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

thechoochlyman

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
May 7, 2015
Location
Campbellsville, Kentucky
TDI
1997 B4 Sedan
Today I replaced the leaking overflow hose barb in my billet coolant flange. I'm still running the first prototype I made, which doesn't leave enough room to fit a wrench around the barb. Therefore, I could never quite tighten it up enough.

Here's a great trick I just tried out to blow out enough coolant that it wouldn't leak when I took off the fitting. Put overflow hose in a jug, blow air into the bottle.



Wire EDM'd a 5mm hex all the way through the new fitting



And all done! I could really crank down on it this time.

 

jdulle

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 4, 2017
Location
Ithaca, NY
TDI
96 B4, 97 B4
Wow I can't believe that battery lasted 10 years. I usually get about 7 from most mid range batteries from napa or advance.
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Well, I worked some on the brothers' B4 tonight, and it's a mess.

I removed the other strut:





And since this one was totally shot, along with almost all the hardware, I placed an order to IDParts who had the items delivered the next day.

But this I do not have a spare of:



And no, the B4 does not have ABS. In case some are wondering, it should have this in place:



So the new struts went together easily with my old wagon springs:



And we decided it was easier to remove the axle beam from the car to replace the mounts, which fell out.




And I put my brother to work cleaning up the mounts.



But ran into a little 'snag', the mounts on the axle beam were too crusty to trust. Even the brake lines were too crusty for my taste.



Which is a setback. Luckily I have a spare axle beam under revkev's spare parts b4, I just need to go get it, which I'll do tomorrow. I'll swap it with this rusted out piece of junk so he can still roll the car around. We were replacing the rotors/bearings and bushings anyway so there isn't much that needs transferring.

Never a dull day with a B4 around.

My brother is looking for another B4, however. He would prefer one with less rust and he'll use this one as a parts car. If anyone has one in decent shape they're willing to part with, let me know. This includes non-rust states near the left coast, but not necessarily on the west coast.
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Wow Mark, I replaced my B3V rear beam axle and it wasn't that bad.

You're right not to trust that.

Steve
 

Stromaluski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
'67 Deluxe Bus, '80 Rabbit Truck, '92 Corrado, '10 Cup Edition
My brother is looking for another B4, however. He would prefer one with less rust and he'll use this one as a parts car. If anyone has one in decent shape they're willing to part with, let me know. This includes non-rust states near the left coast, but not necessarily on the west coast.
There's a few for sale down in my area. A friend went to look at the wagon and said it was a nice car, but wasn't what he was looking for. He bought an Audi Coupe Quattro instead.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/1997-volkswagen-passat-tdi/6360903978.html

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2027101
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Got fed up with the terrible range of the white box, so I finally pulled it down. I literally need to have the remote at the windshield to get it to respond.

Scratched my hands up pretty good, forcing them in areas they don’t exactly fit. Added about 5’ to the antenna and ran it up the a-pillar and across the top of the windshield. Range is marginally better, but not great.

I’m wondering if the roof is blocking the signal.... maybe I should have stretched it across the dash as the diy said. Felt like I wasted my time...

Depinned the starter wires at the alarm box and tied them together with stripped wire and taped them off. I don’t want that stupid box failing leaving me to push start the car.

Finally investigated why the boost gauge would never return to 0... it would rest at 5psi. The LED that I installed was too long. Cut the base down and CAed it back together and all is good.

-Todd
 

nh nam vet

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Location
Raymond, NH
TDI
2- 97 Passats , 02 Jetta
Today I did not have to go to work, it wasn't snowing and the sun was out and the temps were above freezing here in New Hampshire. I deemed this a perfect December scenario to tackle B4 TDI issues in the garage.


My DD, which just turned 346K, had a rarely seen (and annoying) dash cluster CEL. "Glow Plug Monitoring - Intermittent" 01050 per VAG-COM. I had replaced the glow plug harness a long time ago, so I opted out for easy and ordered another genuine VW 028-971-766 harness from IDParts. Also, while I was in there I decided to replace my cracked and leaking oil, plastic crankcase breather tube, 028-103-491-J, probably also from IDParts or Jim Ellis VW. (Sorry, no pics; my old digital camera did not survive the bounce test off of my cellar floor a while back. I'm shopping for a new replacement now. Any and all recommendations are welcome. I'm still not that savvy with my Samsung Galaxy S7, so don't go there, please.)


To make life easier and create more room for me to work in, I removed upper and lower charge air cooler (intercooler) hard plastic tubes. I also emptied a couple of cans of Brakleen spray to clean up the area.


