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

[TDeanI]

I installed new Bosio DLC 520 injectors to replace my crappy china sourced 205 injector nozzles.

Idles and runs so much smoother now. I hope I get a decent gas mileage increase.

 

[alanack]

Liquid moly fixed my lifter tap. But I think the oiling system was dirty from bad injectors because the the ticking was intermittent.

 

[tbones]

I replaced the passenger side rear strut on the silver 97 B4 with a Bilstein. It drives so much better now. Also replaced the suitcase and rear mufflers. It's nice and quiet now too. I have been putting lots of highway miles on so its been really nice to have it at its best.
Also I found the key to my wife's 96 B4 that was lost for several days, and we cleaned the sunroof drains to try and solve a leaky drivers front floor.
I love these cars still...

Hi
I'm having a leak in the front driver's side issue also.. It's coming down the side kick panel... Maybe from the fuse area did you figure out where yours was leaking from?
Thanks steve

 

[Steve Addy]

Hi
I'm having a leak in the front driver's side issue also.. It's coming down the side kick panel... Maybe from the fuse area did you figure out where yours was leaking from?
Thanks steve

It's most likely the windshield at the lower corner...these are prone to leaking down there.

Steve

 

[tbones]

My windshield is original (and cracked) did the original seals fail often? I KNOW the replacement seals fail… as they did on my 97 sedan.

regards
Steve

 

[Steve Addy]

My windshield is original (and cracked) did the original seals fail often? I KNOW the replacement seals fail… as they did on my 97 sedan.

regards
Steve

I've not seen original seals fail on a Mk3, but I have seen the urethane seal fail on bottom of a B3 windshield and on a B4 at the lower corners. I have always assumed it had to do with curvature of the glass down there and failure to properly load up the urethane at those points.

I assume you're talking about a B4?

Steve

 

[tbones]

Hi Steve, yes my 96 Passat wagon. It has zero rust so that would not be the issue, but it lived its first half of its life in sunny Florida… Then moved up here since 04.

 

[TDeanI]

The B4 front windshield if replaced is supposed to be set in a bed of special urethane. A portion of the original seal is peeled out and separated and then a bed of special urethane installed, then the windshield is set in the urethane and allowed to cure for 12 hours.

At least that is how mine replacement was done.

 

[alanack]

Lifter tap came back with a vengeance.... grrrrr. Ordered Cam and lifter replacement kit from ID parts

 

[thechoochlyman]

Lifter tap came back with a vengeance.... grrrrr. Ordered Cam and lifter replacement kit from ID parts

Probably the same one I just installed, INA lifters and AMC cam. I'm interested to know how the profile of your new cam matches your old one, it was pretty different for me but my engine is running smoother.

 

[alanack]

Probably the same one I just installed, INA lifters and AMC cam. I'm interested to know how the profile of your new cam matches your old one, it was pretty different for me but my engine is running smoother.

Yep thats the kit.... hoping to clear the garage out this weekend and do it...

Any problems or advice i should be aware of?

My engine started ticking and ever so slightly missfiring, only when the tick is present

 

[thechoochlyman]

Yep thats the kit.... hoping to clear the garage out this weekend and do it...

Any problems or advice i should be aware of?

My engine started ticking and ever so slightly missfiring, only when the tick is present

Pretty much follow all the guidelines you'd use for installing your timing belt as if it were also being replaced. I bought a couple of spring clamps to hold the timing belt to the injection pump gear. Make sure the engine is at TDC and pin the injection pump. Loosen and re-torque the timing belt tensioner.

As for the camshaft itself, just use liberal amounts of assembly lube everywhere and you ought to be good.

 

[alanack]

Cam shaft replacement went well.... i guess.
Had everything back together and the engine wouldn't turn over with a my smaller 1/2" drive ratchet... took everything apart again and couldn't find anything wrong... re assembled and it seemed to turn over fine by hand..... so got the car fired up ran okay- ish, reset the timing and got it running good, broke in the cam per the instructions and it still a bit noisy.... way quieter than it was and runs much smoother, im sure the cam needs to wear in a bit more to fully quiet down.... anyways.....Damage report
When I previously did the timing belt I screwed up and sent a piston into a valve with the starter. Very cold out battery was weak, so i didn't panic, I re-timed the engine and the car ran great , with no odd noises so i didn't think anything of it... fast-forward ~30/40,000 miles later i got a noise... but yeah

http://imgur.com/a/0NX6lon

Basically im a dummy but it only costs me 188 bucks for the cam and lifters so i guess i escaped

 

[thechoochlyman]

Loose valve guides could also cause some lifter tick I think. Don't know how many miles are on your car, but apparently they're not all that robust in our engines. I have 300,000 on mine and just rebuilt the head. One of the exhaust guides was super loose, and I'm sure contributed to my array of scary noises. lol

 

[alanack]

Well the car started ticking extremely bad above ~2200RPM. Its subject to RPM not load. Definitely a valvetrain issue... time to take it apart... again

 

[ToddA1]

but apparently they're not all that robust in our engines. I have 300,000 on mine and just rebuilt the head. One of the exhaust guides was super loose

To be fair, what you were doing probably had something to do with that….

