What did you do to your MKIV today?

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
No, just have a significantly more expensive fuel injection system to deal with, LOL.

(never seen anyone pull the upper intake on a 2.slo for spark plugs, I got a chuckle out of that... I suppose it *would* be easier, but it isn't exactly hard in the first place).
It's more for the wires, actually. When she bought the car initially, I changed out just the plugs, manifold in place. Wasn't too bad. A bit fiddly though with the wires on cyl 2 and 3. I remembered that when I got the wire set, and removing made installing them (especially putting them in the holders) easy. It was worth it.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
That being said - where do y'all set your headlight levels to? I put mine a little high (I never adjusted them since I replaced some assemblies that were damaged in comp collisions), so I could see better. I live fairly rural, so a lot of my driving is on country roads with not much traffic. If anything, I can use the levelers to aim the lights down a little, but before, I couldn't see $hit that far ahead of me, even with high beams (and all these new cars with LED headlights aimed from the factory are way brighter than my car with high beams on, anyways).
I put mine in the dirt, mostly because I hate poorly adjusted ones something fierce

but I should get some billion watt 10000k led HID halogen laser eye burners to commit war crimes with instead
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2 x 2002 Golf, 1995 F450 7.3L
I was wondering that that meant. Now it's obvious that you pointed out they are in your signature. :D
I think others were as well, which is why I referenced them in my signature as well. It's sad my JSW is still listed in my sig; it's been at the body shop for a year and a half, but I've grown pretty accustomed to just using the pair of Golfs and not paying insurance on the JSW.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2 x 2002 Golf, 1995 F450 7.3L
I put mine in the dirt, mostly because I hate poorly adjusted ones something fierce

but I should get some billion watt 10000k led HID halogen laser eye burners to commit war crimes with instead
A lot of trucks out here use those annoying ultra bright light bars. Some of them, using those as their PRIMARY lights instead of the factory headlights. The worst is when you see someone with craptastic Chineseium LEDs that are not only insanely bright, but insanely blue.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
These newer lights are not only annoying and dangerous, but they're jaw-dropping expensive to replace. A stripper Jetta's assembly was over a grand last time I checked.
 

norbert77

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Location
Petrolia
TDI
01 beetle
My old beetle lights were so faded I could barely see so I went on RockAuto and bought a pretty set of TYC or something close to it. Don't low beam aims one way and the high beams another way so I sort of had to split the difference. I stripped one head light adjuster right away lucky got sent back and warranty.

Get a tape measure and when a nice level laneway, put the tape in front of the light see very aims and then walk out 30 pieces and see where it aims. As long as it aims down you're probably fine until you put stuff in the trunk
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
Another cheap trick - park on flat, level ground in front of a wall or other flat surface. With the low beams on, slowly back up - if the bright spot rises the lamps are aimed high, if the bright spot falls they are aimed low, if it stays the same the bright spot is level straight ahead.

Free, no tools, double check.

Jason
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
Good writeup on headlight aiming: https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Moving on, brought my '02 home from the mechanic last night - back in August, started running really rough. Thought bad fuel (2 days after filling up), but wasn't - turned out one of the lifters came apart and wiped out the cam/head.

So, since I wasn't ready to part with the car: all-new head/cam, turbo (seals starting to go), intake and EGR valve (very coked up, probably at least in part from the over-fueling injectors I had a few years back, need to research EGR disables that won't mess up my NJ inspection), had the coolant pipe I got from OilHammer swapped in, timing belt (20K shy, but head was off and apparently the tensioner was ready to fail, so dodged bent rods there). Oh, and my starter finally croaked, so new one of those.

Bottom end was fine - even with the wrecked head, no piston-valve contact, and compression was even across all cylinders. Even still have visible cross-hatching from the factory hone in all 4 cylinders, according to the mechanic.

Doozy of a bill, but drives so good after all that I can't complain. Quieter and smoother than it's been in a while, and boy did clearing the intake wake it up - feels even stronger now, and not a hint of smoke (now I think I finally understand what upgrading to .205s was supposed to do for the car). Timing's set to 74, which is a little lower than he usually goes, but it ran too good at that setting not to leave alone.

