microphone and USB so it looks relatively factory.

I still have the trim pieces off as I want to try using Back to Black Trim Restorer on the sticky soft touch plastic. If it works well on that small piece I'll hit all the soft touch pieces.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Since PA doesn't require front front plates I had no need for the license plate frame. Sadly the frame was mounted with six screws! Two of the holes were the size of quarters. Ugh - I don't have the time to go to salvage yard and trying to find one that hasn't been drilled. I'd rather have a clean front end but this is a good solution for the time being. I had a custom Euro plate made. I wanted something that looked random and wasn't stupid or childish. I went with the date of my upcoming wedding - that way I can't forget my anniversary lol.

 

[GIDDY_UP_GO]

I went with the date of my upcoming wedding - that way I can't forget my anniversary lol.

You Sir, will have a long and happy marriage!

 

[Cptcrnch]

You Sir, will have a long and happy marriage!

I hope so! I didn't tell her that's what I was getting on the plate. So when she realized it I scored some major brownie points. Though I'm probably going to use them all up in a few weeks when the next round of parts starts showing up on the doorstep lol.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Not having a car payment is awesome. More money for car parts! Lol. Overall the car is already running really well and a lot of this is just PM work to ensure it can run to 500k miles with no issues. The interior isn't a big deal at the moment but if I find the right deal on grey heated seats (cloth or pleather - it doesn't matter) I may do them earlier then planned.

The plan for the car is in the next four weeks
Change all fluids and filters (including brake and steering)
Pulling all four fender liners/cleaning/POR15 if needed
Vogtland Junior Cup suspension setup
Panzer Plate and FMJ
2.5" Stainless Steel Exhaust
Malone Stage 1.5 tune w/ Dynamic Idle and Dynamic EGR

Then... Spring 2018
Replace intake manifold and intercooler
Injector overhaul and Bosio 1043 nozzles

Fall 2018
Cooling system overhaul - including new radiator and thermostat

2019
VNT-17 turbo
Reupholster interior and new headliner (it has the common mkiv issues)
HID headlights

 

[Cptcrnch]

SO it appears I most likely have a broken lower egr pipe. I haven't actually gotten under the car to verify yet but others with the same high pitched tea-kettle like whistle have found the same problem. I ordered a new pipe and gaskets and when I install the new exhaust I'll check the pipe. Depending on condition even if not broken I'll probably replace it since I have the parts and I'm already under the car.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Look at this thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=263090 to see why pipes break. Important so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Look at this thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=263090 to see why pipes break. Important so it doesn't happen again.

The bracket is indeed there as the car was not part of the recall (I have a buddy who runs thebservice deptarment of my local VW dealer run the VIN). Between the trans swap that was just completed and the car not having a belly pan to protect against corrosion I'm pretty sure the pipe cracked due to that.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Are all three screws in the bracket? If so you're probably right about corrosion.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Are all three screws in the bracket? If so you're probably right about corrosion.

The top and bottom screws are present but the middle screw is missing. Seems like it would be easy to replace. Does anyone know the size I would need and is something I can source from a hardware store.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Ah, now you see the problem. Here's what a complete set of screws looks like, don't know which you'd consider the middle screw in the bracket. http://www.idparts.com/egr-cooler-bolt-set-a4-bew-p-2411.html

And I know one of them isn't easy to replace, which is why dealer techs tend to leave them out when servicing the car. I don't think you're going to get something that will fit at a hardware store.

 

[Cptcrnch]

And I know one of them isn't easy to replace, which is why dealer techs tend to leave them out when servicing the car. I don't think you're going to get something that will fit at a hardware store.

The screw that's probably the hardest to get to (I couldn't actually see it - I felt that it was there) is there. It's the one right above it. Either way screws ordered and will be installed with everything else!

 

[Cptcrnch]

Placed the order with Malone for the 1.5 tune with dynamic EGR and a permanently raised idle to 1k. Doing the logging tomorrow however I'm going to wait to install the tune until the end of the month when the exhaust and lower EGR pipe are replaced.

Keeping the EGR to help with engine warm up was important but I didnt want it running all the time. Dynamic EGR seemed like the best solution. I'm putting in stage 1 Dogbone bushings due to the larger exhaust and in my research the 1k idle should help with the vibration due to the stiffer bushings.

Car goes to New German Performance on Tues/Wed for a suspension refresh. I'm hoping between good suspension/alignment, replacing the belly pan, and fixing the leaking egr pipe my fuel mileage will come up a bit. 41 isn't bad given that most of highway driving is at 70mph at 2500rpm. I would drive slower but in the D.C. Capital region (where I commute to for work) 70mph is barely fast enough so that no one runs into the back of you.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Completed the ventectomy today. The hardest part was getting the thing out. It was stuck in there pretty good. Once it was finally out I had modified and back in the car within minutes.

 

[Cptcrnch]

More parts ordered today. My Bosch check came in the mail last week and since the car still has its original MAF sensor I'm using part of that money for a new one. I also picked up a DieselGeek Sigma 5 short shifter. MAF will be installed when I do all my PM work at the end of the month and short shifter will go in st the same time if I things go smoothly with all the other PM work.

 

[Cptcrnch]

Car came back from NGP today. Hard to tell from the photos but the new suspension lowered it about an inch and looks great in person. The ride is so much better then the old OEM setup and it can actually take corners with some speed now. Mike at NGP was great to work with through the entire project and they actually had the car done earlier then promised.

 

[Cptcrnch]

First fill up after the ventectomy. It filled much faster and I probably got an extra 2gal in the tank (I filled 14g at 1/4 tank). I fill up in Maryland on my way home from work since fuel is almost 40¢ cheaper. Suspension is settling in nicely and giving the car a really nice aggressive but still good ride height.

 

[ssaric1.9TDI]

Car came back from NGP today. Hard to tell from the photos but the new suspension lowered it about an inch and looks great in person. The ride is so much better then the old OEM setup and it can actually take corners with some speed now. Mike at NGP was great to work with through the entire project and they actually had the car done earlier then promised.

What did you use for you suspension set up?