New (to me) 2003 Jetta GLS TDI -- lovin' it!

[shizzler]

There's not much really information out there to help you figure out where the separation point actually is. Read this thread to see how I tested and went forward with my own VG installation. The tuft test seemed pretty clear to me.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...z-vortex-generators-2003-jetta-rear-8839.html

BTW woodrobin, get used to explaining what those "shark fins" are on your car to every joe schmoe who gets curious.

Oh and per your injector leak.... sad to say but it probably does have everything to do with your abrupt and recent switch to pure biodiesel. Biodiesel makes fuel lines and seals swell (and switching back to pure dino-diesel will make them contract again). More often leaks occur when you switch back to regular diesel, but it can happen the other way too. Looks like the injector return line (rubber tubing inside of fabric weave) is leaking... it probably swelled up and got loose on the metal injector. Good news is the return fuel line assembly should be cheap and easy to replace.

If you do try to tighten the fuel line atop the injector to rule that out, make sure to counter-hold the injector so you aren't twisting it too. Don't go overboard....

As a general rule, I try to always gradually shift from lower to higher blends of biodiesel. But I also now try to never run pure diesel (my stuff leaks too sometimes). I would recommend you do the same now that you blew everything out with pure bio. I also think I'll stay under B80 from now on to hopefully avoid any further leaks and required fixes or line replacements.

 

[Woodrobin]

Oil change complete! Not that exciting for most folks, I know, but this was actually the first oil change I've done myself on any car I've owned.

Pela out and starting to drain the oil. The assembly was easy, and getting it started was no sweat. I took the precaution of getting the car nice and warmed up ahead of time.

Pentosin HP II and Mann filter from idparts waiting patiently to go in once the oil drains.

About 3 liters into the process. Going smoothly so far.

I just put that drain tube all up in the Jetta's business.

There's the nasty old Mobil IDK (as in I Don't Know what the dealership put in, only that it had a Mobil sticker). I vacuumed it out with the Pela.

Here's the old filter. Brand? I don't know, Oily?

It's worth saying that these last pictures are in the dark because I had to borrow a tool from my neighbor to get the oil filter cap off. I'll post a picture of it later, as it is a weird, almost steampunk, bit of oddness. This was necessary because the fellow who did the last oil change evidently has a different interpretation of "tighten to 25 nM" than the rest of the universe. I'd like to take a moment here to address the mechanic who fastened the oil filter last time:

"Dear Sir: I am going to **** your mother. I am going to videotape me ****ing your mother, and I am going to make you watch for as long as it took me to get the oil filter loose. And I am going to make her shout your name every time she ****. That is all."

Other than that, the process went very smoothly. I'm definitely glad I bought that Pela.

All done. Mess significantly less than expected.

Mobil ??? out, Pentosin HP II in at 126327 miles. Mjolnir already sounds and feels better. Going to Tonganoxie tomorrow to eat ridiculous amounts of steak, so he'll get a nice bit of highway running with the new oil and filter.

 

[shizzler]

Right on. Don't get the engine/oil _too_ hot before a pella extraction though - I melted the outer layer at the bottom of my suction tube. Had to snip it down an inch to keep good suction from the very tip (necessary for complete extraction).

As for the filter cap, mine was super tight when I bought my car used as well. Ever since then I just hand tighten (double handed bear grip though), no leaks ever. Much easier to loosen for the next change.

 

[Woodrobin]

Mjolnir purred along nicely with four people in the car zipping down the highway to and from the steakhouse, and the oil change and air filter replacement have seriously improved the sound and feel of the engine. Re: eating ridiculous amounts of steak: if you are ever near Tonganoxie, KS, you need to stop in at Bichelmeyer's Steakhouse. They cut the meat when you order the steak. Seriously, who has a steakhouse with their own butcher anymore? So good.

Here are the pictures of the odd Snap-On tool I borrowed from my neighbor (who got it back promptly the following day, along with some "Fooled You" jalapeno peppers as a thank you gift):

I was momentarily tempted to shout "Filterium Leviosa!" to see if the oil filter would rise up in the air, but I figured that probably wouldn't work.

The gears are set up so that when you turn the wrench in the free-moving direction, the teeth move the arms inward. So it'll work on many different sizes of filters.

If you ever use one of these, put a rag or similar padding over the oil filter housing. Those arms are solid steel, and will bite into the cap if you don't and the filter is cranked down too tight.

As the name says, the arms will close in either clockwise or counter-clockwise, depending on how the ratchet is set, so it works on regular and reverse-thread equally well. I'm tempted to hunt one of these up for myself when I have a little extra tool-chest money.

