New MK4 owner - 2005 Jetta Wagon

[justin71105]

New struts and shocks are in, raised front end 0.5-1 inch.

Was definitely worth doing it myself vs $1150 quote, took about 2.5 hrs to complete.

Just had to take out sway bar bolt to get everything to drop low enough to get strut in/out. Spread it with the little socket spreader to take old one out and went back togethor pretty smooth.


Had new bolt kit from idparts and it came with the front and rear bolts included sway bar bolt/nut.

Might do tie rods/ball joints tomorrow or wait until my next few days off. Hoping it goes as smooth as the shocks. They arent too bad, no play on passenger side and only a small amount on drivers side. But I already got the parts so figured I would do it all before winter really hits.

 

[afterthisnap]

I had similar 3d gear popout/grind issues and also thought it was something requiring a rebuild.
After a careful diy shifter cable alignment and replacing the plastic shifter bushings and the plastic cup the shift knob ball rides in, the tranny runs super smooth and positive through all the gates.

If your shifter alignment pin holes are still busted, I'd suggest getting a cheap junkyard shifter base and replacing all the bushings and doing a proper cable alignment before paying to open up the tranny.

The gearbox side of the 02j 5 speed is fairly simple/robust for a DD (I've taken one apart). It's just very finicky about having the shifter linkage aligned correctly. I'd suspect your mechanics would have noticed a lot of glitter in the fluid if things were worn enough to effect your shifts.

Also, I've used liqui-moly, VW G5, and yellow bottle synchroshift and they've all been fine. The alignment/bushings were the key.

 

[flan]

Just to piggyback on the previous post, having that proper size 5mm pin for the linkage adjustment is crucial. If there is any play in the cabin end of the shifter when you snug the slack in the cables you will have a terrible shifting car with stiff shifts and notchiness.

 

[justin71105]

Got new intercooler installed and all new o-rings. Don't think the shop inspected too well, the intercooler leak seems to have been coming from the spring clamp on the pipe going from turbo to intake. Turbo side clamp was in place but the plastic pipe side was not.

I dont have a pair of spring clamp pliers atm so i used a screw type clamp on it for now.

Wont be driving it much at all next year so going to hold off on doong anything to transmission/linkage/bushings. Running really well and dont want to cause any problems messing with it rightnnow.

Passenger axle bolts should be here this week, going to replace them and found one is broken off so will eventually need to fix that.

 

[justin71105]

Going to hit up junkyard tomorrow for the coupler that goes on either end of intercooler.

My bottom one is wore and works its way passed the new clips. Hoping one side of intercooler from junkyard has a good coupler. Also want to see if I can find rear leather seats to swap in to go with my fronts.

May even drain my transmission and fill with some Synchromesh tomorrow or Thursday and see what it does if anything.

 

[afterthisnap]

If your shifter cables are even slightly off, no fluid is going to have the properties to change that alignment.

Take a look to see how the shifter cables and counterweight move while someone else rows through the gears and it might be more apparent as to why a just bit too much or too little cable throw leads to the sensation that you're mashing gears together.

 

[justin71105]

I will check it out but rather chance a fluid change and it not work. Rather than byying a shifter assembly and it not working either.

Will try a 5mm drill bit and see if whats left of the cast aluminum hole is enough to hold it in place.

Junkyard had pulled all the cats I was getting parts off and crushed them. So instead I pulled coupler off and bent clips more and it seems to have helped immensely. The clips were brand new so they shouldn't be wore out and the couplers dimples were still in good shape as well.

If they get anymore of VW cars in with that style intercooler I'm going to grab a few good ones anyway. They are $40 online and $3 at junkyard.


Also got the new bolts in the axle flange, torqued to 30 ft lbs and hope they hold. With the boot on the inner axle there is not much room for the triple square to fit. Did manage to get them all torqued down though.

Will drill out the broken bolt of I ever need to replace the axle.

 

[justin71105]

Found a complete gear shifter assembly with new bushings for $55, going to order it and have it ready to do as well as the kit from diesel geek that comes with first gear saver, cable bushings and the super slider. Tried putting a pin in the broken piece and it isn't going to hold it.

Hoping with the new gear shift I can use the pin to adjust linkages and have all new bushings to boot.

Will drop exhaust and heat shield then shifter and replace all bushings for shifter and cables.

