What did you do to your MKIV today?

[norbert77]

I'm not sure how a ceratek or stp oil additive make a car run smoother, unless you got a very carboned up combustion chamber. I used to be a big believer of thicker oil always being better, I've only changed that to a lower number in cold weather, such as going from 10w 30 to 5W30 for winter, for all my cars if I could find a good diesel 5w50 oil I would use that.

Synthetic oil is made the way it's supposed to be, great stuff. The problem people get into and not realize, a lot of mineral oils are filtered to very high standards and they are allowed to be called synthetic. Yes you literally have mineral oils rated to be synthetic when they are not. The other thing people don't know about mineral oil is that the first number is always the base oil. The second number is what all the additives do, thick enough when the oil gets hot. What happens over a long time is cams and gears and stuff cheer up the oil and those polymer additives get broken up and slowly the oil reverts back to what the base number was and no longer offers protection. This is why straight great oils are preferably in airplane use and extreme duty vehicles, you never have to worry about it breaking down

 

[norbert77]

Lost my passenger windshield wiper blade this morning on the drive in when I hit the washer. Beam part separated from the mount, went up the windshield, over the roof, and off the trunk. I must've knocked it loose when clearing snow off of it the other day.

Some piece of work keeps breaking up the rear wiper on my son's ml350.p twice now he got it only to see it missing

 

[Gvr]

I've been using liqui moly toptec4100 5w40 which is a full synth oil and it's been consuming it for thousand of miles. I always source it from the same parts provider. The smoother running might be placebo, though the fact that it's not burning virtually any oil anymore is true. I run the car to redline almost daily, so I don't think there's any deposits in the combustion chamber.

 

[norbert77]

There was a Pennzoil oil with extra cleaning and de-sludging additives. I tried it, frees up the vvvt on my car at the time. After that I always put a few ounces of 50-50 diesel and varsol in the oil a day before oil change, to free up sticky rings. After a few minutes of driving I could feel the vvvt engage again. That poor old car really needed some work I don't know why the oil got so dirty so quick. Probably ran way to rich but didn't throw a code. Got rid of it for my tdi

 

[Gvr]

Never used any flush or diesel in the oil, I believe that driving hard every once in a while and frequent oil changes helps keep things clean inside the motor.

 

[RexNICO]

Lost my passenger windshield wiper blade this morning on the drive in when I hit the washer. Beam part separated from the mount, went up the windshield, over the roof, and off the trunk. I must've knocked it loose when clearing snow off of it the other day.

Was this break in a location similar to this?

quattroworld.com Forums: Anybody here remember "Team Doorhandle"?

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Thanks

 

[Boosty]

I've been using liqui moly toptec4100 5w40 which is a full synth oil and it's been consuming it for thousand of miles. I always source it from the same parts provider. The smoother running might be placebo, though the fact that it's not burning virtually any oil anymore is true. I run the car to redline almost daily, so I don't think there's any deposits in the combustion chamber.

Just recalled back in my Chevelle/Camaro days of the early 80s a friend (he who had the legendary 69 Camaro SS of the infamous cheese burnout incident) called me over after school and said he had something interesting for me to try in my SS. I had a clapped out 72 Camaro SS, muncie, 350, headers, cam etc, thought I was cool yeah cool boy uh huh to include the requisite mullet and sound system, my girlfriend called the spoiler on the trunk "the flippy thing". Anyway I get over there and he says pop the hood. So I pop the hood and he opens up the oil filler cap on the finned aluminum chevy valve cover (that started visibly pulsating as the cam we put in had so much lift it was contacting the insides where the rocker arms met it) and starts pouring in a small white bottle of gunk. I was all like what is that crap?!?!? he said "start it and let it idle" as he smiled at me. It started and idled a min or two and the idle increased a few hundred rpm it seemed and smoothness, I was all wide eyed and *** and he was laughing and I said what is that stuff and he tossed me the bottle. It had some additive in it that include tetraflourowhatthisstuff and I was amazed, simply amazed. He said they sell it at work and tried it in his and it did the same thing for him. I thought it was a miracle at the time and thanked him for it and added some routinely at oil changes but never thought about it much. Then I found out what happens when you get tetraflourowhatshisface to melt/burn, it becomes a metal eating acid. That may explain all those eroded chambers/bores in our US Mil M16s as breakfree also has tetraflourowhatsit. No more tetraflourowhatsit for me thanks. I mean sure I use it to lube the frame/internals of a glock but it's not going in the bore where the hot fiery gases reside.

