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

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Do you have a hi-res copy of that window sticker? I'd really like to have that for my files for reference if you do. I saved the one but it's kind of hard to read.
Yes, I’ll send it your way. If you don’t see it by tomorrow, remind me.

One thing I noticed was the “city“ mileage, which shows between 32-44mpg. From day one, I always complained about the mileage, on both B4s. My mileage always averaged around 35mpg, but I never really did highway… just short trips, with a lot of stop lights. I guess my mileage was within VW‘s spec…


I have a black B4 - very special. A Atlas recently rear ended it when I was at a stop sign. The driver said they had stopped, but not in my opinion. They stopped when they hit the back end of the B4. Trunk was pushed into the rear, bumper demolished, and the rear quarter panel buckled. Also no rear lights on drivers side. Not sure if it can be salvaged.
Sad, to hear, but I’d bet it’s totaled. What did the insurance company do?

How did that driver rationalize they stopped, if they rear ended you? I’d assume the police issued the driver a citation?

-Todd
 

Abacus

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

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
The car being hit sounds like what Revkev had happen to him. He was able to have his repaired, although the insurance company ‘totaled‘ it. He bought the car back and contacted an independent body shop that agreed to give it a try and it looked like new when it was done.
Definitely doable, but with caveats…. on cars this age, a minor fender bender can total a car. With crumpled quarters, I’d expect the trunk floor to be crumpled, too.

If the insurance company totals the car, you do have the option of getting it back, but they may want to start the process for a salvage title. If it gets a salvage title, the repairs need to be deemed safe, (meaning inspected, by the State) and the salvage title would be changed to a reconstructed title.

Now, you can also refuse to relinquish your title, and get the car back…. I’ve done this. Yes, you may have a clear title, but if someone runs a Carfax report, it'll show totaled.

Maybe you never plan on selling the car, but if you do, you may get less than expected. Personally, I’d fight the salvage title. In my eyes, a car with a reconstructed title is pretty worthless, although it may make a great commuter, pizza car, winter beater, etc.. Obviously, laws vary, state to state, so do your own research.

-Todd
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Not sure if that’s obnoxiously large… I jumped 2 sizes. I’m viewing on an iPad, and it looks fine.…

-Todd
My my...they only charged $590 for the glass tilt / slide sunroof on a 1997 Jetta. That's a pretty big upcharge for Passat IMO...lol

Steve
 

snoopy smiles

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 26, 2021
Location
tuscon, arizona
TDI
B4 and Touareg
Todd

the photos are great. Glad it is going to a good home. I appreciate your input on my black rear accident repair. The insurance company has not responded as to an amount. or made any offer. The repair shop has parts from another B4 - not sure about the trunk floor. The Atlas appears to have hit above the frame. Thank you for your support - and information and consolation.
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
Wait B4s came with stock rear sway bars? I've never heard of/seen that before lol
Yes...Mk3 Jetta too, but you can't see them, it's a straight rod in the V section of the rear beam axle. It provides some resistance to twisting, but it's not a performance goody by any means.

Jetta, is so proletarian….

It’s officially gone….

Shipping to LA, the land of crawdads and hot sauce!

-Todd
Well you still have the B4V...so you're not entirely proletarian all the time. At least you don't have a Mercedes CDI...I'm thinking I'll last six months with that thing and then I'll have to sell it.

So how long had you owned the B4? I can't recall a time when you didn't have it, at least since I've been around, and I've been here a long time..lol.

For a minute I thought you meant Los Angeles...and not Louisiana...lol

I'm keeping those pictures btw, I'm glad you took some photos of it leaving. It's not in the best spot on that carrier though...

Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Curious as to how it was shipped.
Not sure I follow…. By car carrier?


The insurance company has not responded as to an amount. or made any offer. The repair shop has parts from another B4 - not sure about the trunk floor.
Not sure when your accident occurred, but follow up. I’m surprised any shop has B4 parts, on hand.


