Jordan's 1996 B4V - BC, Canada

[JordanTr]

Hi All.
Just picked up my first VW TDI, a 1996 B4V with 390k km and it needs some love.
Years ago, I had a much loved B3 Audi 90 Quattro 20V which really kindled my German car love. I still have the 3 piece wheels from the 90 that will get adapted to fit on this beast for summer.

I’m very happy with how the car drives. Not in love with the look of it yet!!
If anyone has a parts car and is willing to ship, let me know!!
Looking for the following
RH outer tail light
RH front corner marker (amber middle, clear outside)
Center column junk box lid
E brake boot
Door lock indicator threaded nub
Rear VW emblem
TDI grill emblem
Cargo area dome light
RH rear dome light
Interior C pillar trim cover from the rear doors
Possibly LF fender

Thanks!! Happy to be a member here.

 

[Windex]

@Abacus

Shifter and ebrake boots -redlinegoods.com

 

[JordanTr]

I’ve now driven 8300kms, and midway through this next tank I will have paid off the car and all associates costs compared to driving my 2006 duramax which is a good feeling. I’ve been using the car for my daily commute which is 85kms round trip and miscellaneous other trips. With 4 people, 2 dogs, and beach gear, it still manages to fit everyone comfortably which is fantastic.

I really do love this car!!

So far I haven’t done too much to it except retrofitting mk4 seats (I’m 6’2” and the stock seats were no good).
I had the 3 piece wheels (16x7+40) 4x108 from my 90Q so I purchased 1” 4x100 to 4x108 adapters to get them on the car. I opted for 195/55/16 tires that are ~4.5% taller than stock to help with mileage.
I am hoping to redrill the front hubs to 4x108 and 4x100 so I can ditch the spacers there because there’s too much poke resulting in fender rubs on big bumps.

My dad was able to find a B4 in a yard down near Vancouver and get a few of the misc lights etc that I was missing and some others I was able to purchase online. In total, 7 outside lights or reflectors were tired/broken/gone and I’ve got them all tuned up now so it looks much more loved.

I’ve spent a lot of time reading about power upgrades and I unfortunately have the plastic case BK ECU so my first step is to get a chippable/supported later ECU.

I’m leaning toward the following on the power front:
1) newer ECU, GQ stage 1.5 chipset, DLC 1019 nozzles, 2.5” SS exhaust fab this winter
2) GTC1549 turbo, FMIC, clutch, wavetrac diff, stage 3 with a goal of 160-180whp.

Here are a couple pictures

As found:
https://flic.kr/p/2nHTeC9

Wheels!

https://flic.kr/p/2nHRZLG
After

https://flic.kr/p/2nHM6Lo
More to come!
Let me know if you have an aluminum case ECU for sale please

 

[Abacus]

Welcome!

That looks like it had the headlight washers! What size is the washer fluid tank?

Does it have the stock one:

Or the monster:

 

[Windex]

I miss that tank...

 

[JordanTr]

@Abacus, sadly there are no headlight washers or the giant washer reservoir. I believe the PO put a vr6 front bumper on and vr6 hatch when it was repaired from an accident once upon a time.
I’d definitely like to get both of the above... my old 90Q had headlight washers and they were fantastic!!

 

[Steve Addy]

That's twilight violet, you don't see too many Passat cars in that color, you never did to begin with, it was exclusive to Passat and 95/96 only.

Steve

 

[JordanTr]

Good to know, Steve. Thanks for that tidbit. Maybe I will get a couple of best match rattle bombs and redo the hood. Sadly, everything but the trunk and bumpers is a red base coat so every rock chip really pops!

I just filled the car up tonight with the fuel needle just entering the red. I put in 90.95L and went 1802km for ~5L/100kms. Maybe the Canadian B4Vs got the unicorn extra large tank for blitzing across frozen tundra!?

My JB ECU arrived today so that’s one exciting step in the right direction! GQ RC3 chipset is en route as well.

Now, I need to figure out which future proof injector setup I want to go with.

