The "What did you do to your B4 today" thread...

[lisab4]

Got my Dieselgeek flywheel tool

 

[Yblocker]

i did pads and rotors on the front of my 1996 passat, it got rid of my inability to stop and the grinding noise but it didnt get rid of the shudder after using the brakes.

for instance: if i come to a stop at a light, it will shudder when i first start to pull away. Im thinking the caliper is sticking, as it is noticeably variable with how hard i apply the brakes at each stop. after a hard stop, lots of shuddering. a slow easy deceleration to stop, light shuddering.

i worked the piston back and forth a few times will it was apart. piston moves fairly easily in and and the caliper slides move very freely.

anything i can try before replacing caliper? if i have to replace caliper, is there an upgrade that will still fit under stock 14 inch rims?

After a hard stop, take your foot off the brake pedal and see if the car moves freely (no brake drag).i would think if it rolls freely, then the trouble is elsewhere. Clutch?

 

[ketchupshirt88]

After a hard stop, it usually will not roll freely. It will almost always roll on a slow easy stop.

I'm sure I'll need to just buy a caliper. Lame.

 

[Windex]

Then the diag is easy. Do a hard stop into the garage (or wherever you service the car) and then jack up each corner to rotate the wheel by hand and determine which one is dragging.

 

[Steve Addy]

After a hard stop, it usually will not roll freely. It will almost always roll on a slow easy stop.

I'm sure I'll need to just buy a caliper. Lame.

I'm not sure I would attribute the shudder to a bad caliper yet. If the car isn't rolling properly or easily on a flat paved surface (like in the garage) then there's a caliper issue somewhere but the shudder might be something else.

Your car doesn't have ABS does it? I can't remember if you said it had ABS in another post elsewhere.

What kind of front end service work has been done in the past year? BJ's, bushings, etc?

Steve

 

[ketchupshirt88]

im kind of attributing the shudder to brakes because it is sooo much worse when i use the brakes. Cannot get it to do it if i don't use the brakes immediately beforehand and its worst if i brake to a stop. wont do it if i use the brakes to go from 50 to 35 and then accelerate again. wont do it if i coast to a stop without using brakes

No ABS system on my car

No recent front end work. Tie rods and an alignment last summer maybe? this is a recent issue, brake pads/rotor was bad for a while but the accompanying shudder just started last week.

Windex: definitely front left wheel. thats why i took it apart and worked the piston back and forth a few times when i put new pads/rotor on. it moves freely now but was very hard to compress initially. I couldn't do it with my usual channel locks, had to find a very large C-clamp.

 

[FordGuy100]

Isn't there a guy in North Carolina who buys B4's and is an accomplice of nicecars?

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Isn't there a guy in North Carolina who buys B4's and is an accomplice of nicecars?

Yep,but I haven't seen one for sale from him in quite a while.....

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Just to remind us of what we're not getting and why we keep our B4s running, I saw this yesterday at Automechanika:

Saw a bunch on the street, too.

 

[Digital Corpus]

Just got towed home. Didn't realize I had a CV joint going out on me. I have a new spare or two I'll put on. here shortly.


Speaking of ABS, I know there are 2 different ABS systems on the B4s. The one from a 1996 B4V can be dropped into a B4, right? The 1/2" wheelbase shortening and axle differences aren't great enough to be an issue, right?

 

[Steve Addy]

Just got towed home. Didn't realize I had a CV joint going out on me. I have a new spare or two I'll put on. here shortly.


Speaking of ABS, I know there are 2 different ABS systems on the B4s. The one from a 1996 B4V can be dropped into a B4, right? The 1/2" wheelbase shortening and axle differences aren't great enough to be an issue, right?

Sorry to hear about the CV issue, I had one suddenly die on me in my old Mk2 years ago...in the middle of winter! It was no fun.

I don't think the ABS systems are chassis dependent but I'm not sure you can mix the system components though. One system uses a differential lock and one does not. Also, they don't share the same pump or control unit.

I might be wrong, but at first glance it looks like you'll have to find parts from the same system.

Steve

 

[Digital Corpus]

Sorry to hear about the CV issue, I had one suddenly die on me in my old Mk2 years ago...in the middle of winter! It was no fun.

I don't think the ABS systems are chassis dependent but I'm not sure you can mix the system components though. One system uses a differential lock and one does not. Also, they don't share the same pump or control unit.

