d24tdi
Veteran Member
In a spring cleaning push to prioritize on projects here, I'm going to make an effort to find this wagon a new enthusiast home.
1997 Passat TDI wagon (B4V) - originally sold in Canada, legally imported to the US at some point in its life.
Cliff's notes:
5-speed manual trans
507,000 km (~315k miles)
Decent cosmetics for the age/use/region
Some unique original features and attributes, plus some nice upgrades and add-ons
A few new parts on it; seems to have been mostly cared for over its life
Slightly molested under the hood by the most recent PO, but overall has mostly good news mechanically
Runs and drives well, you could probably get home in it almost any distance, but it will need attention in various ways, some immediate and some longer term.
$2000 OBO
Complete details as far as I know them:
- Original and straight body (except the hood which appears to have been replaced with one that was originally green)
- Couple crusty spots on the body panels but not terrible for a northern car, probably better than most of the B4 TDI cars I see on the road in this area (there are tons of em still running around here). Some spots have been worked on and could use more refinish work if someone cared seriously about appearances.
- Paint is pretty tired, clearcoat failing on the roof and upper parts of the doors.
- Windshield is uncracked and in great shape! All other glass is good as well.
- Door handles need to be gone through as usual for a B4, I think all but one door works from the outside currently, but they are all sticky/fussy, especially in the cold
- Windows all work well, but driver's needs help getting back up if you let it run all the way to the bottom, avoid that
- Clean and original interior (even has the factory stereo head unit still, which works well)
- Heated seats -- apparently common in Canada but never seen another B4 with them personally -- don't think they are currently working but everything is there for them, haven't investigated
- No sunroof
- Good headliner
- Shifter and ebrake boots look to have been replaced/upgraded at some point
- Instrument cluster is presumably original and works with no issues (all metric units)
- No ABS
- Frostheater installed and working
- Evolution aluminum skid plate (don't think you can buy these for a B4 anymore!)
- Recent new Bosch alternator and battery
- Exhaust system is not original but seems to be decently put together (looks like a small town muffler shop job done from scratch) and solid. No muffler. Flex joint was replaced this past winter.
- EGR delete plates are installed; don't know anything about what kind of tune it has in it (if any); I'll plug in VCDS at some point and see if EGR adaptation has been played with and look around for other clues
- PO installed a set of what he called "eBay nozzles" -- not necessarily great news from my point of view and they seem to be a little smoky if you stand on it, but it makes plenty of strong power. Exhaust has some gray haze until the engine warms up. In my view the ideal move would be to refit some good stock nozzles or a mild high quality upgrade, but depending on preference, the current setup might be what someone wants.
- Clutch and transmission are healthy; no grinds, no slips at the elevated output level
- Seat of the pants impression is that the base engine is solid considering the miles, in terms of compression/blowby, oil pressure, sound, etc
- Doesn't leak anything, aside from some diesel from the IP (more on that below)
- Suspension is in good working shape, though I detect a little bit of play at the steering wheel rim, need to look at tie rods
- Good brakes all around
- Good all-season Toyo tires on 14" alloy wheels
- Got another set of the same wheels with decent tires available to go with it off my old Mk3 if desired
- Got a set of 14" Snowflakes that can go with it too (tires on those are old)
- Full size spare in the back (looks to be one of the original steelies the car should have had when new)
- German-made roof crossbars with locks and key (maybe an original VW accessory?)
- I have a complete spare good-running/shifting 300k-mile AHU/02A package (including harness, all accessories, etc) that I hauled out of my rusty Mk3 last Thanksgiving and put on a pallet as a backup for this car. That motor cruised 200 miles at 80mph the day before it came out of the car, solid. Available to go with it for a little extra ($500?) if someone wants the whole deal.
- Has a full (huge) tank of diesel at the moment!
NEEDS:
- CEL is on for a glow plug code and the GP harness is visibly shot, plastic insulation cracked up and falling off. Needs at least a harness thrown at it and probably a few plugs, haven't looked at it. Starts well enough anyway, but on cold days you can tell there is a glow system issue.
