What did you do to your MKIV today?

[norbert77]

A marine mechanic once suggested I put seafoam in my 2-stroke outboard's tank.

It went from running like crap at idle (but fine at speed) to not running at all in a matter of minutes. I assume the seafoam dislodged junk which proceeded to plug the carb jets.

I should have ignored the snake oil advice and just dismantled the carbs for cleaning, it ran flawlessly once I had done so.

Seafoam is 2/3 kerosene and 1/3 odorless mineral spirit, and about 5% alcohol. Of all the people ever, you are the first one i heard of that had bad experience.

If you have heavy buildup of carbon in an engine it can remove it. I bought a 9.9 johnson 2 stroke that only ran on 1 cylinder. Thermostat was open, they ran it with choke on all the time. Got it started on 1, warmed, sprayed my DIY version of it into the intake until stalled, let it sit, 2nd cylinder fired up, after the third application it had notable power increase as the rings freed up. I would spray it into the TDI if i could.

 

[Judson]

That John Muir book - the complete idiot’s guide - was my bible back in the early 80s. I had a white vw van, 71 I think. Put a bed in the back, a stereo, and made a ton of mistakes as I started to learn basic auto mechanics. I was entirely self-taught, with no friend or family member around that could help. Ugh. Those were my hippie days back when censorship was considered evil and everyone had read 1984. Anyway, when I got my 1984 Rabbit working on that was wonderful in comparison!

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

New wheel bearing (and hub). I honestly can't recall how long the old one was in there, but it's well over 100K miles. Maybe 200K. Here it is in progress.

 

[psrumors]

How did the coolant pipe O ring job go?

Sounds like we’re living parallel lives! My Jetta ( not a wagon ) has been in my barn “on the hoist” for the past month doing all the same things you mentioned.

It wasn't bad..now that it is completed LOL....once you do it the next one will be 100 times easier

 

[03TDICommuter]

New Zimmerman rotors for the Beetle. The fronts were 'grabby' (would shudder) when lightly braking. Really annoying in stop and go gridlocked traffic. The old rotors, if you angled the sun just right, you could see hard spots - several matched exactly the same as the groove in the front pads. This was after the torrential rains we had and the car sat for 2 weeks while I was in Italy. Weird. Also the surface overall hadvery fine tears in the metal. Hard to explain. Much smoother braking now. I did spend time getting the total measured runout as low as possible (1 mil).

Also fixed the passenger window switch on the drivers side. Bought replacements from Amazon (Switchdoctor) and they were junk. Passenger side down direction didn't work. One the driver's side, pressing the passenger switch down made the window go up. Ended up fixing the original switch with special plastic surface activator, superglue, and baking soda to build up strength. Works great again.

 

[Nuje]

I found the installation of the Moog spring was not as easy as the Suplex spring (because of the overall "stiffness" of the Moog).
I was able to get creative with a large C clamp, not to compress the spring but to actually keep it and move it over into position onto the lower seat. This made the installation a little easier but it was still a "workout" to get the spring seated and positioned correctly without having access to any spring compressors.

The "easy" way to get any springs in is to loosen the bolts on the axle beam bushings (which, technically, you should do anyway if you're adjusting the ride height of the rear end).
(Note: If doing this be sure to support the axle - when those bolts loosen, there's a lot of weight that drops very quickly.)

If you don't, the bushings are always under undue torsion which I'd guess would contribute to some ride harshness as well as premature failure of the bushings. Once you have the new springs in and shocks bolted back in, you set the car down, then tighten the bushing bolts/nuts to 80Nm.

 

[PakProtector]

I have got to mount the receiver hitch on my Jetta. I had one on my Golf and it was a very fine way to get the rear of the vehicle raised. Then jack stands are easy...

Douglas

 

[JohnB]

In pursuit of fixing an oil leak, I accidentally cross threaded one of the hidden bolts for the oil pan that goes directly into the rear main seal..... yay.... what a PITA oil pan to deal with..... now the entire transmission gets to come out and a new metal rear main seal is going on in place of the OEM plastic RMS.



On a positive note, the crank looks great for 300K miles (as it should)



I upgraded my clutch once previously and didn't have a need to do it then. Pain in the ass, but not the worst thing ever having dropped the trans previously.

Btw, the main oil leak I had was actually coming from up high at the Vacuum pump on the side of the head and running down the back of the motor. Got a good high quality gasket for it @ https://www.rkxtech.com/products/vw-alh-tdi-vacuum-pump-reseal-kit

Had a minor leak at the oil pan as well, but not as significant as the vacuum pump oil leak.