 

[justin71105]

New Shifter assembly installed with the diesel geek deluxe kit and super slider. Also followed their video on adjusting the cables, one of my clips was spun around and could not get it too lock into place. Pulled battery and air box and was the little pin was not lined up with the groove it goes in. After finding that and putting it in home then pining shifter it took less than 30 secs to adjust.

If not a fluid change is next and if it still grinds and or pops out going into third I am going to let it ride until I have to fix it. Won't be driving it much next year anyway.

Only part I had issue with was the exhaust pipe on turbo.....one of the studs snapped off with almost no torque while trying to loosen. Will see if it makes any noise and look into what you do for that. Likely have to pull turbo and weld a nut on the stud and then try to back it out like I would do on an exhaust manifold. And if I end up doing it I am going to replace all 3 studs.

Other than that one issue everything else went pretty smooth, will see in a little bit if it fixes the 3rd gear issue I have.

 

[justin71105]

Didn't take very long to find out that didn't work 3rd gear still grinding sometime when shifting into it.

May change the fluid over to Pennzoil synchromesh this weekend and see if it does anything if not I'm not messing with it anymore.

 

[afterthisnap]

Bummer.
Which alignment procedure/guide did you use?

 

[justin71105]

Followed dieselgeeks video, I know the alingmemt is good. Because when I first adjusted it I got off and only 2 gears would engage and not the others.

So seeing how it works, and since only 3rd is having an issue does not look to have anything to do with cables. I would have multiple gears having the issue and more than likely would not fo into the gear at all.

Every gear shifts butter smooth, until shifting into 3rd (randomly) feel like a vibration and gear doesn't engage or pops back out on its own and I have to go back to neutral and back into 3rd.

Does not happen everytime and some trips not at all. Seems more likely 2-3 synchro wear, which I hope the synchromesh can help with.

 

[justin71105]

Picked up 2 bottles of Pennzoil synchromesh this morning and a allen socket set. Going to be changing fluid later today and see if it gets rid of issue.

 

[justin71105]

QUOTE="IndigoBlueWagon, post: 5689753, member: 24216"]
Switch it to Synchromesh. I'm betting it'll fix the problem. It has on several of my MKIVs.
[/QUOTE]

Trying this later today, swapped shifter out so I could have the hole to do cable adjustment with pin. The hole on mone eas broken.

Changed all bushing while I had shifter out to the delrin ones, and adjusted cable linkage.

Now doing this which is what I should have done to begin with per you're recommendation.

Hopefully it will clear up this slightly irritating issue. Want this issue cleared up before I do a tune and such.

--- Fluid is changed, took all but maybe 20ml of the 2 qts. Could not find a torque spec in the manual it just said tighten plug securely and check for leaks after driving.

The shop that did my service last torqued the hell out of both of them I had to use my 2 ft breaker bar to break loose both plugs.

Will give it a couple days and see if it improves.

Took it into town earlier and only did it once while leaving, fine after that. Will see how it does, hopefully alleviates my issue.

 

[justin71105]

Been two weeks now and it is shifting much better, still will grind rarely but kothing like it was.

Want to find the source of a small oil leak, its on back of engine somewhere. Leaks onto dogbone, a drip or two when parked. Slowly getting my garage floor nasty though.

Changed some more fuel lines that were looking pretty bad, have done the ones coming from the filter and through the check valve.

Almost 2k miles on it though and still running good, avg 40-41 mpg mixed. Not as good as my 2015 Golf Tdi I should have kept but still pretty good.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Check the turbo oil return line, and the EGR valve for a source of the leak.

 

[justin71105]

Had some oil/filter/drain plug from fcp in my cart added a oil return. It is showing some oil residue around that piece and it seems to be fresh.

I think the shop that did my service over fulled my oil pan. When I got the car the oil level was at the top of the hash marks on the stick. Notoced it is now 1/2" or maybe closer to 1" above the high hash mark. Guessing they put the entire 5 qrt bottle in, from looking it calls for 4.2 qrts.

Going to change fluid once again....and not visit that VW independent for any more services I think.
I see there is one guru about an hr away near Asheville NC, when timing belt comes up I will visit that one instead.

 

[justin71105]

Inner/outer tie rods and ball joints installed.

Inner tie rods had a ton of slack in them, outers were ok. Ball joints were ok, had all the parts so I went ahead and replaced everything.

Not bad, had to cut off outer tie rods and the nuts for both. The removed the rubber grease sral on ball joints to hold the stud from spinning....allen key ends were stripped.