 

[Woodrobin]

When I was installing the air filter, I noticed there seemed to be a semi-clear liquid coming out around one of the injector ports (unless I'm completely wrong about what this is):

I'm looking at replacing these fuel lines with something I know will stand up to biodiesel without issues. Likely choices seem to be the clear blue polyurethane (found it here in five foot lengths for 1/8 in 5 feet $1.80, 3/16 25 feet for $11.95, which doesn't seem too bad), or the Dayco flouro-elastomer hose (found here for 25 feet for $5.44).

Pluses/minuses for polyurethane:

+ fuel visible through line
+ engine bling
- apparently discolors/darkens over time
- may be less durable
- more expensive

Pluses/minuses for flouro-elastomer

+ less expensive
+ thicker, more rugged construction
+ rated for biodiesel use according to manufacturer
- not transparent (not a big deal)
/ looks more like OEM line (neither + nor - to me)

My questions:

1. What lines would I need to replace. I know I'd need to replace the ones connected to the injectors, especially the one that's leaking. Any others I should do while I'm at it?

2. What skill level does this require? Is there a tutorial, or would I need to get this to CoolairVW, or at least to a local mechanic, to have it done?

3. What sizes are these lines? What internal diameter measure do I need to be getting from these folks?

4. Since I'm certainly going to have more length of line than I need, would anyone be interested in what I have left over?

 

[shizzler]

hmm. Good research, but you might want to consider just buying the OEM parts, especially if they are cheap. My original lines have seen many thousands of miles on pure biodiesel and several winters of switching back and forth to low % bio blends, and have never leaked. You might just have shocked them with an abrupt change to pure bio. Keep the blending changeover gradual and OEM lines shouldn't leak like that. You could even try just putting a tiny hose clamp, or even a zip tie on the connection that is leaking. It might just need a little help to stop leaking for good.

 

[Jethro]

Do the factory lines just 'press' onto the injectors?
I've been noticing a faint smell of raw diesel, thinking I might be having similar issues.

Not that I can find anything over B20 here in NM, but I going to switch over (Finally found a station!) to B20 on Friday (Happy Earth Day!).
[Don't get to silly, I'm going home, loading my ATV into my big truck and driving into the woods to camp that day too! Haha!]

 

[Woodrobin]

hmm. Good research, but you might want to consider just buying the OEM parts, especially if they are cheap. My original lines have seen many thousands of miles on pure biodiesel and several winters of switching back and forth to low % bio blends, and have never leaked. You might just have shocked them with an abrupt change to pure bio. Keep the blending changeover gradual and OEM lines shouldn't leak like that. You could even try just putting a tiny hose clamp, or even a zip tie on the connection that is leaking. It might just need a little help to stop leaking for good.

I gave the OEM lines some thought, but every source I found for them was around double the price of the guaranteed non-reactive alternatives. Also, I had the whole set replaced a little over a year ago, as all the originals were weeping fuel. So this leak had a "What, again?" feel to it. I figured, price allowing, I would replace them with something I was fairly sure wouldn't do that again.

I ended up buying a pre-cut kit, with a custom end cap included, from Greasecar. It was about $12, and I like the no-muss, no-fuss approach. Now I just need to know how to put them on. I think the lines just press on to the fuel injectors, and I assume since they are return lines, I don't really need to prime them with fuel to avoid air bubbles. Is that right?

 

[PickledTele]

Woodrobin your car looks eerily similar to my car!

I bought mine 1 year ago with 123xxx miles. It's a 5 spd GLS and I still love it with 138xxx!
The first I did to it was replace the braided fuel lines with biodiesel compatible one's because they don't degrade as easily. They just press onto the injectors like you said and I did not prime mine, never had any difficulties. Have fun with your TDI!

 

[shizzler]

Oh, nice find! Can't beat that for $12. Should be a no-brainer install, though you might have to slice the old ones to get them off easily and avoid really yanking on the injector fittings.

 

[Woodrobin]

Replaced the leaking OEM fuel injector return lines with Viton flouro-elastomer lines. Kris the Wonder-Girlfriend was nice enough to take pictures of the process for me.

Here's the Greaseworks kit ready to go. Box cutter not included. It comes in two pieces -- the custom made Viton end cap and a length of Viton hose more than sufficient to cut the segments to fit.

Here's the end cap and first segment replaced. This was the critical one, as it had a slight but ongoing leak. I decided to replace them all rather than wait for the rest to fail, though. The first segment was so swollen with fuel saturation that it slipped off fairly easily.

This one was a bit more stubborn. I wasn't worried about being able to pull it loose, but I was worried it was about to come apart and leave the stub end on the nipple (which sounds dirtier than it is).

This would be the point where my luck ran out in terms of removing lines the old-fashioned way. These lines had zero elasticity. I was very careful to score them enough that they would split, but not cut through them and score the nipples (which is never good).

Obligatory bare nipple post.

Carefully removed the holding clamps from the old line. They're not exactly springy either, and I didn't want any plastic bits breaking off and heading south.

Last of the injector lines going on. One more line to go.

