MKIV Daily Destroyer Build

[FlexYJeeper]

MKIV Daily Destroyer Build (The Turdbo Diesel)

Just picked up my first TDI, i was looking for something that got decent gas mileage, comfortable, and cool. so i was looking for 70's Mercedes. one day i did a filtered search for diesels under $4500 on craigslist and i saw a few MKIV TDI. i had completely forgotten about them! after some research i was hooked and wanted one (ive already read literally all the MKIV Golf builds here and i blame Pierre for the sudden addiction!). i knew what i wanted and that was a MKIV TDI 5spd/2dr and ONLY a MKIV 5spd/2dr would suffice. there were a few that were in my area but had always sold the car i contacted the seller. i looked everywhere from Vancouver to Portland. until one day i turned the filters off and just searched TDI, i found one in Tacoma that i hadnt seen before because under fuel it was marked as "gas" i texted the owner that night, called him the next morning, and picked it up that night.

shes no looker but i think i can fix that pretty easily. the motor.turbo have 4k on rebuild, 25k on clutch, TB/WP 25k, 15k on raceland coilovers. seats have been swapped out with leather heated seats (not hooked up yet) and GLI steering wheel

pictures:






the pain is in pretty decent shape except for the roof and hood. not sure how im going to finish the hood but i want to take out the notch for the VW emblem. the room i want to primer it so seal, sand it and vinyl wrap it flat black for a cheap temporary solution


i suspect there is a boost leak judging by the "hissing" sound instead of the whistle im used to while the turbo spools. thank ana a through cleaning are my main priority. im going to do some things to get it driving perfectly then cosmetic help, wheels, R32 front bumper, etc

ive been having a blast driving this car!

 

[bbarbulo]

great looking car, look forward to the project.

don't mod the front end, the older these cars get the better the stock front end looks!!

I wish mine wasn't a badge-less Jolf, I kinda wish it just had the stock front end on it.

Check the elbow nearest the 'throttle body' for splits. Squeeze it and check carefully. My dad's split for no apparent reason, hissed just like you describe. It can be other things, but most people don't see the split, it stays closed until under boost or until you remove it and deform the rubber by hand.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

great looking car, look forward to the project.

don't mod the front end, the older these cars get the better the stock front end looks!!

I wish mine wasn't a badge-less Jolf, I kinda wish it just had the stock front end on it.

Check the elbow nearest the 'throttle body' for splits. Squeeze it and check carefully. My dad's split for no apparent reason, hissed just like you describe. It can be other things, but most people don't see the split, it stays closed until under boost or until you remove it and deform the rubber by hand.

Thanks! its defiantly no looker and now that ive been driving it im starting to notice dents that i will need to get repaired. full paint job might be in the future. but thats going to be way down the lines.

ive seen your thread and i agree, beautiful car but im not a big fan of the jetta front end. my front bumper needs work and i hate the way it wraps up underneath the front end. so id rather just buy a new one at this point.

i'll look at it tomorrow, i dont know anything about turbos so today i took it to a shop. they ran a smoke test which it passed and tightened a hose clamp on the brake booster and then charged me $108. so i literally paid $108 for nothing.it did not fix nor even help the problem i took it to them for. i might go back and complain to see if i can get my money back. that was $108 that could have gone towards lady friends and blow.

 

[bbarbulo]

*** the booster runs off a vacuum pump, has nothing to do with hissing under boost.

not to mention, there are NO CLAMPS that can be tightened on a stock booster vac line. It is all slip fit hardline stuff and two oettiker clamps (the kind with the two pinched ears, so if you crimp one ear more, the other one opens up - so there is no tightening that).

do not take these cars to a shop, if you don't wrench, find a trusted TDI guy in your area off this forum. Heck, fly one out from another state if that's what it takes, it will still be cheaper in the long run.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

*** the booster runs off a vacuum pump, has nothing to do with hissing under boost.

not to mention, there are NO CLAMPS that can be tightened on a stock booster vac line. It is all slip fit hardline stuff and two oettiker clamps (the kind with the two pinched ears, so if you crimp one ear more, the other one opens up - so there is no tightening that).

do not take these cars to a shop, if you don't wrench, find a trusted TDI guy in your area off this forum. Heck, fly one out from another state if that's what it takes, it will still be cheaper in the long run.