I had cut and soldered the glow plug harness previously to the harness because the original female connectors were toast. So I cut out that mess when removing the old GP harness. I did have some good size, compatible female spade connectors, so I soldered them onto the harness. I cut and slipped on some oversize heat shrink tubing and after reassembly, shrunk the HS tubing with an Aim-and Flame and tie wrapped the connectors snug.


Next, I installed the new OEM crankcase breather tube (with the 6 mm hex drive on a flexible drive ratchet down below), reinstalled the intercooler tubes, etc,etc.


After I fired the engine up, my CEL came back after a few minutes, so I guess I'm at a loss for ideas. I did not hook up the laptop with VAG-COM, but I'm just assuming right now that the GP monitoring intermittent is still the culprit. Oh well, if it runs and drives I'm still a happy camper. I believe Oilhammer once said that the TDI 1Z engine was first designed in 1973. Awesome German engineering!


On another note, I did find a couple of used left and right black front fenders on Ebay for $121 each shipped and they will be installed in the spring. BTW, new OEM left front fenders still are available from VW but no right front fenders. I was also looking for a good condition driver's door (handle and window irrelevant) on www.car-part.com; prices are all over the map, literally. I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Jeff
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Jeff, next time let me know and I'll ship out the terminal release tool for changing the glow plug harness. It'll insert right into the Orb of Death easily, no cutting and splicing needed.

If you're up in Maine sometime, look me up, I'll have a look.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
The FM Bluetooth transmitter I’ve been using in the Rotbox has been getting bothersome. Either static has gotten worse or it’s always been there, and suddenly bothering me, so I went with another Bluetooth device that plugs into an Aux port.

Pulled the radio and found out the aftermarket head unit uses RCAs rather than the 3.5mm female jack, that I was expecting. Ran to 3 different stores looking for an adapter, but only Best Buy had it in a kit, and I refused to pay $30 for it. Ended up ordering them from Amazon for $5.

This small project snowballed into fixing the ashtray and lighter lights, by retrofitting LEDS. Defrost switch needs to be fixed... probably tonight.

I need to install a trim ring around the head unit and the interior will be a 6.5/10.

I’ll be driving the B4, until the adapters arrive.

-Todd
 

Stromaluski

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Location
Greenville, SC
TDI
'67 Deluxe Bus, '80 Rabbit Truck, '92 Corrado, '10 Cup Edition
Jeff, next time let me know and I'll ship out the terminal release tool for changing the glow plug harness. It'll insert right into the Orb of Death easily, no cutting and splicing needed.
FWIW, I actually made a few terminal release tools from an old wiper blade. Use them a lot more often than I was expecting I would. Couple great threads on making them.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=4578560

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/b...epair-terminal-removal-howto.html#post2276870
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I posted that thread several times. They work perfectly, and if one gets damaged, make another in about 15 minutes.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Added 2 LEDs to the Rotbox’s defrost switch. I would have stopped at just the illumination LED, but I guess I overheated the common ground with the soldering iron and blew the status bulb.

All I had was a white 5050... way brighter than stock, but I kinda like it.

Range got way better with the white box antenna draped across the windshield.. I went from a range of about 2’ to maybe 20-25’.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Added 2 LEDs to the Rotbox’s defrost switch. I would have stopped at just the illumination LED, but I guess I overheated the common ground with the soldering iron and blew the status bulb.

All I had was a white 5050... way brighter than stock, but I kinda like it.

Range got way better with the white box antenna draped across the windshield.. I went from a range of about 2’ to maybe 20-25’.

-Todd
That's good to hear, I've thought about adding antenna wire to my mk3

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
If you plan on keeping the white box, I’d do it.

I’m not sure what your range is, but the 2’ (or less) I was experiencing, was useless. The multiple times I’d be pressing the unlock button, while standing at the car, I could have just unlocked the car with the key. I’m not sure what VW was thinking...

Btw, I just noticed a typo... should have been “stretched across the dash”, although the range wasn’t improved when I first pulled it across. I’m going to go up and across again, as a test.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
If you plan on keeping the white box, I’d do it.

I’m not sure what your range is, but the 2’ (or less) I was experiencing, was useless. The multiple times I’d be pressing the unlock button, while standing at the car, I could have just unlocked the car with the key. I’m not sure what VW was thinking...

Btw, I just noticed a typo... should have been “stretched across the dash”, although the range wasn’t improved when I first pulled it across. I’m going to go up and across again, as a test.

-Todd
Mine was never that bad, IIRC my fob would activate it in a radius of about 10' from the car. It wasn't great but it was acceptable.