If you can learn something from my mistake.....if going after an oil leak, check the vacuum pump up high first before you check the oil pan and verify your leak isnt coming from up high. IF you have to remove the oil pan.... BECAREFUL STARTING THE HIDDEN OIL PAN BOLTS GOING INTO THE REAR MAIN SEAL when reinstalling.... I was able to fix one of the threads elsewhere by tapping it, but not the RMS thread since its a plastic housing and you cannot even access it with a tap.

Setup:
Stage 4 Malone tune
Garret VNT 17 Turbo (26 PSI max boost)
3 BAR MAP sensor
EGR delete w/ coolant bypass kit
2.5" Buzzken straight pipe w/ resonator
Southbend stage 2 daily clutch w/ Single mass flywheel
Bosio Power Plus 520 Injectors

should make somewhere around 140-150 hp and 250-270 lb/ft.

 

[norbert77]

The "easy" way to get any springs in is to loosen the bolts on the axle beam bushings (which, technically, you should do anyway if you're adjusting the ride height of the rear end).
(Note: If doing this be sure to support the axle - when those bolts loosen, there's a lot of weight that drops very quickly.)

If you don't, the bushings are always under undue torsion which I'd guess would contribute to some ride harshness as well as premature failure of the bushings. Once you have the new springs in and shocks bolted back in, you set the car down, then tighten the bushing bolts/nuts to 80Nm.

This. And redo a few months later if the spring settles

 

[burpod]

In pursuit of fixing an oil leak, I accidentally cross threaded one of the hidden bolts for the oil pan that goes directly into the rear main seal..... yay.... what a PITA oil pan to deal with..... now the entire transmission gets to come out and a new metal rear main seal is going on in place of the OEM plastic RMS.

you can likely just re-tap it and be fine. happened to me once. re-tapped and haven't had any issues. or use a random screw, done that too

edit - oops, i see you did re-tap one. you might be able to retap it with some sort of rigged extension using some 1/4 bits, i've had to do that in some strange areas and worked. if that seal actually is plastic where the bolts go into, try a screw. it very likely might be fine even if one bolt is completely missing. i wouldn't tear it apart unless you actually see it's leaking

 

[JohnB]

you can likely just re-tap it and be fine. happened to me once. re-tapped and haven't had any issues. or use a random screw, done that too

edit - oops, i see you did re-tap one. you might be able to retap it with some sort of rigged extension using some 1/4 bits, i've had to do that in some strange areas and worked. if that seal actually is plastic where the bolts go into, try a screw. it very likely might be fine even if one bolt is completely missing. i wouldn't tear it apart unless you actually see it's leaking

I did consider my options before deciding to remove the whole trans and replace the RMS. I would have had to grind down and modify the tap significantly just to attempt it. With the RMS being plastic and the threads appearing to be brass, I didn't want to take the chance of having another oil leak to deal with the in the near future given those conditions. Would rather do the extra work and have it done right. Its also an upgrade going to the metal housing from plastic in my mind. The transmission is not that hard to remove in all honesty, assuming you have done it before and have what you need.

That closer bolt in the 1st picture is as far in as it will go. If I forced it any further in it would break the RMS housing.

 

[burpod]

I did consider my options before deciding to remove the whole trans and replace the RMS. I would have had to grind down and modify the tap significantly just to attempt it. With the RMS being plastic and the threads appearing to be brass, I didn't want to take the chance of having another oil leak to deal with the in the near future given those conditions. Would rather do the extra work and have it done right. Its also an upgrade going to the metal housing from plastic in my mind. The transmission is not that hard to remove in all honesty, assuming you have done it before and have what you need.

That closer bolt in the 1st picture is as far in as it will go. If I forced it any further in it would break the RMS housing.

yeah. just curious if it was actually leaking or not?

 

[KrashDH]

I did consider my options before deciding to remove the whole trans and replace the RMS. I would have had to grind down and modify the tap significantly just to attempt it. With the RMS being plastic and the threads appearing to be brass, I didn't want to take the chance of having another oil leak to deal with the in the near future given those conditions. Would rather do the extra work and have it done right. Its also an upgrade going to the metal housing from plastic in my mind. The transmission is not that hard to remove in all honesty, assuming you have done it before and have what you need.

That closer bolt in the 1st picture is as far in as it will go. If I forced it any further in it would break the RMS housing.

The rear main seal is pressed into a cast aluminum housing. Threads therefore are cast aluminum. Unless you have something different? I havent seen one with a plastic housing...

