new to me 2005 passat wagon on a tow dolly . WELL THAT DIDN'T LAST LONG

[dieselxj]

so what can you all see, one photo or all 5?

 

[Mozambiquer]

surprisingly hard to get a good photo of the bent axle. if you shoot if from the rear, you can see the wheel is not in the correct position, but you cant' see the other damage, if you shoot it from the side, you can't really see the wheel/axle bend very well at all

I can see that it's bent. That would require a whole rear axle. Looks just like my wagon. Shame it's banged up!

 

[Mozambiquer]

so what can you all see, one photo or all 5?

I only see one.

 

[borninabus]

looks a lot better than mine!

0ADBF7A4-75B1-4F2B-97BF-6B502F01C368.jpeg

• borninabus
• Oct 11, 2020

 

[dieselxj]

Yes mine definitely is not that bad. The wrecker came and took my car to the iaii insurance yard. The wrecker driver said I would never see it again.
I am really torn on if I want it back. That example failed me in the mpg department.
Did vw make a longitudinal ALH passat wagon? Or any ALH wagon for the U.S. market?
I want to give a tdi another chance. The passat wagon was a good size for me. Maybe a tiny bit too big. I am still on the fence about the PD engines and the computer stuff. For either DD status or a new swap.
I really wanted the BHW just for the longitudinal engine. But i fear it is too complicated for reliability and parts cost if it is not going to be a easy 40 mpg engine.

 

[Mozambiquer]

Yes mine definitely is not that bad. The wrecker came and took my car to the iaii insurance yard. The wrecker driver said I would never see it again.
I am really torn on if I want it back. That example failed me in the mpg department.
Did vw make a longitudinal ALH passat wagon? Or any ALH wagon for the U.S. market?
I want to give a tdi another chance. The passat wagon was a good size for me. Maybe a tiny bit too big. I am still on the fence about the PD engines and the computer stuff. For either DD status or a new swap.
I really wanted the BHW just for the longitudinal engine. But i fear it is too complicated for reliability and parts cost if it is not going to be a easy 40 mpg engine.

Yes, VW made a wagon with the Alh. It's the Jetta wagon, though they really go for a lot right now, or the b4 Passat wagon which had the 1z tdi. Neither were longitudinal though. But, they're a lot easier to work on too and get a lot better fuel economy.

 

[dieselxj]

i got the $ #'s from the insurance. the buy back is going to be about $1000. I am trying to decide if i am going to do the buy back or not. I am going to go to the insurance yard tomorrow morning to try and look at the car. I am hoping to be able to get it jacked up a bit to make a more thorough inspection.. I am expecting some resistance on that from the yard folks.
so far the plan will be to do the minimum repair work to get the car road worthy, and drive the daylights out of it. so i am looking at rear axle and suspension repair only. and hope that i don't have to do too much trimming on the inner and outer fender/quarter panel to keep the tire from rubbing.
any body have any advice on what to look for on the frame to axle attach points.

i am hoping i have a fall back position to sell the parts if i can't make a driver out of it again. you all saw the pics, do you think there is $1000 in parts there? All the glass is good, trans is good and fresh with rebuild receipts, engine is good with BSM delete and 128000 miles, seats , and all the rest. What other parts would be easy to sell?

 

[MOGolf]

Rear axle beams from any front wheel drive B5.5 will bolt on in place of that. Not a hard job. Should be able to locate a used one.

For the body damage, I've seen a lot worse cars on the road with damage just left as-is. You'd need to make sure the tire doesn't rub on anything once the axle beam is replaced. Otherwise that quarter panel, wheel well liner, bumper skin, will need repair, along with anything else not readily visible that got damaged.

Question remains about whether any of the other parts near there got damaged. Fuel tank fill neck, etc.