 

[Abacus]

90.95L is good, but I’ve put 108L in mine before. I think they all have the large tank.

 

[Windex]

All the b4 wagons got the massive tank. @Abacus, most I ever got in that car was 96l, did you turn the car on its side while filling?

 

[Abacus]

Lol, no. I did try and get as many miles out of it as possible and always filled it to the top of the neck. I did the same with my sedan and filled that about 72 liters. My brother has run his out before and put in 75 liters.

 

[Lug_Nut]

The B4V tank will hold well over 100l. As I recall, almost 130l by taking time, venting, and parking the car on an side angle to permit burping. The most I had put in (not empty) was 27.5 gal, or 104 l.
VW used the same specification for B4 sedans and B4 wagons despite having two completely different fuel tanks.

 

[JordanTr]

Well if I was a little more daring I would have pushed out another couple trips to work so I could post a 2000km tank!! Maybe next time. It’ll be tougher with cold starts headed into fall/winter now.

 

[Steve Addy]

The only way they'll hold more than the 18.5 is via venting. I should know...I've run it dry before. 950 miles is as far as I got...it was mixed use but mostly highway. I filled....just over 18.5. I got lucky and she stalled just coming to a stop sign with a station next to it. I did manage to get it restarted and headed back toward the station but it wasn't enough...I had to push her to the pump.

I don't vent because I typically fill when I'm headed to the house for the evening...if I was headed out on the road maybe, but it's too much effort IMO.

Steve

 

[JordanTr]

Had some questions about the MK4 front seat conversion I did. I'm 6'2" but have a long torso so I needed to retrofit the seats no higher than the stock ones. I wrote a saga in PM but ran out of characters so here it is.
It's not for the faint of heart as it is finicky work and requires welding right next to some nice combustibles. Now that I realize how much I love my B4, I probably should have sprung for the GLI Recaros... Maybe one day.

First step is to strip the B4 seat base down so its bare with with cross shaft and half the little cam arms like below.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nLMYad]Mk4 seat to b4 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr[/URL]

Chop the front pivot mech off the B4 seat base as the MK4 one will be used. As you can see zip cut, sawzall, bolt cutter etc. all come in handy

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nLNwvb]Mk4 seat to b4 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr[/URL]

Cut the torsion cross tube out of the MK4 to leave just the bare lift arms. The leftovers of the B4 arms will be welded to the MK4 ones. Conveniently, the B4 assemble tucks snugly between the MK4 arms. With the bolts and washers holding the B4 arms to their cross shaft, the washers nicely pilot the 2 parts together for welding. Weld cautiously so the weld nubs don't bind the assembly during its future travel.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2nLMTkd]Mk4 seat in b4 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr[/URL]

In the above photo, you can see the mashed seat base tubing and there is a matching dent in the seat bottom tin to get the seat to sit as low as OEM.

At the front, the location of the pivot matters as it changes the static angle and trajectory of the seat. I mocked it up to match existing, tacked, checked, and welded it.

Mk4 seat in b4 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

Seat comparison.
Mk4 seat to b4 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

Because the B4 mech had lifting cables to each side, the cross shaft (~12mm) was only for maintaining timing between sides, when the seat is lifted, there is a little static torsion of the shaft. Consequently, the seat is slightly angled side to side. To combat this, the seat and B4 cross shaft could be installed with some preload but I didn't bother as the seats will be at the bottom 99.5% of the time.

 

[JordanTr]

Not too much to report here. The car has been parked since ~October 1st but there are some things in the pipe.

I installed a 20" light bar to help prevent deer strikes on my forested drives to/from work.
As the weather got cooler, I went through the effort of connecting the B4 heated seat electronics to the MK4 seats and they are working well. Relatively simple job splicing big wires to big wires and little wires to little wires,
JB ECU and RC3 GQ chipset is on the bench awaiting install once I pull the trigger on injectors.
I paid for the licensing on VCDS so I was able to tweak the timing to get it set at target or just slightly advanced. No insurance so time will tell if this provides me with much benefit. At least I can say that I'm comfortable messing with that in the future!
I went from approx. 48-50 on the graph kissing the red to 60-62 just a hair advanced above the blue line. I'm certain that the retarded timing contributed to the smoke I would see sometimes.

