rocketeer928 - My 2003 VW Jetta TDI

[rocketeer928]

This Saturday night I plan to show my TDI at VW-Night at Superdawg in Wheeling, IL hosted by Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association (NIVA). I'm dragging my wife along; she likes hot dogs.

I'll also be showing my TDI at VW-Fest 2018 at Volkswagen of Crystal Lake, IL on Sept 16. It's also hosted by NIVA.

 

[rocketeer928]

2nd Place Mid Water Cooled

Today my Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association had their annual VW-Fest at Volkswagen of Crystal Lake. My TDI won 2nd place in the Mid Water Cooled (1999-2008) class.

 

[rocketeer928]

My 1970 VW Type 3 Squareback - Birdie

I know it's not a diesel... And NO, I'm not going to put a diesel in it...


Last month I purchased a Cobalt Blue 1970 VW Type 3 Squareback, which I plan over time to have restored. I bought it off a guy from California. The link to my new-to-me Squareback nicknamed "Birdie" is in my signature.

 

[Geobmx4life]

Nice work

Awesome...on both above
posts!!!

 

[benIV]

Nice find! And a hearty well-done on the NIVA award!

Mom used to have a squareback for a few years before she got her beetle in '74. Wish she had kept it.

 

[jmodge]

Donna loves your squareback, they had one when they were kids. Maybe you will drive it up to Kirk's one of these years

 

[rocketeer928]

Ugh! My TDI has been consuming oil for a bit over a year now and has increased lately. There's no leaks that I can find either on the skid plate or the garage/driveway. Today while putting on the snow tires/wheels, I checked to see if I could extract any oil from my FMIC, and I certainly did. Bummer!! I've ordered a new 17/22 turbo, which is on back-order. I'll plan to do the swap in about 2,000 miles when I hit the 150,000 miles oil change interval.


Nothing like putting money into a 16 year old car. I'm hoping that the new 17/22 turbo won't have the annoying chirping/hiccups that I usually experience when going through its paces. I have a feeling the leaky turbo might be my own fault. I wasn't making sure I hit ~2,400 rpm before each shift, though I do now. I got about 10 years from the current 17/22 turbo.

 

[3L3M3NT]

Ugh! My TDI has been consuming oil for a bit over a year now and has increased lately. There's no leaks that I can find either on the skid plate or the garage/driveway. Today while putting on the snow tires/wheels, I checked to see if I could extract any oil from my FMIC, and I certainly did. Bummer!! I've ordered a new 17/22 turbo, which is on back-order. I'll plan to do the swap in about 2,000 miles when I hit the 150,000 miles oil change interval.


Nothing like putting money into a 16 year old car. I'm hoping that the new 17/22 turbo won't have the annoying chirping/hiccups that I usually experience when going through its paces. I have a feeling the leaky turbo might be my own fault. I wasn't making sure I hit ~2,400 rpm before each shift, though I do now. I got about 10 years from the current 17/22 turbo.

Sucks to hear that your 17/22 was leaking oil. Have you considered going with a newer turbo instead of sticking another 17/22 in your car again? Especially if the 17/22 is on backorder

You might wanna talk withe the guys at Pioneering Performance in the UK? they have custom exhaust housing made that would line up with your 17/22 exhaust, so you wouldn't have to change anything there. They just joined TDIClub, but it looks like they've been doing this for quite sometime.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=493912

Another option would be a GTD1752/56VRK turbo. I can pretty much guarantee that it will spool faster and still have plenty on the top end. Granted it wouldn't be as easy to install as the Pioneering Performance turbo option, but you'd have the latest and greatest in turbo technology.
http://www.turbo-upgrade.com/produse/gtd1752vrk-with-manifold-for-19tdi-2wd/2136/
https://gottuned.com/product/gtd1752vrk-billet-wheel-hybrid-turbo-vacuum-converted-and-welded-onto-stock-1-9-2-0tdi/

GTD1756VRK
https://gottuned.com/product/gtd1756vrk-billet-wheel-hybrid-turbo-vacuum-converted-and-welded-onto-stock-1-9-2-0tdi/
https://gottuned.com/product/gtd1756vrk-billet-wheel-gen-ii-hybrid-turbo-vacuum-converted-and-welded-onto-stock-1-9-2-0tdi/
https://www.mecevo.com/parts/garrett_turbo_gtd1756vrk_with_77_billet_wheel.html
https://www.darkmattertuning.co.uk/products/garrett-gtd1756vrk-turbo-on-cast-manifold-1-9-2-0-8v-tdi

Just something to think about before you commit to another turbo for 10+ years.

 

[rocketeer928]

The back-order is only until the end of the month according to the place I'm purchasing from. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't plan to do the swap until the weather warms again, and by that time I should be at the next oil change interval.


