My mk4 Jetta tdi

[Cappattack]

Hey all! I recently acquired my first ever TDI and boy am I excited! She's a 2002 Jetta TDI, alh with an 01m automatic (4speed). Had 230,8xx miles when I bought it, now at 231,783 miles. Do not have VAG-COM. Originally started a build thread here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/jettad-build-thread-34409.html

So far I have done a ventectomy, bled brake fluid, gotten the rotors turned, replaced fuel filter and lines, replaced glow plugs, replaced egr valve(m) (stuck open), replaced vacuum pump(m) and all vacuum lines, oil and oil filter change, cleaned PCV valve (was super gunked up), replaced oil pan gasket (was leaking), replaced cv joints(m) and axels(m), installed an atlas skid plate with oil drain hole from evolution imports, and I had the wheels balanced(m) and got it aligned(m).

Things remaining to look at are the timing belt, leaky injector pump, diff fluid, left rear window (won't roll up all the way), driver door switch panel (it's broken), and my HVAC system. Does not blow hot or cold, just outside air temp 24/7.

As far as the transmission goes, it's throwing a p0740 (torque converter clutch malfunction). I have pumped out a sample of fluid and it's pitch black, thick, and super saturated with various metal particles (it reacts like a ferrofluid when you pass a magnet over it). I topped it off with 1.5 bottles (24oz each, ~36oz total added) of Lucas oil stop slip (it was low) and haven't had any trouble out of it...but I'm sure using an impending rebuild.

I know I have much work to do and would like this car to make it to at least 500k miles. I know that's possible, but I'm gonna drive her till she's dead and good for parts.

My questions are these: is there anything I'm forgetting to do? And is there anyone with experience and VAG-COM near Elkmont Alabama that's willing to help change my timing belt? I'll buy the parts. Willing to travel to you if needed.

Edit: marked things mechanic did with (m), I did everything else myself.

 

[keaton85]

I would start saving for a 5spd swap as the automatics are not worth investing any money into, in my opinion.

Watch your mechanic! he seems to be on the path of replacing this just for fun. Lots of DIY items will save you a ton. The mechanic does not seem like a knowledgeable TDI tech, thus will cost you dearly. Read on here and train yourself how to take care of these vehicles. That way when you do need a mechanic, you can just tell them what to do.

Pretty much oil changes every 10K+ miles with Rotella T6 and keep the timing belt system changed out every 100K.

Also, did you mechanic have VCDS when bleeding the brakes? that helps!

Edit, here are some quick notes:
- Injection pump reseal is easy DIY
- VCDS is worth getting
- Keep vac lines in good order, RECHECK the mechanics routing with diagrams from here
- Intake cleaning is a wise thing to do
- Turbo VNT vanes get stuck and cause limp mode
- Turbo actuators rust out and cause limp mode
- If you have a run-a-way situation but the brakes on and keep it in gear!!!!!
- get an oil extractor for oil changes, best thing EVER!
- brake rotors don't warp, and turning them is a waste of money
- Timing belt rarely fail, its the rollers, like idler and tensioner
- Timing the IP is very simple with VCDS
- Drain your intercooler once in a while
- Don't spend money on lots of mods, you will need it for maintenance
- Save for a 5spd swap
- Run it hard! they don't like being babied at all

 

[Cappattack]

I edited and marked the things mechanic did with (m). If you read my previous thread on ecomodder you'll see why they were done. I have drained the intercooler as well, got a few tablespoons of oil.

Planned mods are upper grill block, aftermarket trans cooler, smooth belly pan, Kerma tune, oil catch can, and mufflerectomy.

 

[Cappattack]

After having emailed coolairvw and looked over his entire series on the the 01m transmission, I have decided to save up for a swap to an O2J 5speed. Any recommendations on what research to do when picking a shop? Anyone near northern Alabama (almost in TN) that can help me diy it? What price range should I save for?

 

[Cappattack]

two weeks ago I removed the lower dash panels and the radio/bezel and put foil duct tape on the air blend door, that solved my heater problem real quick. I will worry about the nonfunctional AC next spring.

About a week ago I put in a pcv filter that consists of 3/4" fuel vapor hose, an agricultural strainer (mounted up against the radiator, under the hood latch.), and steel wool. over the last week and about 150 mile I have collected somewhere near 1/4 cup of water, but no oil. where is the water coming from? Is it in my oil? have others experienced this? I have had no noticeable effects from installing the filter, aside from the water I've collected.

a couple of days ago I replaced the injector pump top gasket, QA Gasket, fuel temp sensor, and the injector return lines. upon reassembling and priming the pump I could not start the car. after some quick googling I learned 1) that you're supposed to use vcds to adjust IQ after doing this job (I don't have vcds), and 2) I learned about the hammer mod.

