What did you do to your MKIV today?

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Per the lore around here it is possible to move the engine around sufficiently to get that mount out. No personal experience; never did an ALH TB in car, and the BEW I worked the belt around back into position w/o removing it. Seems a better option to just wrangle that one out, time-sert it and put it back...instead of fighting one out in the yard...LOL

Douglas
 

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
Does anyone know if you can change the passenger side engine mount bracket with the engine still in the car?
I don't know about changing the bracket out, but suspect it's possible. Support the engine, remove the upper mount, proceed to from there... It'd be a pain getting the engine bolts free, just like doing it for the timing belt.

That said, I'd suggest looking at replacing the threads with a Timesert kit, and then never needing to worry about that thread in the future.

The kits aren't exactly cheap, but they fix the problem and don't even require removing the engine half of the mount.

I've done it on a couple of cars now, and still have inserts for a few more before needing to buy any refills.
 

hans_gruber0

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Location
Sierra Foothills
TDI
03' ALH wagon 5 speed
Ohhhh this is going to be fun. Only just recently learned to drill/tap NPT threads (very sloppily) on my s7

If you happen to know the bolt and thread size offhand I'll give it a try.
So every single time bolts come out from chassis/mount you need new TTY stretch bolts or they'll snap and drop the engine?
I'm sure the bracket to engine bolts are TTY as well
 

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
If you buy a Timesert kit, they come with the set of tap, drill, countersink reamer, and the installation tool. They all seemed to have a bit of a guide point as well, from my memories
 

hans_gruber0

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Location
Sierra Foothills
TDI
03' ALH wagon 5 speed
I can’t remember exactly but I think it’s a 12mm, not sure of TPI. I can check my Helicoil Kit when I get home though.
Deutsche Auto Parts listed that SKU for engine mount to engine bracket as M12 x 1.5 x 65mm

So ordering this kit
https://time-serts.com/store/m12x15-kit/

Seems like the dogbone mount is what wears out first from abuse first and all that was needed to be done.
Either that or one of 5 oil leaks on dripping onto the lower mount bushing causing the rubber to degrade.
I've had the engine mounts in and out of my toyotas half a dozen times using the same fasteners with no issues... not sure what the thinking was behind stretch bolts or cast aluminum mounting bracket.

Another skill learning experience

Onto the vacuum pump seal
 

burpod

teh stallionz!!1
Joined
Nov 27, 2004
Location
cape cod, ma
TDI
82 rabbit vnt ahu, 98 jetta vnt ahu, 05 parts car, 88 scirocco.. :/
Deutsche Auto Parts listed that SKU for engine mount to engine bracket as M12 x 1.5 x 65mm

So ordering this kit
https://time-serts.com/store/m12x15-kit/

Seems like the dogbone mount is what wears out first from abuse first and all that was needed to be done.
Either that or one of 5 oil leaks on dripping onto the lower mount bushing causing the rubber to degrade.
I've had the engine mounts in and out of my toyotas half a dozen times using the same fasteners with no issues... not sure what the thinking was behind stretch bolts or cast aluminum mounting bracket.

Another skill learning experience

Onto the vacuum pump seal
you probably just didn't get the bolt started right which can be easy to do if car isn't level or things are just slightly amiss. using a pry bar or something on the mount helps to make sure you get those bolts in so they can hand threaded in and keep tension off it while you get the bolt down most of the way if that's the case. i don't believe any of those big engine mount bolts are TTY. i've never replaced them, re-used numerous times and never a problem. the only TTY bolts would be where in the bentley it says to torque to X ft-lbs then add some extra amount of turn. any TTY bolts (outside of the engine at least) can be replaced with non-TTY bolts, imo, if they even are actually TTY to begin with.
 

hey_allen

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Location
Altus, OK
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
My solution to the oil damaged rear dogbone mount was to install the softest polyurethane bushings that I could find.

They're still firmer than the stock ones, allowing more engine noise into the car, but not unbearably so.