I might be wrong, but at first glance it looks like you'll have to find parts from the same system.

Steve

Sorry, let me be more specific about my use of "system": I know there are 2 ABS control manifold thingies but I don't know if they are, as you put it, chassis dependent. My B4 doesn't have ABS. Is there any significant benefit to, if compatible, putting out a complete ABS system on a B4V and putting it in my B4? Even with a finely tuned right foot?

 

[john.jackson9213]

D.C., I have only triggered ABS maybe 4 times. First was in Yellowstone towing trailer going down hill towards intersection. Hit Sand in road, that set off ABS. Second time was panic stop, also with trailer but on I 15 in San Diego. Did not make any difference, wrecked car and trailer. Third and fourth times were uneventful. Rental Jeep in Wyoming, hit ice on bridge with very light brake. Last time in new Mexico on ice I 40. Don't see any advantage for you with ABS.

 

[TDIL3dad]

Is this the Alltrack 2017 ??

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

No, a "real" B7 Passat Wagon.

 

[tigers2007]

I just replaced the pigtail end of the injection pump from the main harness. Part was like $20 shipped from Autohaas via eBay auction.

The car started and runs but the dang glowplug light was blinking. I put my Fluke on ground and the (+) to my "custom" GP harness -- showed zero volts. I pulled the Relay 180 and I can't figure out the pinout so I can confirm that the relay is good or bad.

We have Pins: 30, G1/2, G3/4 which I know that "30" is fused constant power and G1/2 and G3/4 are direct to the GP's. I found a DIN wiring standard chart and it shows that 31 is ground and 86 is switched (+). What I can't figure out is what ST, D1 are. I hooked 31 directly to ground and used a jumper and touched 86 to the (+) battery post but I didn't hear any clicking - is this indicative of a failed Relay 180?

 

[TDIDaveNH]

Just wrapped up a 2 day binge fix-it session, new rear swing arm bushings which were not bad but something I had been putting off for over a year. Rear shocks, new e-brake cables, replaced a torqued off brake line, glued a foglight lens back on with Lexel after having covered it over with foil tape for a ridiculously long time and a few other small fixes. I wanted to get to more stuff, but the rear brake caliper brackets were just not having it. Despite using copper anti-sieze and filling the ellen head with RTV to preserve the socket engagement, the bottom bolt still f'd me so I didn't get to that and didn't have replacements on-hand which for those is really a must-have.

I'd been neglecting my B4 for a while now, felt good to vacuum it out and give it a good wash. I'm within 5K miles of a TB job... it was done on 10/17 of last year so looks like it'll be another 60K mile year Good grief.

 

[Abacus]

Damn man, I wish I knew. I keep spares of those on the shelf since I need to burn them out frequently.

 

[ketchupshirt88]

well i finally got my brakes all sorted out today... i eventually gave in and just put reman calipers on the 3 corners that didnt spin nice and easy after new pads were installed. should have done that from the start...

2 front calipers worked fine with the worn pads (besides the awful noise) but once fully compressed and new pads installed, they wouldnt open back up after application of brakes. right rear caliper had frozen slides and all the rubber boots were shredded so it dragged bad, left rear was functioning fine.

found out that the studder/noise was only half from the brakes... it changed, and actually got worse after the brakes were fixed and by now im getting a bit frustrated so Dad crawls under it and says "hey dummy, your motor mount is falling off..." the front motor mount bolt on the bottom side was hanging on by a thread and kind of bent at a 45*. threads chased, new bolt and some locktite installed and the second half of the shudder is gone.

finally it rolls nice again and i can focus on the important things in life... more power.

 

[tigers2007]

...I hooked 31 directly to ground and used a jumper and touched 86 to the (+) battery post but I didn't hear any clicking - is this indicative of a failed Relay 180?

Well, after searching and search and searching, I could only find this thread that dealt with some code issue. The OP posted photos of Relay 180 opened up and I realized something - it is not your regular dumb solenoid relay. This thing has microchips in it. It dawned on me that I should plug it back in and pull the coolant temperature sensor. That did the trick and the relay appeared to be working fine (confirmed voltage at 8.5v slowly rising to just over 10v before the relay killed it). Confirmed the continuity of my custom GP harness and also confirmed the ohm readings of the GP's. Everything looks good.

