What did you do to your MKIV today?

[Judson]

Huh. Pretty much any liftmaster works. The gentex just needs you to program it with the remote. The process is very simple. Any old remote should work.

 

[Bobo4255]

DG Sigma 5 speed short shifter and full shifter bushing kit, plus cup shim, and now it shifts better than it did from the factory at 250k miles. Present to me before I start commuting again this week!

Anyone still rocking a Mk4 should strongly consider this, if their bell-crank arm under the hood has never been off. Removing the corrosion from the bell crank arm mount alone is likely the cause of a lot of issues, and anyone in New England likely has enough corrosion that just the super slider alone likely won't be enough!

 

[braddies]

Today; opened the rear hatch, pulled the trunkliner out to see the area behind the left taillight as there's been water getting in, and again a little puddle in the lowest corner below the cabin pressure equalization vent.
But I just put another layer of caulking around that vent from the outside with the bumper off yesterday!
Been chasing leaks for a while and currently have the headliner out, cleared all four sunroof drains, while the bumper was off added caulking around any body plugs, and just found a trickle of water in that picture

 

[KrashDH]

Today; opened the rear hatch, pulled the trunkliner out to see the area behind the left taillight as there's been water getting in, and again a little puddle in the lowest corner below the cabin pressure equalization vent.
But I just put another layer of caulking around that vent from the outside with the bumper off yesterday!
Been chasing leaks for a while and currently have the headliner out, cleared all four sunroof drains, while the bumper was off added caulking around any body plugs, and just found a trickle of water in that picture

Replace the vent.
Or could the leak be coming from somewhere else? I've seen poorly caulked spot welded seams that have leaked... Kinda looks like you have water coming from above and running down and around that vent.

While everything is out like you have it, hose the car down and watch from where the leak originates.

 

[braddies]

Update, water leak is coming into the trunk through the gap in the taillight gasket caused by the housing having the front corner tab broken off. Looks like a new housing will rectify this leak.

Edit: Went back and readjusted the taillight and tightened down the two remaining bolts until the diy weatherproofing gasket was snug all around, we'll see if the corner stays dry..
Found another leak that was soaking the spare tire cover and it looks like pooled up water on the weatherstriping was making its way through the bottom of the hatch, so took off the whole weatherstrip from around the hatch and cleaned all the funk off with a rag, when putting the weatherstrip back on made sure to seat the corners on all the way

 

[Fix_Until_Broke]

Rolled under it to evaluate a new exhaust rattle when engaging the clutch along with a few other random noises.

Found a broken exhaust hanger allowing the downpipe to bump into the steering rack on clutch engagement. Cobbled a temporary fix for that.

Found that the axle is hitting the turbo outlet hose again --> https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?threads/gtc1444vz-in-an-alh.402177/post-4560254
Old picture below, but same thing on the new hose.

I'm not sure what changed as that was fixed when I did the intercooler install back in 2018. Something moved...

It's timing belt time soon. Once salt season is over and the Duramax wagon is back on the road (or the TT), I think I'll pull the engine and fix the long list of issues that I've been putting off. With the axles already out and the coolant drained for the timing belt, the engine is already 1/2 way out and will be much easier to work on.

- Axles
- Many oil leaks
- Intercooler Plumbing
- LP Turbo Housing update
- Exhaust Leak(s?)
- Fix exhaust bracket
- Timing Belt Service
- Rod Bearing Inspection/replacement
- Clutch inspection/replacement
- Reinstall Dogbone Dyno
- Fix gauges
- Outer Tie Rod
- Struts - the oem sachs replacements I put on a couple years ago are the roughest POS ever - makes you hate your car
- Anything else I find while I'm there

 

[norbert77]

A member here recommended the TT center Engine mount for my manual TDI, would it also work for the 2.5 tiptronic transmission?

 

[hey_allen]

I don't know about the TT one, but the mk4 gas engine urethane mounts work for the TDI cars if you don't mind a bit more vibration/noise being transmitted through the mount.

 

[csstevej]

This has been over the course of several days , determined by weather and how well my angle is doing in the pump up boot after my surgery.
Removed daughters 03 nb seat due to I was installing aftermarket heat pads we got for her for Christmas. Got the wiring all done.

I also wanted to fix the foam cushion on the back from where a hole gets worn in it from sliding in and out of the car.

Cut the bad foam out and installed a section of high density foam and covered the whole left side with headliner material so the repair isn’t as noticeable.

Removed lower seat skin and found that the left portion had the thick wire that the hog rings are attached too wear through the foam. Did the same type of repair on that and it Came out pretty good for first time doing it.

