JonA
Veteran Member
Really enjoyed reading through spifflifkin's (and others') threads about work they're doing on their cars and wanted to throw mine into the mix. Won't be as fun or cool as an engine with a thrown rod, but whatever. Here I go.
Bought a 2002 VW Golf TDI M/T ALH with a mildly rough interior, but appears to be no rust on it, ~234,000mi for $4,000. PO brought it from Seattle to RI, and decided to sell it before hitting the second timing belt interval. Perfect timing for me, ever since I got rid of my second mk4 Jetta, I've been regretting it. So here I am with an opportunity to baby the car I've wanted for the past oh, 10 years or so. Everything in the engine bay seems to be running just fine, so my plan is to get the interior looking pretty, then begin building up some HP.
First order of business was timing belt, had it done by at BMB Motorworks. Beside getting close to the TB interval, it was like 10yrs old... I was very on edge for the short drive from purchase to home, and then home to the shop.
After that was done, enjoyed getting around to a couple people's boneyards to pick out little bits and pieces, switches, trim here and there, etc... But I'm thinking I'll change out the interior. It's the duotone which I like, but it's so much harder to find matching color parts for, and I have at least one door card that I don't have the skill to bring back to life. Have a line on a complete black interior with (I think) leather heated / memory seats, which I'd like. Going to take a look / start pulling it apart Monday. Might also pick an 11mm pump off the donor, if the price is right.
Next order of business, dealing with leaks. The sunroof drains were clogged/disconnected/whatever. First time taking a headliner down myself, and the top clip on the pillars is a bear... I considered not putting them back, but I read they're integral to keeping the pillar trim in place (and not in your face) when the airbag pops. When I put them back, I'm gonna try putting a loop of high-test fishing line on each of them so I can pull them out more easily w/o having to get behind the pillar. We'll see how that goes.
In the meantime, the drain issue was (mainly) due to the right front drain being backed up, and the right rear drain being disconnected from the fitting at the sunroof side. My best guess is with the heat, over time the tubing shrunk and was no longer watertight in the fitting. Tried putting some RTV on the tube and sticking the fitting back on, but didn't really hold. Not looking to do this again anytime soon, so put some JB Weld SuperWeld Extreme in there and that seemed to do the trick. Did them all while I have the headliner down, and priced getting the headliner reupholstered. Local shops are all about the same at $400 (though I didn't ask whether it'd be any cheaper with it out of the car, will see when I take it to them).
After I get all the stuff for the interior Monday, I have a line on a complete interior wiring harness for heated seats + steering wheel controls for $50, as long as I pull it myself (which I prefer anyway). Will probably grab that next so I can get all the interior swapped out over a weekend or something like that. Looking forward to taking everything apart and putting it back together with care. So far the few things I've pulled apart (glovebox, visors, etc) have been over-tightened to the point that the screw holes through the pieces have almost all been broken off. Seems like the PO's mechanic or someone just went around using an airgun to tighten interior screws and breaking off mount points all over the place. Oh well.
Anyway, so far so great, enjoying the simplicity immensely. Haven't clocked my fuel economy yet, filled up 10gal exactly right when the fuel light went on and currently running it down to that point again but guessing it'll be around the lower end of 40-45mpg range. Driving mostly pretty conservatively but occasionally dropping the pedal to the floorboard. Looking forward to doing some upgrades to build power buuut it's gonna be a while since my budget is trashed, plus I've gotta get rid of the extra cars.
Will post some pics later, it's rainy out right now.
updates
———
to-dos
———
running tally
car: $4,000.00
tools: $86.84
labor: $768.16
parts: $2,363.40
total: $7,218.40
———
8/10/24
Couple pics of current condition of the interior:
Bought a 2002 VW Golf TDI M/T ALH with a mildly rough interior, but appears to be no rust on it, ~234,000mi for $4,000. PO brought it from Seattle to RI, and decided to sell it before hitting the second timing belt interval. Perfect timing for me, ever since I got rid of my second mk4 Jetta, I've been regretting it. So here I am with an opportunity to baby the car I've wanted for the past oh, 10 years or so. Everything in the engine bay seems to be running just fine, so my plan is to get the interior looking pretty, then begin building up some HP.
First order of business was timing belt, had it done by at BMB Motorworks. Beside getting close to the TB interval, it was like 10yrs old... I was very on edge for the short drive from purchase to home, and then home to the shop.
After that was done, enjoyed getting around to a couple people's boneyards to pick out little bits and pieces, switches, trim here and there, etc... But I'm thinking I'll change out the interior. It's the duotone which I like, but it's so much harder to find matching color parts for, and I have at least one door card that I don't have the skill to bring back to life. Have a line on a complete black interior with (I think) leather heated / memory seats, which I'd like. Going to take a look / start pulling it apart Monday. Might also pick an 11mm pump off the donor, if the price is right.
