What did you do to your MKIV today?

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
Oh yes. Fuel economy changed substantially for me!

Well, that and Mk4s never came with rear swaybars.

What is yours? Mine is a 28mm Neuspeed that I got on sale earlier last year from a Neuspeed vendor (cheaper than Neuspeed's list prices).


what did I do today...
@alphaseinor helped me by doing a timesert on the bolt hole for my accessory belt tensioner. We finished up the ALH, I timed it, put new Conti DWS06 on the front, and put what was on it previously (Conti SureContacts) onto mom's BEW Wagon. Then, we started pulling the headliner, flooring airbags, and etc out of the Ute car. We'll probably start cutting and installing next weekend.
Hi

I had though about the shine style rsb but read about some issues with it ( cracking etc) , thought it may be too stiff , and didnt like the idea of having to drill to mount.

I looked at the neuspeed but it was pretty high $$ and again possibility too stiff so I ended up with a whiteline rsb set to its softest setting... seems to work well and car has a good feel to it.

One day I might get adventurous and try a stiffer setting but it feels pretty good where it is so far.
 

Powder Hound

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 25, 1999
Location
Under a Bridge, Crestview, FL, USA
TDI
'00 Golf 4dr White 5sp, '02 Jettachero 5sp, Wife's '03 NB Platinum Gray auto(!)
...Do springs actually wear out considerably over time? ...
Depends on your definition of 'wear'. Springs can lose their spring, rust, break. They can wear, but usually that verb brings to mind the spring rubbing on something and the metal detaching through friction.

These springs seem to be well made, so losing spring doesn't happen that anybody has reported. Breaking, yes. And there really isn't much warning other than rust. I've had a couple of them break. It is reasonably common to have that happen up in the rust belt (my old stomping grounds). You don't get a warning because the rust sneaks in under the protective paint so you can't see it, not that springs are in a particularly observable place anyway. The insidious part is that the rust happens in a microscopic crack and works along there, and doesn't leave much external evidence you'd see even without the paint.

Cheers,

PH
 

Judson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2001
Location
Cheyenne, WY
TDI
2001 Jetta
Played with the MFA’s mpg setting. Never really did that before and didn’t really care.

It’s a little old, the LCD, and in daylight you can’t read it too well. But coming back at night it was interesting to watch the values change - about what I’d expect. I am not sure how accurate it is.... i would have to run a full tank through at highway speeds then compare...

Car pulls right from idle these days. Really enjoying driving this car and I look forward to long trips.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
............................ I am not sure how accurate it is.... i would have to run a full tank through at highway speeds then compare...
...................................
IMO, that's the only way, track every tank. Live data is interesting, but not necessary.
 

03TDICommuter

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2016
Location
So. Cal
TDI
01' NB, 5spd
I finally have more than 1 working key for my Beetle!

- got 2 key blades cut from KeysInThePost.com. They're in the UK but they were cheaper than local locksmiths, local hardware stores (that didn't have the right vise anyways), and cheaper than the swap meet key cutter guy.
- 2 ebay fobs. Put the blades above into them. Paired the fobs no problem as I already had 1 working fob.
- rented a genuine vag tacho cable and just got done pairing the key's RFIDs

Happy to have 2 spares now.
 
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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,

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
I did the beef on a budget lift today! With Bilstein TC sport shocks and struts and all new bushings and mounts. It rides pretty well! Now I have another bumper sticker to add on...
I need to do similiar on a day when it's not raining. Disconnect my rear swaybar and struts, and swap out my rear Golf springs for my IDparts Golf towing springs. B4's are fun (had them for over 100K on the 2004), but B6 and B8 = more fun.

How did your LCA bushings look?
 

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,
I need to do similiar on a day when it's not raining. Disconnect my rear swaybar and struts, and swap out my rear Golf springs for my IDparts Golf towing springs. B4's are fun (had them for over 100K on the 2004), but B6 and B8 = more fun.

How did your LCA bushings look?
They were still decent. A few little cracks starting, but they're not that old... I wish there was a bushing that was actually good. I guess the design is what is not as good.
 