(I wonder if a Dent Wizard type place could help. )

 

[dieselxj]

i am running into problems with the insurance company they don't want to let me take my car to a body shop for inspection. there position now is i can inspect at the yard all i want with whomever i want, but no lift available., and removal from the insurance yard basically constitutes a buy back. plus they want to cancel the rental car on Friday. Sort of forcing my hand on the decision. That is pretty BS to me. So we are at a impass with the insurance. Honestly the buy back was just a few hundred too high, they added about $300 of fees and taxes in there. The salvage value of the car is $675 i think, and they said if i sell them the car they will pay me for the TTL which is the 300 . Either way, on my end the buy back is $1000 to me when the salvage value is $675.
MoGulf i agree with you. I can drive it with the dents. But if the axle beam attach points are bent , that is the deal breaker. Used axles are about $200 ish, maybe 300 at the most. so putting a $300 axle , plus wheel and tire and whatever else to get the minimum road worthy car out of it, and I will have $1500 in it lets say. but with the dent it will never sell for that much. So if i put the axle on and that does not fix it enough to drive then i am in the loser column . It is looking like i will let them keep it at this point. funny yesterday i was going to buy it back.
If i can get the car on a lift and do a good inspection that will make the decision. I even told the insurance that i would cover the transport back to the insurance yard if upon inspection i decide not to buy it back, but as of today they said no to that.
on a different tack, i found a like car about 250 miles away with a blown engine and a decent body for i hope $500, but again i will have a $1500 car that i will not be able to sell for $1500, and i will have some extra parts for a swap.
What is the do it yourself repair cost for a BSM failure. i am guessing that is a not fixed price repair? what is the average BSM failure repair , any ideas?

 

[borninabus]

i'd say that a $1000 buy back is obsurd. i payed $500 to get mine back, FYI. swapped the wheels/tires & rack bars to my new wagon and am already in the the black, IMO.

did you accept a "total" offer from the insurance company? because you shouldn't have unless you provided to them paperwork for the BSM delete, trans rebuild or whatever you have. i did just that (also linked to threads regarding BSM) in order to explain to them that this was not "just a passat" and their comparison cars were in fact, not comparable.

not speaking from experience, but to answer you question: word on the street is BSM failure constitutes a full engine rebuild & probably a turbo too.

 

[MOGolf]

Rear axle beam bolts to brackets that bolt to the body forward of the rear wheel wells.

Yes, you're probably better off not repairing and moving on from this vehicle, unless you really want to drive a B5.5 Passat TDI or get a better, realistic, number from the insurance company.

 

[Mozambiquer]

IMG_20201030_173528.jpg

• Mozambiquer
• Oct 30, 2020

Passat axle beam mounting

This is how it mounts. I snapped a photo of my wagon where the axle mounts.
If you parted it out, you may be able to make it back, especially with having a reman tranny. That would be more than a grand in and of itself.

 

[dieselxj]

Couple of things. I finally got the INS to agree to a off-site 3rd party inspection. But now that the INS has declared it a total loss no body shop that I have talked to. Will even look at the car.
I mentioned to the adjuster about increasing the value because of the trans rebuild. And the bsm delete. Now Im not sure that will benefit me. In the buy back scenario. My thinking is that these specific items will increase the value yes. But in both the appraised value and the salvage or buy back value. So if the buy back goes up that does not help me. If I decide to sell to INS then a higher value does help me.
My trans is a rebuild not a reman. Do you still think I can get a grand for it?

 

[dieselxj]

i was able to take some photos today of the axle beam mount. it looks pretty straight to me. not sure how to check if for straightness. I still can't get any body shops to even think about looking at it. I did talk to a alignment shop, and they said they could check the rear axle alignment, But I don't know what they will find except that the rear axle is severely bent.
I guess i have resided myself to try the buy back, i can 't go too far wrong for $1000. There should be some parts value there if i can't get it back on the road. I did check the local salvage yard. there are several passat's in there,

 

[dieselxj]

 

[dieselxj]

what was the year breakdown for wheel sizes on the VW's i have 17" steel wheels. there were not any available at the salvage yard , only 15" and 16". i just put fresh 17" tires on , i don't want to lose those tires if possible. what other years have 17" wheels that will fit the 2005 wheel hub?

 

[imo000]

How about instead of asking all these questions, sit down for a few minutes and look up the answers on Google and YouTube? Familiarize yourself on how an alignment is done, the Passat alignment for toe is same as any other car. Sounds like you've never worked on a car before so perhaps find someone that knows what they are doing and ask them to help you or else you will screw something important up and kill someone.

