My Half Baked 2006 Jetta TDI

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Looks good. Did you use a kit, or sand and clear coat?

3M kit
Sanding pads were 500->800->3000wet and then clear at the end.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Changed the oil at my buddies Oil Change night. Knocked out 6 oil changes. I was trying to be first in and first out so I could hang out, but Advance Auto supplied the wrong Oil Filter so I had to make a last minute run to get the right filter.

Currently at 232,xxx and while I could change it at 10k, I'll likely change this one at 240k so I can easily track the times to change it.

Not much else planned at this time, she needs a bath soon haha

Edit: I also met up with a fellow TDIclub member and he ran the VCDS Diagnostics.
Codes:
008213 - Intake Manifold Flap Position Sensor (Bank 1)
000280 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor
01221 - Crash Sensor Side Airbag
01578 - Airbag Deactivation Warning Lamp
00856 - Radio Antenna
00849 - S-Contact at Ignition/ Starter Switch
01317 - Control Module in Instrument Cluster
01299 - Diagnostic Interface for Data Bus
02873 - Control Module for Back-Up Camera

Airbag light is from the door sensor, likely the common wiring issue. The few codes from the radio I'm not too worried about, especially since I plan on hooking up the rear view camera soon (which wasn't on the OEM radio, so weird it popped up here). The intake manifold flap sensor I'm very curious about. Not sure why the Coolant Temp Sensor is on...

 

[Rx7145]

Clear the codes and see what ones come back.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

About to click to 234k, got it aligned as I have a long drive to visit a friend this weekend and dont want to ruin the Michelin PS4S tires.

My friend is anal when it comes to cosmetics so I might spend a few minutes to clean the paint... but I have to wash the car first and thats a long shot haha

As far as the codes mentioned earler, one the crazy hot days where I have been driving a lot and running the A/C for a while I sometimes will see the CEL come back, but its temporary and goes away after a drive or two

 

[BXE]

Nice progress on the Jetta. Out of interest what engine code do you have there. Did it come with much service history eg. Cambelt and water pump. And when? As this may be worth checking visually as a precaution. Unless you know it’s recently been changed.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Nice progress on the Jetta. Out of interest what engine code do you have there. Did it come with much service history eg. Cambelt and water pump. And when? As this may be worth checking visually as a precaution. Unless you know it’s recently been changed.

Mines a BRM. Picked it up from a Tech who had just done the timing belt, and I believe water pump. I havent checked the camshaft for wear, bought a Valvecover gasket but it seemed like it was a bit more of a pain, so I havent done it yet...

I did snap this pic as my car seems to have found a friend at work. This GTI regularly parks next to me, always backed in like me haha

 

[Rx7145]

If you don’t wanna pull the valve cover, you can get a cheap borescope off Amazon that connects to your phone on your computer and put that down the oil fill cap. You should be able to get a good look at least the lobes on the front of the engine.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

If you don’t wanna pull the valve cover, you can get a cheap borescope off Amazon that connects to your phone on your computer and put that down the oil fill cap. You should be able to get a good look at least the lobes on the front of the engine.

Am I being paranoid about the difficulty of the VCG? Cant remember what deterred me when I first bought it. Havent had the time to get back to it, but I would love to install the parts I bought for this car to slowly make it better. I also have some Control Arm Bushings that I will install 'someday'

One part that I did just buy and want to install ASAP is this steering wheel I got from VWVortex. Basically a brand new wheel to replace the very worn wheel I have. Looks like an easy install. 2 tabs on the back of the wheel to release the airbag. Disconnect with the battery disconnected, then remove the big nut. Install. Am I being optimistic here?

I think I have to do the headliner soon too, its completely separated in the back now haha

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Damn. You should've gotten a leather-wrapped wheel. Your new one looks nice though. I've never seen an 06-era sponge rubber that wasn't completely wrecked. Mine still just has a slip-on cover.

Am I being paranoid about the difficulty of the VCG? Cant remember what deterred me when I first bought it.

Probably the caveats everyone says that you have to rotate the cam to a certain position or remove the egr, or else the cover won't come off. The few times i've removed & replaced the cover, i didn't have to do any of that. It just wiggled out & back in.

You will need a long skinny T30 bit to reach two of the screws back by the egr though. Stupid a-holes couldn't engineer enough room to squeeze a 3/8 socket extension back there.