 

[Zak99b5]

Was this break in a location similar to this?

quattroworld.com Forums: Anybody here remember "Team Doorhandle"?

The Audi Enthusiast website. Forums for all Audis including A4, S4, A5, S5, A6, S6, allroad, A8, S8, TT, R8, Q5, Q7, 4000, 100, 200, v6, v8, vintage, local forums

forums.quattroworld.com

Thanks

No. It was entirely on the replaceable blade piece. The plastic that hooks into the J was still there, but the blade itself separated from that.

 

[dieseldonato]

Managed to break my interior door handle the other day. Went to leave from work, got in the car, reached for the door handle and gave a rug to close the door. Door started to move then the back side of the handle broke. I was kinda surprised, it broke. The doors all close silky smooth, but I guess it is 20 odd years old. Ordered a new one off Amazon. Figured for $25.00 it's worth the risk of buying. Next time I'm at the junk yard I'll have to add one to my collection.

 

[SilverGhost]

I don't know who said it about car would start one time and next time no click or anything - bad ignition switch?

Well, I have had a few Jettas (MkIV) over the years with bad crimps on the battery cables, usually the positive to starter. The rest of the car gets normal 12V so no dimming lights or anything, but a loose crip and starter doesn't have enough current to even engage the solenoid. A volt meter on the starter or even on each end of the positive cable to start when cranking can verify this. Though that would be easier with a helper or alligator clips.

Jason

 

[norbert77]

I don't know who said it about car would start one time and next time no click or anything - bad ignition switch?

Well, I have had a few Jettas (MkIV) over the years with bad crimps on the battery cables, usually the positive to starter. The rest of the car gets normal 12V so no dimming lights or anything, but a loose crip and starter doesn't have enough current to even engage the solenoid. A volt meter on the starter or even on each end of the positive cable to start when cranking can verify this. Though that would be easier with a helper or alligator clips.

Jason

That was me. I cleaned up all connections, and when it starts it starts nice

 

[atownbrg]

stripped previously removed steering knuckles

Getting them flat in the press was easy. Couple 2x6's and a chunck of 4x4. Angle iron added to keep the knuckle out of the wood.

I previously ruined my cheap snap ring pliers so used a punch and some pliers. Was in the middle of prying it out (still struggling) when I had a DUH moment. Get two punches and use some pliers to squeese them together. Easy, worked like a charm!

In the end, I broke a speed sensor, dang it. It was rusted in. Now the inner race stuck on the hub was a different story. I was lazy, it was raining and didn't feel like grinding so I tried heat from a green bottle torch. I was able to raise it up only about an inch and then it wouldn't go further. Now I'm concerned maybe I shouldn't have used heat and possbly affected the hub metallurgy. Any thoughts on that? And recommendations for worthwhile spray paint for the knuckles?

I'll be soaking the knuckles in homeade rust remover as found in this video:

It works well!!

 

[Boosty]

Today the final HR springs (3 were installed some days ago, the last today) and new dog bone completed the suspension rebuild in the 04 Golf. What I didn't anticipate is the amount of engine travel it would remove from driving. When setting the car in drive there'd be a mighty lurch as the engine suddenly strained against the worn out strut bushings, tilting the engine in its mounts. My Jetta was the same way till it got coilovers and new control arms. The worst must have been the driver side strut bushing as well as the dog bone, with those two replaced today, and with new struts/shocks/bushings at each corner, the engine now hardly moves when selecting drive. Also there was a mystery front driver shake under braking that had us scratching our heads as the rotors are flat and smooth as well as the pads. It was so bad at times it'd shake the car alarmingly, even under light braking. Other times it went unnoticed, more's the pity with intermittent issues. I didn't expect it to be resolved but resolved it is, I suppose a oscillation took place between braking, engine, worn strut mounts, and dog bone. Even the interior parts that vibrated irritatingly at specific rpm are now quiet lol.