Took about 3 hrs start to finish, first side was a pain, second one went pretty quick. Getting an aligment Thursday and should last another couple years on these.

 

[Zak99b5]

Too late now, but you can put a jack right under the ball joint and raise it till you just take some of the weight off the jack stand. That should keep the ball joint stud from turning as you loosen it. You may need more or less pressure; season to taste.

 

[justin71105]

Too late now, but you can put a jack right under the ball joint and raise it till you just take some of the weight off the jack stand. That should keep the ball joint stud from turning as you loosen it. You may need more or less pressure; season to taste.

Didnt remove axles so wasnt any room to remove ball joint nut without letting the control arm drop once the nut has started to back off more than half way.

 

[justin71105]

Drives like new after aligment, was getting body roll it felt like before in curves hitting bumps/pot holes.

Didn't really notice how bad it handled until everything was replaced.

Installed some roof rack cross bars today and may get a basket to go up there as well.

Fixed my license plate mounts, the stock ones had bolts broke off in them.

Drilled out the old threaded pieces and replaced with the plastic push in type from parts store. Very tight fit but now have 4 bolts holding plate instead of 1.

Pretty much everything on the car as far as suspension, steering and brakes is new now. At least the common wearable parts that there was no service history of.


Hopefully have a good long while before I need to replace anything else. Next big job will be timing belt and cam replacement in about 20k miles.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

That aligned really well.

 

[justin71105]

Made the mistake of driving a buddies 12' Golf MK6 6 spd manual, makes my MK4 Wagon feel ancient lol.
Now putting feelers out around here for a swap with cash on my end.

Probably wait until I get back from Europe next year to do anything. Shouldn't have drove his car , his is a Tdi but I may even look into a MK6 Gti 6 spd when I get back.

Mine handles better and rides a whole lot better, he needs to do some suspension/steering work for sure. But dang its just a nicer feeling car, feels like it shifts smoother and loads more power.

Offered $6k plus my car to swap, his needs timing belt and a few other things be about $2200 to get it the way I would want maintenance wise.

Got turned down unfortunately, may be a good thing would just sit in storage for a few months at a time the rest of the year while I'm gone.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

MKIVs are the best. Newer gens may be more refined, but the ALH and BEW drive better and won't let you down.

 

[benmarks]

I respectfully disagree with that statement re MK6, though I guess it depends on the performance mods and tune you've done (if any... I haven't read this whole thread.) I had a 6-speed 2014 Beetle TDI until I couldn't turn down the $15,000 offer in 2016 as part of the recall. I also had a similar rental Jetta for a couple months after my 2nd MK4 silver Jetta got destroyed when someone rear ended me at 45 MPH on the highway.

My MK4 Jetta performs just as well with bigger injectors, turbo and Malone tune. While I've done a ton of other mods, those are the only performance mods.

I also think post-MK4 with the change in VW's philosophy to become "the largest car company in the world," they downgraded the interiors too and overall experience as well. The MK5's and MK6's are way more plasticky, and way less refined. The MK4 was the peak in balance between performance and refinement compared to the versions before and after of these cars.

 

[justin71105]

My wagon is all stock no power adders at all. I have freshened the steering/suspension/brakes/fluids/shift bushings on it so it does drive and handle like a new car

It also barely gets out of its own way compared to what I am used to driving.

I have owned both a 14' MK6 Golf and 15' MK7 Golf both Tdi's. MK6 was sold back to VW, it had hail damage which my insurance paid for and then the buyback offer was made right after. Basically got out of the loan and a check for almost $20k so I couldnt pass it up.

MK7 Tdi I still regret trading in for my last car, a 2021 Accord.

Would still have the Accord but I am going to England and Germany for a year and didnt want the note. And didnt find out I was leaving for training until after I bought the new car.

Dont really need to swap right now since I leave in 3 weeks. Researching what all I could do to my car for 6k instead of swapping for a newer Mk6 and would it be just as nice. Timing belt and cam would be coming up in 20k miles, not cam but might as well if already doing Tbelt.


Recovering my door panels today b/c the fabric is falling off and maybe I can make it more appealing to myself.