Brought the seat skin down to a local seamstress whose going to sew a patch on the inside and on the out side. Hoping to get it back on Friday so I can put seat back together.

 

[Zak99b5]

Steve did you swap the seat bottoms left to right? I did last summer, and it felt like I got a new seat.

 

[454k30]

Finished changing out the valve seals. It’s not as bad of a job as some make it out to be IF you have the correct tools and a lot of patience.

My car was smoking terribly, like it was the car that you would say “geez, get that thing off of the road”. Now the oil smoke is gone! Woohoo!

 

[csstevej]

Steve did you swap the seat bottoms left to right? I did last summer, and it felt like I got a new seat.

No I didn’t think to do that to be honest . Plus we were only installing heated seat on her seat. She’s the lizard of the family and loves heat.

 

[Judson]

Nice work 454k30! Must feel good.

 

[norbert77]

Finished changing out the valve seals. It’s not as bad of a job as some make it out to be IF you have the correct tools and a lot of patience.

My car was smoking terribly, like it was the car that you would say “geez, get that thing off of the road”. Now the oil smoke is gone! Woohoo!

Was it only at startup? Mine does that i thought it was bad injectors but that didnt fix it

 

[454k30]

Was it only at startup? Mine does that i thought it was bad injectors but that didnt fix it

The opposite, it only smoked once warmed up. The seals were definitely bad as I found all had lost their "squeeze" on the valve stem and one seal was completely failed. However, the amount of oil going into cylinder 1 also is indicative of that valve guide also being bad.

There is a lot of conjecture surrounding these seals. They are identical parts to those used on the gas engines, and on those engines they are a known failure point. Look up VW or Audi valve seals and you'll find dozens of posts and youtube videos of people changing them. But to mention valve seals on this page is often met with doubt or suspicion. In the TDI world most people blame oil smoke on the turbo, and that is common, but these seals are junk as well so it's worth investigating.

 

[norbert77]

My bug is down for a TB i dare not drive it more, i dont know if i should dig in that far

 

[J_dude]

My bug is down for a TB i dare not drive it more, i dont know if i should dig in that far

That’s always the trouble eh?
“What ELSE should I fix while I’ve got the thing all torn apart?”

 

[KrashDH]

Finished changing out the valve seals. It’s not as bad of a job as some make it out to be IF you have the correct tools and a lot of patience.

My car was smoking terribly, like it was the car that you would say “geez, get that thing off of the road”. Now the oil smoke is gone! Woohoo!

Did you follow a tutorial/FSM or just go for it?

 

[454k30]

Did you follow a tutorial/FSM or just go for it?

I read through a bunch of posts here, including the nightmare stories. I then watched a bunch of youtube videos. Most were not TDI specific but almost all were VAG (which speaks to the low-quality/high failure rate of the seals). I have also done valve seals on pushrod V-8s, but never with the heads installed. After digesting all of that content I came up with a plan and checklist and then went for it.

 

[454k30]

My bug is down for a TB i dare not drive it more, i dont know if i should dig in that far

Whether or not to do the seals depends on a lot of factors. Doing these during the TB would save time on the valve seal job, but add flow time to your existing TB job. How many miles? Original cylinder head? Does the engine smoke?

 

[burpod]

Whether or not to do the seals depends on a lot of factors. Doing these during the TB would save time on the valve seal job, but add flow time to your existing TB job. How many miles? Original cylinder head? Does the engine smoke?

well. there might be a number of things going on. when he adds gasoline into the tank (in winter at least) it drives better so i would say there could be many more factors at play than you could point a finger at

 

[KrashDH]

I read through a bunch of posts here, including the nightmare stories. I then watched a bunch of youtube videos. Most were not TDI specific but almost all were VAG (which speaks to the low-quality/high failure rate of the seals). I have also done valve seals on pushrod V-8s, but never with the heads installed. After digesting all of that content I came up with a plan and checklist and then went for it.

Good deal, this is on my to do list at some point. Oil consumption currently isn't that bad but I'm sure I'll need it in the future.

 

[hey_allen]

My current "project" was at least temp fixing my climate controls fan switch after it failed earlier this week.

The switch got stuck on the 2 position, not allowing it to turn up or down. I turned it off with a bit of excessive force, and then it wouldn't turn on again, not even in the high speed, fully on position.

