Knurren, My 2003 Jetta Wagon 5 speed

[sobots]

Good luck. Have a safe trip.

 

[Growler]

Thanks!

We got here after 13 or so hours and the wagon was only averaging 42mpg going the speed limit (mostly 70mph) Overnight I noticed what sounds like a boost leak, which would account for the lower mileage. Will be checking into that today.

 

[Growler]

Knurren got a new Factory VW battery today. I figure that if the factory one lasted 7 years, it was worth spending $100 for a replacement of the exact same battery.

 

[sobots]

Knurren got a new Factory VW battery today. I figure that if the factory one lasted 7 years, it was worth spending $100 for a replacement of the exact same battery.

$100??? Damn! I spent $180 on my Interstate.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I know there are lots of other opinions out there but I'm a huge fan of OE batteries. Got 8 years out of mine, and cevans has been driving on it since.

 

[sobots]

I didn't expect the OE battery to be that cheap. I've had good luck with Interstate, so hopefully, this will be no exception.

 

[Growler]

fun fun.. its like 15 degrees outside and i have a stuck rear brake caliper. (most likely the cable is frozen)

guess I get to figure it out tonight when I get home.. and I am out of Kerosene for my heater grrrrr...

 

[Growler]

YAY!! no more asphyxiation!

Yesterday, I drove Knurren up to Lima, OH to help Matt with some business, and to get some stuff done on the Car.

After the business was completed, we installed the hover conversion on the wagon and removed the Techtonics Tuning Downpipe, loosened the rest of the exhaust system to make it flexible, and proceeded to remove the intake manifold, and the turbo.

once we got the downpipe off, it was very obvious why the nuts would work loose and eventually break the studs..

there is no room for the nuts to tighten on the flange, and the welds went all the way to the holes.. durrr...

also, the flex section was very stiff and not very long at all.

While we had the turbo off of the car, first we fixed the broken studs by Drilling them out and installing 2 helicoils.. we also drilled and tapped the manifold for the stubby EGT probe that came with the car. (right in the two Rs in Garrett)

I have to say, its amazing watching an expert in his field do his thing. taking a pile of random parts, and making artwork out of it.

note the flange section has room for the nuts to tighten down, and the welds do not interfere with the area.

He also has a fuzzy shop pooch to rub your hand on while you watch him do his thing. very friendly.

we finished it up around 10pm and I have to say, the exhaust is connected to the turbo properly for the first time since I have owned the car. It was starting to give me headaches every time I drove the car anywhere due to the loose DP connection.

Thanks a ton Matt. your work is awesome!

 

[Growler]

154k miles

I got to replace my injection pump yesterday.. Found too good of a deal on a lightly used 10mm so no 11mm upgrade for me.. but I think I'll live.

the one on my wagon decided that starting was an option it would do only after thinking about it (cranking) for 10-20 seconds. :-(

MOGolf & I tried everything we could to rule out the IP last Monday, I even ran 80oz (enought for 250 gallons) of Powerservice silver mixed into about 5 gallons of B20 that was in my tank to see if it could clean it out. no dice.

we put on the replacement pump, and it fired right up. boy I sure missed that.

maybe soon, I will go after the GLI big brake upgrade that came with the car, and put in the TT bushings etc as well. finally starting to get the car all dialed in. mileage improved MASSIVELY on the last tank with the Downpipe upgrade. gained +5mpg over my last tank, and it gave me my 2nd best tank ever since I owned it. good stuff right there.

oh ya, also removed the winter front.. glad to have my 2004+ black grille back.

 

[Growler]

well, Its Official, Knurren now has a proper Name Tag. german for "To Growl"

and the rear 3/4 view..sorry for the dirt, but I was excited.

 

[jbleu101]

I assume this means you did not have the winning bid on the rolling chasis from Jon Hamilton? would have looked nice. Hope you get the estate wagon you have been dreaming of. Let's see, that would make you a Beetle, 2 door golf, Jetta wagon, and estate owner, not to mention your van, but it's not a diesel, so does not count! I was really hoping to see an estate....

 

[Growler]

it was the wrong color silver, (Silver Arrow which has a greenish tint in it vs. Reflex silver) and it wasn't whole, so I didn't even try.

sooner or later a reflex silver golf nose will fall into my lap.. and itll be on.

 

[Growler]

This car has been lots of fun. one suprise after another. I do enjoy the challenges, and am thankful to be blessed with good friends.