figures, i was pissed when they charged me. i told them what the problem was, they didnt fix it and still charged me $100


i still cant figure out what the problem is but honestly i dont know where to start. i know nothing about turbos and the only diesel i ever had was a 6.9 IDI in my 85 F250. i couldnt find that elbow you were talking about. couldnt even find the throttle body

here's a video i took, sounds like a leak to you too right? im not crazy?








onto update, did some cleaning, previous owner had a dog with stiff long hairs that i cant get out of the carpet, so looks like all the carpet is getting replaced in the future.

i found a set of A4 Sport wheels and tires for $75 so i went and got them. with 15mm adapters that would have put them at ET30 so it would have been a close fit but they were better then steelies.


i ended up not using them because the next day i saw an ad on FB for a jetta 1.8t not running for $800. it was sitting on Long Beach wheels. i offered my steel wheels and $75 to the girl selling it and she took it. it was late at night but i made the drive and swapped them out

much better!




i put it on the lift today after work to balance the new shoes. there's been a clunking from my rear pass side so while it was in the lift i investigated and found the shock on that corner was blown. thats why you dont buy ****ty racelands. ive had great experiences with D2 and Ksports both so one day i will replace them but for now im ordering a replacement shock for the time being.


not sure what im going to do about the turbo yet, but i wish i could find someone in west WA that knows ALH's and could teach me the ropes. if it were a jeep 4.0L i wouldnt be having this issue

 

[bbarbulo]

Don't let these cars intimidate you, if you can turn wrenches, you can do it. I hate these cars, but I still wrench on them. All you have to understand is that the injector pump is like a distributor in an old gas car. I does 'ignition timing' the way distributors do gas cars. ... In addition to injecting fuel under high pressure. Everything else is the same as gas cars. In the rear pass side of the engine compartment you will see a silver vacuum diaphragm not covered by the plastic engine cover. That is the 'throttle body' area. The silver disk is the egr actuator. Attached to it is the elbow I speak of. Pop off the constant tension clamps and inspect it for cracks.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

is this your elbow? does it just slide off the TB?


i can fix anything once i know what the problem is haha. my problem is diagnosing. but you did listen to the video right? im not crazy to thing there's a leak?

 

[bbarbulo]

can't watch video. my browser says 'can't load plug-in'. put it on youtube I guess, I can watch stuff on there.

The rubber bit that's labelled in red. I added the other terms so you know what's what when people mention stuff.... the EGR cooler is the whole mess behind the intake manifold.

Remove the clamps, take the rubber hose and inspect it closely for splits/cracks.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

https://youtu.be/Sj8jaFCSDvg

That picture helps a lot. I can't believe I missed that. I just assumes that was part of the intake

 

[bbarbulo]

lol yeah that sounds like a boost leak. car seems to pull pretty well though, it's no slouch

but the turbo system is just like you'd expect.

There is a downward pointing compressor outlet, connected via rubber hose to like a metal coupling, into the pancake pipe behind the pass side wheel, then short coupling into the intercooler in front of the pass side wheel, up via small coupling behind the pass side headlight, into the long hard plastic pipe that goes up from behind the pass headlight next to the P/S pump, and toward the firewall, into the rubber elbow to the antishudder/EGR body. Longest run-on sentence of 2017?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Welcome to TDIClub! I owned a '99.5 2-door Golf for a few years, actually managed to total it and have it successfully repaired, it's now driven by a friend. Here it is set up for the track:

And I now have another '99.5, this one red, that I brought back from the nearly dead last year, including a full repaint. Here's a photo in winter mode, with steelies, snows, and a winter front.

I prefer not to add up how much money I have in it, but it drives great, everything works, and I'm enjoying it. It, along with my Jetta wagon, are my daily drivers.

You'll figure out the issues, as bbarbulo says, these cars aren't that complex once you get acquainted.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

lol yeah that sounds like a boost leak. car seems to pull pretty well though, it's no slouch

but the turbo system is just like you'd expect.