Now I just have to keep my foot out of it for a tank or two so I can see how the MPG is now (hoping for better now that it's smoking less and breathing in much better).

Small Album with a couple pics: https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?media/albums/cylinder-head-work-sept-2024.14630/
(the closeup of the intake and lifter bore are courtesy of my mechanic, the "after" beauty shots I got this morning).
 

Sting

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Speaking of headlights, what can you do if it seems like your adjusters aren't working? If not, I'm guessing replacement is in order?

I tried to adjust mine, but it seemed to do nothing.
 

jmodge

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Location
Greenville, MI
TDI
2001 alh Jetta, RC2 w/.205's 5speed daily summer commuter and 2000 alh Jetta 5spd swap, 2" lift, hitch, stage 3 TDtuning w/.216's winter cruiser, 1996 Tacoma ALh
Good writeup on headlight aiming: https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Moving on, brought my '02 home from the mechanic last night - back in August, started running really rough. Thought bad fuel (2 days after filling up), but wasn't - turned out one of the lifters came apart and wiped out the cam/head.

So, since I wasn't ready to part with the car: all-new head/cam, turbo (seals starting to go), intake and EGR valve (very coked up, probably at least in part from the over-fueling injectors I had a few years back, need to research EGR disables that won't mess up my NJ inspection), had the coolant pipe I got from OilHammer swapped in, timing belt (20K shy, but head was off and apparently the tensioner was ready to fail, so dodged bent rods there). Oh, and my starter finally croaked, so new one of those.

Bottom end was fine - even with the wrecked head, no piston-valve contact, and compression was even across all cylinders. Even still have visible cross-hatching from the factory hone in all 4 cylinders, according to the mechanic.

Doozy of a bill, but drives so good after all that I can't complain. Quieter and smoother than it's been in a while, and boy did clearing the intake wake it up - feels even stronger now, and not a hint of smoke (now I think I finally understand what upgrading to .205s was supposed to do for the car). Timing's set to 74, which is a little lower than he usually goes, but it ran too good at that setting not to leave alone.

Now I just have to keep my foot out of it for a tank or two so I can see how the MPG is now (hoping for better now that it's smoking less and breathing in much better).

Small Album with a couple pics: https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?media/albums/cylinder-head-work-sept-2024.14630/
(the closeup of the intake and lifter bore are courtesy of my mechanic, the "after" beauty shots I got this morning).
How many miles do you have on that now?
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
So today I found that my cable didn't break, it was just the bushing on the inside that popped apart. The bushings are all just shot, so I am ordering a whole set of bushings from diesel geek and will be rebuilding the whole system. It definitely needs it. I'll have to take some pictures, since it's pretty nasty LOL
 

GlowBugTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2001 Beetle GLS TDI (BIODSL). 01 original Glow Bug TDI (sold)
So, since I wasn't ready to part with the car: all-new head/cam, turbo (seals starting to go), intake and EGR valve (very coked up, probably at least in part from the over-fueling injectors I had a few years back, need to research EGR disables that won't mess up my NJ inspection).
Golfing tee pressed into the egr valve hose. Takes 20 seconds to re-attach for inspection and 20 more to put the tee back in after. The tee only needs to be pressed in a little bit. Doesn't go anywhere. If your worried about the egr valve end getting gunk in it get vacuum caps from the auto parts store.
Another option, you can also remove the tube entirly and vacuum cap both nipples.
 