Corvairer

Member
Joined
May 21, 2020
Location
Acworth, GA
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, 360k miles and climbing
Still chasing 360k miles of bare minimum maintenance gremlins with my ALH wagon. Having trouble starting under about 45°F. First time it sat for about a week, experienced lows around 25° during that time, and it lost prime somewhere along the way. Pulled fuel to the pump and all was well for about a week. I suspect the tee, which I have on the way. A week later, it sat overnight and I tried to crank it when it was about 35 out, and nothing. It was cranking noticeably slower, but not slow enough to cause problems I think. I left my obdeleven dongle plugged in overnight. No air in line this time, but I did notice that my gp light didn't stay on beyond the initial couple seconds with the other lights. I suspect my temp sensor is half shot because when I check the live data engine temp, I see a dead steady 205.3°F, but it's definitely not overheating. I want to unplug the sensor and try failsafing to Antarctic temperatures for max gp time, but I can't get my fat mitts around the 🗽's tiara aka the coolant heater plugs. I'll mess with it again this weekend.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
What did I do today? Well, yesterday, carried into today. Not sure if it shows up, but a link to the joke TDI group on facebook. I posted of video of how BAD my passenger side control arm was. Not sure how the driver's side is. Also replaced tie rods, and put in new Bilstein B4 struts... this is on my Ute/2003 Jetta.
facebook video link
 

WanderTDI

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2021
Location
Utah
TDI
2002 ALH Jetta
I replaced my #3 glow plug. VCDS reported P0672 which is glow plug #2 (2nd from the TB), but I remember reading that the order is backwards sometimes (or all the time?) I shot them with a multimeter and all were 0.8 except for #3. Very carefully cleaned the opening, torqued down the new one, and cleared the code. Shot them again and they're all 0.8. Fired right up, but the engine was still a little warm. I'll leave it in the cold 'till the morning.

Hopefully, that will be the end of that pesky CEL

…right?
 

STDOUBT

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Location
Portland, effing Oregon
TDI
dos jettas
^I just did the same thing Monday. Same cylinder, too! Yep, VCDS told me cyl#2, but it was the 3rd that was ""
Your harness will be the next thing to go. Advice is keep it clean of oil/fuel drippings. If it's soiled, de-grease it.
I read your post in the welcome thread, Welcome! I was raised along the Wasatch front - looks like you might be in Southern Utah?
I went to college in Cedar City!
Yep, these are amazing cars.
 

pkhoury

That guy with the goats
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Location
Medina, TX
TDI
2013 JSW, 2003 Jetta Ute, 2 x 2002 Golf, 2000 Golf
What did I do today? Got rid of my s#!tty old pads/rotors and put on new Zimmerman rotors and Akebono pads on the rear. Then went to the junkyard to get some more various VW odds and ends.






 

carl20320

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 15, 2020
Location
SW WA
TDI
2004 Mk4 Golf GLS TDI 5spd
Couple weeks late but went to do the timing belt, water pump, etc.. Found the turbo was beat all to heck. Got a VNT-17 and PD150 intake on the way and got everything installed, including the timing belt that started it all. Couple days later, car was down at Cascade German having a Stage 4 Malone tune installed.
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Carl, details on what you left of the EGR, and other turbo plumbing please. I have an '04 Jetta that is just itchin' for the same treatment.
cheers,
Douglas
 

Andyinchville1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2016
Location
Virginia
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, 5 sp, 226K miles
HI,

Don't know if this qualifies BUT I bought a Hex Can cable for the car so I am looking forward to getting it to make tweaks to the car , run logs and whatever other magic it can do !

I guess I'll need to start reading up on it ....

Andrew
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Well, I've been doing a lot more HID research lately since I'm doing another retrofit on the truck (and eventually finishing up my V2.0 for the Golf...) and I got curious about ballasts. My research led me to the Hella Gen 3 ballasts:



These came off of early 2000's Audi's, Benz's, as well as BMW (and maybe a few others). It was a ballast that was way ahead of its time honestly. The igniter is built into the ballast which is great...all of today's ballast has the igniter external which just means more wires. They are also boostable if you are handy soldering and de-soldering small things (which I don't think I am). Boostable means you can run them OEM (35W) or in increments of 2 or 3 watts all the way up to 55W, depending on how you do it. If you're clever enough to, you can mount an in-cab switch that can give you the wattage you want on-demand (say if you tied the 55W setting into your highs, when you turn your highs on, you would get the 55W boost. Off, and it would go back to standard 35W.

It's a bit of a power pig though so you def want to be running these with an aftermarket harness. They, to this day, are still probably the fastest firing ballast out there (Even compared to new Morimotos, etc). They draw something like 12A each on start up and get up to temp in a couple seconds. My Mori's took 7 or 8 sec probably. Once they settle in it's a pretty standard 5A draw, maybe a tad less.

I decided to mod mine for the car and truck and remove that D2S connector because it's an awkward version that has the kink. Wouldn't work with my car or truck retrofits because it interferes with the housing. So I just added standard amp connectors to it:



They then got seated in their home with some industrial strength velcro. Stuff works great for mounting things like ballasts:



Not TDI related, but this is the setup that I installed in the Cummins as well. Everything nice and tucked away. My lenses for my D2S projector retrofit are with the clearcoaters, so I should have my new lights for the ole truck installed early this week:



I couldn't pass up the ballasts, I got a killer deal on them and bought 5. Probably going to pick up some more and maybe try my hand at boosting them, but for now I will just be running the standard 35W which is plenty and bulbs should last damn near forever!
 