My B3V obviously doesn't have a convenience module so I can't add the white box to it. I remember someone saying that you could buy an aftermarket system that worked. Now I can't find any mention of it...

Steve
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
205F thermostat

Hi gang,
After spending the last 45 days helping FEMA as a volunteer in Puerto Rico, I was itching to get my hands back on some wrenches! My blood thinned out a lot, and my teeth now start chattering at anything below 55!
I had read here a while back about somebody installing a 205° thermostat in TDI's to get better economy. I'm not sure applied to ancient vehicles, like my 96 passat, but, I figured it might help my heat a little!
Yesterday was not too cold… Like about 39 or so and the heater did seem a little bit warmer. I have a HVAC stick thermometer, and it read as high as 160° coming out the center vent on recirculate and full heat.
I was hoping that the new thermostat would help me get my engine warmer faster, but it still takes A very long time to bring it up to operating temperature and less I'm doing high-speed driving.
Any thoughts on how to rectify that issue I'm all ears about!
Regards,
Steve
 

Col Sanders

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Location
Illinois
TDI
97 B4 Green And it's Possessed 2001 Audi A4 AFN SWAP
You might need to do the mode/blend door repair. If it's never been done you most surely need to do it. Look in the vents, see any foam in there? 190 degree thermostat will produce more heat than you ever need. There is a sticky on this. Large PITA to do. Mine took about 9 hrs. to do. Well worth the effort. Hot heat, ice cold a/c.
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
i never saw that one but i recall the bulldog unit in this thread:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=204691

i think he means the box that controls the doorlocks for locking them all when you double tap the key to the right while in the lock.

I don’t know anything about B3s, but I’d think it’d also have vacuum actuated locks, since VW has been using them since the A2s. Steve, we need clarity, lol.

Ah, Bulldog... that was the first remote start system I ever installed, 15+ years ago. I’d think every modern system, could be programmed to send a double pulse, to only need a single fob press.


You might need to do the mode/blend door repair. If it's never been done you most surely need to do it. Look in the vents, see any foam in there? 190 degree thermostat will produce more heat than you ever need. There is a sticky on this. Large PITA to do. Mine took about 9 hrs. to do. Well worth the effort. Hot heat, ice cold a/c.

Blend door repair wouldn’t affect the engine warm up. If it’s known that the stat is good, I’d block the radiator. That and changing the EGR value is a yearly ritual, for me.

If the stat is bad, I’d replace it with a 195° unit. I use Stant 45379.

https://www.amazon.com/Stant-45379-...r=8-8&keywords=stant+superstat+thermostat+195

Did you pull your dash and box? Blend door repair should take maybe 3 hours, maximum.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
According to Abacus the alarm box is called a convenience module. I thought maybe referring to it that way would make it easy for everyone to identify. At any rate the B3 cars didn't get one until 1991 so I have nothing that I can replace with the keyless variety that came from VW later one.

i never saw that one but i recall the bulldog unit in this thread:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=204691

i think he means the box that controls the doorlocks for locking them all when you double tap the key to the right while in the lock.
I believe that this is the thread I remember although that's from a long time ago. At least the setup is similar, you basically insert the Bulldog system in between the wiring at the lock pump and away you go.

Thanks for posting this up, I haven't looked for it in a long time and to be honest it wasn't really on my priority list but after having keyless on the Mk3 for a long while I am now annoyed by having to use a key on the B3V.

EDIT: just looked in parts catalog and it's not called convenience module, it's call control unit for alarm...lol

Steve
 
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ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Thanks for posting this up, I haven't looked for it in a long time and to be honest it wasn't really on my priority list but after having keyless on the Mk3 for a long while I am now annoyed by having to use a key on the B3V.

Ah, I was confused because you mentioned your range, but then mentioned you didn’t have it. I wasn’t aware you were referring to 2 different cars.

Anywho, my adapters arrived and I finished the hardwired Bluetooth installation.
Sound quality is way better and there’s a bit more control, which is nice. There’s still a slight ground loop, but once the car is running, I can’t hear it. Not bad for $15.

I yanked out a bunch of unneeded wiring and antenna adapters and 2 antenna amplifiers. If I’d have known this junk was back there, the FM transmitter may have had less static.

Still need to locate a DIN trim ring... I should have a few floating around, but now that I need one, they went awol.

-Todd
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
An update on my brother's B4:

We went to revkev's to retrieve my spare axle beam from his parts car. TDIDaveNH borrowed it to move the spare parts car to revkev's house a few years ago. It came out easily with cordless impact tools and a 3/4" breaker bar.