I have some 2.5" mandrel bends, v bands, and flex pipe so once I clear space in the shop then I can get some exhaust fabrication going.
I've drawn up a nice dual 2" turndown exhaust tip for an OEM+ look so I'm excited to get that all tigged up.
Over Christmas, I stumbled upon a low mile GTC1549VZ so I pulled the trigger on that. It should arrive any day now!

That's it for now. More pics next time.

 

[Rig]

I installed a 20" light bar to help prevent deer strikes on my forested drives to/from work.

Finally someone who understands!

That poor hood. I sprayed some clear laquer on my rust spots just as a bandaid. Any plans to repaint? I like that color.

 

[Steve Addy]

Finally someone who understands!

That poor hood. I sprayed some clear laquer on my rust spots just as a bandaid. Any plans to repaint? I like that color.

I live in Iowa...and I understand. I have a 15 mile stretch from my shop that goes right through the center of a state nature preserve, my Dakota still has the battle scars of the trip through there when the 3 deer popped up out of the ditch...just remember this, no amount of light is going to save you when they 'surprise' you like that coming out of a ditch or from behind something, you don't have enough time to react. And further, I would argue that the lighting in part attracts them to begin with so you're potentially just drawing them to you if you're generating enough light.

Do you need better lighting? Sure...I agree with that. Do you need to illuminate the whole county? Probably not.

I see deer all the time on that stretch of the road, I pulled a B6 Passat wagon back from Ohio last Tuesday night / Wednesday morning early, I saw countless deer that could have been a problem, but I kept my speed down and watched the road constantly.

You have to find a compromise that doesn't make the vehicle look like a carnival ride....there's a point where it sort of gets to be absurd.

My .02

Steve

 

[Rig]

You have to find a compromise that doesn't make the vehicle look like a carnival ride....there's a point where it sort of gets to be absurd.

I agree. Not going for canival ride look. I've seen a lot of trucks around here that go to that extreme. I don't think that's for me.

Going below speed limit at night is usually a smart idea.

 

[JordanTr]

I agree with Steve, but I couldn't a more economical way to improve the light output on the B4. I have the 20" tucked just below the front license plate so it isn't obnoxious.
@Rig, I'd love to repaint it but I'm afraid it's just too far gone. It's good from 20 feet now but it won't be long before it's only good from 100 feet!
I'm hoping to keep things going on this car to get some miles out of it before its heart and soul is transplanted into a healthier chassis which I haven't decided on yet. I am anxiously watching what Steve does with a B6 conversion...

Here are some pics of the 2.5" to 2x2" tailpipe that mimics the stock one.

B4V Exhaust by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

B4V Exhaust by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

B4V Exhaust by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

B4V Exhaust by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

B4V Exhaust by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

I also spent a few minutes trying to compare the "feel" of a tuned up B4V to a stock 2.0T B6V (Mother's car). I managed to find a stock B6V dynosheet and used a Malone stage 4 sheet (273ft-lb, 153HP) for B4V. B4V at 2833lbs and B6V at 3330lbs. B4V is calculated using 195/55/16 (5% larger) and B6V is calculated with 215/55/16. This doesn't tell you what's faster but it should benchmark what feels snappier to the driver. Y'all know the old addage... "torque sells cars". You can see how switching gears stretches the same profile over a wider speed range.

Some examples on how to read it... With both cars in 4th gear, the B4V will feel punchier from 75-135km/h. At speeds >100km/h, with both cars in 5th, the B4 is slightly snappier. If the B4V used stock tires, the curves would transpose 5% up.

B4 vs. B6 by TRZ Fab, on Flickr

 

[Rig]

That tailpipe is beautiful man, nice work!