Based on what I had found I assumed that I must have set the pump too far to one side and it was running too lean to start. I proceeded to loosed the appropriate bolts and tapped the QA with my hand to move it over. That got the car to start, sort of. Upon starting the idle would surge from 900-1200 rpm and my tailpipe was belching massive clouds of white smoke, I also noted during my commute the next day (earlier today) that the idle surging would happen while the car was in gear and was causing the motor to strain against the brakes, the whole car was jerking with the surges and each surge caused a little puff of black smoke to appear amidst the clouds of white. the idle did calm a little after I got up to temp but it still bounced between 900-1000, no smoke at all once it was up to temp.

once I got home I proceeded to loosen the QA bolts and once again apply the hammer mod, this time trying to help it run a little leaner as I thought it was running too rich. It moved maybe 1mm and I tightened the bolts back down. The car started smoothly and idles smoothly at 950ish rpm. it drives good again too! no more (visible) problems there! Should I get someone with vcds to check/adjust the IQ? the blinking glow plug light that signaled my previous IP leak is still going but I cannot see the leak anymore. is it internal now? do I need vcds to clear the code so I can see if it trips again?

and, finally, on the note of my possible manual swap, I recently learned about the 02M. does anyone here have a preference between the 02J and the 02M? is there any reason I should choose one or the other? I am saving for a new transmission regardless of whether its a manual or a reman 01M. I expect this one to die somewhere within the next few years. the fluid, as stated above, is dark black and looks like someone threw glitter in it. the metal particles are so concentrated that the sample I pumped out reacted visibly to a magnet. I suspect that the fluid is factory fill, never been changed. or does this trans somehow collect soot? anyway, the TCC is slipping and I'm worried that the rest of it will start to have issues if I change the fluid. I wan to change the fluid/filter and have everything keep working smoothly...but I'm not sure that will be the case. would you change it or leave it?

p.s. the car is now at 232,4xx miles

 

[Cappattack]

My fear of changing the fluid comes from this vid: https://youtu.be/o690DovjDAc

Update 29NOV: When starting cold it still idles a little rough, bouncing between 900-950 rpm until the temp gauge starts to move, once it barely starts to move the idle smooths out. When I left work it was light enough to look for smoke. I get moderate amounts of white smoke that match the bouncing rpm on a cold start. No smoke and no bouncing rpm when warm.

 

[Cappattack]

Update: dear JettaD is now at 235,6xx miles and has been my daily driver since the end of October. Have been reliably been getting 36-38 mpg per tank. From the get go I had a full upper block (with a cutout for the air intake port there) and 40% lower block, aluminum skid plate (Plate rides approx 3in above the pavement), tires at sidewall pressure (44psi), and a home made CCV filter.

Tcc lockup is still spotty but spends more time functional than not, I'm getting ready to replace both pan gaskets and the drain plug to help them stop leaking (they're all leaking), pretty sure the main seal is leaking oil as well (approx 1.5qt every 5k milles) added a bottle of bars leaks rear main seal fixer. Will check level again in 5k miles.

Want to remove my passenger side mirror again, family had me put it back out of safety concern. I want to have it be the last thing I do after everything else is done. That way I can see how much improvement I can get.

Currently planning to replace the belts and related tensioners/idlers, and water pump. Those are regular maintenance things for this car every 100k miles, I don't know when they were last done and any to get a baseline for when to do it next.

Planning to install a coroplast and/or sheet metal belly pan, get thinner tires that are also LRR rated (mine are almost to the wear marks), get a set of bosio sprint 520 injector nozzles, and an ECU tune from somewhere (Malone maybe? Site says he can do VW TDI specific tunes).

My question is this. Last Thursday I chopped off my muffler and almost immediately my UltraGague started showing an avg mpg of 48-50 instead of my usual 36-38. Have not conciously made changes to my driving style since then and have not made any other changes, still fill up at the same pump from the same station every time. Is this a possible gain from the muffler delete? Or did I do something else incidentally? Anyone have similar experiences with a muffler delete?

 

[UhOh]

You really need to get VCDS (or get in touch with someone who does).

You have three big issues to deal with:

1) TB change - by not replacing it ASAP you're playing with fire- could end up ringing up $3k in repair bills;

2) Oil leak- that's a substantial leak you're mentioning; not sure I'd trust any additive (the affects on other components of the engine);

3) 01m trans - sooner or later...

The bad news is that this all amounts to lots of time and money. The good news is that if you do the work you'll become quite familiar with these cars!

 

[Rembrant]

My question is this. Last Thursday I chopped off my muffler and almost immediately my UltraGague started showing an avg mpg of 48-50 instead of my usual 36-38. Have not conciously made changes to my driving style since then and have not made any other changes, still fill up at the same pump from the same station every time. Is this a possible gain from the muffler delete? Or did I do something else incidentally? Anyone have similar experiences with a muffler delete?

If you make any changes to the car you have to re-calibrate your Ultragauge. The mileage is probably the same as it always was, it's just that the Ultragauge is reporting it differently.

 

[UhOh]

If you make any changes to the car you have to re-calibrate your Ultragauge. The mileage is probably the same as it always was, it's just that the Ultragauge is reporting it differently.

Rem, I'd have to say that, from my own personal experience with my car, doing a mufflerectomy won't have any affect on UltraGuage's readings. Changes to engine air or fuel or changes to wheels will most certainly require a recalibration.