Next order of business, dealing with leaks. The sunroof drains were clogged/disconnected/whatever. First time taking a headliner down myself, and the top clip on the pillars is a bear... I considered not putting them back, but I read they're integral to keeping the pillar trim in place (and not in your face) when the airbag pops. When I put them back, I'm gonna try putting a loop of high-test fishing line on each of them so I can pull them out more easily w/o having to get behind the pillar. We'll see how that goes.
In the meantime, the drain issue was (mainly) due to the right front drain being backed up, and the right rear drain being disconnected from the fitting at the sunroof side. My best guess is with the heat, over time the tubing shrunk and was no longer watertight in the fitting. Tried putting some RTV on the tube and sticking the fitting back on, but didn't really hold. Not looking to do this again anytime soon, so put some JB Weld SuperWeld Extreme in there and that seemed to do the trick. Did them all while I have the headliner down, and priced getting the headliner reupholstered. Local shops are all about the same at $400 (though I didn't ask whether it'd be any cheaper with it out of the car, will see when I take it to them).
After I get all the stuff for the interior Monday, I have a line on a complete interior wiring harness for heated seats + steering wheel controls for $50, as long as I pull it myself (which I prefer anyway). Will probably grab that next so I can get all the interior swapped out over a weekend or something like that. Looking forward to taking everything apart and putting it back together with care. So far the few things I've pulled apart (glovebox, visors, etc) have been over-tightened to the point that the screw holes through the pieces have almost all been broken off. Seems like the PO's mechanic or someone just went around using an airgun to tighten interior screws and breaking off mount points all over the place. Oh well.
Anyway, so far so great, enjoying the simplicity immensely. Haven't clocked my fuel economy yet, filled up 10gal exactly right when the fuel light went on and currently running it down to that point again but guessing it'll be around the lower end of 40-45mpg range. Driving mostly pretty conservatively but occasionally dropping the pedal to the floorboard. Looking forward to doing some upgrades to build power buuut it's gonna be a while since my budget is trashed, plus I've gotta get rid of the extra cars.
Will post some pics later, it's rainy out right now.
updates
8/8/24
Adding to the list... I recently discovered the style of brake caliper that the pads slide in and out without having to remove the caliper on the Touareg, thinking I might want to swap a set of those in for ease of changing in the future if there's a bolt on option... 8/14/24 addendum: found these guys that look pretty reasonable.
———
8/10/24
Adding to the list again, will do the heater core and blend doors when I replace the cabin wiring harness, get em out of the way while it's apart. Also, maybe some dynamat?
———
8/13/24
Uh oh... just found out park distance sensors (rear only), folding mirrors, self levelling headlights, MFD, and probably more can be retrofitted... yep, I'm browsing Kufatec. Going to add to the long term list, in the end, after getting it looking and running the way I want, I'd love to just fool around adding option after option and end up with a ridiculously optioned Golf.
———
8/19/24
I'm probably not going to keep updating this little part of the list because it'd get crazy long. I've updated the to-do list with new stuff I'd like to do almost every other day and reorganized the order about 1.5x a week ha.
Adding to the list... I recently discovered the style of brake caliper that the pads slide in and out without having to remove the caliper on the Touareg, thinking I might want to swap a set of those in for ease of changing in the future if there's a bolt on option... 8/14/24 addendum: found these guys that look pretty reasonable.
———
8/10/24
Adding to the list again, will do the heater core and blend doors when I replace the cabin wiring harness, get em out of the way while it's apart. Also, maybe some dynamat?
———
8/13/24
Uh oh... just found out park distance sensors (rear only), folding mirrors, self levelling headlights, MFD, and probably more can be retrofitted... yep, I'm browsing Kufatec. Going to add to the long term list, in the end, after getting it looking and running the way I want, I'd love to just fool around adding option after option and end up with a ridiculously optioned Golf.
———
8/19/24
I'm probably not going to keep updating this little part of the list because it'd get crazy long. I've updated the to-do list with new stuff I'd like to do almost every other day and reorganized the order about 1.5x a week ha.
———
to-dos
engine
- timing belt (@234k mi)
- intercooler to EGR valve boost tube replacement
- driver side axle
- front door cards
- passenger GTI seat
- trunk release switch
- glove box
- left side marker
- sunroof drains
- euro switch
- head unit, turned out I had idiotically switched the main module and the steering wheel control module on the XSVI-9003-NAV wiring harness adapter I'm using. Switching them back resolved my earlier issue that seemed power related.
- 11mm pump
- .260 nozzles
- brake fluid for a flush
- belly pan
- heater core
- seats (black fabric)
- rear door cards (black leather)
- steering wheel controls
- relay/control module
- still need SWC wiring harness
- then wire it up
engine
- rubber fuel lines that attach to the hard lines around the fuel filter, 1J0130307R and 1J0130307T. crazy expensive from any parts seller except Cascade German, they're $169.95 and $99.98 respectively from CG.