 

[MOGolf]

As moderator for this forum, consider yourself warned. A post like that is not in keeping with the TDICLUB decorum. I may delete the post entirely.

You have come across as inexperienced at car repair at least with regard to the B5.5 Passat.
I also see a person who was anxious to get the car working properly in order to enjoy it and use it.
And then your plans got torpedoed by an accident.
There's a lot of frustration being vented in your posts. I can understand that too.

The advice was to use other available tools to answer some of your questions. TDICLUB is not your only resource although it may be the best. (Yes, I'm biased on that ).

The standard wheels on a B5.5 in North America is 16 inch size aluminum. 17 inch steel wheels were obviously put on by a previous owner.

The undercoating around the mount points doesn't look disturbed, so that part may be just fine.
Is that body panel separation from the "pinch weld" seam that I see in the left part of the picture on the right? Which side of the car is that?

I'd also check out the shock absorber mounting point on the right side. Also look for any damage to the fuel filler neck area and springs. Is the underside of the body twisted where the shocks and springs are, or will they still be vertical if the axle beam is replaced?

The back end of the car can only be aligned by shifting the axle beam at those mounting points. No other adjustment is available as far as I know.
Oilhammer would have experience in this area.

Here's a general description of the axle beam replacement:

- Raise the vehicle and remove the wheels
- Disconnect the shock absorbers from the beam
- Note the position of the ends of the springs - they have a particular orientation and need to be reinstalled back to the same positions
- Pull the beam down on each side and remove the springs
- Remove the cover piece (if it is there)
- Remove retainers for the parking brake cables
- Disconnect the ABS sensor cables (find the rear wheel bearing replacement thread to see what this is)
- Disconnect the brake lines (Will you be able to reuse brake parts? Brake lines need replacing?
- Loosen the mounting brake bolts (the 3 on each side you took pictures of) but do not remove
- Support the beam and remove the two bolts that attach it to the brackets
- Install the new beam with new bolts to the brackets ensure that the rubber mounting centralizer seats in the mount bracket hole
- Tighten bolts only enough for initial assembly
- Tighten bracket-to-body bolts
- Loosen the beam-to-bracket bolts and tighten only hand tight
- Reassemble the other parts (parking brake, brake lines, springs, shock absorbers)
- Put the wheels on
- With the weight of the car on the wheels, tighten the bracket-to-body bolts, then the shock absorber bolts, then the beam to bracket bolts to their proper torque
- Bleed the brakes

 

[dieselxj]

i appreciate the warning. I would also hope that imo000 received a warning as well. It would probably be a good idea to erase both posts, if you like.
I also appreciate the info on the rest of the issues. and all the good advice i have received on this thread. I also only meant nothing but high praise for some of the truly encyclopedic TDI knowledge on this forum. I did not think there would be electronic wear indicators on the brake pads, just a level indicator on the fluid reservoir. Your correct about my frustration level on this project. I only have 2 days a week to work on the car, and i am not kidding about working in a mosquito infested swamp since the hurricane down here.
I am a member in good standing on several other forums. I have never felt the need to defend myself from direct attack like i did today. I have only had one other instance of such a inflammatory post, and it was resolved in a more humorous, way. I understand that my post would be inflammatory. imo000's post started off as just a complaint about asking what appear to be simple to answer questions on a forum that I agree could have been answered, BUT with quite a bit of outside research. The post also came off to indicate i am lazy in my research, which i disagree with. Then the post ended up in a full on attack on my ability, and threat to the public about my abilities.
I did not want to enter this forum with some sort of pro mechanic attitude. Certainly not when it comes to VW computer diagnostics, or modern VW's in general. Heck my first VW was a 1962 Beatle 6-volt. I bought before i even had a drivers license, i think i paid $100. I like to think i learn something every day, Or i try and learn something every day. Like what is the percentage increase that my pavement colored low to the ground wagon would be involved in a wreck compared to my old faded red midsize pickup truck, or any of the 4 bright white Jeep Cherokees I have and still own. I had hoped that my asking questions would not come off as me being a inexperienced mechanic, just new to the modern VW computer diagnostic process.
Yes there is quite a bit of frustration involved in losing a car so early in service, and a lot more frustration with the insurance company. I am working a little bit better with the insurance company. I believe we are coming to terms , and i hope that next week i will be able to get the car back for a good inspection.
Unfortunately I have still not been able to get under the car i have started researching axle beam R&R procedure. I am a learning about the axle replacement process, But maybe mistakenly i thought that some or all of the rear end alignment could be done at the point where the axle hub mounts to the axle beam. I did see that the bolt holes in the beam to unibody mounts are oversized to make some gross alignment adjustments, but i thought the fine tuning so to speak would be shims at the hub mount. So thanks as well for the briefer on the beam replacement procedure.
As for more damage on the car. I think the space on the pic you are referring too is a plastic part of the trim. Both of the pics are the passenger side. I think the shock piston rod may be bent, but i won't know until i can pull the tire. I am not too worried about the filler neck and the other stuff in and around the fender liner, and bumper cover as that stuff is readily available in the salvage yard. the upper spring perch is a good call to look at , so thanks for that.
again thanks for the warning, and the help so far