There is a downward pointing compressor outlet, connected via rubber hose to like a metal coupling, into the pancake pipe behind the pass side wheel, then short coupling into the intercooler in front of the pass side wheel, up via small coupling behind the pass side headlight, into the long hard plastic pipe that goes up from behind the pass headlight next to the P/S pump, and toward the firewall, into the rubber elbow to the antishudder/EGR body. Longest run-on sentence of 2017?

cool haha, a guy on a TDI facebook page told me if there were no dash lights and no smoke there wasnt a turbo issue. i dont know much but i was pretty sure it wasnt supposed to sound like that.

i pulled that hose off and inspected it, theres no cracks, infact that hose looks brand new there was some oil where it slides over the throttle body so i wiped that off and put it back on.

Welcome to TDIClub! I owned a '99.5 2-door Golf for a few years, actually managed to total it and have it successfully repaired, it's now driven by a friend. Here it is set up for the track:


And I now have another '99.5, this one red, that I brought back from the nearly dead last year, including a full repaint. Here's a photo in winter mode, with steelies, snows, and a winter front.


I prefer not to add up how much money I have in it, but it drives great, everything works, and I'm enjoying it. It, along with my Jetta wagon, are my daily drivers.

You'll figure out the issues, as bbarbulo says, these cars aren't that complex once you get acquainted.

bad ass, i hope mine will look that good one day! ive only had it for a little over a week and i already love this thing

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I rescued the 4-door because I've loved my wagon so much I fear losing it in an accident and would not want to be without a MKIV TDI. I bought my wagon new, and it hit 345K miles today. I still look forward to driving it.

 

[bbarbulo]

Yeah, the hose will look new, it won't be all weathered and cracked. It would just have a slit in it like someone poked it with a blade. But if you checked really well and are sure, next most likely place is behind the pass headlight. That clamp is in a very German spot. Next most likely place after that is the turbo to pancake pipe a lot of people mess up the connection

 

[FlexYJeeper]

I rescued the 4-door because I've loved my wagon so much I fear losing it in an accident and would not want to be without a MKIV TDI. I bought my wagon new, and it hit 345K miles today. I still look forward to driving it.

thats awesome, i feel that way about my jeep. my 94 wrangler YJ. if i ever wrecked it it would get every part it needed thrown at it until it was on the road again. luckily you can buy every single part to a jeep new. that thing is more of a friend than it is a mode of transportation

Yeah, the hose will look new, it won't be all weathered and cracked. It would just have a slit in it like someone poked it with a blade. But if you checked really well and are sure, next most likely place is behind the pass headlight. That clamp is in a very German spot. Next most likely place after that is the turbo to pancake pipe a lot of people mess up the connection

"German spot" why dont i like the sound of that? that elbow cant be more then like $25 new so i'll probably just order a new one just incase. thank you so much for the help! i needs you on speed dial haha. i could use an ALH mentor

 

[bbarbulo]

I know, totally looks like a $25 part. When I looked about 4 years ago it was $100. I bought a used one for $50.

German spot means you will remove the front bumper and the headlight if you wanna get it right. I fumbled that connection once, the hard plastic pipe shot out under boost and got eaten up by the power steering pulley. $150 mistake iirc.

 

[bbarbulo]

You can reach it without pulling the bumper and headlight but it isn't easy

 

[FlexYJeeper]

welp i guess its waiting until wednesday then. tomorrow (tues) is my friday and i live in the barracks so im limited to daylight hours

 

[bbarbulo]

Welcome to TDIClub! I owned a '99.5 2-door Golf for a few years, actually managed to total it and have it successfully repaired, it's now driven by a friend. Here it is set up for the track:
http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/medium/golfrideheight.jpg

And I now have another '99.5, this one red, that I brought back from the nearly dead last year, including a full repaint. Here's a photo in winter mode, with steelies, snows, and a winter front.
[img]http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/medium/wintermode.JPG

I prefer not to add up how much money I have in it, but it drives great, everything works, and I'm enjoying it. It, along with my Jetta wagon, are my daily drivers.

You'll figure out the issues, as bbarbulo says, these cars aren't that complex once you get acquainted.[/QUOTE]

gorgeous 2 door, I love the Borbet rims on it - they look so proper!

that 4 door is sharp too, I always wondered what the OEM blanket looks like! my dad would tape up sheets of plastic over the front grille for years and I would get soooo mad. so I saw the OEM blanket cover on roseland tech for a reasonable price (~$50) and wondered what it would look like on the car. but at the end of the day, if the thermostat works, I don't really see the point of restricting air flow over a rad that's already just got cold water in it anyways. aside from a little convection, I can't see it losing much heat with the t-stat closed.