Last Wednesday 5/11/11 I had been noticing some extra vibrations when accelerating, and harder shudders upon shutdown. I figured something was up with my dogbone but hadn't had a chance to investigate. after leaving my sons Piano practice, not 500 yards down the road my coolant temp light beeps & flashes at me. I quickly pull over and check the level.. its empty in the bottle.. yippee!!

I carefully nurse the car around the corner to the nearest walgreens and purchase two gallons of Distilled water to nurse the car home on as I noticed a slow leak coming from the passenger front area of the car.

after a couple of stops for refilling, I made it home and tore into it to try to figure out what happened. with the help of a good friend/customer of mine, we got the entire nose taken apart to find a nice hole cut in the small hose that goes from the coolant bottle to the metal pipe under the IP.

we also found the busted dogbone mount..

Broken Dogbone, worn out rubber donut is root cause. allowed too much movement, and it broke the casting.

We stopped at that point and this customer tells me that he has an extra car that I can borrow until I can get mine fixed. I am thinking awesome! I don't have to worry about turning my wifes life upside down for a weekend until parts get here.

we ride together an hour back to his house where he provides me with a 2009 Jetta Sportwagen TDI 6M with 6300 miles on it.. WOW. he rarely drives it and was adamant about letting me take it, so I did.. such a nice car with the pano roof.

fast forward 400 miles until monday evening when the correct hose arrives from impex on the big brown truck, and my bro in law & I commence putting it back together.

here is a shot of the new hose, routed and ziptied properly, back in all of its holders, no longer getting into the fans.. oopsie!

It only took a little over an hour to get the car reassembled completely. I noticed less vibrations when taking off in 1st, and no more coolant leaks. so thats a good deal!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Wow. Haven't seen that before. I replaced my worn-out dogbone a couple weeks ago, but it was nothing like that.

 

[Growler]

Now you know why i ordered one from you this week.. the one I put on there is a used one I had floating around. better than nothing and will do just fine until I get the one I just ordered from you.

 

[benIV]

i'm going under to check my dogbones today. especially right before our family reunion trip to ohio coming up at the end of june. 12 hours driving, 690-700 miles.

the more and more wagons i see, the more i want one.

 

[Growler]

Today (5/18/11), Knurren got the Magnaflow muffler deleted and the 3" mufflerectomY piece that came with the car got extended from Golf length to Jetta wagon length my Matt Whitbread. His stuff is artwork. Love it.

A few photos:

I also got the RC3 tune adjusted by Jeff to match the Bosch T4s that have been on the car since I got it. Jeff says the old tune was designed for Stock nozzles, so once the t4s were put on , it was overfueling compared to what the ECU was expecting. Perhaps this Tune adjustment will bring my mileage back up to expected levels.

I am now sitting on a RC3+ tune and Jeff says I need to bump my timing up toward the top of the chart and to be careful how much I am "on it" at higher RPMs due the to tunes boost level being set at 19.5 psi. (still have a stock VNT15 turbo..)

And the best news of the day, with the removal of the muffler, I have my turbo whistle back that I have been missing ever since I sold the Golf.

My guess is tho that the Resonator is going to get chopped out next and a couple of V-Bands placed between it and the rest of the system so I can see if just having a straight pipe with nothing else will reduce the resonance I am getting starting at 25-2600 RPMs. its liveable because I cruise at lower RPMs due to my Taller final drive.

I look forward to my next few tankfuls and how they do for mileage. Loving this wagon more each time I do something to it.

 

[LiLredTDI]

Hey Aaron,

FYI- My car may be different because it is a PD but I got rid of the crazy dual exhaust that had no muff/cat and changed to a GLI rear lip with a drivers side cut out. When I did so I upgraded the wimpy street toys downpipe to the PP pipe and upgraded all piping to 2 1/2". I installed a magnaflow straight through SS muffler (oval body) and a 3 1/2" tip. I went with the muffler as I could not STAND the drone at 70-80mph. It dramaticly toned down the noise at all driving speeds unless under WOT, where a nice throaty growl still makes an appearance. The turbo whistle is still present anytime it boosts over 10PSI. I am MUCH happier with it as well as my passengers.

I also upgraded to a custom RC Race tune from the RC4+ I was running. Boost creep is reduced with the muffler, but I think I have a sticky acuator, vanes or N-75 now.

 

[Growler]

I had Malone/Aaron put a tune on my Wagon at TDIfest 2011. It is good to have the options of different good tuners, and to feel the "Flavors" of the different tuners. I can honestly say that both of the tunes I have had on this car are very good tunes, and wouldn't feel bad recommending either of them to anyone.