- blend door
- cabin wiring harness
- instrument cluster lighting blinks here and there... tested grounds in the engine bay and they're all great, but wondering if swapping the wiring harness will help? maybe the wrong amperage alternator got put in? not sure at this point, and doesn't seem like too big a deal yet, but it's on my mind.
- rear beam axle front bushings - White line Poly per Zak99b5's rec
- waxoyl powershield cavity wax in rockers, panels, etc.
- waxoyl hardwax undercar maybe?
- coilovers? cup kit? something better than what's on there 'cause it rides so hard. might actually want a little lift though for the nasty speed bumps they have in Providence. found a nice set of Open Road Technologies coilovers for about half the original price on a donor car I'm thinking I'll go with...
engine
- old man intake
- in-tank fuel pump a la burpod
- fancy seat covers
- rig an LED strip for trunk lighting
- 3DColorMFD? ColorMFA? myself? by Litke?
- dynamat?
- carpet/trim swap maybe?
- if replace carpet, might do some hardwax underneath the carpet... paranoid about rust since my first couple cars rockers went. Really want to take good care of this thing.
- defenders, RT 45s, or winter tires
- caliper paint. silly I know, but I think yellow calipers would be a great accent on the dark blue. not a huge fan of the blue all by itself, but yellow accents would make it look great to me.
- paint fix up?
- brakes + rotors, rotors are warped and it's annoying feeling. I like brakes that bite quickly and smoothly.
interior
engine
engine
- arp head studs
- 3 bar map sensor
- some front mounted intercooler
- some turbo
- some performance camshaft
- some better clutch
- euro crash bar
- tuning
- panzer plate
- better headlight restoration or..
- VXT retrofit
- power folding mirrors
- puddle lights (skoda has an interchangeable mirror w/ puddle lights apparently and this guy installed them on a Mk4 Golf)?
- rear park distance bumper / sensors?
- self leveling xenons or LED headlights?
engine
- six speed swap + wavetrac
- 17z / big brake kit, maybe RotorLab, maybe ECS, and maybe a rear kit by RizPiz?
- I dunno, rods or something
- air lift or whatever
———
running tally
$4,000 - golf
$750 - 11mm IP + .260 nozzles
$647.67 - timing belt labor
$353.58 - timing belt kit
$200 - windshield replacement
$200 - black leather door cards
$120.49 - post purchase inspection
$100 - GTI front passenger seat
$100 - multifunction steering wheel
$91.38 - various upper intercooler piping replacement parts
$54.97 - timing belt hardware kit (mounting bolts etc)
$50 - front left axle
$40? - glove box
$40? - floor mats
$40 - black cargo cover
$30 - euro switch
$30 - front tweeters, front speakers, front window gaskets
$27.81 - wiper puller tool
$20 - side marker, trunk switch, center console front trim, misc...
$20 - dewalt screw driver
$18 - JB Weld (classic)
$18 - pop off engine cover bits
$13 - another #452 relay (first never arrived)
$16.04 - trim puller tools
$10.99 - drill to 1/2in adapter
$10 - GOLF letters + antenna adapter
$10 - oxy acetylene torch
$10? - various nylon bolts/nuts/washers
$7.48 - rice grain bulb (wrong size)
$5.43 - #452 relay
$5 - belly pan
$2 - old VW manuals
$750 - 11mm IP + .260 nozzles
$647.67 - timing belt labor
$353.58 - timing belt kit
$200 - windshield replacement
$200 - black leather door cards
$120.49 - post purchase inspection
$100 - GTI front passenger seat
$100 - multifunction steering wheel
$91.38 - various upper intercooler piping replacement parts
$54.97 - timing belt hardware kit (mounting bolts etc)
$50 - front left axle
$40? - glove box
$40? - floor mats
$40 - black cargo cover
$30 - euro switch
$30 - front tweeters, front speakers, front window gaskets
$27.81 - wiper puller tool
$20 - side marker, trunk switch, center console front trim, misc...
$20 - dewalt screw driver
$18 - JB Weld (classic)
$18 - pop off engine cover bits
$13 - another #452 relay (first never arrived)
$16.04 - trim puller tools
$10.99 - drill to 1/2in adapter
$10 - GOLF letters + antenna adapter
$10 - oxy acetylene torch
$10? - various nylon bolts/nuts/washers
$7.48 - rice grain bulb (wrong size)
$5.43 - #452 relay
$5 - belly pan
$2 - old VW manuals
tools: $86.84
labor: $768.16
parts: $2,363.40
total: $7,218.40
———
8/10/24
Couple pics of current condition of the interior:
Last edited:
The harness mods to keep airbag function is well documented by a few folks who did it early and went to the trouble of sharing it wid the rest of us.