- Compression leak from #3 injector. I am assuming when the PO swapped his nozzles he didn't clean out the injector well properly and/or didn't replace the coppers and/or didn't get the torque right or whatever he screwed up. Haven't dug into it but needs addressed. New injector overflow hoses wouldn't hurt it either.
- Goes into limp mode if you climb a long hill at full power. I assume an overboost code from an issue with N75 or wastegate hoses or sticky wastegate, probably exacerbated by the larger nozzles. Not an issue when you aren't hammering on it but should be checked out soon.
- No knowledge of history on the timing belt. I would want to put a fresh belt kit on it sooner rather than later out of an abundance of caution. I haven't popped the cover off to get a visual but never think that is worth much anyway.
- Injection pump seeps from the QA seal when running, worse on cold days. Needs at least the upper seals changed. Head seal seems to be staying dry from what I can tell at this point. If you let it sit for more than a day or two, especially parked facing uphill and/or with the fuel tank low, it loses prime and takes some effort to get started.
- Fiddling with door handles needed as described above
- Rear hatch has a slate of issues: passenger side hinge is somehow bent so that it closes crooked, doesn't seal up fully on that side (hear air leakage when going down the road), and is difficult to close as the latch and striker are misaligned. Exterior release linkage is also screwed up and has been bypassed with a piece of twine that sticks out the bottom of the hatch to get it open. Kind of works, but it needs help. I have a line on where pieces to fix the hatch issues could be found.
I picked this car up last summer when it popped up for sale locally, partly because I was just interested in its unique spec, and also with plans to put it to use as a winter runabout rig after addressing the items listed above. Since then, I ended up with another Mk4 wagon that is both more rusty (happier to let it get pickled in the winter salt) and didn't need anything to put into action immediately. That took over the functional role this wagon would have played and made the Passat redundant. I like the idea of keeping it as a curiosity but it would be better off finding a new home.
I'd like to see it go to someone who understands why it's unique and interesting and who wants to put a little effort and TLC into it, but if it doesn't sell here I guess I will probably try to give it a little help as time allows, then probably put it up in an ag equipment auction this summer.
Photos below, PM with questions or interest. Thanks!
1997 Passat TDI wagon (B4V) - originally sold in Canada, legally imported to the US at some point in its life.
Cliff's notes:
5-speed manual trans
507,000 km (~315k miles)
Decent cosmetics for the age/use/region
Some unique original features and attributes, plus some nice upgrades and add-ons
A few new parts on it; seems to have been mostly cared for over its life
Slightly molested under the hood by the most recent PO, but overall has mostly good news mechanically
Runs and drives well, you could probably get home in it almost any distance, but it will need attention in various ways, some immediate and some longer term.
$2000 OBO
Complete details as far as I know them:
- Original and straight body (except the hood which appears to have been replaced with one that was originally green)
- Couple crusty spots on the body panels but not terrible for a northern car, probably better than most of the B4 TDI cars I see on the road in this area (there are tons of em still running around here). Some spots have been worked on and could use more refinish work if someone cared seriously about appearances.
- Paint is pretty tired, clearcoat failing on the roof and upper parts of the doors.
- Windshield is uncracked and in great shape! All other glass is good as well.
- Door handles need to be gone through as usual for a B4, I think all but one door works from the outside currently, but they are all sticky/fussy, especially in the cold
- Windows all work well, but driver's needs help getting back up if you let it run all the way to the bottom, avoid that
- Clean and original interior (even has the factory stereo head unit still, which works well)
- Heated seats -- apparently common in Canada but never seen another B4 with them personally -- don't think they are currently working but everything is there for them, haven't investigated
- No sunroof
- Good headliner
- Shifter and ebrake boots look to have been replaced/upgraded at some point
- Instrument cluster is presumably original and works with no issues (all metric units)
- No ABS
- Frostheater installed and working
- Evolution aluminum skid plate (don't think you can buy these for a B4 anymore!)
- Recent new Bosch alternator and battery
- Exhaust system is not original but seems to be decently put together (looks like a small town muffler shop job done from scratch) and solid. No muffler. Flex joint was replaced this past winter.