 

[pkhoury]

One of the glow plugs in DSOL is out, so I ordered a set of four from IDparts. Otherwise, I haven't had any issues with my cars, other than needing to get some re-welding done on my $hitty buzzken downpipe on DSEL, so I can start rotating through Golfs again.

 

[Zak99b5]

A few things recently--while I was brushing snow off the car, I found the wiper blade neatly tucked where the trunk lid meets the bottom of the back glass--curvature was damn near perfect.

Trunk stopped opening. I hear the actuator, but no pop open. I probably need the kit they sell to fix the mechanism. At least I have the glow-in-the-dark interior trunk release handle.

City light went out on the right side. I wanted to find amber bulbs and just replace both, but they're an odd-ish H5W size, and I can't find them. I see LEDs that are amber, but they don't really glow very well (more beam), and I don't want them really any brighter than the halogens that are in there.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Spray some penetrating oil in the trunk lock (aresol with a staw is best). It might take a couple attempts, but it may free up the mechanism. I have to do this periodically on my Wagon.

 

[jmodge]

A few things recently--while I was brushing snow off the car, I found the wiper blade neatly tucked where the trunk lid meets the bottom of the back glass--curvature was damn near perfect.

Trunk stopped opening. I hear the actuator, but no pop open. I probably need the kit they sell to fix the mechanism. At least I have the glow-in-the-dark interior trunk release handle.

City light went out on the right side. I wanted to find amber bulbs and just replace both, but they're an odd-ish H5W size, and I can't find them. I see LEDs that are amber, but they don't really glow very well (more beam), and I don't want them really any brighter than the halogens that are in there.

If that's a sedan, the same thing happened to one of ours. There's a plastic lever on the trunk release mechanism that broke. The actuator moves the plastic lever, so sound wise everything seemed fine. Once the interior cover is removed, iirc, 2 or3 #10 nuts removed it. There were some linkage rods with clips also, I think one of those had to be unhooked also. One car out of 5 in the boneyard had one in it. I reinforced it with JBweld before installing it, so it wouldn't crack.
One of those parts to grab off a spare car when given the chance..

 

[jmodge]

IMG_6734.jpeg

• jmodge
• Feb 14, 2025

Trunk lock mechanism

Here's a picture of the old one, I stuck it together but haven't reenforced it yet. Still sitting on my pile of "to be JB'd"

 

[Another]

Hi everyone! I will post it here cause i was haunting for this problem so much.
A few weeks ago finally found the source of exhaust leak and fumes in cabin on my 04 BEW, and no - it wasn't the flex pipe. The muffler was full of small cracks, the most along the factory weld line. I was able to see them only using a smoke leak detector machine. The garage i visited first time did not found the source of leak. So a 100$ machine from aliexpress was the solution. And then the choise betwen 350$ muffler or 100$ pipe was made)

1.9 tdi muffler delete

BEW warm engine

youtube.com

 

[dieseldonato]

My new door handle showed up yesterday. For being super cheap, I was quite surprised how nice it was. Came with the switches too, I was too fond of how they felt, so swapped in my original switches. All is good again in tdi land lol.

 

[Zak99b5]

Well, I ordered the fix kit for the trunk lock actuator, even though I didn’t check yet to see if it is indeed broken at that relay lever. Symptoms do fit, though there’s a few places in the linkage that could be broken or disconnected.

I'm off this week and just want to have it on hand so when I do remove the lining for it, I can fix it one way or another.

I replaced the trunk about two years ago with one from an 04 or 05 that I pulled in a yard in Georgia because my original was getting all rusty around the license plate lights. I cleaned & lubed everything when I installed it, but it might need some more attention now.