 

[MOGolf]

Here's the wheel bearing procedure. https://pics.tdiclub.com/data/uploads/5699/Passat_Wheel_Bearing_Replacement.pdf

The first two pictures show the sensor that I wrote about. They are ABS sensors, not brake pad sensors.
Although the procedure shows the sensor attached to the bearing assembly with the assembly off the beam, you can remove them from the bearing from under the car, but it is more difficult.

 

[dieselxj]

i got the car back home a day late, got it up on the lift, and torn down a fair amount. i only have half a day tomorrow to look some more. I hate to say it but the pass. side axle bushing mount looks a little bent to me. Still not sure if the pic worked. I can't tell if the bushing is bent ( unlikely) or the unibody is bent a bit. So far the damage is the rear bumper cover, pass side wheel well liner, pass side shock , rear axle beam. It is too dark to see anything now, but maybe the upper spring perch
i was thinking to try and buy a new axle bushing to compare the wrecked bushing to a new one, but that won't really tell me if the unibody is bent.
the only thing i can think of other than that would be to go through with the replacement axle and then take it to the alignment shop.
I am not really a body guy. engines, electrical, hydraulics and fabrication yes. but body work not so much.

 

[dieselxj]

 

[dieselxj]

can i put a measure on the long bushing bolt somehow? If it is bent it is not bent much. I guess if i had some sort of a " straight standard " i could drop the axle and see how the two axle bushings line up. But that is a pretty long small diameter rod to keep straight, and i don't have one , and it would probably cost almost as much for something like that as it would for a used axle beam. By the time i go to the trouble for any of the above mentioned checks, i would pretty much be committing to the buy back, or commiting to losing all that inspection time
And there are no shims available to fix this ????
I guess i can try and look through my thousands of pages of manual to see if i can find anything on this.
does any one know a VW specific body shop i can bounce a few questions off of?

thanks

 

[dieselxj]

 

[dieselxj]

the photos above are both of the passenger side mount. so that is maybe why is looks a bit bent. but the driver side does not look much better. i had to get a new phone the other day. I did not think i needed a better camera, but the new camera i think is much better. and yes it does look like the beam mount is actually cracked in this picture. I will have to give it a good look in the morning. those beam mounts are about $80 each i think.

 

[thundershorts]

If you buy a used beam, it will include the mounts as well cause no one would spend the time to remove them. Most likely, the beam took almost all the damage so the unibody most likely is not distorted enough to matter.

 

[thundershorts]

The bolts that secure the mounts to the body thread into threaded plates that allow for slight adjustment. They are used rather than captive nuts for ease of assembly on the production line.