I don't really "need" the latest technology, especially since Pioneering Performance in the UK is so new and I would be embarking within the avenue of the unknown with them (their website isn't even functioning yet), I don't want to spend the time/money to change/modify other parts, and I don't want to have to get a new tune. That's the reason I decided to stick with the 17/22. My perspective might have been different 5 years ago, but now I'm just in maintenance mode and trying not to put too much into it. I would rather get my Squareback restored.

 

[rocketeer928]

Ugh!! Last Saturday/Sunday we had a foot of heavy, wet snow. Roads were clear on Tuesday, so I drove my TDI to work and back. On the way home I went over a railroad crossing that I don't normally use which had "ice" potholes making my car buck wildly.

I knew as soon as I started jerking up-n-down what was going to happen, and as expected the GLI front valance is now cracked horribly. Ordered a new one, which I'll get painted platinum gray. One of the hazards of having lowered my TDI years ago.

I haven't decided if I'll go through insurance, as I want to get a painting estimate first. The age of the car makes having my car totaled by insurance a fender-bender away.

 

[ssaric1.9TDI]

Where did you order the valance from? Is it the OEM one?

 

[rocketeer928]

Parts.com had the lowest price including shipping. The front valance is OEM to the Jetta GLI, which is what I need due to the APR FMIC, and not the TDI.

 

[MAXRPM]

I strongly recommend you a newer tech turbo, you would never look back, I got me a GTD turbo and after having 17/22 for a long time, there is simply no comparison, night and day, that GTD turbo spools so quick and at the top end will blow 17/22 out of the water, just an advice.

 

[kiwibru]

I would agree with MaxRPM on this. I just did the same, swapping out a ten year old 17/22 (but only 47k miles on it) for a GTD1756vrk from Gottuned in Poland. OMG, what a transformation. Still running the same RC4 tune and it fits the hardware so well. You can hear the turbo spinning down upon shutdown and it is a song!

 

[rocketeer928]

Have you considered going with a newer turbo instead of sticking another 17/22 in your car again? You might wanna talk with the guys at Pioneering Performance in the UK? Another option would be a GTD1752/56VRK turbo. I can pretty much guarantee that it will spool faster and still have plenty on the top end. Granted it wouldn't be as easy to install as the Pioneering Performance turbo option, but you'd have the latest and greatest in turbo technology. Just something to think about before you commit to another turbo for 10+ years.

I strongly recommend you a newer tech turbo, you would never look back, I got me a GTD turbo and after having 17/22 for a long time, there is simply no comparison, night and day, that GTD turbo spools so quick and at the top end will blow 17/22 out of the water, just an advice.

I would agree with MaxRPM on this. I just did the same, swapping out a ten year old 17/22 (but only 47k miles on it) for a GTD1756vrk from Gottuned in Poland. OMG, what a transformation. Still running the same RC4 tune and it fits the hardware so well. You can hear the turbo spinning down upon shutdown and it is a song!

Guys! I really appreciate your advice and recommendation to upgrade. Before I decided to order the 17/22 (still on back-order though I'm in no hurry with Christmas and winter here), I reached out to IBW for his advice. He wrote to me, "Regarding the turbo, if you want to stick with an upgrade I'd look at a 1756. I bought one of these some time ago but never installed it, because it requires some fabrication to get the actuator to work properly, probably requires different intercooler piping or a front mount, and needs a new down pipe (location and flange are different). You also need a manifold."

I would probably enjoy an upgrade if I lived in an area of the country where I could really use it (We now live north of Chicago with cars and traffic lights everywhere and no real place to open up the fun of a big turbo; different in more rural Connecticut where we used to live). However, the extra fabrication work and expense is exactly what I want/need to avoid. I looked at the GotTuned GTD1756VRK turbos and none of them would allow me to plug-n-play my current exhaust and who knows what else. Pioneering Performance is so new that I'm hesitant to be their guinea pig to see what works for my TDI and tune.

I'm in the middle of spending a boatload of money on a restoration of my new-to-me 1970 VW Type 3 Squareback, which is more important to me at this time, so I don't want to spend big bucks on a turbo and extra fabrication. I'm at the point where I just want my TDI to work well with the modifications and tune that I currently have. It stinks that the current 17/22 turbo is leaking oil and I'll need to change it. I think it's been leaking and consuming oil for over a year. The alternative is to live with it, but then there's the risk of a run-away (maybe less so with the huge FMIC).