 

[GlowBugTDI]

My new door handle showed up yesterday. For being super cheap, I was quite surprised how nice it was. Came with the switches too, I was too fond of how they felt, so swapped in my original switches. All is good again in tdi land lol.

Where did you get yours? The wagon's had been falling apart since i bought it.

 

[northern diesel]

Got the retrofit headlights from @Nuje installed in my kiddos golf ! They are a major upgrade and both her mom and I can breathe a sigh of relief when she’s driving home from work on these dark roads.
All told her golf as it is has cost more than what Nujes decked out golf is selling for:

FS: 2002 Golf w/ new...just about everything (that really matters) Vancouver Island $5300(USD)

What's been done in the last 10K km (6K miles): timing belt kit Bosch 764 injectors/nozzles with @burpod tune cleaned turbo cleaned intake removed EGR / cooler Bilstein TC front and rear 20mm lift in front; 25mm lift in rear dogbone mount 1.25" hitch receiver; towing light harness installed and...

forums.tdiclub.com

 

[CanadianALH]

Got the retrofit headlights from @Nuje installed in my kiddos golf ! They are a major upgrade and both her mom and I can breathe a sigh of relief when she’s driving home from work on these dark roads.
All told her golf as it is has cost more than what Nujes decked out golf is selling for:

FS: 2002 Golf w/ new...just about everything (that really matters) Vancouver Island $5300(USD)

What's been done in the last 10K km (6K miles): timing belt kit Bosch 764 injectors/nozzles with @burpod tune cleaned turbo cleaned intake removed EGR / cooler Bilstein TC front and rear 20mm lift in front; 25mm lift in rear dogbone mount 1.25" hitch receiver; towing light harness installed and...

forums.tdiclub.com

I have more into my hail damaged rusty Jetta than he’s asking for that golf. Someone is going to be getting one heck of a car.

 

[dieseldonato]

Where did you get yours? The wagon's had been falling apart since i bought it.

Amazon.

https://a.co/d/bnlhXpS

 

[atownbrg]

Spent some time grinding and heating the inner race. Probably didn't get enough heat into it. I can take a hint that I didn't grind enough too...
I can get VAICO brand hubs for $22.99 each. thinking about just doing that, if these are not S**t parts and run true (including the ABS ring). Anyone have experience with VAICO front hubs?
I also had a wasted experience trying to get a set of snap ring pliers at Harbor Freight. Bought the large ones with .125" tips. It was CLOSE but no cigar. Too big. I'm thinking the wheel bearing snap ring has 3mm holes, just under 1/8". Knipex has some at 2.3mm tip size. I just o don't have the experience to know if thats close enough to not slip out or not.

20250216_114506.jpg

• atownbrg
• Feb 16, 2025

 

[P2B]

Spent some time grinding and heating the inner race. Probably didn't get enough heat into it. I can take a hint that I didn't grind enough too...

You ground plenty. Stick a cold chisel in that slot, one good whack should crack it.

 

[atownbrg]

You ground plenty. Stick a cold chisel in that slot, one good whack should crack it.

Thanks P2B, I will try that again in the morning. I've cracked off inner races before, but these are tougher than what i've dealt with before! Good to know that cut shoud be enough

 

[Nuje]

I can get VAICO brand hubs for $22.99 each. thinking about just doing that, if these are not S**t parts and run true (including the ABS ring). Anyone have experience with VAICO front hubs?

Not the Vaico hubs per sé, but Vaico is generally a pretty decent aftermarket brand. idparts.com sells a number of their (Vaico's) parts, so I always think that if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.

 

[dieseldonato]

Another fun adventure with the jetta this morning. I didn't have time to run out and fire the car up before I left. Went out, got in and the door wouldn't stay latched. I'm assuming it has something to do with all the rain/snow we got over the weekend followed by freezing temps last night. Since I was already running late, I ended up just taking the expedition to work. It did this once before, but that was with the old lock mechanism. The new one has been working just fine. Very frustrating. Needless to say, I was late for work this morning.