 

[Rembrant]

Rem, I'd have to say that, from my own personal experience with my car, doing a mufflerectomy won't have any affect on UltraGuage's readings. Changes to engine air or fuel or changes to wheels will most certainly require a recalibration.

Yes...understood. Maybe I worded my reply wrong, but the point I was trying to make was that a muffler removal did not result in the car instantly gaining 10-12MPG.
If the Ultragauge MPG changed that much overnight, I'd re-calibrate it.

 

[UhOh]

Yeah, something significant happened here. I know that the UltraGauge FE readings from the wife's car really took a plunge when her MAF started to fail.

 

[Rembrant]

Yeah, something significant happened here. I know that the UltraGauge FE readings from the wife's car really took a plunge when her MAF started to fail.

Yeah, something is up. If I thought I could gain 10-12 mpg by removing my muffler, I wouldn't even finish my coffee...I'd be outside cutting it off right now.

That's not really true...but kind of. There was a time when I was perhaps a little bit obsessed with MPG. I've gotten over that...lol.

I don't know why the Ultragauge would all of a sudden change it's FE reporting by that much, but I'd have to guess that for whatever reason there was a significant reduction in MAF reading. If I understand correctly, the Ultragauge uses the MAF reading to determine fueling (on the ALH at least). Therefore, the only way for the FE numbers to go way up is for the MAF numbers to go down (while the reported driving distances stay the same).
This way the Ultragauge thinks the car is using much less fuel. I'm just guessing here. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[UhOh]

Rem, you're correct.

Perhaps it's an issue with reported driving distance (MAF numbers are fine)? That's why I mentioned changes to the wheels as affecting it. What does the ECU use to determine speed (distance)? I'd think that any problems here would tend to result in variable results, not to mention triggering a code somewhere along the line.

Fuel difference?

 

[Cappattack]

I got a tank through and measured my self. Not quite a 10-12mpg difference. But I got 46 mpg. Have been using same station since I started measuring FE. Maybe they changed something? I dunno. There is a fellow near me that has vcds, I've been in contact with him through email and he has agreed to to the TB change for me. But I need to save for it first; at the rate of about $50/month. Got a bit left to save up.

More pressing issue. When I changed my trans fluid the threads on one of the bolts came out attached to the bolt. I used a helicoil to repair the threads. The gasket has been leaking from around that same bolt hole since I reassembled it. Yes I replaced the gasket. My solution for that: RTV+gasket.

When I removed the pan to install my RTV the helicoil came out attached to my bolt and absolutely destroyed the threads on both the trans housing and the bolt. Some permanent repair the was....

My solution: drill it out from an m6 to an m8, drill out the gasket spacer and pan as well. And tap it for an m8x1.25 bolt. No in betweens, no inserts, just a bigger bolt.

Not the 01M problem any of us were expecting, huh?

 

[03TDICommuter]

You can rent a VCDS for $5.00 a day from FixMyVw.com. 3 day minimum, $5.00 shipping, you pay for return shipping. Rental time is based on when you receive it and when you give it to Fedex/USPS etc for return.

This is what I did to both learn about my car's current condition and diagnose a limp mode/no boost problem.

 

[Cappattack]

I finally got the timing belt done yesterday! Found a local TDI guru that did it for me. Total was about $520 parts+labor. I found him on the map of vcds users this site has. He also noticed that my pancake pipe wasn't attached properly and was causing a boost leak. Dear Jetta now runs a little quieter and accelerates much more easily.

Concerning the transmission: my leak got suddenly and drastically worse one day. I came out from work to drive home and noticed a large puddle with a little trail leading to the storm drain under my car. Confirmed it was my trans fluid because the outside of the pan was still slick with fluid. Got it towed home with my dad's truck, it was failing to engage when we attempted to drive it up the ramps on our trailer. Fluid was totally drained.

I went to work and found that the same problem child of a hole (front driver side) had experienced a catastrophic failure and yanked it's heli-coil, causing a gap between the pan and the casing.I attempted to re seat it with jb-weld (the miracle goop. Right?) It didn't work. Well, after having been removed and re torqued so often two more of the bolts (now 3 of 4) decided to rip their threads out of the casing. I got a bigsert kit for m6-1.0 threads and re-tapped all four holes. It now holds quite nicely and doesn't have a visible leak anymore. Shifts quite smoothly and I haven't had any problems with tcc lockup. Driven about 500 miles with this repair. No jb-weld involved, just metal threads and metal bolts.

It should be noted that after the sudden loss of my VW fluid I wasn't too eager to spend $90 for another 5 liters, so I got 2gal of Valvoline maxlife which lists compatibility with the OEM fluids specific part number on the bottle. Apparently it's nearly identical to mercon LV? Valvoline was $40 for 2gal instead of $90 for 5L of OEM and I haven't had any problems after about 500 miles. Plan to drain and fill every 40,000 miles.

 

[jetta00-1.9]

The val should be fine, changed mine about 3yrs ago still going with about 260k on it, i think it was rebuilt before i bought it