So how long had you owned the B4? I can't recall a time when you didn't have it, at least since I've been around, and I've been here a long time..lol.

I'm keeping those pictures btw, I'm glad you took some photos of it leaving. It's not in the best spot on that carrier though...
I titled it 1/28/14. That means I bought it around Thanksgiving 2013. I spent a couple month's getting it roadworthy, before I titled it.

218,177 on it then.
250,162 on it, before I drove it around the block twice and about a mile to meet the driver. Our last hurrah…
Close enough to 8 years, so I averaged about 4,000 miles per year....

Keep any pics you want, lol. I think I joined the forum, the day I bought the B4V…

-Todd
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Wait B4s came with stock rear sway bars? I've never heard of/seen that before lol
They only had an axle BEAM stock, but yes, you could buy rear swaybars for a B4. Those who had them said they made a big difference in stability.


ToddA1 said:
Not sure I follow…. By car carrier?
Sorry, I meant the company. My dad (W386 on here) passed away and I'm selling his B4V soon but it's not roadworthy at the moment and I'm now living across the country. My mom has COPD and is not capable of doing a single thing to the car (which runs and drives but has been sitting) so I've been looking at transportation options.
 

tdidieselbobny

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Stafford,NY (WNY)
TDI
'03 Galactic Blue Jetta TDI, '15 Silk Blue Golf Sportwagen TDI
I don't like seeing how high that pickup is on tail of trailer.... years ago I followed a carrier after he made a delivery to local GM dealer-I pulled in to get a coffee and watched the brand new Chevy pickup on the upper rear of trailer make contact with underpass and come crashing to the road-driver forgot to lower the upper tail downo_Oo_Oo_Oo_O
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Sorry, I meant the company.
He used U-ship, and it cost him around $1,000, NJ to LA. He mentioned insured for $6,500 and that included 100 to the driver and $100 to U-ship.

Sorry to hear about your loss….


I don't like seeing how high that pickup is on tail of trailer....
Driver was taking height measurements, with a pole.




Mentioned he could be hit with “oversize” at a weigh station, because the cars were hanging off the back. Their problem, at this point… this is what they do, for a living.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Been driving the wagon more often, nowadays. Yesterday, I’m sitting in traffic, and smelled a familiar stinky odor. Popped the hood when I got home and see a return jumper literally pissing, in two spots. Left a decent puddle, in the street, for the short time running, in front of the house. Left a nice trail, down the street, marking my path… curious how much fuel I lost.



Maybe I’ll try to fix it today, otherwise I’ll need to take it to a mechanic on Monday….

Notice all the spider webs from sitting a couple months, lol.

-Todd
 

powerstrokeless

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Location
VA
TDI
B4V
Really, I am not on here much.... Love peeking in.... Wish that I could "work" on my wagon, and not rely on a mechanic... I have really enjoyed driving the B4V. And still have it! At just over 200,000 miles...she is running great!!!
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
It’s probably been 5 weeks since I started the B4V. Snow was coming in Friday night, so I wanted to move it off the street, for the plows. It definitely didn’t start as easily as I remembered… extended crank started rough then smoothed out. Figured it was a fluke, but it did the same the next day.

Today, I saw the CEL was on for the CTS, but cleared the code and it didn’t come back. Decided to test the GPs… #3 & 4 came up with an infinite reading and they didn’t pass the test light test. Read resistance on the Rotbox’s GPs and picked two with the lowest .9 ohm resistance. A little Kroil and map torch action and they popped out easily… PO installed them, and they showed sign of anti-seize. Ones in B4V were probably original, but they came out cleanly, although they didn’t look as clean as Rotbox’s.

Cleaned them up and installed them. Car started rough again. Turned it off, unplugged the CTS, let it glow for 5 seconds and it was back to normal. Decided to leave the CTS unplugged and retested an hour later… a flawless start. I suppose I’ll be testing the CTS from Rotbox and possibly robbing it of more parts.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Well, I took the easy way out and swapped parts without testing anything. Rotbox’s sensor was aftermarket, bearing the VW pn. What came out of the B4V I can only assume was original. No VW/Audi logos, no pn, but ELTH branded ”Made in Luxembourg”. Found a new o-ring and popped it in.