PakProtector

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Location
AnnArbor, MI
TDI
Mk.4's and the Cummins
Krash, the Hylux A005 is a self contained beast just like the Hella( it is likely a close copy ). Just a caution; it is bad practice to face connectors upwards. Risk of pooling water, yes?
cheers,
Douglas
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Krash, the Hylux A005 is a self contained beast just like the Hella( it is likely a close copy ). Just a caution; it is bad practice to face connectors upwards. Risk of pooling water, yes?
cheers,
Douglas
Yeah they look like a copy. Are they OEM?

As far as water, both sets on the car and truck are out of the elements, never seen water in those areas on the car or truck. it may be bad practice, but I've never been concerned. The ballasts are fully sealed, I do put a dab of dielectric grease on the contacts, and the harness plugs have the gaskets on them to seal them. You actually kind of have to wiggle them into the 9006 connection to get that gasket stuffed in there. The ballasts on my truck have been living there for around 7 years. the car ones have been there for a while too (mounted to the front of the battery).

I've only had 1 ballast fail (between the cheap-o and the nicer ones I've used) and it wasn't from moisture intrusion. For my setups it's the best orientation and location I could find for them.
 

jlav0330

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Location
SoCal
TDI
2003 Golf
Went around and put in... last 1/6th (?) of the bottle of Redline gear oil after I had to take it out when I changed the seal on my right flange last week. Noticed that it was leaking several months after I had to remove it so I can put back in my transmission when I did the clutch around a year ago. Reason why I couldn't put all of the gear oil in at once was that, Bentley really doesn't tell you this, but if you got an 02J or something similar, you have to have the car tilted up if you're going to fill it. When I did it last week, I got in around 5/6ths of the second bottle, and it started to pour out of the drain plug. I had it on a lift, and I was in a rush to get done, so I just told myself I was going to have to do it later. So, have your front on jacks (aka tilted up), and you'll be able to put in both quarts no problem. It calls for 2 liters, but meh, I think it will survive. Also did front right noisy wheel bearing last week, love the lack of noise coming from that area now lol.
 

DeeJay

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2020
Location
Michigan
TDI
2000 Jetta
Few months ago I bought a 2000 Jetta TDI GLS 5 speed. The clutch wouldn't disengage unless it was pushed all the way to the floor. Never worked on one of these, do I turned to this forum (and others) in search of answers. After about 2 weeks of driving it, I felt my break pedal go down, maybe 1/2 inch . After that, the clutch pedal felt normal. I could let it up a couple of inches and it would start to engage. The car had always shifted hard(before and after the change) I put some GM synchro fluid in the trans. That did help, but definitely didn't fix it. Bought this car off of Marketplace from just out of state. Ended up realizing that the guy that sold it, didn't even own it, he was flipping it. I didn't know it, but the car had sat for 5 years. Once I got it I started to realize this because of all the tell tale signs. The nail in the coffin sign was the air breather. It had the date and mileage hand written on it. It was 5 years ago and roughly 3,000 miles ago. I have no idea if the guy bought a new car and let this one sit, if he kicked the bucket; but it sat for a long time. I read that the clutch can get a rust ring in one of the cylinders(master or slave) from sitting a long time. So, I figured that its what happened with mine. Other than the hard shifts, it's going ok. If I shift at 2k rpm, I'm ok. If I take her up to 3-4, then I will have to rev match to get it to shift right...So, maybe the synchros are bad. It has 200k miles on it and it was a city, or near city car. Maybe they are just shot from an owner that didn't drive right. Well, about 3 weeks ago, I needed to get on it a little to get out into traffic. When it didn't want to go into 2nd gear, I hit third real quick and floored it. The car reved......but didn't pick up speed much. Yup have to do the inevitable: clutch time. Dreaded digging into this. After all the other BS that I have had to deal with: headlights, door lock module, plastic bits, E brake, etc etc etc. So I bought a basic LUK kit off of Amazon for $200. It was in a nesting doll of boxes... Funny part, it was from IDPARTS...$50 dollars cheaper than they sell it for. I live in Michigan and it's winter. I needed a heated garage, cause this is not going to be a quickie. I had to wait 3 weeks to get into the neighbors garage. The clutch was actually grabbing better 3 weeks after the slip than it was the week after it slipped, but I knew that it had to be done soon. So, I spent about 8-10 hours and changed it out. Found out some stuff that surprised me. Looks like one off the pressure plate fingers jumped behind the throwout bearing and was rubbing on the case of the trans. That's why it didn't want to fully disengage and allow me to shift properly. I had planned on putting a few picks up of the case, pressure plate face and the fingers, nut am new to this site and it looks like I have to import from a website. Figured I could just do a file path from my PC. Oh well. The pressure plate had 2 big cracks in it too. So bad one the one, that it had a step of about 1 mm or so. The clutch disc itself was scuffing the rivets near the outside of its circumference. Haven't read anyone else talk about a finger jumping the throwout bearing. Now it's on to the next project to keep her on the road....an ever evolving list.
 