-Todd

 

[Steve Addy]

Well the car started ticking extremely bad above ~2200RPM. Its subject to RPM not load. Definitely a valvetrain issue... time to take it apart... again

Yeah...big advocate for head maintenance on anything above 250k miles, the exhaust valve guides especially.

Steve

 

[alanack]

Might as well just buy a new loaded head.... car has 170,000 but had the cluster changed at 30,000 so im assuming milage is around 200.... i was looking at buying a new(er)car but they're really not my style.

Maybe a mk4 idk.

I have 2 AHU A3s so I guess ill drive the other one....
Im not really over my head in with this car, its already paid for its purchase price in fuel savings.... just not the maintenance.... I like working on and driving cheap crappy cars.... might as well marry this one

 

[Steve Addy]

Might as well just buy a new loaded head.... car has 170,000 but had the cluster changed at 30,000 so im assuming milage is around 200.... i was looking at buying a new(er)car but they're really not my style.

Maybe a mk4 idk.

I have 2 AHU A3s so I guess ill drive the other one....
Im not really over my head in with this car, its already paid for its purchase price in fuel savings.... just not the maintenance.... I like working on and driving cheap crappy cars.... might as well marry this one

Can't say what machine shop work costs now but 6 years ago locally here head cleanup and surfacing, valve job and seal / exh valve guide replacement was just over $200. I'd assume that's probably a $300 job now but IDK for sure.

Steve

 

[alanack]

Can't say what machine shop work costs now but 6 years ago locally here head cleanup and surfacing, valve job and seal / exh valve guide replacement was just over $200. I'd assume that's probably a $300 job now but IDK for sure.

Steve

I remember reading in the bently that these heads were non serviceable

 

[thechoochlyman]

To be fair, what you were doing probably had something to do with that….

-Todd

Check my new signature line.

I remember reading in the bently that these heads were non serviceable

That's definitely not true. They were probably saying you're not supposed to remove material from the surface of the head. Either way, they get rebuilt all the time and are much higher quality than the aftermarket heads you can buy.

 

[alanack]

Ok good to know.. anyways pulled the valve cover and didn't see any signs of damage and the noise is gone.... idk

Going to drive it gently for a while see what happens. Hopefully it blows up lol

 

[ToddA1]

After seeing that lifter, I’m not sure that tick is permanently gone…

-Todd

 

[alanack]

Still tics a little bit, but like was previously stated, its probably a worn (damaged) valve guide. Valve looked fine, but that doesn't mean much.

Not sure how long its going to last like this, but considering I work nights where theses zero traffic and drive like im elderly it will probably last forever.

I have a spare block for when/if the time comes.

 

[Steve Addy]

I remember reading in the bently that these heads were non serviceable

Fully serviceable and easier than the older IDI heads because there are no pre-chambers to deal with.

Steve

 

[alanack]

Stupid car didnt want to start this morning after work (i work nights).... was the first cold day probably around 20*F

It fired right up and died. Took about 15 20 attempts and it finally stay running, ran like absolutely trash misfiring and shaking badly... cleared up and ran fine after a minute or two.

Ruling it as a fuel issue, so i replaced the fuel filter and refilled with diesel purge.... fuel filter had less than 10,000 on it and was replaced in April '22 so idk.

There wasn't any fuel additive in the tank (summer fuel) so that could be contributing factor but 20* really isnt cold enough to gel....

Going to dip down into the 20s latter this week so that will definitely test my theory

 

[Steve Addy]

Stupid car didnt want to start this morning after work (i work nights).... was the first cold day probably around 20*F

It fired right up and died. Took about 15 20 attempts and it finally stay running, ran like absolutely trash misfiring and shaking badly... cleared up and ran fine after a minute or two.

Ruling it as a fuel issue, so i replaced the fuel filter and refilled with diesel purge.... fuel filter had less than 10,000 on it and was replaced in April '22 so idk.

There wasn't any fuel additive in the tank (summer fuel) so that could be contributing factor but 20* really isnt cold enough to gel....

Going to dip down into the 20s latter this week so that will definitely test my theory

My guess is you had a problem with ice...but that's just a guess without being involved in any of the process or seeing the fuel etc.

Steve

 

[alanack]

I drained the fuel into a clear container and it looked perfect.... ive seen plenty of bad fuel come out of my diesel tractor...

You have to be right Had to be a tiny piece of ice or something somewhere nothing makes sense.

Car ran really well on the way into work just now, avg fuel economy went up almost 10mpg according to the scangauge.. fuel filter could have been clogged... after all it only takes a few gallons of bad fuel to trash a filter...
Who knows

 

[alanack]

Well figured it out again.. car did it the same thing... fired up then died....crank no start. Noticed valve train didn't sound right...

Hooked up mechanical oil pressure gauge... over 200psi in the cylinder head... drops off pretty quick though....

Pretty certain when its cold enough the oil pressure goes through the roof causing the lifters to get over pumped and misfire enough to kill the engine when cold.

 

[ToddA1]

Sounds like a pump relief valve issue. I’d probably pull it to at least inspect and clean.

-Todd