Car had a very slight hiccup upon starting, but nothing like a few days ago. The temp is about 10° warmer, but a better start nonetheless.

The same 00522 (30-00- Open or Short to Plus) code came up, but I’m guessing it’s from me starting the car with the CTS unplugged. Cleared the code, scanned it 3 times and it didn’t come back. I’m guessing it’s fixed.

Once the rain comes through and washes the salt off the roads, I’ll start driving it again.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Last Sunday’s morning start was @ 15°, and it started perfectly. Swap parts, don’t troubleshoot, is my new motto.

Tuesday, I decided to investigate the front passenger door handle, that refused to open from the outside. The roll pin dropped out, completely. Dredged the bottom of the door with a magnetic pick up door and found the roll pin. Got the handle to the bench and I found signs of red Loctite. I guess it lasted a few years (I don’t remember when I did that), but I went back to the tried and true Quicksteel, which hasn’t failed me yet.

Pushed the roll pin in, sprayed down the exposed pin/flange area with brake clean and scarred the area with a carbide burr in a rotary tool. Packed the area with a thin layer of Quicksteel and accelerated cure with a heat gun. Cleaned and lubed contact points on the handle and latch and reassembled. The stars and planets realigned…

I noticed the car wasn’t rolling as easily as it should. Ordered 4 sets of Centric 143.33031 for the rear calipers… the usual suspects. The seal kits are on backorder for another 10 days.

Today, I was turning into my neighborhood and got a whiff of friction lining. Got the car in the driveway and got another whiff. Front left wheel is throwing off some decent heat… piston is either frozen or not retracting properly. A reseal will be in order.… I’ll probably do both fronts and both rears. I’m pretty sure I have the front seal kits. I don’t remember the last time I flushed the system, so that’s also on my plate. I was just getting used to the better fuel economy, but I guess I’ll be driving the Jetta for a bit.

I decided I didn’t want to get involved with any of that tonight, so I decided to wash the B4V and the Jetta. I’m done for the night.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
I decided to dig into the wagon…. I think I found my issue.



I’m sensing deja vu.…

No saving that piston, so I tapped into the Rotbox cache. As expected the caliper was nice and crusty, but the piston was near perfect. Rotbox, you’re gone, but not forgotten… at least not until I’m done using your spare parts. Why didn’t I just swap the entire caliper, you ask? Years ago, I installed 11” brakes on the B4V.… different calipers and less work to just swap the piston. I bought these loaded calipers from Autozone or Advance. If I could have found my order number, I’d have parked the car and exchanged both sides under warranty.

That piston originally didn’t want to come out. I foolishly removed the caliper and tried to force it out with compressed air. That didn’t budge it, so back on the car, a quick gravity bleed and started pumping it out. I stopped halfway, because I didn’t want to dump brake fluid and make a mess. Once off the car, I still couldn’t get it out. Bench vice, Kroil, and an 18” pipe wrench eventually twisted it out.… geez. Cleaned the caliper, carrier and slide pins in my favorite 94 octane degreaser then hosed everything down with brake clean.



Donor piston in existing caliper. Too many similarities as the last reseal. First piston seal was too tight... into the trash. The second seal was fine. Did the same as last time… left the piston about .75” out, then pumped silicone under the dust boot.



Looked at the backing plates and saw what I was expecting… they’re both walking. They were removed.



I’ve been here before… almost more deja vu…

These are Hawk HPS and they’re nothing special. I wasn’t impressed with Akebono, either. Both felt like stock pads. I won’t be buying either brand again. Anywhooo, I deglazed the pads on some 100 grit and plate glass.



Another quick gravity bleed, topped off the reservoir and it’s rolling like it should be.