We had to swap rotors because TDIDaveNH used the 5 lug. When swapping one of the rotors, we found the outer race literally welded itself to the axle stub on the junk axle beam. I couldn't budge it with a 5 pound mini sledge and cold chisel.



And one of the caliper brackets wouldn't come off the new axle beam, which I had to strip down and rebuild. I even broke my hand impact hammer and the bolts didn't budge.



So naturally I hauled out the blue wrench and bolt-outs, which made short work of the problem.





I stripped off the old hardware and the ABS stuff and pressed in the new bushings with the homemade tool, which still works awesome. I'll go years between using it but am some glad I have it.





I was able to save the hard brake lines because they didn't look that bad. Putting the axle beam in by myself was a pain since my brother was 5 hours late coming over to 'help'.



And this is why I chase all the treads before putting everything together.



It was finally in the car with the new struts.



But WAIT! It's a VW, so you know it wasn't that easy...
 
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Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Continued...

My brother finally showed up, so I showed him how to install the races in the new rotors. I heard a different sound and looked over to have him pounding on a washer that was on top of the bearing, which was seated in the race.

<sigh>

I didn't specifically tell him not to have the bearing in place but did not have one when I installed the other side. Luckily he had another bearing in his box of new parts I keep in the garage, so he installed that.

Then I put everything together.



And had to drill out one of the bleeders on the only caliper we didn't replace because it still worked fine.



And hooked up the Motive Power Bleeder but could not believe how bad his master will filled with sludge, so I vacuumed that out first and flushed it. I used an acid brush inside to scrape all the junk off the inside of the master.







And then we discovered a hole in one of the not-so-bad looking hard lines. Yep, it's a definitely B4.



So out came the hard line rebuild kit, and I decided to install some new inner flex lines since I had them on the shelf. If one side went, the other wasn't far away so I just made both sides from scratch. The new copper lines are much easier to work with than the old steel lines.








And then everything held. We bled the brakes and he was amazed at the rock hard pedal he had. Obviously he never had really decent brakes.

I even "sold" him a set of nearly new studded snow tires since he needed them and it snowed the day prior. Two of his were bald on the inside due to everything in the rear of the car being toast. I also gave him the winter wiper blades off my car since I bought new ones. Mine weren't bad but I found a deal on some new ones so I decided to swap them on rather than waiting until the old ones died. He definitely needed them.



His car still needs a ton of work, but at least it's mobile now. It's his only transportation. He is going to have someone with a lift weld up his exhaust and perhaps do the rust work on his outer rockers, as well as tackle the fuel tank straps since one of his is broken. He has new stainless ones W386 had made up for him so they just need to be installed. Oh, and he needs a windshield since his is broken.

I had about 24 hours into it all total during the week, along with my spare axle beam, flex lines, 4 studded snows mounted and balanced on B4 wheels, and some copper tubing. Oh well, he's my brother. I wish I had time to tackle the other items but my own B4 needs work and it's damn cold in the unheated, unattached garage.

Never a dull day with a B4.
 
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ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Geez, it seems like you’re constantly wrenching on cars....

Why not invest in a propane heater? They’re cheap, and it makes working in the cold, a not so terrible experience.

-Todd
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
I have it on my Christmas list.

I have pretty much stopped wrenching on cars for outside people and have neglected my own for other reasons. This was a priority so it had to be done and would have cost him over a grand that he didn't have. Family takes care of family.

Revkev's B4 needs a bunch of work but I have not been forthcoming in volunteering since A) he chose to go with Prothe injectors and now wonders why his car runs funny, B) he needs a heater core and I don't have a spare 14 hours to dedicate to replacing it, and C) he can do most of the work by himself since he is more than capable. I will probably help him at some point but cannot and will not be his defacto mechanic just because I happen to be close. I simply don't have the time nor do I want to dedicate that much time to repair work.

I have also found that 'helping out' has pretty much turned out to be me doing all the work and then the other person handing me wrenches and getting a sandwich. That gets old very fast. I have also learned the value of "me" time. That is not to say I won't help someone in need or someone who makes it worth my while, but this old body doesn't recover from the VW calisthenics as fast as it used to.
 
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97B4TDi

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
1997 B4 Passat, 2013 Jetta Sportwagen TDI
Saturday I replaced my fuel filter, thermostatic T, return fuel lines between injectors and the factory fuel lines with 8mm rubber braided hose.

I also repaired the blend door due to Luke warm heat. It gets uncomfortably warm now!
 
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