 

[burpod]

perhaps OE rear main seals were different, but yes - that plastic piece i believe is just on the outer portion, all the threads should be aluminum. that brass "insert" you see just acts as a washer. could be wrong... sometimes true original parts are different. i just know i've had a couple cars with one of those that got messed up, and either re-tapped or jammed a screw in there and never has had a hint of leakage

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Not me, but my son, who is working construction in a remote location in Western MA, ended his day early before the snow got too deep.

Lift kit helps.

 

[TDIGAZ]

The "easy" way to get any springs in is to loosen the bolts on the axle beam bushings (which, technically, you should do anyway if you're adjusting the ride height of the rear end).
(Note: If doing this be sure to support the axle - when those bolts loosen, there's a lot of weight that drops very quickly.)

If you don't, the bushings are always under undue torsion which I'd guess would contribute to some ride harshness as well as premature failure of the bushings. Once you have the new springs in and shocks bolted back in, you set the car down, then tighten the bushing bolts/nuts to 80Nm.

Yeah, I would seriously consider this next time if I was installing the MOOG springs again.
In the past, I've easily installed Suplex springs by supporting the rear axle beam and then removing the lower bolts on both rear shocks to allow the beam to pivot enough to get the springs in position and seated. This approach proved MUCH more difficult with the MOOG springs.

 

[norbert77]

Is the MK4 beetle known for real hop? Mine seems to do it with the least bit of we'll spend even on wet and/or dry wrote. I have a set of tires I have to burn up in the next 2 days before replacements get here I would have Love to send the old ones off to Valhalla the proper way

 

[csstevej]

Lol ….mine don’t and I have a stage 3 tune….I can spin tires in the first two easily…..third is a little harder unless the road is wet…….

 

[hey_allen]

I don't know how much difference there is between the Beetle and Jetta front end geometries, but my Jetta was prone to wheel hopping when my dog bone bushing was worn out.

Once I replaced it (with a "soft" polyurethane bushing, that took some getting used to!), the tires could spin if I got on it, but no more hopping.

 

[norbert77]

That's probably what's happening I get original suspension in the front still

 

[norbert77]

Will this do the ALH timing belt? I would like a 1.8T later for winter

 

[hey_allen]

That's probably what's happening I get original suspension in the front still

You might want to look into Audi TT lower control arm bushings as well then, when you decide to do a suspension refresh.

They're slightly firmer then the normal Mk4 bushings, easier to install, and surprisingly affordable as long as you don't buy them from the Audi dealer...

 

[Zak99b5]

Will this do the ALH timing belt? I would like a 1.8T later for winter

That style tensioner wrench didn't work for my on my ALH. I wound up having to use vise grips on the raised boss (for the proper tool's pins) to tension the belt. That did work quite well, though.

I've also done 1.8T timing belts. You can make marks and transfer them to the new belt on that motor without issue. I used no special tools. After tensioning the belt, the cam will pull slightly retarded, but the timing falls right into place as the belt stretches. Two were AEBs (058 block), the other was an AWP (06A block).

The 1.8T cam chain tensioner needs the special hold down tool.

 

[P2B]

That's probably what's happening I get original suspension in the front still

The dogbone mount connects the engine to the subframe to limit rotation under load. It is not part of the suspension.

 

[norbert77]

The dogbone mount connects the engine to the subframe to limit rotation under load. It is not part of the suspension.

Haha wow i was way off... yep, dogbone original too

 

[hey_allen]

The dogbone mount connects the engine to the subframe to limit rotation under load. It is not part of the suspension.

It causes the steering geometry to change when the engine is allowed to rotate under load, enough that I was declined an alignment until the dog bone was repaired, so it could arguably be suspension?

Whichever you want to call it, though.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Accelerating aggressively on worn suspension (and the resulting wheel hop) is probably the biggest cause of differential failure. Be careful.

 

[Fix_Until_Broke]

Accelerating aggressively on worn suspension (and the resulting wheel hop) is probably the biggest cause of differential failure. Be careful.

This ^^

And the dogbone will create wheel hop as it is what reacts the rotation of the engine/transmission/axles - Without it the engine would spin in circles inside the engine bay. It will load/unload and cause wheel hop

 

[norbert77]

I'm driving my poor buggy for the 1st time and snow and it's a bad storm we're doing about 15 miles per hour in traffic. I wonder how much power or how many amps my window heaters, mirror heater heat at seat on 3 and headlights are consuming? Anybody know off hand? I'm hoping I don't slowly drain the battery before I hit the highway

 

[BobnOH]

Unless your battery/alternator is weak, you'll be fine. For an actual number add the fuse amperages together, that's the max. Guessing around 80 to include the hvac.