As expected, nothing goes as planned. When I pulled the wheel to start the job, I saw clumps of grease.… outer CV boot is toast. By the time I finished the caliper job, it was getting cold and close to sundown. I read a VW TSB, where VW recommended wrapping the torn boot with a plastic bag and securing it with zip ties… I did just that.

I‘d better check out the other caliper. I suppose the plan will be to reseal the other side and top off. I’ll then reseal the rear calipers and parking brake mechanism, then flush the entire system. I’ll need to revisit that boot, sooner or later… I think I have boot kits.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Deviated from the maintenance plan. Blue tape maintenance log on the visor said I hadn’t changed the oil since late 2017…. yikes, but I didn’t even log 10k miles…

I had most of what I needed on the shelf (need to stop doing that) and placed an order for gear oil and a fuel filter. I’ll need to return the latter. I forgot I run an earlier filter that deletes the thermo tee. I know I saved the tee from Rotbox, but gave up the search after two minutes.



While draining the filter, I saw the front of the block was oil soaked. At first, I thought it was either the filter stand to block gasket or the filter stand to oil cooler o-ring or both. Luckily, I was wrong. It was the CCV to block o-ring.… hard as a rock. B4V came with the 3 piece CCV tube. Much easier repair. Of course I don’t have this o-ring, so I grabbed the fattest I had from other lower CCV elbows.



Seemed my plastic bag TSB fix failed. Rotbox is the gift that keeps on giving… a two part score! Rotbox’s TIP had all the metal load limiters, although both lower ears had a single crack. The limiter rings are a press fit, so it only makes sense those ears would eventually fail.



Well, a simple driveshaft swap failed. I was fighting the inner bolts for way too long, then I noticed a CV ball shifted loose. Couldn’t get it back in, and the only right shaft I had in storage had a torn inner boot. I bit the bullet and pulled the inner CV off Rotbox’s shaft. I remember the PO telling me he replaced both shafts, so they’re newer than what the B4V had.

I hate this job… a huge mess. I try and make it less of a mess. Reassembled the CV dry after cleaning everything in gas, followed with a brake clean shower. So tempted to reuse that old boot, but I’d be nuts to do so…. to the landfill. Cut the corner off the grease pack and use it like a cake bag (I’ve never used a cake bag) to inject the grease into the CV’s boot side. Install the CV onto the shaft and repeat with the grease.. don’t be a slob!





Chip brush and gas to clean the outer knuckle of all the thrown grease, then the same for the drive flange… more brake clean. Now that the parts are sparkling clean, the remainder of the grease pack fills the flange.



The inside of the TIP was caked with soot. More gas, then pulled a gas soaked microfiber was pulled through about 5 times to get the areas I couldn’t reach with various brushes. More brake clean until it ran clear. New lower o-ring was installed. Geez, this thing is so tight compared to the old.




Disconnected the silicone vacuum lines from the n75 and the other line ends to verify I could easily blow through them, adjusted the timing belt tensioner and buttoned up the car.

Ended the night with the wind flipping the tray with dirty gas… I now have a nice stain at the top of the driveway….



I lost too much time on the CV and didn’t get to the cabin filter, but there’s always tomorrow! There will be plenty more tomorrows… while working on the car I found many more things that need attention.

-Todd
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Finally got around to the left side. Piston was clean, but may as well reseal it.… figured I’m on borrowed time. More gas followed up with brake clean. These were new parts that were painted with caliper paint…

Duplicated what I did to the right side. This side went quickly.




One of the backing plates on the pads was walking and the other was missing. Don’t remember removing it, so I’m not sure if it ejected itself. Quick bleed and decided to do a much needed tire rotation. When I pulled the rear left tire, one of the pads was paper thin… I should have looked for used pads, which I later found. I honestly don’t remember doing anything to the rear brakes.… I’ll place an order for bearings, rotors and pads.

Seems those Centric rear caliper kits are back ordered everywhere. I may just throw used pads on the rear left, and do everything else in one shot.

-Todd
 
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