I cleared all of the codes due to bad wiring at the injector pump (separate matter). After clearing the ten or so codes, the engine ran better. This draws a question - if the car has trouble codes, historic, will the car run like crap (limp mode) until those codes are cleared from the ECU even though the problems have been repaired?

 

[Abacus]

This draws a question - if the car has trouble codes, historic, will the car run like crap (limp mode) until those codes are cleared from the ECU even though the problems have been repaired?

Yes, absolutely.

The BK ECU would self-reset when the condition corrected but the GQ and FA do not.

 

[ToddA1]

The BK ECU would self-reset when the condition corrected but the GQ and FA do not.

I was under the impression that you could get out of limp mode, by turning the engine off.

This would temporarily work until whatever triggered the code comes back.

-Todd

 

[thechoochlyman]

Yes, absolutely.

The BK ECU would self-reset when the condition corrected but the GQ and FA do not.

You mean it won't self-reset while the engine is running, right?

 

[Abacus]

Yes, that is correct. But turning it off doesn't reset the codes, it just dumps the memory, which is why limp mode will sometimes reset, based on conditions.

 

[TDIL3dad]

After rain storm noticed water under left side of driver's foot well of the B4V. Looked and looked but did not figure out where water came from .... yikes.

 

[Sprocket]

Alignment shop said my driver side strut was weak and I also had a bad strut mount, so I ordered these for the replacement mounts http://powerflexusa.com/volkswagencorrado1989-1995frontstruttopmountbushing-1-1.aspx and also these as replacement bump stops http://powerflexusa.com/volkswagenvento1992-1998bumpstopfront-bs006.aspx

Pulled off the KONI yellows and am sending them off to be rebuilt. They are NLA so rebuilding is the only option. Hopefully, they will be covered under their warranty program so it won't cost me more $ than just shipping too and from KONI.

 

[tigers2007]

Yes, that is correct. But turning it off doesn't reset the codes, it just dumps the memory, which is why limp mode will sometimes reset, based on conditions.

I put about 100 miles on and no more lights and it ran great. It appears that the gremlin causing mysterious trouble codes for the last couple years stemmed from a couple broken wires at the plug for the injector pump.

 

[thechoochlyman]

Swapped out my 60 PSI boost gauge for a more appropriate one. Now to find a time when I can drill and tap my manifold for the matching pyrometer.

 

[Digital Corpus]

Nice find there for a 35 psi gauge.

I did an oil change, fuel filter change, fixed the broken bar for my latch, fixed a vacuum leak, and stole the accordion air inlet pipe off the leprechaun and put it on mine.

The fuel out of the filter either caught some water or something else cause I have the typical oil-water boundary layer that I shouldn't see.

The broken bar for the latch was made new with some TLC, pliers and a propane torch on a 1/8" steel rod that I bent around to match the old one. I have one dimension off a bit much so the electric motor release doesn't catch, but mechanically from the taillight press releases it just fine.

The vacuum leak was a busted fitting. I didn't have any straight couplers so I used a wye originally. That snapped off and I happened to have straight couplers on my now. As for the air pipe, it suddenly broken open 3 of the ribs so the air filter wasn't it's source of air.

3 things on the list before rain fall in a few months: clutch master cylinder that'll likely get swapped next week, fix a gap in the sunroof weather stripping, and get new tires. The latter show enough tread to last the year at the moment.

 

[Steve Addy]

Nice find there for a 35 psi gauge.

I did an oil change, fuel filter change, fixed the broken bar for my latch, fixed a vacuum leak, and stole the accordion air inlet pipe off the leprechaun and put it on mine.

The fuel out of the filter either caught some water or something else cause I have the typical oil-water boundary layer that I shouldn't see.

The broken bar for the latch was made new with some TLC, pliers and a propane torch on a 1/8" steel rod that I bent around to match the old one. I have one dimension off a bit much so the electric motor release doesn't catch, but mechanically from the taillight press releases it just fine.

The vacuum leak was a busted fitting. I didn't have any straight couplers so I used a wye originally. That snapped off and I happened to have straight couplers on my now. As for the air pipe, it suddenly broken open 3 of the ribs so the air filter wasn't it's source of air.

3 things on the list before rain fall in a few months: clutch master cylinder that'll likely get swapped next week, fix a gap in the sunroof weather stripping, and get new tires. The latter show enough tread to last the year at the moment.

How you going to fix the sunroof seal gap? My panel seal is nothing to write home about and I need something new.

Steve