I'm hoping to get my project car onto the road this year, at which point in planning to pull the TDI engine and trans out for a thorough cleaning and reseal, before installing a new clutch and putting it back.
It's probably too much to hope for no leaks at all, but less would be nice...
 
Last edited:

hans_gruber0

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Location
Sierra Foothills
TDI
03' ALH wagon 5 speed
you probably just didn't get the bolt started right which can be easy to do if car isn't level or things are just slightly amiss. using a pry bar or something on the mount helps to make sure you get those bolts in so they can hand threaded in and keep tension off it while you get the bolt down most of the way if that's the case. i don't believe any of those big engine mount bolts are TTY. i've never replaced them, re-used numerous times and never a problem. the only TTY bolts would be where in the bentley it says to torque to X ft-lbs then add some extra amount of turn. any TTY bolts (outside of the engine at least) can be replaced with non-TTY bolts, imo, if they even are actually TTY to begin with.
I had enough pressure on the jack where the bracket was lined up perfectly so either that one stripped when first loosening the bolts and adjusting the height or they were bunged up during a prior timing belt job
My solution to the oil damaged rear dogbone mount was to install the softest polyurethane bushings that I could find.

They're still firmer than the stock ones, allowing more engine noise into the car, but not unbearably so.

I'm hoping to get my project car onto the road this year, at which point in planning to pull the TDI engine and trans out for a thorough cleaning and reseal, before installing a new clutch and putting it back...
It's probably to much to hope for no leaks at all, but less would be nice...
Initially did the ID parts poly bushing for dogbone and shifter felt great and there wasnt much added noise at all. Turned wheel hop directly into wheel spin. It was likely the center bushing that degraded.
Giving Powerflex a try this time.

The YouTube videos showing the NVH harshness with BFI poly engine mounts on TDI will make you laugh...I have solid poly mounts on my midship toyota and it's horrible for a daily driver...but so aren't coilovers lol

The oil leaks began after going from Vnt15 and stock injectors to tuned with s7 so probably excess crankcase pressure?
I dream of having a clean engine but not looking to attempt to replace crankshaft and rear main seal with a fresh clutch in there quite yet. It's just a drip or two every day after parking overnight
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Yeah after the second time you pull those bolts the threads start to pull out no matter how careful you are.
So now as I do TB for either family or friends I automatically just put two new time serts in. You can do them in the car or out of the car. When you get the kit make sure you get the longer time sert insert as that will give you the best holding power and then torque the bolts to 74 ft lbs….at this point you can get regular steel bolts and not worry about if the bolts were already stretched…just my .02
 

hans_gruber0

Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Location
Sierra Foothills
TDI
03' ALH wagon 5 speed
Yeah after the second time you pull those bolts the threads start to pull out no matter how careful you are.
So now as I do TB for either family or friends I automatically just put two new time serts in. You can do them in the car or out of the car. When you get the kit make sure you get the longer time sert insert as that will give you the best holding power and then torque the bolts to 74 ft lbs….at this point you can get regular steel bolts and not worry about if the bolts were already stretched…just my .02
So you went with the largest 30mm insert like this one?
https://time-serts.com/store/big-sert-m12x1-5x30mm-insert-p-n-52155/
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Decided to look into the climate control panel lacking illumination. Discovered the bulb part number and instructions here. No way I would have yanked so hard to pull out the knob w/o hearing that it is proper. New 2721 bulb fixed it... :)

Douglas
 

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Checked the oil, about 3,000 miles after the change and a long (5-hour) highway drive. Down about 1/4" on the dipstick; it was up to the bend and now it's at the top of the cross-hatch section.