The line to the fuel injector pump in place, all done and ready to go.

Here it is, all done and ready for B100.

Dirty hands are happy hands.

A slightly scary moment when I went to start the car: apparently having the fuel return lines full of air can make the car not start on the first five attempts. Six time is the charm, though, and now the engine is purring along right smart. Next fill-up it's back to B100 for me!

 

[JettaTDI]

Where did you get that drainer?

 

[aslspiderman]

Any ideas as to what might be causing this, and what I'm going to need to do about it, if anything? I'm going to try tightening the connection where the metal tubing is attached at the top (sorry, ignorant of the correct term) and hope it has just worked loose a bit. Keep your fingers crossed for me. [/QUOTE]

When I purchased my 02 Jetta I had the same leaking on the same injector as yours. Not sure if it was the return line or the metal line on top of the injector. So I pulled the return line and cut about a 1/4 inch off, then put it back on. Then I broke the metal line loose, made sure it was seated properly on the injector and tightened it back up.

Also, I haven't heard the term "broadie knob" in a long long time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane

Edit--guess I should read the entire thread before putting in my 2 cents. BTW--nice ride!

 

[Woodrobin]

Where did you get that drainer?

I got mine from Wholesale Marine, but then kicked myself when I remembered that Dieselgeek carries them too. Felt like I should have supported the community, especially since the price was about the same. My bad, man.

 

[Woodrobin]

Defogging!

Used a Turtlewax brand kit to defog the acrylic headlight lenses. The kit includes abrasive pads and a sealant in addition to the de-oxidiser. So far, I've only used the de-oxidiser, as there are few chips or scratches and I don't yet feel the need to take it to that next step. If I take it to a TDIFest, sure, but it's good to go for all practical purposes now.

Passenger side:

Before:

After:

Driver's side:

Before:

After:

I don't have a before and after on the amount of light that actually gets through the lens and illuminates the road, but trust me on this: the difference is huge.

 

[Woodrobin]

Well, no pics to add just yet, but just got the Jetta back from CoolairVW. New Bilstein HD shocks and struts, new Titan 502 injector nozzles, and he fixed the valve body issue on my 01M automatic transmission and found and fixed a leaking seal on the fuel injector.

The ride? Smooth and sweet. The power? OMG***BBQ!

Next on the list is sending the ECU readout to Malone Tuning and getting my custom tune back (basically Stage 2 with Dynamic EGR and Dynamic Idle). Then all I need is a flux capacitor, and I'm ready to violate the laws of causality.

I may ask my girlfriend to take some pics of me 'smokin',' which I apparently did a couple of times on the way back.

 

[Woodrobin]

Next on the list is sending the ECU readout to Malone Tuning and getting my custom tune back (basically Stage 2 with Dynamic EGR and Dynamic Idle). Then all I need is a flux capacitor, and I'm ready to violate the laws of causality.

The tune is installed, and after a test run, tweaked to set the idle at 1200 rpm until the engine reaches 150 F (the standard Dynamic Idle) then drop to 1005 rpm. For some unknown reason the car was vibrating something fierce at 850-900 rpm, and 1005 isn't really hurting it, so problem solved.

Now to find a long straight stretch of road, engage Ludicrous Speed, and some guy in a Space Winnebago will be saying:

"They've gone to plaid!"

 

[BrianGuy1979]

My new one is similar, except Reflex Silver.

Reflex Silver is the BOMB!!!

 

[Woodrobin]

New charcoal cabin air filter

New cabin air filter and Nicktane uber fuel filter kit received from Bora Parts today. Installed the cabin air filter (pics follow) and ran down to Advance Auto Parts to pick up some Power Service Diesel Kleen to prime the Nicktane 1 micron filter with when I install it tomorrow.
Here's a blow-by-blow of the filter install:


Removed all four screws (set over on the one handy portion of the car that wasn't the same color as the screws so as not to lose track of them) and pulled the plastic seal up.

Now we're ready to pull out the cover piece. You may want to do this with more thought put into how old and brittle the plastic probably is than I did. I didn't damage it much, but easily could have.

The piece that goes over the top of the cabin filter removed, you can see the tip of the iceberg of grossness that is about to be revealed in the filter medium.

Note the two tabs on the front of the filter frame. As will become apparent shortly, I didn't. Should have, but didn't.

I have no idea what sort of wee beastie was nesting in my cabin filter, though I suspect a mouse. That could just be a suspiciously non-random accumulation of cat hair, fibers and generic yuck . . . it could be. It was glued down to the filter medium fairly fiercely for a blob of random grossness, though.

New charcoal cabin air filter medium in place and ready for installation. Brain fart in 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . .

Please note that the side with three tabs goes toward the passenger cabin. This will save you the time it took me to figure out what was wrong when I didn't note that fact. This was my "He doesn't know how to use the three seashells!" moment of the day.