 

[MOGolf]

Obviously, the rubber bushing has failed. There does appear to be a crack in the bracket at about 10 o'clock from the left bolt in the bottom picture. The fact that no dirt/undercoating appears disturbed suggests that bushing took the brunt of the force and gave out thus saving the body from damage, though a slight bend in the body may have occurred with that kind of force. You'd have to take it all off and compare to the other side. Any bend may be minor as thundershorts posted.

 

[dieselxj]

the buy back is complete. Waiting on the check. The mount in the picture was not in fact cracked. the rubber is shot for sure. One bent shock absorber.
Funny sad story on the junk yard. I spent a few hours last week prepping 2 different cars at the yard. There was a very nice color matched wagon for the rear bumper cover, and a super clean looking sedan for the axle beam. But the deal was not done with the insurance company. so i did not buy anything. i kind of thought to say something to the yard about the parts, but then thought nah, they will be there next week. I went to finish the work on the axle and bumper cover, and both cars got crushed while i was at work .
There is a 3rd 2004 passat sedan, I got the axle beam today. It took 2 days, I had to get a special wheel lock remover. I spent almost as much on getting the 2 rear wheels off the wreck as i spent on the axle beam. The new used axle beam is installed, the axle mount bushings are not very good, but better than what i had. So on with the junk yard axle, spindles, and spring rubber bushings, I want to get the rear wheel mounted to see if it is bent beyond repair. I got a single rear shock that is not worth installing, also got a spare wheel speed sensor, and the circuit board under the shifter. I will still need to go back and find some more plastic bits. and i will just buy some new shocks.
I won't be able to drive it this week, but maybe next week it will be back in service. All the parts at the junk yard were $130. insurance repair estimate was more than the car was worth, but it will be back on the road for well under $500 if all goes well

 

[dieselxj]

the repair is pretty complete. The car passed state inspection. The car drives pretty well. about the same as before the accident as near as i can tell, considering i only got to drive it for about a week before the accident. I did not get the new used fender liners to fit, I don't know what i was thinking on buying those. You have to have a straight car to put straight parts on. a bent car mostly needs bent parts.
I do have a hot brake issue on the hit wheel. I had trouble getting the passenger rear caliper piston to retract, i could not tell that turning the piston clockwise was doing any thing to retract the piston. Also i think i had a bent caliper bracket. So i went with a lifetime warrranty autozone caliper and bracket. Installed the new caliper and bracket with the old pads. I still have a hot brake, but about 100f cooler than the old brake
I disconnected the parking brake on the passenger side, still have a hot brake, but not as hot. retracted the piston on the new caliper all the way and tried a test drive from retracted piston with the parking brake still disconnected. Still hot, but not as hot. Running and coasting to a stop as best i can with just a tiny bit of brake at the end, and i get about 160F on the passenger rear, drivers rear is under 100F. Also now passenger rear is the same temp as the drivers front. Also the passenger rear hub is cold, so i think it really is the brake. The rotation drag on both rear wheels is within a few inch pounds of each other, the passenger rear wheel is maintaining rotation at about 15 to 20 inch #. i guess the drivers rear is a bit less, about 10in#
i got a new set of brake lines, but i have not installed them yet. I don't really think it is the lines.
I am trying to work through the ABS system in the manual as best i can. Did i read in manual that the ABS works on cross wheels like the drivers front and the rear passenger side are connected in the ABS circuit a bit? Not connected connected but is there a system reference that uses this cross?
I have a ross tech VCDS cable coming. but it will be next week. Will the VCDS log the actual line pressure from the antilock?
So on the anti-lock. if the engine and ignition are off, how much gravity flow should i get out of the open brake line? I don't get much flow . Engine running and bleeder open i get a pretty good amount of flow.
Also a new ish problem post accident. When i turn on the ignition, in the morning i get a liquid gurgling sound i guess i am. loosing fuel pressue over night, and just tonight with the fuel almost empty, I am noticing the fuel pump is cycling pretty often, maybe 4-5 times a minute at idle. but no fuel leakage anywhere that i have seen.

All in all the car is doing pretty well considering the beating it took, also the trans gear indicator is still intermittent.
and i have a chance to get a junkyard ECU from a 2004 BHW passat sedan. Is that a good spare to have? do the ECM's have any history of failure?