 

[klazzic]

I enjoyed reading your thread. Welcome to the B4V family

Your variant reminds me of a B3V we had with a TD motor. Got it for around $400 bucks, 18 yrs ago or so. It had similar mileage and several things to include the ignition switch were questionable haha…we needed a practical work horse and it fit the title well.

Very nice exhaust. I need to do exhaust work myself on my B4V… one day.

I read your bit about the light bar. I want to install the strongest legal fog lights. I’m running 4300k xenon headlights that seem to do the trick. I frequent an area where there is wildlife but lucky no tree lines for them to come flying out of. Either way I don’t like the deer vs car scenario.

 

[JordanTr]

Hard to believe how fast time flies. I've had the car back on the road since April 4th and I've been determined to do more parts installing vs. simply buying parts and hoarding them!
First item that I tackled was getting the GQ RC3 chips I purchased installed into the JB ECU I got. I was all nervous to do it until I buckled down and got it done in about 15 minutes. After swapping ECUs, the car fired back up very readily so that was nice. I drove it for a bit and it was instantly noticeable... Even with the stock injectors still! After experiencing the slowdown shudder with the new ECU, I checked IQ and found it at 1.2. I hammer modded the pump to get it to a more reasonable 3.8.

I got lucky and found an AHU Jetta in our local U pull yard so I was able to score the loaded head, manifolds, and turbo. I cleaned up the manifold with the cable in a drill trick followed by oven cleaner and a pressure washer. It turned out very nice. After dealing with the cramped space of getting the old manifold off and messing around I blanked the EGR tube and turned it down in VCDS with no MIL yet. After completing the job, I drained what seemed like a lot of oil from the lower intercooler pipe. I cleaned and blew out all the lines while I was in there.


I've been working towards replacing the front hubs/bearings for 2 reasons: one since I have a noisy bearing and two so that I can dual drill the hubs to 4x108 so I can run my nice wheels with no adapters. I believe the adapters induce some runout and the tire/fender interfered on large bumps.

I have a set of 0.205 injectors which I'm itching to get on the car. Hopefully that'll happen one night this week if I'm feeling industrious! I built an injector puller/slide hammer which worked great for pulling the injectors from the core head that I got so that'll make the job a bit easier.

A few pictures to keep it interesting. I cleaned up and painted some alloy wheels that came with the car and found a good set of 175/70/14 snow tires and then had them nicely 2 plane balanced and they are good and smooth!

Bikes > cars

 

[Steve Addy]

I need that white fender but I bet the area down low by the rocker is shot...good find though for the engine parts!!!

Steve

 

[timsch]

Great stuff. I don't know what I like more - thinking about someone bringing that great car back to the good life, or the thought of the great mountain biking you have there.

 

[d24tdi]

Yes great to see one of these old cars getting the attention and use they deserve. Looking great!

I see lots of little things that my wagon could add to yours if you eventually can drag it across the border as a parts donor..... Wolfsburg badges, glass Euro headlamps that would help greatly with the lighting aspect..... etc.....

 

[JordanTr]

@timsch, The mountain biking here is great! As for the car... It drives very nice, and it can handle dirty dogs without me caring too much. I think the best part is filling it up monthly.

Yes, I hope we can work something out! Does anyone upsize wiring and relay the headlights? I did that on my old B3 90 Quattro and it made a big difference.

Going to tackle the IP pressure relief valve this weekend. I'm certainly hoping this is why the car falls on its face at ~3500rpm with a cloud of black smoke.

 

[Abacus]

@timsch

Going to tackle the IP pressure relief valve this weekend. I'm certainly hoping this is why the car falls on its face at ~3500rpm with a cloud of black smoke.

Are you doing the Keystone mod to keep it from backing out?

Here are the dimensions to the ones I bought a long time ago.

 

[JordanTr]

Thanks Abacus. I did see that on YouTube. Seems like a good idea and I have some SS sheet kicking around. Dimensions are appreciated!

 

[Abacus]

It doesn’t need to be stainless since it shouldn’t rust in the diesel fuel but it won’t hurt.