There we go. Right way around, tabs clicked into place, ready for the cover to go back on.

Cover back on, screws going back in. I only cracked it a little bit. In a few places. Hey, considering how old that plastic is, I'm happy I didn't break any pieces off completely.

Pressing the foamed plastic seal back into place, and we're good to go!

Tomorrow, the Nicktane filter goes in. Hopefully, my girlfriend will be kind enough to photograph that process as well. I love it when hobbies converge like that.

 

[BrianGuy1979]

New cabin air filter and Nicktane uber fuel filter kit received from Bora Parts today. Installed the cabin air filter (pics follow)
When I went to replace my filter I had a suprise waiting for me when I got into it. Not a nest....but a TREE!!! LOL!!!

 

[79TA7.6]

Did it make the car smell any better?

 

[rocketeer928]

Maybe the odor from the tree was used to keep the mice away.

 

[Woodrobin]

Nicktane Uber Filter is on

Slightly delayed post: the Nicktane Uber Filter kit went on March 28, but the opportunity to post the pictures didn't come up until now.

I'm really liking the setup. Everything looked and felt very solid. The only minor quibble I might have is the the bracket didn't line up exactly with the holes for the old bracket, making the placement a little tight. I know, I know: "that's what she said."

Here's the pictorial:

The old filter and attachments, with the thermo-T. A little crusty, and as it turned out, funky and brown on the inside. Not going to make a joke here. Just not.

Here's the new Nicktane rig ready to rock and roll. I like the fact that it was shipped as assembled as possible. If nothing else, it lets me know how it's supposed to look when it's put together correctly. This is something I'm careful to take note of after the infamous backwards cabin filter incident.

Getting the retaining clip off the thermo-T assembly was easy. This was to be the last easy to remove clip until I started to put the Nicktane filter in. Not a big fan of those little grey OEM line clamps. Seriously not.

This would be about the third or fourth attempt to get the clip to cooperate. The word m***er-f***er may or may not have been uttered in the presence of my girlfriend. I'd like to say the rest of them were much easier. I would, of course, be lying if I did. I'm not sure if the fuel lines had swollen, or the clips had just squeezed themselves into the material, but they were in there like they had a long-term lease with rent control, folks.

OK . . . now we're starting to see some forward progress. Little grey suckers went in the trash right after this. I enjoyed that part. }

It turned out to be easier to remove the thermo-T before getting the hoses loose from it. I just didn't have the leverage to work them loose when the T was still in place. The marks where the grey clips had dug into the hoses are visible. Harder to see is the funky blackish-brown filter medium. That's not in shadow. It's just that dark. Time to change the filter? Maybe a little past time.

Very glad I didn't drop the screw there. I realized later I'd forgotten to bring along my magnetic retriever, which I purchased precisely because I do, in fact, tend to drop screws in situations just like this. If you can't be organized, be lucky.

Mann, I have never been that glad to see a filter before. Sorry, had to go there.

I opened the water drain, and found that there was surprisingly little water. Maybe not that surprising considering it was a bit past due for replacing, I suppose.

Coming shortly, the installation of the Nicktane filter.

 

[Woodrobin]

Part Two of the Nicktane Uber Filter Saga:

Removing the OEM bracket. This went fairly smoothly. Thankfully they weren't rusty or frozen at all.

Out with old, in with the new. Still in very good condition, too. Anybody need one of these?

Bracket screwed in, retaining clips in place. These screw-down clips are, in my opinion, vastly superior to the OEM clips. Certainly easier to place, adjust and tighten. Banjo fittings adjusted to line up with the hoses and tightened down. Just one step left.

The connector to replace the space previously occupied by the thermo-T in place, all hoses accounted for, adjusted, clamped and clipped in place.

Here's where things went a little off. I had two options when I put the filter in. One was to prime it with fuel or Power Service, or both. The other was to let the filter fill up with fuel as I tried to start it. I read a good bit on both sides of the issue, and decided on the dry start. This was not the best decision, apparently.

It started all right, ran for five seconds, then died. I ran the battery down before I could get it to turn over again. Thankfully, my girlfriend gave me a jump ( get your mind out of the gutter ) and the next crank of the ignition led to a successful start.

Now it's running sweet, pure and true. I'm already feeling a difference in response and hearing a slight difference in engine sound, so I'm definitely glad I did it.

 

[Woodrobin]

Hurled Mjolnir, but it returns . . . sort of.

Well, Mjolnir has been a good car, especially considering the 01M transmission (thanks CoolairVW for the valve body work!). However, he's being passed on to my Very Significant Other .

I'll be flying to Pennsylvania in mid-June to bring home Snadam's (formerly Sootman's) Jolly Green Jetta of Awesomeness. At that point, my current Jetta will pass to its new owner, and she and I will become a dual-Jetta crew.