 

[bbarbulo]

welp i guess its waiting until wednesday then. tomorrow (tues) is my friday and i live in the barracks so im limited to daylight hours

do you have an air compressor? You could just rig up a little plug using ABS pipe caps and a hose barb - then set your regulator to ~10 psi on your air compressor and pressurize the system. the leak will become evident immediately. the way I would do it is measure up the diameter of the 'throttle body' (I put that in quotes cuz it really isn't a throttle body, but I don't know what else to call it). Then go to home depot and find a plumbing plug that is close in size, and get a hose barb while you're there. The just drill the ABS plug for the hose barb, clamp on your hose from the air compressor. Then on the car, turn the boost elbow up 90 degrees, and put the plug into elbow and clamp it down. On the filter housing side, just remove the flex hose from behind the intake manifold going toward the filter housing and use duct tape to seal it up. Duct tape on the CVC hose barb also (that's the hockey puck on top of the dr side of the valve cover, has a little 1" hose going to the intake stream. Then apply some compressed air...

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

gorgeous 2 door, I love the Borbet rims on it - they look so proper!
that 4 door is sharp too, I always wondered what the OEM blanket looks like! my dad would tape up sheets of plastic over the front grille for years and I would get soooo mad. so I saw the OEM blanket cover on roseland tech for a reasonable price (~$50) and wondered what it would look like on the car. but at the end of the day, if the thermostat works, I don't really see the point of restricting air flow over a rad that's already just got cold water in it anyways. aside from a little convection, I can't see it losing much heat with the t-stat closed.

I liked the Borbets, too. The PO bought them at Tire Rack. NLA, of course.

And the winter front helps even with a good thermostat. If the car gets up to temperature and the thermostat opens, driving at less than highway speeds will not generate enough heat to keep it at operating temperature. So the car is always running at less than 89C. And when it's really cold it helps even at highway speeds. I remember driving across MA one morning when it was right around 0F out with a winter front, and my scan gauge would show the coolant temp at about 160 on the level, and about 170 going up hill. That was at 75 MPH. If you have the front on the car will stay at 180 and FE is better, as is cabin heat.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

do you have an air compressor? You could just rig up a little plug using ABS pipe caps and a hose barb - then set your regulator to ~10 psi on your air compressor and pressurize the system. the leak will become evident immediately. the way I would do it is measure up the diameter of the 'throttle body' (I put that in quotes cuz it really isn't a throttle body, but I don't know what else to call it). Then go to home depot and find a plumbing plug that is close in size, and get a hose barb while you're there. The just drill the ABS plug for the hose barb, clamp on your hose from the air compressor. Then on the car, turn the boost elbow up 90 degrees, and put the plug into elbow and clamp it down. On the filter housing side, just remove the flex hose from behind the intake manifold going toward the filter housing and use duct tape to seal it up. Duct tape on the CVC hose barb also (that's the hockey puck on top of the dr side of the valve cover, has a little 1" hose going to the intake stream. Then apply some compressed air...

Nope, don't even have access to a power outlet if I had one haha. Fml. I've fixed and flipped 4 cars in my barracks parking lot. Everything I do takes 4x longer then it would if I were at home in Georgia and had my shop

 

[bbarbulo]

Thanks IBW, maybe ill get him that front. I went with a temro & philips zerostart 1500w version so that does the trick... Car isn't really a highway warrior, so being up to temp at startup was more of an urgent concern.

FYJ I prefer hand tools anyways, but sometimes it helps to have a compressor. But that just means you have to be that much better of a mechanic. Anyone can do anything when all the tools are under their fingertips.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

the right tools make everything easy. bbarbulo ive been doing some thinking and i think you may be right about that elbow. while it did not seem cracked, it did seem loose. the fitting it slides over was layered with oil as if it was leaking under the pressure fitting. ill see if i can rig up something to put more pressure on the ends of that hose. are there any aftermarket upgrades for this piping?