After a bit of head scratching, I realized that you could pull the fascia and bezel off of the climate control switch panel, and discovered that the little metal slider had bound up on something and bent, as well as being ejected from the plastic clip that the knob rotates.
I have a new (to me) switch assembly on the way, but to have any fan control I went ahead and reformed the metal contact and reinserted it in the plastic carrier that moves it across the contacts in the switch body. It works!

The best part of all of this is that I discovered that I should be able to replace just the fan switch without requiring disassembling the whole center console and radio cage to remove the climate control switch assembly. The fan switch part of it is accessible from the front, though secured by a few barbed plastic retainers.

 

[03TDICommuter]

My bug is down for a TB i dare not drive it more, i dont know if i should dig in that far

Do you mean 'should I do it myself?' versus taking is somewhere? It's not that bad of a job. I did my NB when I did the headgasket. Step by step, and eventually you're done.

 

[Nuje]

Yeah - timing belt R&R sounds scary at first ("if I do something wrong I'll destroy my engine!").

But - with the right tools, not being in a hurry (giving yourself a few days, and chip away at it a bit at a time, taking a break if/when you get frustrated), coming and posting a question here if/when you're unsure about something (don't guess!!), and simply following each step in order....any reasonably competent wrench jockey can replace the TB.

 

[ts888]

I received my box of goodies from Cascade German, so I stayed an hour after work and installed new rod bearings. They all looked pretty good, the worst of the lot was cylinder 1, the upper half of the bearing was just starting to show some copper color in a small area right at the middle of the curve, along the front edge. The other 7 halves were all still solidly gray, no grooves or other ugliness. All the journals were shiny and smooth. Not bad for 285,000 miles.

I have a meeting with the ex on Saturday. Assuming I avoid committing any felonies, I will probably put some time in Sunday to get the new head on and possibly install the timing components. I doubt I'll try to start it this weekend, but maybe.

 

[Fix_Until_Broke]

I received my box of goodies from Cascade German, so I stayed an hour after work and installed new rod bearings. They all looked pretty good, the worst of the lot was cylinder 1, the upper half of the bearing was just starting to show some copper color in a small area right at the middle of the curve, along the front edge. The other 7 halves were all still solidly gray, no grooves or other ugliness. All the journals were shiny and smooth. Not bad for 285,000 miles.

I have a meeting with the ex on Saturday. Assuming I avoid committing any felonies, I will probably put some time in Sunday to get the new head on and possibly install the timing components. I doubt I'll try to start it this weekend, but maybe.

What is the reason to replace them? No outward indications of any problems with these - They were replaced but that's not the reason it was apart. Crank was perfect, oil pressure was fine, probably 100k miles (not stock) on them? I think there are at least 7 layers showing.

 

[ts888]

That is worse than my worst one. This was 110% a "while I'm in here" job. I bought the car with a broken timing belt, so I'm installing a new head and all new timing parts. Dropped the pan to get a look at the oil pump chain, and decided that for $80 in parts I had no excuse not to put some rod bearings in.

Also, I had a Saab 9-5 a few years ago that I bought with a bad head gasket, and I pulled the engine out of it and did a clutch and a bunch of other stuff, but never pulled the pan. And after I put it all back together, it had a bloody rod knock!

 

[PakProtector]

Hah...SAAB's...I bought a 900 8V turbo with what was supposed to be a seized engine. Engine in front of me on the floor, looking for the bad bearings. Remove a few rod caps, roll over to access the others. Wait a sec...it is not locked. Turned out the be the starter had locked it up. Engine back together, quick used starter...back together and the trans needed a re-bearing. Turned out to have all the upgrades and the install was botched( the pinion). Rebuilt gearbox and I drove the wheels off it.

I do agree with the use of 51mm cranks for higher output; no way they'd build a second set of part numbers for the larger rod journals as used on ASZ/ARL/BHW if not a good reason.

Douglas

 

[hans_gruber0]

Shifter started feeling a little sloppy in between gear changes so decided to replace engine mounts + hardware while turbo was out.
The year old febis didn't feel too bad after removing so felt kind of silly replacing them
Was very careful adjusting the jack while removing and installing all the bolts to not crossthread and it happened anyway
Pulled them out and threads looked fine albeit with metal shavings on them.
Neither the new bolts or the old ones wanted to finger thread in so I tried tightening down the old ones.
First bolt closer the radiator tightened to 74 ft lb with torque wrench
Second one closer to the firewall...stripped

Heart sank and hoping engine doesn't drop out on 1600mi round trip soon

Does anyone know if you can change the passenger side engine mount bracket with the engine still in the car?
Thinking of just finding one from a salvage yard