Fix_Until_Broke

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 8, 2004
Location
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA
TDI
03 Jetta
Drove it again for the first time since ~May. Started right up, runs good, brakes are a bit "weak" due to rust on the rotors, getting better with use.
Figured if I'm going to be driving it this winter, I should make sure it's good to go before the weather gets crappy. It's everything I remember (good and bad) :)
 

P2B

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Location
Toronto & Muskoka, Canada
TDI
2002 Jetta, 2003 Jetta, 2003 Jetta Wagon
Golfing tee pressed into the egr valve hose. Takes 20 seconds to re-attach for inspection and 20 more to put the tee back in after. The tee only needs to be pressed in a little bit. Doesn't go anywhere. If your worried about the egr valve end getting gunk in it get vacuum caps from the auto parts store.
Another option, you can also remove the tube entirly and vacuum cap both nipples.
Assuming he doesn't fail inspection due to MIL on for EGR insufficient flow.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2 x 2002 Golf, 1995 F450 7.3L
Another cheap trick - park on flat, level ground in front of a wall or other flat surface. With the low beams on, slowly back up - if the bright spot rises the lamps are aimed high, if the bright spot falls they are aimed low, if it stays the same the bright spot is level straight ahead.

Free, no tools, double check.

Jason
That's actually what I did, sans the backing up part. Used the grout between stones outside my former house as a guide. I think they're upwards a little more than city driving, but nobody's flashed their high beams at me yet, and now I can see the deer and racoons better up in the distance.
 

Zak99b5

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Location
Albany NY
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI
Assuming he has a way to clear codes and check readiness, and doesn't mind having the MIL on constantly.
Any cheap scan tool can clear the codes and check readiness. So the only issue is the perma-MIL. Which could "hide" another issue popping up because it's already lit.

I know NY stops testing emissions on cars at 25 years. Does NJ also exempt old cars?

But the real solution is get a Burpod tune and leave the deactivated EGR stuff in place.
 

J_dude

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2020
Location
SK Canada
TDI
2003 1.9l “Jedi”
@IndigoBlueWagon I see there’s a sale on for Weathertech floor mats, but you guys don’t carry any of the DigitalFit line for a MKIV, why is that?
I know they don’t list a set for the Golf/Jetta but the set for the New Beetle fits perfectly.
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2002 Golf 6MT; 2015 Sportwagen 6MT; 2016 A3 e-tron 6DSG
What I did: Had it hauled away. Four manual-crank window regulators that many here were crying out for....gone.
(I stripped pretty much everything else away, though. :D )
 

Sting

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
What I did: Had it hauled away. Four manual-crank window regulators that many here were crying out for....gone.
(I stripped pretty much everything else away, though. :D )
There were manual cranks for MkIVs? Dang. Those would have been cool.
 

[486]

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2014
Location
MN
TDI
02 golf ALH
There were manual cranks for MkIVs? Dang. Those would have been cool.
yeah they're an odd duck
mostly in 2dr cars, but some 4dr cars got them
you could get cable actuated mirrors only with manual windows, since the right side window switch takes the place of the right mirror adjuster
 

SilverGhost

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Location
Back in So Flo - St Lucie
TDI
'05 Golf - totaled :(, wife's '13 Beetle - buy back, TDIless
(clip)

So, since I wasn't ready to part with the car: all-new head/cam, turbo (seals starting to go), intake and EGR valve (very coked up, probably at least in part from the over-fueling injectors I had a few years back, need to research EGR disables that won't mess up my NJ inspection), had the coolant pipe I got from OilHammer swapped in, timing belt (20K shy, but head was off and apparently the tensioner was ready to fail, so dodged bent rods there). Oh, and my starter finally croaked, so new one of those.

(clip)
ALH has adaption that even dealer techs were changing that "effectively" tuned EGR flow out. Since car thinks it is doing what it is supposed to no MIL, readiness sets because system is still doing its job. No tune to change program counter or tune date.

Old timers on here know of what I speak and can VagCOM it (yes that was intentional)

Jason
 

Sting

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
ALH has adaption that even dealer techs were changing that "effectively" tuned EGR flow out. Since car thinks it is doing what it is supposed to no MIL, readiness sets because system is still doing its job. No tune to change program counter or tune date.

Old timers on here know of what I speak and can VagCOM it (yes that was intentional)

Jason

I made sure the adaptation was done on mine when I got it 4 years ago, and honestly, it seems to have worked. Recently, I saw a video that had the unplug and block the line mod. I did it on mine, and it certainly seems like there is a touch more snappiness when hitting the pedal. No codes either. (y) Also seems like the engine is warming better than before.
 
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