 

[bbarbulo]

Yeah, those constant tension clamps sometimes get ruined. I actually like them, but they are a bit of a pain. Some of mine are ovaled at the fuel lines. I used to use t bolt clamps, they work really well and are much easier to use. I get mine from princess auto but you can get them on eBay too. Can prob find a silicone elbow too on eBay, but not sure if they come in such a tight radius.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

bitter sweet day today. i ripped the front bumper and headlight off but the hose behind it was dry, no sign of leaking. however the one behind the inter cooler, (I guess its a return line) was covered in oil. the clamp had actually slid back and it was loose. unbolted the inter cooler and the hose literally fell off.


it literally fell off...


after o drove it i forgot to take a picture before i put the bumper back on. but you can see it hiding back there


the gain was incredible. it hols pressure in higher gears and makes 3rd and 4th gear pulls really strong. sadly though i only hear the turbo at low rpms so i want to do something so i can hear it. defiantly getting a straight pipe soon.


on to the bad part. ive been having a hard time getting it to start occasionally. sometimes it takes forever. i have to put jumper cables on it and spin the **** out of the motor for awhile before it finally starts with lots of white smoke.. other times i turn the key and it fires right up. some times i try starting it and get nothing, then come back 2 hours later and it fires right up. if i jump it i can always get it to fire up and run i just have to turn it over for awhile. i think it has something to do with the glow plugs or glow plug controller. its gotten progressively worse but ones its running and warm it fires up no problem. i should also add that often times the glow plug light doesnt stay lit for long, like 1 second, in the past its stayed on for 5-ish seconds and has fired right up. ive tried cycling it a few times with no luck. i want to get this fixed soon because then the car will be running reliably and i can start spending money on fun stuff. but i wont spend a dime on fun stuff until its running like it should

 

[bbarbulo]

glad you found the leak!! that's a really easy connection, no idea why someone would fumble that one. But I see you went the T bolt route :thumbup:

that's not a return line though... it is all part of the same intake tract. that's the pancake pipe to intercooler connection.

you were wise to do the bumper/headlight out thing... I messed about for an hour with that connection today trying to do it without pulling the bumper. Ended up pulling the washer fluid, fuel filter out and really still messed around with it another 20 min trying to get long nose vise grips on the clamp.

the glow plug time is related to temp. are there any codes indicated for the glow plugs (MIL light would come on exactly 30 seconds after starting the car).

the hard starting may be due to losing IP prime though. any signs of leakage at the fuel filter or the injection pump? any leaks at all will mess ya up.

 

[FlexYJeeper]

glad you found the leak!! that's a really easy connection, no idea why someone would fumble that one. But I see you went the T bolt route :thumbup:

that's not a return line though... it is all part of the same intake tract. that's the pancake pipe to intercooler connection.

you were wise to do the bumper/headlight out thing... I messed about for an hour with that connection today trying to do it without pulling the bumper. Ended up pulling the washer fluid, fuel filter out and really still messed around with it another 20 min trying to get long nose vise grips on the clamp.

the glow plug time is related to temp. are there any codes indicated for the glow plugs (MIL light would come on exactly 30 seconds after starting the car).

the hard starting may be due to losing IP prime though. any signs of leakage at the fuel filter or the injection pump? any leaks at all will mess ya up.

i couldnt have done it without you haha. the PO said it was supposed to sound like that and told me it was fine, i knew something wasnt right haha. pulling the front bumper off was your idea and honestly only took me 15 mins to get it off and even less time going back on.

there's no lights. the IP is a little damp but nothing that would indicate a leak. its like starting my old Yanmar 3 clinder diesel with no glow plugs, you just spin the **** out of it until it starts. in the past the glow plug light has been on for like 5 seconds and it fired right up. now it just flashes on for a brief second and takes forever to start

 

[bbarbulo]

Ok, so with a test light or volt meter in hand, unplug the gp harness. Use the battery as ground. Stick the positive probe inside one of the gp connectors, doesn't matter which one. Have a helper turn the key to where the dash lights come on. You should briefly see 12v. If you have a volt meter, set to it to ohms and check the top of each gp to the block. Should see about 1 ohm. Should all be very close.

 

[bbarbulo]

If you have 12v on any plug, then relay is good. Power all comes from the same place. And if one gp is bad, and you have 12v there, it would trigger a MIL. So I suspect you won't find 12v at the GP harness. Or I should say if there is a problem in the gp circuit, I would be surprised if you did find 12v there.