 

[privateTDIjet]

Am I being paranoid about the difficulty of the VCG? Cant remember what deterred me when I first bought it. Havent had the time to get back to it, but I would love to install the parts I bought for this car to slowly make it better. I also have some Control Arm Bushings that I will install 'someday'

One part that I did just buy and want to install ASAP is this steering wheel I got from VWVortex. Basically a brand new wheel to replace the very worn wheel I have. Looks like an easy install. 2 tabs on the back of the wheel to release the airbag. Disconnect with the battery disconnected, then remove the big nut. Install. Am I being optimistic here?

I think I have to do the headliner soon too, its completely separated in the back now haha

You're right the steering wheel was a really easy install. Never seen a foam wheel this clean. I do occasionally see one in good condition at the scrap yard on like a grandma owned golf but it's once in a blue moon.

 

[Rx7145]

Interesting I was at the junkyard and they had a nice leather wheel. I was wondering how big of a deal it was to takeoff. Hopefully, I can find a good YouTube video.
I feel the valve covers pretty easy to take on and off. It does require a little bit of wiggling and jiggling, but I’ve always been able to get them off.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Yea this was basically an NOS wheel as it was removed in '08 at 100 miles to be replaced with .... a leather one haha

My time is at a premium and searching on ebay here and there yielded meh results so when this popped up I bought it for $60 shipped and dont regret it one bit...

And thanks for confirming that the VCG shouldnt be horrible, I will give it a try soon. I really want to try and tidy this up a little and a VCG is one step towards no oil leaks. Start at the top, right?

now about that headliner...

 

[Rx7145]

I add some RTV at the corners of the “hump”. Seems to help a little bit.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

This was really easy to do... once I had the right tool to deal with the airbags spring clip

You really cant tell just how bad the old steering wheel was, but heres the natural 'before' pic

Done!

No new warning lights... Might finally tackle the one I added during the suspension swap, but probably wont. I probably WILL drop the car off to get the headliner done, its really bad as its fully detached at the back and I cant see behind me lol

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Interior looks much less sh!tbox now... though the fact that I didn't have them redo the entire headliner/ pillars/ sunroof and its not a perfect match reminds you that it IS still a sh!tbox

Best Way Upholstery in Culver City did it for $420 cash out the door and was done in under 24 hours. I'm happy. I've blown the Year 1 budget, but the car is significantly better today than when I bought it.

 

[privateTDIjet]

Interior looks much less sh!tbox now... though the fact that I didn't have them redo the entire headliner/ pillars/ sunroof and its not a perfect match reminds you that it IS still a sh!tbox

Best Way Upholstery in Culver City did it for $420 cash out the door and was done in under 24 hours. I'm happy. I've blown the Year 1 budget, but the car is significantly better today than when I bought it.

Are those wolfsburg seats? Ive never seen those holes other than in germany made models. Obviously, they did a wonderful job on the headliner. I think the two tone tan looks even nicer.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

Are those wolfsburg seats? Ive never seen those holes other than in germany made models. Obviously, they did a wonderful job on the headliner. I think the two tone tan looks even nicer.

I think this is the most 'basic' model you could've gotten as its very limited on options. I would've preferred cloth, but I dont think they ever offered that.

... and Thank you, the car feels much less crappy. One side bonus that I really appreciated that I wasnt expecting was the vanity lights for the front visor/mirrors are no longer falling out/ dangling. My wife still thinks the car is crap, but it feels less crap to me now haha

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

In what feels like a "complete coincidence" the car felt a little funny driving to work today. Feels like the Turbo is spooling up later than usual. I believe I need to tackle this 'zip-tie mod' that I was reading about. Shame I don't have a VCDS and will need to reach out for some help, but curious if anyone wants to chime in and suggest something else I can check in the interim..

I swear one of these days I will get to the paint

 

[Rx7145]

You really need VCDS to do the turbo output test. I did it and it fixed my overboost problem.

 

[jetta_coupe_gtd]

You really need VCDS to do the turbo output test. I did it and it fixed my overboost problem.

AJ is local and helped me check the codes earlier in the year. He is currently listing 2 different ones in the classifieds, but I cant tell which one I would need for mine. The fact that both are unlimited use makes me want to get one that I can use on a mk4 also, because I only see myself getting older VWs, not newer.

(2) RossTech Vagcom VCDS Diagnostic Cables - Key-USB & Micro-CAN

Micro-CAN - $240 Key-USB - $200 Both are unlimited version cables, in great shape & well taken care of. I had them as spares for a rainy day, but ultimately I don't need 5 cables. Please Click on the links above to see compatibility with applicable vehicles for each cable. Located near LAX...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[turbodieseldyke]

He has links in his ad. It looks like one is for your car, the other is for older, and neither works with both.