Last oil change interval I had to add about a quart total (two 1/2-quart additions), so this seems to be consistent.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Finished daughters seat repair plus installed aftermarket heaters to seat, installed repaired seat skin, installed a new whole glove box assembly , and installed new lower dash panel
( under the steering column) that the wind took and shattered.
Next is the small rad fan , CTS , and the dreaded hvac repair….. luckily I have some time still as she is also recovering from surgery too.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Replaced daughters CTS due to reading low and triggering CEL.
Replaced small rad fan with new one….low speed wasn’t working unless you gave it a hand. Took fan apart and found 1 brush stuck in housing , even after messing with it it would slide. Ironically all the brushes were still good , but deep sixed it any way….too many projects…
 

Redneckeric

Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Location
Chesapeake VA
TDI
03 Jetta
Finally started getting back to putting things back together. Installed egr block off and race pipe along with a fresh cleaned intake manifold. Cleaned up vacuum lines, installed turbo pipe to air cleaner. Did notice there is a small crack on the intake manifold where the race pipe bolts up. Not sure if was there or if over tightened on my end. Dont think i over tighten as i was holding just the head of the ratchet not the handle. Thinking just some jb weld maybe?
Tomorrow will be putting the subframe back in and torquing all the suspension components. Hopefully enough time to knock the old bushings out of the rear beam and painting it as well.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
I got to replace a tire. ..Heard ticking noises driving around town, hoped it was a rock, but nope, it was a sheetmetal screw in the shoulder. I was hoping I got lucky and the screw was short and the rubber was tall, but nope again. Good news (sort of) is that when I bought this set 2 years ago, I goofed and bought 6 (Pirelli P4's). Used the 5th to replace the spare as it was 20 years old, kept the 6th in the shed. Out of the shed it came and it was mounted up.
 

dieseldonato

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2023
Location
Us
TDI
2001 jetta
Replaced the leaking plastic fitting on the trans side of the head. Found a loose bracket that had broken off the reverse switch connector while I was at it. Got all thay fixed. Turned my attention to repiring a few buggered holes in the dash, then went about messing with the cruise Control. It seems the clutch switch was bypassed at one point, or this had a manual trans swapped in at some point. Real head scratcher, as it appears there was someone hacking about under the dash. Just waiting on the bently manuals to figure that mess out. Haven't found any lose red with white tracer wires though. Which is odd, because by the best I can tell it doesn't have the 11mm pump on it, so it should be a factory 5 speed car. Any way, I digress. After being pretty frustrated with that, I decided I should try to de muck the engine bay amd figure out where some of the oil leaks are coming from, so did that. Looks much better now under the hood. I think the valve cover is leaking, which is a bummer as it appears the gasket is non replaceable, and also looks like the turbo oil feed may be seeping as well. Ordered a stainless feed line, just been to get a 90* adapter and metric to an/jic adapter for the turbo. Get rid of that banjo bolt on the turbo.
Got 2.5" stainless tubing ordered as well so I can complete the exhaust. Lots of nit picky stuff wrong with this thing, but I guess the mods amd fixes are half the fun. Just killing time waiting on parts to show up, and xman to get injectors back in stock.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Finally tackled the lack of washer fluid (and the reservoir draining anytime I used it). I was getting all of the fluid oozing / flowing down the passenger side fender so figured the issue was buried in the typical place - at the hinge area. So, in chasing down the leak, I pulled off the whole fender and unwrapped the hose/wiring that goes through the hinge area and....it was perfect. Not even a kink. 🤬

So then I looked where I should've started - at the nozzles themselves. Sure enough, the hose at the driver side nozzle was detached. Hooked it back up, purged some air, aimed them....work like new now. I'm guessing the slant of our driveway was pulling the fluid down the inside of the hood and out that corner (right by the passenger-side hinge).

Also replaced the no-longer-functioning backup camera with the one that came with the $65 CarPlay Android Head Unit (going to make a thread discussing that when I get a chance; the tl;dr right now, though - seems pretty decent!).
Given that I often have a bike rack on the back of the car, I wanted the backup camera mounted a bit higher, so I have it Goop'd (epoxy) right below the rear wiper (I cut a little notch in the rear glass to run the wire through, under the grommet.) Anyway, that's working well now.

