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

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
One has to wonder why we would go through all this. Not criticizing. I’ve been there to be sure. Perhaps harder to explain to a non-enthusiast o_O
Well in this case the car was local to me and cheap, and it seemed like the problems were relatively minor, so it was worth the effort, even if in the end it became nothing more than a winter beater.

Aside from that anyone else who would have bought it would likely have just parted it out, and I'm all about discouraging that if possible.

Explaining this to a non-enthusiast isn't that hard, everyone has something that's technically an Achilles' heel, mine is just old discarded VW's. Beside, it might just be used to do another conversion at some point too, and it has several hard to find parts for a conversion on a Mk2 (or B3) like the brake / clutch master bracket and the front cross member.

It's a weakness...

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Washed the sedan... normally, I take the easy route and run it through the car wash. It took hours to get it looking like this. First time using Meguiar’s ceramic spray wax. Curious to see how long it holds up.



Decided to make today a junkyard day. Needed some stuff for the new Jetta. I usually take the truck, but forgot I had a rad fan issue. i didn’t want to deal with it, so I took the B4V, instead. About 30 minutes in, the battery light came on. I didn’t even stop to open the hood, I just turned around. Got home, parked it, and loaded the tools in the new Jetta and got back on the road. JY crushed pretty much everything I could have used. They used to have a ton of VW and Audi. Got lunch, went home and opened the hood on the B4V.



I don’t think I’ve ever replaced that part, since I bought the car. Inspected the belt, tossed a used OE idler on, and all was good. I spent more time cleaning the debris out of the rain tray, than completing the repair.

Found this under the rear left of the Rotbox. Should I be worried.....?




Meh, that far will be scrapped, shortly. I definitely got my money out of it.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
The wagon was getting jelly, from the lack of attention. Gave it the same Meguiar‘s treatment... also needed to compound an area, that was dead. Came back nicely.



Have a door trim, that lost a bit of clear. It’ll need to go to the paint shop, if I don’t have a spare.

-Todd
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Looks good. I'm not a huge fan of the green (even though mine is green), but when cleaned up it looks great.

Todd, what do you have for hub covers on those wheels, which are Corrados, I assume?
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Correct, Corrado Steelies. I’m just running the OE center caps.

Sad part is, it’ll just sit all summer because the AC refrigerant leaks out. I’ve got two other cars with working AC, so laziness wins.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
I wonder if these are still available.
I think part number 871601171 is correct, seems to me I looked these up before.

None of the VW dealers say they are NLA but neither Ellis nor VWParts.com show a price. There are, however, lots of vendors selling these things online too.

Steve
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I think part number 871601171 is correct, seems to me I looked these up before.

None of the VW dealers say they are NLA but neither Ellis nor VWParts.com show a price. There are, however, lots of vendors selling these things online too.

Steve
No longer available.
 

JETaah

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
mi 48836
TDI
96 B4V, 1999.5 jettaIV,2005 BEW Beetle
Correct, Corrado Steelies. I’m just running the OE center caps.

Sad part is, it’ll just sit all summer because the AC refrigerant leaks out. I’ve got two other cars with working AC, so laziness wins.

-Todd
Who wouldn’t love to have that car with zero miles on it.
(y)
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
No longer available.
First hit on Google...


There’s also another style with the lug covers molded in. Bought them new a few years back for another set of steelies, but sold them, last summer.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
First hit on Google...


There’s also another style with the lug covers molded in. Bought them new a few years back for another set of steelies, but sold them, last summer.

-Todd
I saw those too, but wondered if the lug bolt covers spin to adjust or are fixed in place? Chevy had some K1500 aluminum wheels years ago that had lug nut covers molded into the caps, but they weren't moveable so you had to either hammer them on and break them or adjust your tightened lug nuts to fit the center cap, which is ridiculous. A year or so later Chevy changed to all flat cap that resolved the stupid problem.

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Steve, I never thought about that part... the lug covers were fixed. Seems it would be a pain, but they were new, sold quickly and the buyer sent me a pic of them installed. He was happy with them.

Maybe the set I linked came out after, and used the standard removable lug caps... who knows....

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I like these:
Those are usually seen on the aluminum wheels. I’m used to seeing them on the Avus aka snowflakes, although they also fit my Sebrings.

I doubt the steelies have enough of a lip to grab. I’ve never seen the steelies using any cap, other than the ones I linked.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Went to top off the AC in the B4 and noticed just the VC was nice and shiny. The engine is in self preservation mode, fending off rust… Sprayed it down with degreaser and rinsed it off.