- EGR delete plates are installed; don't know anything about what kind of tune it has in it (if any); I'll plug in VCDS at some point and see if EGR adaptation has been played with and look around for other clues
- PO installed a set of what he called "eBay nozzles" -- not necessarily great news from my point of view and they seem to be a little smoky if you stand on it, but it makes plenty of strong power. Exhaust has some gray haze until the engine warms up. In my view the ideal move would be to refit some good stock nozzles or a mild high quality upgrade, but depending on preference, the current setup might be what someone wants.
- Clutch and transmission are healthy; no grinds, no slips at the elevated output level
- Seat of the pants impression is that the base engine is solid considering the miles, in terms of compression/blowby, oil pressure, sound, etc
- Doesn't leak anything, aside from some diesel from the IP (more on that below)
- Suspension is in good working shape, though I detect a little bit of play at the steering wheel rim, need to look at tie rods
- Good brakes all around
- Good all-season Toyo tires on 14" alloy wheels
- Got another set of the same wheels with decent tires available to go with it off my old Mk3 if desired
- Got a set of 14" Snowflakes that can go with it too (tires on those are old)
- Full size spare in the back (looks to be one of the original steelies the car should have had when new)
- German-made roof crossbars with locks and key (maybe an original VW accessory?)
- I have a complete spare good-running/shifting 300k-mile AHU/02A package (including harness, all accessories, etc) that I hauled out of my rusty Mk3 last Thanksgiving and put on a pallet as a backup for this car. That motor cruised 200 miles at 80mph the day before it came out of the car, solid. Available to go with it for a little extra ($500?) if someone wants the whole deal.
- Has a full (huge) tank of diesel at the moment!
NEEDS:
- CEL is on for a glow plug code and the GP harness is visibly shot, plastic insulation cracked up and falling off. Needs at least a harness thrown at it and probably a few plugs, haven't looked at it. Starts well enough anyway, but on cold days you can tell there is a glow system issue.
- Compression leak from #3 injector. I am assuming when the PO swapped his nozzles he didn't clean out the injector well properly and/or didn't replace the coppers and/or didn't get the torque right or whatever he screwed up. Haven't dug into it but needs addressed. New injector overflow hoses wouldn't hurt it either.
- Goes into limp mode if you climb a long hill at full power. I assume an overboost code from an issue with N75 or wastegate hoses or sticky wastegate, probably exacerbated by the larger nozzles. Not an issue when you aren't hammering on it but should be checked out soon.
- No knowledge of history on the timing belt. I would want to put a fresh belt kit on it sooner rather than later out of an abundance of caution. I haven't popped the cover off to get a visual but never think that is worth much anyway.
- Injection pump seeps from the QA seal when running, worse on cold days. Needs at least the upper seals changed. Head seal seems to be staying dry from what I can tell at this point. If you let it sit for more than a day or two, especially parked facing uphill and/or with the fuel tank low, it loses prime and takes some effort to get started.
- Fiddling with door handles needed as described above
- Rear hatch has a slate of issues: passenger side hinge is somehow bent so that it closes crooked, doesn't seal up fully on that side (hear air leakage when going down the road), and is difficult to close as the latch and striker are misaligned. Exterior release linkage is also screwed up and has been bypassed with a piece of twine that sticks out the bottom of the hatch to get it open. Kind of works, but it needs help. I have a line on where pieces to fix the hatch issues could be found.
I picked this car up last summer when it popped up for sale locally, partly because I was just interested in its unique spec, and also with plans to put it to use as a winter runabout rig after addressing the items listed above. Since then, I ended up with another Mk4 wagon that is both more rusty (happier to let it get pickled in the winter salt) and didn't need anything to put into action immediately. That took over the functional role this wagon would have played and made the Passat redundant. I like the idea of keeping it as a curiosity but it would be better off finding a new home.
I'd like to see it go to someone who understands why it's unique and interesting and who wants to put a little effort and TLC into it, but if it doesn't sell here I guess I will probably try to give it a little help as time allows, then probably put it up in an ag equipment auction this summer.
Photos below, PM with questions or interest. Thanks!
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