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,
Few months ago I bought a 2000 Jetta TDI GLS 5 speed. The clutch wouldn't disengage unless it was pushed all the way to the floor. Never worked on one of these, do I turned to this forum (and others) in search of answers. After about 2 weeks of driving it, I felt my break pedal go down, maybe 1/2 inch . After that, the clutch pedal felt normal. I could let it up a couple of inches and it would start to engage. The car had always shifted hard(before and after the change) I put some GM synchro fluid in the trans. That did help, but definitely didn't fix it. Bought this car off of Marketplace from just out of state. Ended up realizing that the guy that sold it, didn't even own it, he was flipping it. I didn't know it, but the car had sat for 5 years. Once I got it I started to realize this because of all the tell tale signs. The nail in the coffin sign was the air breather. It had the date and mileage hand written on it. It was 5 years ago and roughly 3,000 miles ago. I have no idea if the guy bought a new car and let this one sit, if he kicked the bucket; but it sat for a long time. I read that the clutch can get a rust ring in one of the cylinders(master or slave) from sitting a long time. So, I figured that its what happened with mine. Other than the hard shifts, it's going ok. If I shift at 2k rpm, I'm ok. If I take her up to 3-4, then I will have to rev match to get it to shift right...So, maybe the synchros are bad. It has 200k miles on it and it was a city, or near city car. Maybe they are just shot from an owner that didn't drive right. Well, about 3 weeks ago, I needed to get on it a little to get out into traffic. When it didn't want to go into 2nd gear, I hit third real quick and floored it. The car reved......but didn't pick up speed much. Yup have to do the inevitable: clutch time. Dreaded digging into this. After all the other BS that I have had to deal with: headlights, door lock module, plastic bits, E brake, etc etc etc. So I bought a basic LUK kit off of Amazon for $200. It was in a nesting doll of boxes... Funny part, it was from IDPARTS...$50 dollars cheaper than they sell it for. I live in Michigan and it's winter. I needed a heated garage, cause this is not going to be a quickie. I had to wait 3 weeks to get into the neighbors garage. The clutch was actually grabbing better 3 weeks after the slip than it was the week after it slipped, but I knew that it had to be done soon. So, I spent about 8-10 hours and changed it out. Found out some stuff that surprised me. Looks like one off the pressure plate fingers jumped behind the throwout bearing and was rubbing on the case of the trans. That's why it didn't want to fully disengage and allow me to shift properly. I had planned on putting a few picks up of the case, pressure plate face and the fingers, nut am new to this site and it looks like I have to import from a website. Figured I could just do a file path from my PC. Oh well. The pressure plate had 2 big cracks in it too. So bad one the one, that it had a step of about 1 mm or so. The clutch disc itself was scuffing the rivets near the outside of its circumference. Haven't read anyone else talk about a finger jumping the throwout bearing. Now it's on to the next project to keep her on the road....an ever evolving list.
Did you do the timing belt? It would be due by the time on it...
 

DeeJay

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2020
Location
Michigan
TDI
2000 Jetta
I have not yet.
Did you do the timing belt? It would be due by the time on it...
I have not yet. I have the kit, but have yet to change it. Can you suggest the best place for instructions to follow? I can't do that with juat my accumulated auto knowlwdge. Also, I have a friend with the timing tools for a PD, would those work on my ALH?
 

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
Hey, KrashDH - I don't suppose you would part with 2 of those ballasts? Or let me know where you found them? I got a couple of GTI headlamps for a MkV project and looking for the ballasts. OE is >$450 EACH!

Jason
 

KrashDH

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Location
Washington
TDI
2002 Golf
Hey, KrashDH - I don't suppose you would part with 2 of those ballasts? Or let me know where you found them? I got a couple of GTI headlamps for a MkV project and looking for the ballasts. OE is >$450 EACH!

Jason
I'll be keeping them...I have 2 on my truck, 2 on the car, and 1 for backup.
I purchased them all on Ebay. I wouldn't buy them new, they are really expensive. They're built like powerhouses and are pretty much meant to last forever. I would be hesitant of buying them "new" too...they could be knock-offs...German writing on them and all.
 
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