I went with a stage 3 custom tune to go with my Bosch T4s, racepipe, and 3" turboback.

Had Malone add the Dynamic idle control to raise the idle to 1200 RPM until the coolant comes up to 150*, it then will drop down to normal idle speed.

Boost is maxed at 17.5 Sustained, and spikes to 21 when stabbed and quickly settles right down to 17.5-18. if you roll into the throttle it will not spike and just goes straight to 17.5 like it should.

it is almost 100% smokeless, and feels just as powerful and has a more linear power curve than my previous tune.

EGTs are lower on the freeway when climbing hills, boost does not go all the way up when climbing hills. it only raises a few PSI to hold speed on cruise, thus keeping the EGTs lower.

the dynamic idle control improved the shudder when taking off in 1st gear so well that I went back to Aaron and asked for a retune to raise my idle to 1050 rpm permanently.
this change, while minor has removed a source of frustration that I have had since I purchased this car.

I am well pleased with my new Malone Tune.

 

[Bob_Fout]

I had Malone/Aaron put a tune on my Wagon at TDIfest 2011. It is good to have the options of different good tuners, and to feel the "Flavors" of the different tuners. I can honestly say that both of the tunes I have had on this car are very good tunes, and wouldn't feel bad recommending either of them to anyone.

I went with a stage 3 custom tune to go with my Bosch T4s, racepipe, and 3" turboback.

Had Malone add the Dynamic idle control to raise the idle to 1200 RPM until the coolant comes up to 150*, it then will drop down to normal idle speed.

Boost is maxed at 17.5 Sustained, and spikes to 21 when stabbed and quickly settles right down to 17.5-18. if you roll into the throttle it will not spike and just goes straight to 17.5 like it should.

it is almost 100% smokeless, and feels just as powerful and has a more linear power curve than my previous tune.

EGTs are lower on the freeway when climbing hills, boost does not go all the way up when climbing hills. it only raises a few PSI to hold speed on cruise, thus keeping the EGTs lower.

the dynamic idle control improved the shudder when taking off in 1st gear so well that I went back to Aaron and asked for a retune to raise my idle to 1050 rpm permanently.
this change, while minor has removed a source of frustration that I have had since I purchased this car.

I am well pleased with my new Malone Tune.

 

[Growler]

Finally got a photo of my sheet. says 118.6/215 ft-lb on the first run.

This was with my previous RC3+ tune on what is commonly known as a heartbreak dyno.

And of my car on the rollers.

 

[Growler]

The madnes begins... (Engine bay thinning)

Subtle differences, I know, but its a start.

The following have been removed completely.
EGR Valve.
EGR Cooler
N289 (Anti Shudder Solenoid)
N18 (EGR Solenoid)
Vacuum lines to the EGR & ASV
Relay holder box on firewall

The following have been relocated but are still hooked up
N75 (Boost control Solenoid)
2 Relays inside the relay holder box

Replaced with different pieces
Racepipe installed
Turbo Inlet pipe (2/75")

Photos (ya I know not much different, but still its a start)
Before:

Where N75 used to be:

and overall

Ideas for what to do Next..
Vacuum Ball, Factory upper boost pipe (hiding MAP wiring), Possibly relocate battery.

 

[Growler]

And for my cars first birthday, I have lined up a nose job..

More after Sunday.

 

[bhtooefr]

It's not a Jetta Wagon any more, it's a Golf Variant.

 

[thebigarniedog]

Our camera caught Growler celebrating:

 

[otty]

That Wagen is BEAUTIFUL!

I wanna paint the rubstrips on mine black as well. What exactly is textured truck bed paint?

something like this? - http://www.plastikote.com/products/Truck Bed Liner/Truck-Bed-Liner-Spray.html

 

[Growler]

Yes, something like that is what I was going to look for when I went to do the new Golf nose rubstrip, and to refresh the strips all over the car.

they are showing a little bit of wear.

 

[JBTech]

What fuel point is that?
I'm going to meet a few of you at some point. I'm determined!

 

[bhtooefr]

That's the Refugee Road Englefield Oil BP commercial fueling station, it carries B20.

I usually fuel at the Newark commercial fueling station, they've got B20 there, too.

 

[Growler]

If you are in Delaware, you need to be going to the fuel depot off Rt 42 right nearthe JEGS & Advance auto parts warehouses.


and Join up on columbustdidrivers over in yahoo groups.