 

[MAXRPM]

understand, FYI GTD turbo is almost plug and play, my PP down Pipe plugged right in at same location only needed to change flange at the tip of DP, intercooler pipe plugged right in only needed to get me a different elbow 2" to 2.5", and OMI fits right in just needed different diameter elbow as well, and you are in for fun

 

[rocketeer928]

17/22 Turbo Swap

Back in January I bought a new 17/22 turbo from Aaron at Cascade German to swap out the old one, as I was sure it was leaking oil into my FMIC and whenever I hit the go pedal hard it would chirp and hesitate (did that ever since I installed it a decade ago). Mid-April when the weather finally warmed up and I hit 150,000 miles, I decided it was time to do the swap. I figured it would be a weekend job with one day dismantling the old and the next day reassembling the new.

Easy peasy, right? But No, No, NO, NO, NOOOOO!

It turned into a 7-week annoyance. It turns out that both the inlet and outlet diameters to the new 17/22 were different from the old 17/22, thus making the hoses I had useless. For the turbo inlet all I needed to do was to buy a reducer silicone hose from the OMI with a little cutting to shorten. The real problem was the turbo outlet hose, as my existing hose was a quarter inch too small and just would not fit over the lip of the turbo outlet.

I worked with Aaron to get the right hose components, but that took time with his European source and some wrong parts initially sent to me. I was hoping for one single turbo outlet hose like I had before with the old 17/22. But that started at a 2-inch ID, immediately went 90-degrees, and then angled and expanded to 2½-inch ID, and that particular hose couldn't be found anywhere. What I ended up getting from Aaron's European source was a 2-inch ID, 90-degree elbow that I cut short by about 1½-inch, a short metal tube with indentations, and a 2-inch ID to 2½-inch ID, 45-degree hose. That all ended up working and I finally have my TDI back on the road as of this past Saturday.

The new 17/22 seems to be working, and so far I haven't noticed the annoying chirp and hesitation that I had with the old 17/22, which I suffered with for 10+ years. I really need to test it out some more to convince myself that the chirping is really gone.

 

[rocketeer928]

Sad news story about VW ditching wagons after 2019. If/when it's time to replace my Jetta TDI, I was seriously thinking of buying a Golf Sportwagen or Alltrack with a manual transmission. Perhaps someday I'll get a used one.

https://media.vw.com/releases/1180

 

[rocketeer928]

Last winter I seriously damaged and cracked up the GLI spoiler on my bumper cover. I was going over four railroad tracks at about 25 mph after a slushy snowstorm that had frozen solid, and the car was bucking like a bull at a rodeo. I knew without a doubt that there would be damage, and it was bad.

Bought a new GLI spoiler and had it painted up and installed on the bumper cover.

 

[Growler]

Cleanest old mK4 I ever ran across.. Glad to hear you are still taking good care of it.

 

[rocketeer928]

Left Rear Window Lifter Motor

The joys of owning a 16-year old car.

If the weather is good, then I usually drive my motorcycle to work in the spring/summer/autumn. Rain was predicted last Monday, so it was the Jetta instead. I got halfway to work when I noticed that the rear driver's side window was down about two inches and wouldn't go up or down. The door lock wouldn't function either. Because of the pending rain, back home I went to use my pickup instead.

Window lifter motor was shot. Replaced and all is good now, including clearing the fault codes. Pretty easy job.

 

[rocketeer928]

Yesterday my club the Northeast Illinois Volkswagen Association had their annual VW-Fest at Volkswagen of Crystal Lake. My TDI won 2nd place in the Mid Water Cooled (1999-2008) class for the second year in a row.

 

[3L3M3NT]

Congrats on taking 2nd place at your local VW-Fest. I'm sure you'd like to move up a spot though.

 

[rocketeer928]

The joys of owning a 16-year old car.
If the weather is good, then I usually drive my motorcycle to work in the spring/summer/autumn. Rain was predicted last Monday, so it was the Jetta instead. I got halfway to work when I noticed that the rear driver's side window was down about two inches and wouldn't go up or down. The door lock wouldn't function either. Because of the pending rain, back home I went to use my pickup instead.
Window lifter motor was shot. Replaced and all is good now, including clearing the fault codes. Pretty easy job.

Well, that didn't last long. The "new" left, rear window motor isn't working and the fault code is back. Both the window and door lock won't function again. I tried from the front driver's seat controls AND the left rear seat controls. On top of that, the right, rear door lock has decided to stop functioning this past week, though its window still works.

Perplexed...

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

You need to drive it more.

 

[rocketeer928]

You need to drive it more.

The "cure all," eh?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Seems to help.

 

[NewTdi]

The "cure all," eh?

How is the cure-all going?

 

[rocketeer928]

You need to drive it more.

Not driving much anywhere with any vehicle with the current COVID-19 situation and working from home.

 

[rocketeer928]

Sometimes I can't stand people in general. I went to Home Debit on Saturday and some inconsiderate jerk sideswiped my rear driver's side bumper cover and fender. Now I have to spend time and effort trying to buff it out. I have recent practice, as someone recently did the same to my pickup, and I got that scratch buffed out. Maddening!!