Engine identification ?

[ToddA1]

I’m more curious to see an A3 with a 1Z engine or a B4 with an AHU, regardless of the trunk decal.

-Todd

 

[Steve Addy]

I know about the labor issue in the early '90s. That really didn't have anything to do with the cars we are discussing. And having purchased five Volkswagens brand new (and PDI'd many others) I can assure you, Mexican assembly is at the very top of QC. The Puebla plant has actually won many internal awards. It was tasked with the rollout of the New Beetle in 1998, and was the ONLY place that ever assembled them, and they were sent back to Europe for retail sale (as well as some other models... like the original Beetle). Of my five new cars, all three of my Puebla cars were 100% perfect. Both my German cars (one from Emden, the other from Wolfsburg) had various QC problems. And for good reason. EVERYONE in the Puebla plant speaks Spanish. The German plants are a mix of languages and cultures, which only got worse after the fall of the Soviet Union. Prior to that, many Turks were employed in factories. After 1990, there were all kinds of folks. Hard to make certain something is being done correctly when there is a language barrier.

Well you could be right but I was always told that there were quality issues there that caused part of the work stoppages despite the labor strike, and perhaps it doesn't have anything to do with the cars here, 97-99 Mk3, but my 94 was lacking in assembly quality and the paint sucked badly, however, I've only ever examined a limited number of cars, maybe 100 at most in total both on the road and off, so I can't say that my sample size is large enough to evaluate quality, but if you're sure about it then I'll concede the point. The language barrier would be a huge issue, that I can agree with.

However, I still believe that the incorrect decal info is pretty slipshod.

I’m more curious to see an A3 with a 1Z engine or a B4 with an AHU, regardless of the trunk decal.

-Todd

I have the former, but I've not seen the latter. I'm sure if it did in fact happen it would have to be after the beginning of calendar year 1997.

Steve

 

[ToddA1]

I‘m a bit confused.... the Jetta pictured is a 1Z? Earlier, you mentioned the trunk decals in the Jetta’s were always wrong.

if so, it jives with what I believed To be true. 1Z or AHU was a Jetta thing and B4s only came with 1Z.

-Todd

 

[Steve Addy]

I‘m a bit confused.... the Jetta pictured is a 1Z? Earlier, you mentioned the trunk decals in the Jetta’s were always wrong.

Yes, my 97 Jetta has a 1Z in it and the decal is the same as that pictured (for engine and trans). The decal I pictured is from the first donor 98 Jetta engine that now resides in the B3V...and is AHU.

if so, it jives with what I believed To be true. 1Z or AHU was a Jetta thing and B4s only came with 1Z.

-Todd

That's what I believe as well, unless someone produces a late production B4 with an original AHU in it...which no one has done yet AFAIK.

I had thought about trying to find the VIN cutoff for the 1Z for Mk3 but I don't know anyone with access to Etka (full) anymore that can provide that information. And even if someone did have access I'm not sure we'd actually be able to get anything from Etka on that...but maybe.

Steve

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

If there's a VIN split on the engine parts that are unique to the 1Z (like the valves or pistons) you might be able to see it. I have ETKA 6 on an old Dell laptop, not even sure it'll boot up. But I could take a look.

 

[Steve Addy]

If there's a VIN split on the engine parts that are unique to the 1Z (like the valves or pistons) you might be able to see it. I have ETKA 6 on an old Dell laptop, not even sure it'll boot up. But I could take a look.

I tried to look in the ETKA online but they didn't differentiate between the two with the Mk3 in 1997, in fact I think it never made reference to the 1Z at all for 1997, just said AHU and that's it.

If you can find a VIN split that would be great, the only other option at this point is if we accumulate the VIN's and production dates we have along with engine types and see if we can narrow down the switch.

Steve

 

[oilhammer]

ETKA shows them together under JEM A3 cars. Engines listed as AHU/1Z (in that order), same as always. Two shortblocks listed, early and late, but are engine code numbers, both being AHU, and the first one with the M suffix supercedes to the late one with the AF suffix (both long NLA).

PAS B4 shows the exact same thing, only just the AF suffix... which is odd. Then you go to the B4 cylinder head page, and it shows an early and late, with a 1Z serial number listed, but on the right it just shows AHU.

I'll go out on a limb here and say the Mexican labor force had zero to do with ETKA anomalies. That's likely all Germans. Slipshod, perhaps?

 

[Steve Addy]

ETKA shows them together under JEM A3 cars. Engines listed as AHU/1Z (in that order), same as always. Two shortblocks listed, early and late, but are engine code numbers, both being AHU, and the first one with the M suffix supercedes to the late one with the AF suffix (both long NLA).

PAS B4 shows the exact same thing, only just the AF suffix... which is odd. Then you go to the B4 cylinder head page, and it shows an early and late, with a 1Z serial number listed, but on the right it just shows AHU.

I'll go out on a limb here and say the Mexican labor force had zero to do with ETKA anomalies. That's likely all Germans. Slipshod, perhaps?

You know it could be, the reference I use online shows no 1Z for Mk3 97, then again I've always wondered whether or not they simplify the parts listing in later years due to different / newer parts versions or consolidations.

You're certainly pro-Mexico these days...

And Todd - for reference my 97 is what I would consider late production. I originally thought I remembered it being built early in 97 but now that I think about it it's from later. I don't think I have a pic of the door jamb decal handy but I'll take a glance when I'm back down there. The serial number is 078504 but so far I haven't been able to find out how many Mk3 Jetta cars were produced in 97.

I also have the window sticker from Ajaxstar's white 97 Jetta, now gone. That serial number is 136634, which is later than mine.

I may have a pic of his door jamb decal somewhere but that was back in 2015 so IDK whether I can find it or not, but now I would be curious to know when his car was built. This is one reason I typically try and take pics of door jamb decals, because that's the only place you find the production date for these.

Steve

EDIT: I don't have jamb decal for Ajaxstar's car but I do have my production month for the car pictured above, and that's 06/97, which is the last month of 97 production, so Ajaxstar's car has to also be 06/97 and it was 1Z also.

 

[oilhammer]

My stance (as it applies to this topic) of Mexican-assembled Volkswagens has always been the same. Plenty of Mexican-assembled Nissans, Toyotas, Fords, Chevrolets, Fiats, and others are in and out of our shop as a normal thing. Never been an issue that I've seen. Not sure I was ever "anti-Mexico" when it comes to final assembly of cars, although I'm certainly "pro-American" in that regard, even though the USA-built Rabbits WERE crap in comparison to their German counterparts. However, the actual assembly was never the issue. The sum of the parts was the issue. And anyone that has spent time around those cars knows exactly what I mean.