Hooked up the gauge set and was only seeing pressure on the low side... I had an idea of what was going to happen. Dumped in 1.5 cans of 134a and got the supply temp where I wanted it. Disconnected the gauge set and the high side service port was leaking. Looked in and didn’t see the black seal, so I made sure the o-ring was in the cap and screwed it on. Let’s hope for the best…

That stupid seal either got pushed into the line or it blew out. Seriously. the design is retarded and I’ve had issues with these ports and those stupid seals multiple times. Why they aren’t a standard Schrader valve is beyond me. There’s nothing I can do about it now… need to wait until it leaks out. I found some weld/braze on valves that I may buy and retrofit onto the factory lines. If I’m going to go that far, I may get new barrier hose and crimp them in, too.

Took the car on a few errands, and checked the VC, when I got home. 2 of the VC grommets are leaking… another retarded design. I’ll deal with that later.

Washed the car and made it look pretty, again. I need to figure out what I’m doing for wheels and tires… I’m still running my winter wheels and snow tires.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Apparently, that service port style is referred to as “poppet”, and it’s a known design flaw. GM, Ford and others used it and people complain about it. I think I found a thread-in replacement that uses a standard Shrader valve. So far, only the high side has been found.

I also found Dorman’s solution (902025), which is just a bolt that has the same threads as the service port cap. Plenty of good reviews about it. Grabbing one tomorrow, at a local Advance. Maybe this valve has been plaguing me the past several years…. I top off every year.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Apparently, that service port style is referred to as “poppet”, and it’s a known design flaw. GM, Ford and others used it and people complain about it. I think I found a thread-in replacement that uses a standard Shrader valve. So far, only the high side has been found.

I also found Dorman’s solution (902025), which is just a bolt that has the same threads as the service port cap. Plenty of good reviews about it. Grabbing one tomorrow, at a local Advance. Maybe this valve has been plaguing me the past several years…. I top off every year.

-Todd
Be sure and post up what you end up finding for this, I would be interested in a change for the poppet type valves...

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
The Dorman bolt seems to work fine. Some quick research said it was 5/16-24. Not sure why a regular bolt wouldn’t work, but the Dorman bolt had a tapered end, and oddly enough, the bolt is hollow. Just screw it in, until it stops.… I added Nylog to the threads. A quick 2 minute fix in the Advance parking lot. I’d probably opt for the bolt, unless your system is empty.

Dorman 800-955 is the winner.… I still haven’t found a low side schrader, but it’s usually only the high side that has an issue.



I was getting about 10° less cooling, prior to the night of topping off, so I hooked up the gauge set. Figured the cap alone, couldn’t seal properly. Low is 40, when i think I charged to 30-35. High seems normal, maybe a little low.…200-220. Wondering if that poppet seal is stuck in the txv….

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
One of the rear calipers on the B4 was dragging. Pulled both sides and they seemed to be ok... the piston extended normally with the lever and the lever went back on its own with the internal spring release. The silicone I stuffed in the parking brake boot was still in there. Hmmmm…

The right side piston didn’t retract as easily, as the left. Thinking the seal may be swelled a bit and causing the dragging, if the piston cant easily retract. Put everything back together and the car still doesn’t roll easily. I ordered a caliper rebuild kit.

One if the rear pads was paper thin… all the sliders moved freely. swapped the pads‘ positioning. Seems the piston side is always the thinner side. I’m not used to seeing the pads wear evenly. I’m out of used spares, so I ordered some Ferodo pads… out of stock, but let’s see if they arrive in time.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
So, I decided to tear apart a seemingly perfectly working caliper. I’ve never gone further than the piston seal and boot. Parking mechanism was new to me….





That seal under the brake lever must have been glued in…. I tried to get it out cleanly, but no dice. I’ve tried working them out of other calipers, and I’ve quit before I tore it. It just sits in a recess, and I needed to scrape it out with a flat blade screwdriver.

Where that shaft passes through the housing is a bronze(?) bushing. This is where the issue lies. that shaft is always rusty and the rust is what’s causing the binding. I remove the rust the best I can, on the car, pack silicone in there and the brakes work for a decent amount of time. The last time I did it, I got well over a year out of it. It’s just a pain, being that it’s a ritual.

I have a seal kit on the way, which includes the 2 o-rings and lever seal, in addition to the standard piston seal and dust boot. I got to thinking if I can find tubing and cut it squarely, I may not need the lever seal, now that I know what’s going on. It never sees brake fluid, since the o-ring is sealing it from the inside. Remove the seal, clean out as much rust as possible, grease the shaft, install tubing and the lever. It may create a better seal than OE… OE wasn’t anything to write home about….

This could potentially be a longer term fix, with just tubing.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Found this under the rear left of the Rotbox. Should I be worried.....?




Meh, that far will be scrapped, shortly. I definitely got my money out of it.

-Todd
Those are in the back and I suspect that they're for attaching the rear belly pan on the European models, which we didn't get here in the US.

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Seal kit came in, so it’s time to get into the right rear.

Pretty badly pitted, and there was a lot of rust you’d never be able to get to, without disassembly. There was also some hard build up, in the rear of the bore.