Yeah that fabric aint work worth a crap, used headliner with foam backing instead and it looks much better. Ran through an entire yard of the space them and it did not stretch too good and tomes of wrinkles.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Motor was replaced with a 103k mile replacement when the odometer in the car was at 274,600. Vin decoder lists that engine to be from a 2005 Beetle TDi w/manual trans

Replacement motor got a new tbelt, pulleys and water pump at that time. Along with a stage 2 south bend clutch. He said the prevous owner had kept detailed binders of all the maintenance with receipts and he had thrown them away a few months prior. Would really have liked to see all that info, maybe not every oil change but major services would be nice to have a record of other than the carfax. I would like to see what that 247k miles service ran them price wise, that was a major list of repairs.



Was a 50 mile drive back home and it never missed a beat other than ahifting into 3rd gear on occasion would grind or be hard to engage. Most times I shifted there was no issue with it.

I came across a really good deal on a set of the 15" Avus wheels, $50 for all 4 with no center caps in good shape. Found center caps online for really cheap without the VW sticker.

Once I pick up the new wheels tomorrow I am having tires installed while I handle the title and registration.

Then I can go back to discount tire and have them mounted to the car and come back home and do a good detail on it inside and out.


Tuesday I am having the service done and will have them adjust transmission linkage and inspect bushings. See that in the car looking under the shifter boot the hole for the pin is broken. Looks like they were adjusting it and shifted into first breaking the backside of hole off, maybe thats why 3rd gear is an issue sometimes, the linkage never for adjusted 100%.

Will schedule for a new windshield and want some tint put on as well.


Have ordered a new in tank fuel pump, he said other than tires and the windshield that is the only other thing the car might need and he had never replaced it and it doesn't list it on any of the Carfax services.

Would like to find a center console/arm rest for it, it feels strange having no arm rest.

http://imgur.com/ITU4mkL

If you have a Trimline here near you There tint jobs are competitively priced but they have a lifetime guarantee

 

[benmarks]

Researching what all I could do to my car for 6k instead of swapping for a newer Mk6 and would it be just as nice.

So, you'd consider keeping it depending on what you could do with $6,000? You could greatly improve the performance for less than half that, and maybe even less than that depending on whether purchasing new or used parts and/or doing your own work. A rough estimate:

$750-1,000 = timing belt swap
$350-500 = PD150 or equivalent injectors (used)
$800-1,000 = VNT-17 turbo (new, i.e. what's on a PD150)
$400-600 = Malone Stage 4 tune (depending on options)
$500 = Misc. required parts like 3-bar MAP sensor and others

(I had a recent example of the used injector prices in my head, but someone here may have a better recent example of a used turbo price.)

Not including the cost of the timing belt, that's just under $3,000. This list is probably the most common scenario for performance upgrades. There are certainly many additional upgrades, but this is where a lot of people stop and are completely happy with the big leap in performance.

For the remaining $2,000, you could look into a front mounted intercooler, or a PD150 intake manifold, or PD150 turbo intake pipe, or other PD150 air and cooling upgrades, but the returns start diminishing. You'd probably be better off taking the last chunk of money and improving the interior or exterior appearance. And of course, you don't have to spend all $6,000 either.

 

[justin71105]

Door panel covered, has a few wrinkles but much much better than the stock one that was literally falling off.



I've been adding it up for what I could get, main ones I am looking at are. Tbelt and cam at same time if any wear is found. Turbo, exhaust and have trans rebuilt as my 3rd gear servo still acts up every once in awhile shifting from 2-3


Going to think on it, still like the quality of the MK6 over mine. Most likely would not be a Tdi MK6 as I would want a Golf and there are not many around here at all. Plenty of Gti's for sale in this area though, or just keep mine as is and dump the money in my 64 chevy instead.

Issue with putting that much in my car is if I total it, its stolen or I want to sale later its still only worth maybe $4500.

I could get that out of it right now maybe a tad bit more and thats still taking a loss with everything I've done.

 

[benmarks]

One thing to consider, a rebuilt transmission runs around $1,200 (that was the estimate I got from German Transaxle in Oregon) but you can get a 6-speed 02M for $1,300-1,700 (or maybe even less depending on condition.) The 02M is basically a bolt-on replacement.

Tow examples:

German Transaxle:

Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, Golf, Cabriolet, Rabbit, Scirocco, New Beetle transmissions | German Transaxle of America

Korwerks:

MK4 TDI 4motion 02M

MK4 TDI 4motion 02M 6 Speed with Bevel Box Transmissions are Used in Good Working Condition Flat Rate Shipping on Freight Sized Korwerks Products to Lower 48 or Free In Store Pick Up

www.korwerksllc.com