Now on to figuring out what the fudge is going on with my MFSW retrofit - I've looked at the wiring and checked connections at least six times now and I still have no power to the steering wheel - no lights, no horn, no functioning cruise switches. (Thankfully, I left the wiring for cruise switches on the turn signal stalk intact, so I still can use CC.)
 

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Ordered radio keys to pull my stock double din NON-monsoon HU. Going to replace it with the RCN210, and am planning on getting the adapter from Clusters by Litke. so I need to know what connector is back there for sure before I order. Should be the quadlock, but no steering wheel controls, no cd changer in the trunk, and no Monsoon amp/crossover—it’s an 03 GL. So it just might have the older two-plug connection. We shall see in a few days.
 

Bradm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
02,03,05,14 Jetta 99.5 Golf
Ordered radio keys to pull my stock double din NON-monsoon HU. Going to replace it with the RCN210, and am planning on getting the adapter from Clusters by Litke. so I need to know what connector is back there for sure before I order. Should be the quadlock, but no steering wheel controls, no cd changer in the trunk, and no Monsoon amp/crossover—it’s an 03 GL. So it just might have the older two-plug connection. We shall see in a few days.
You can make those keys really easily out of old credit/gift cards. Probably too late for you, but hopefully for someone in the future
 

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Well, my daughter wants to change the radio in her MkIV Golf as well (also to the rcn210), and one of my sons also has a MkIV Golf, so I figure the $6 for metal keys is worth it.

I had a pair like ten years ago, but cannot find them. Plus you need 4 to pull the double din anyway.

But yes, good tip. I did think about cutting my own out of metal but didn’t have any suitable stock on hand.
 

Bradm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
02,03,05,14 Jetta 99.5 Golf
Well, my daughter wants to change the radio in her MkIV Golf as well (also to the rcn210), and one of my sons also has a MkIV Golf, so I figure the $6 for metal keys is worth it.

I had a pair like ten years ago, but cannot find them. Plus you need 4 to pull the double din anyway.

But yes, good tip. I did think about cutting my own out of metal but didn’t have any suitable stock on hand.
I agree $6 is worth it, especially doing that many. Im too frugal and impatient, and i can have them made and the radio out faster than i can order them. Im interested in that harness litke makes, looks like he does really good work. It will be 100% plug & play then?
 

ghohouston

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Location
Lewisville, Texas
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI 5 Speed
Adjusted the steering rack on my Jetta. 452k miles, it developed some play. Even with new inner and outer tie rod ends on both sides, and newer wheel bearings, car felt very unplanted going over a crack in the road would pull you, or say when a car whipped past, it would move the car alot. No longer does this and feels good and planted once more.
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Adjusted the steering rack on my Jetta. 452k miles, it developed some play. Even with new inner and outer tie rod ends on both sides, and newer wheel bearings, car felt very unplanted going over a crack in the road would pull you, or say when a car whipped past, it would move the car alot. No longer does this and feels good and planted once more.
What adjustments did you make ?
 

ghohouston

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Location
Lewisville, Texas
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI 5 Speed
What adjustments did you make ?
Tightened the adjuster nut on the back of the steering rack. It's an 18mm nut with a rubber plug in the center. I'd never adjusted a steering rack before. Have adjusted steering gearboxes on trucks before, and the usually have a shaft with a jamb nut. I was suprised when I pulled the rubber plug from the center there was nothing to adjust. I said screw it and ran the 18mm nut in about 3/8 of a turn, and drove. Feels soooo much better. It's on the drivers side of the rack, facing the cabin. I had noticed play in the rack itself the last time around when replacing the inner and outer tie rods. Every bit of research I'd done said, said it wasn't the rack, but sometimes common sense has to overcome what other people say. Just like the subframe bushings I was told don't wear out by everyone including a guru. Well mine certainly had play in them.
 

Bradm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2019
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
02,03,05,14 Jetta 99.5 Golf
Is there a scaled profile available to make those keys? Thanks.
 
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