I opted to use some parts out of the caliper disassembled a few days ago. Cleaned up the better of the two, with a wire wheel. I also used the piston, since the retractor tool detents were in better shape.




Stack order of the piston parts and the seal kit. Reused the original clips.






I was incorrect about the shaft boot. It’s got metal in it. Popped out easily, once I figured that out. Plenty of rust was under it. I liberally coated the pitted shaft and the bronze bushing with silicone grease. I also packed the shaft boot. I want to deter rust, as best as I can. Pushed it in with a 12mm socket.




Packed the other side of the shaft boot with synthetic grease. This gets sealed in, with the brake lever. I figured it wouldn’t liquify as easily as the silicone grease.




Installed new Zimmerman discs and Pagid pads. Ferodos didn’t get here. I may swap them out, when they do. Two carrier bolts fought me.… one stripped. Irwin Bolt Outs ripped them out. They’re game changers. Cleaned out the carriers and relubed the slider pins and installed new boots.

I’ll note the left piston was the easier of the two to retract, last weekend. Compared to the resealed right side, it’s way more difficult to retract. The resealed right side‘s piston went in so easily, I probably could have used my fingers. Now that I know the seal kit is correct, I ordered another kit, for the right side.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Replaced the leaking valve cover grommets.... stupid design…

Replaced the VC gasket and breather grommet, while I was at it.

Found this pic, from yesterday. Left side brake hardware was way rustier than the right, I installed a better carrier, I found in storage. I can only imagine it came off the 97 B4 I parted, years ago. I didn’t notice the difference, until after I installed it. Just the outer side is missing the added pad support. It wasn’t a modified carrier.



I suppose I’ll try and clean up the crusty carrier.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Waiting for parts to be delivered. Cleaned out the sedan and noticed the right rear door triangle fell off. I had it double sided taped in. I guess the heat let it go.

Since I was in a circling pattern, let’s do something more permanent....

CA glued a screw to where the pin would be. Bulked up the contact point with some Quick Steel. Where the broken clip was, I sanded flat and CA glued a neodymium magnet to it.



Pushed a grommet into the door hole, for the pin.

Screw was a bit loose, so it was bulked with a layer of shrink tube. Needed to file the Quick Steel down, at the base of the screw. It now sits there nicely... the top edge sits about 1/16” away from where it should be, but I doubt anyone will be looking.

Burned up about 30 minutes...

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Caliper seal kit got dropped off, today. Pulled the rear left off and took it apart....




Not sure what happened here, but I did flush the entire system, but that was back in 2014, when I got the car... I guess I’m overdue for another system flush. Odd, because the other side didn’t look like this... maybe I swapped the caliper and forgot, but I’m sure I would have bled it, until clean fluid came out.. Everything that came out of the caliper looked like this, but cleaned off, fine.

The corrosion wasn’t terrible on the parking brake shaft, so I just wire wheeled it and greased it up. All of the guts were transplanted into the caliper I originally took apart, since it wasn’t crusty.

Take note that’s there‘s a tit on the parking brake mechanism on the left, that engages a hole, at the rear of the piston bore. I didn’t notice this on the first caliper, but I’m thinking it went in, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to install the internal circlip. The parking brake works fine, on both sides, so I’m not taking the other side apart, again.




Cleaned up the crusty carrier with a knotted wheel and replaced the oddball carrier.

So now, I need to flush the system and tighten the hardware that’s holding the 02J shift box.... it’s pretty loose.

-Todd
 

Poor King

Veteran Member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Location
NY
TDI
'91 Jetta, '91 GTI, '04 Touareg
What you fellers should be doing is adding a lift kit. Funnily I have one!

1.2" all around.. PM me

 

reince

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Location
GA
TDI
2006 Beetle
The wagon was getting jelly, from the lack of attention. Gave it the same Meguiar‘s treatment... also needed to compound an area, that was dead. Came back nicely.



Have a door trim, that lost a bit of clear. It’ll need to go to the paint shop, if I don’t have a spare.

-Todd
Neat and shiny! Nice ride
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Time to flush the system.... pressure drained the majority of fluid through the calipers. Reservoir was pretty ugly, so it got yanked and cleaned. No pics of before, but you can imagine what I was starting with...




What I ended up with. Gas, custom brake clean straw, paper towels and romex wire did the dirty work.




Pressure bleeding 4 calipers and the clutch master is about 16oz. Adjusted the parking brake.... I’m hoping to get more than 2 years out of the parking brake, with the caliper reseal and regrease. I was looking at the crusty one and may test out a grease fitting.




Pulled the center console and assessed the loose 02J shift box. Thread locked the front fastener and made a stretcher bar for the rear 2 studs. Surprised I didn’t do this when I originally installed it. Prior to this, the car shifted perfectly.... now I have to hunt for reverse. Adjustment is in the near future. Put the center console back in, and packed it in.

-Todd
 
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